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MenuHow do you get a web developer job with no experience?
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Web development jobs ask for experience, but what they're actually referring to is ability. You can "hack" this process by building projects publicly. Use GitHub, contribute to open source, and continue building for-fun projects to grow your skills.
Send your GitHub link along with applications, and you'll get some nibbles.
Good luck!
I'll echo Jason's comments on using GitHub and if you can build a reputation, Stack Overflow (but don't get downvoted). I'll also add my own too, since mentoring an intern in my own company is something I'm currently doing. I'm not currently looking to mentor anyone else atm, since it's a travesty for all of them to spread yourself too thin. Though am happy to discuss direction.
The short answer is yes, you can, but whether they're allowed to take you on in that capacity is another matter, since some countries rightly have laws to protect workers from exploitation. Plus, it crucially depends on the value you'll get from it and that they can provide. My experience has been quite positive taking on someone who is already degree educated, though in electronic systems engineering. My intern is very keen, has grasped the concepts of agility and DevOps well and my focus for them has been to get them doing two things.
The first, identifying a particular problem to solve and creating an open source project on GitHub to solve it. The second, blogging about it. The first encourages and attempts to exhibit technical skill. The second to communicate it. You can be the best programmer in the world but if nobody knows, you're as good as a nobody.
From the other side, you have to be willing to even present your own learning and development plan. It has to be as frictionless as possible. Especially in startup world. Many are low on funds, yes. However, they trade on time and skill. You have to respect that as every minute spent with you is a minute they're not trying to add revenue to their business, which risks them not having a business to fall back on. That does you no favours as then the reference you get isn't as powerful as it could be (though still useful). It's not uncommon for gem to spend 4 hours a week or more with you. If their revenue stream is normally 100K a year, then given a 40 hour week, that's 10K they've spent with you if they're not yet at the stage of passive income. However, it can still be a rewarding experience for both of you.
In any event, if you don't ask, you rarely get. So I wish you the best of luck in finding the right company.
Volunteering is a great way to gain real-world experience and add some interesting projects to your portfolio. When you are trying to establish yourself as a bonafide developer, freelance gigs will help you to build credibility. As well as putting your skills into practice, open source projects give you the opportunity to work collaboratively with other developers. When it comes to convincing employers that your job-ready, it is all about getting hands-on and putting your skills into action. Web development is an extremely broad field, and there are so many different avenues you can pursue. There are plenty of places to look for web developer jobs. Do not be shy about asking your friends or industry contacts if they know of anyone hiring. While it is not uncommon for experienced developers to be headhunted, those new to the industry have some convincing to do. If you are serious about landing a web developer role, you must tailor your resumé and cover letter to each job you apply for. Make sure all the information about your skills, experience and qualifications is up-to-date, and upload a professional photo. Reinforce your skills with a concise, captivating heading that sums you up in one or two sentences. “Frontend developer proficient in JavaScript, HTML and CSS, with extensive experience in the payment technology sector.
A crucial part of your application package is your web developer portfolio. Before applying for jobs, get your portfolio up to date with all your latest projects together with the right contact details. Focus on building a solid community around you and you will naturally open more professional doors. There are plenty of ways to meet fellow developers without necessarily feeling like you are networking. Hackathons provide the perfect opportunity to practice your skills and meet new people. When it comes to giving a good interview, you need to convince the interviewer that you have mastered the right skills and can hit the ground running. At the same time, you need to demonstrate genuine passion and enthusiasm for the role. It is highly likely that you will be asked to take a coding challenge or technical test as part of the interview process. Employers want to see that you are fully comfortable with at least HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery, so be ready to demonstrate this.
A large part of being a good web developer is teamwork. At the end of the day, employers want to be sure that you will work well with others and bring a positive attitude to the office.
Besides if you do have any questions give me a call: https://clarity.fm/joy-brotonath
It’s great to see your enthusiasm for learning and gaining real-world experience in web development! Volunteering or offering your services in exchange for mentoring can indeed be a valuable way to build experience, especially with startups that might have limited budgets but are open to helping aspiring developers.
For additional insights on how to navigate and potentially get involved with web development teams, you might find this article helpful: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/web-development-team-structure/. It provides a comprehensive look at the various roles and responsibilities within a web development team, which can help you better understand how you might fit into a team and what skills you should focus on developing. Keep pushing forward, and best of luck with your journey into web development!
Related Questions
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How do you manage a developer who's slow, especially when you have a small budget and you don't feel like you'll get things done in time?
Usually Programmers are only slow when they don't know how to solve a particular problem. So they will spend a lot of time researching and a lot of trial & errors to solve a problem. It is important that before you engage a programmer on a project, you break down the entire project into simple, easy to understand modules. Let him give you an estimate of how many hours he will require to complete each of the modules. Example: a typical site will have a login module, registration, My account, profile etc. So let him estimate how much he will require to do the login. You can go even detail here. (e.g. how much extra time if you were to implement Facebook/Twitter Login?). Once he start developing, track his progress closely and make sure he is following his given timeline. If he goes over his budgeted time on a module, talk with him and see what went wrong. It is often seen that they may be wasting their time on something very insignificant that you may have asked him to implement, but you can totally go by without it too. So by understanding what is taking longer time, you will be able to prioritise things better. You definitely need some tools to get this done. Google Spreadsheet or Excel works just fine. But if you don't mind spending a few bucks there are many agile project management tools that you might look into. Here is a list, google them all and sign up for trials: * AgileZen * Agile Bench * Assembla * AssiTrack * Blossom * Basecamp * Breeze * DoneDone * Eidos * Fogbugz * GreenHopper * Jugggla * Kanbanpad * Pivotal Tracker Or the reason why he is slow can be purely non-technical. Sometime your developer may don't share the same level of enthusiasm as you about the idea that you are working on. They often don't often see the "bigger picture" (since you don't share everything with them explicitly). If you can somehow get them excited about what he is a part of, it will work like a drug :) He will work day and night without questioning you. But you need to work equally as hard as him. The moment he sees that you are the boss and he is just the guy doing work for you -- his mentality will shift from being part of something to being the low paid developer. Ultimately its all about motivation and making him a part of your venture. After all he deserves it, if he is really playing a crucial role in the entire development.SK
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I have this social media idea,but no coding skills. How do I get someone to do the coding (cant afford to pay them) and not give away half of my idea?
Dilip was very kind in his response. My answer might be a bit on the "tough love" side. But that's for you to decide. My intention, just for the record, is to help you (and those like you) on your path to success. And that starts with having a viable philosophy about entrepreneurial-ism and business. And I'm going to answer this because I get asked some form / version of this question very frequently from newcomers to entrepreneurial-ism. The scenario goes something like this: "I have a great idea. It's amazing, I love it, and I just KNOW it's gonna make me a ton of money. But I have no money right now so I can't afford to (fill in the blank with things like "to build it / create it / market it / etc" or "to hire the required staff needed to work in my business to sell it / develop it / etc"). And I don't want to tell anyone about my great idea because I'm worried someone will steal it and make MY million / billion dollars. But I can't afford to legally protect it either... So how do I launch without the skills to personally create the product AND no money to hire anyone else to do that either??" The answer is ... You don't. Look - let's be honest. All you have is an idea. Big deal. Really. I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm not saying that if properly executed it couldn't make you a million / billion dollars... But an idea is NOT a business. Nor is it an asset. Until you do some (very important) initial work - like creating a business model, doing customer development, creating a MVP, etc - all you really have is a dream. Right now your choices are: 1. Find someone with the skills or the money to develop your idea and sell them on WHY they should invest in you. And yes, this will mean giving up either a portion of the "ownership" or of future income or equity. And the more risk they have to take - the more equity they will want (and quite frankly be entitled to). 2. Learn how to code and build it yourself. MANY entrepreneurs without financial resources are still resourceful. They develop the skills needed to create what they don't have the money to pay someone else to do. 3. Get some cash so you can pay someone to do the coding. You'll probably have to have some knowledge of coding to direct the architecture of your idea. So you will likely still have to become knowledgeable even if its not you personally doing the coding. (This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of options... And I'm sure some of the other experts here on Clarity have others to add - and I hope they do) To wrap up - Here's my final tip to you that I hope you "get"... It's FAR more valuable to have an idea that a very specific hungry crowd is clamoring for right now - One that THEY would love and pay you for right now - Maybe even one they'd pre-order because they just have to have it - Versus YOU being in love with your own idea. [Notice I didn't say "an idea that some as-of-yet-undetermined market would probably love"] I wish you the best of luck moving forward.DB
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How much equity should I ask as a C-level executive in a new startup ?
As you may suspect, there really isn't a hard and fast answer. You can review averages to see that a CEO typically becomes a major shareholder in a startup, but your role and renumeration will be based on the perceived value you bring to the organization. You value someone's contribution through equity when you think that they will be able to add long-term benefits, you would prefer that they don't move company part way through the process, and to keep them from being enticed by a better salary (a reason for equity tied to a vesting arrangement). Another reason is when the company doesn't have salary money available but the potential is very strong. In this situation you should be especially diligent in your analysis because you will realize that even the best laid plans sometimes fall completely short. So to get the best mix, you have to be very real about the company's long-term growth potential, your role in achieving it, and the current liquidity necessary to run the operations. It should also be realized that equity needs to be distributed. You cannot distribute 110% and having your cap table recalculated such that your 5% turns into 1% in order to make room for the newly hired head of technology is rather demotivating for the team. Equity should be used to entice a valuable person to join, stay, and contribute. It should not be used in leu of salary that allows an employee to pay their bills. So, like a lot of questions, the answer is really, it depends. Analyzing the true picture of your long-term potential will allow you to more easily determine the correct mix.DH
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I finally found my billion-dollar startup idea. Now what?
The idea is a very small fraction of what it takes to earn the first million. Certainly billion. What actually matters is your ability to *execute*. Entrepreneurship means "having the talent of translating opportunities into money". Or, as Alexis Ohanian of Reddit said, "entrepreneur is just French for 'has ideas, does them'." As much as it may seem that transitioning off your 9-to-5 is the biggest hurdle, it's not. If you can't "get out of the gate" then you're also not ready to deal with the real challenges of business, like "competition that has 1,000x your funding" or "suppliers that jerk you around" or "customers who steal your intellectual property". It's easy to have a "billion dollar idea". I'd like to mine gold off of asteroids; I'm sure that would be worth billions. I'd also like to invest in Arctic real estate that will become coastal vacation property after fifty more years of warming. And, of course, to make a new social network that everyone loves. But saying these things is very very different from accomplishing them. Prove your concept by first taking a small step, such as making the first dollar. (Maybe try Noah Kagan's course at http://www.appsumo.com/how-make-your-first-dollar-open/). If you can't figure out a way to "make it go" without a giant investment, then you're kidding yourself about your ability to execute the business. If you *can* figure out a way to get a toehold, then by all means do it now! Happy to advise further, feel free to contact me for a call.AS
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What is a better title for a startup head....Founder or CEO? Are there any pros/cons to certain titles?
The previous answers given here are great, but I've copied a trick from legendary investor Monish Pabrai that I've used in previous startups that seems to work wonders -- especially if your company does direct B2B sales. Many Founders/ CEOs are hung up on having the Founder/ CEO/ President title. As others have mentioned, those titles have become somewhat devalued in today's world -- especially if you are in a sales meeting with a large organization. Many purchasing agents at large organizations are bombarded by Founders/ CEOs/ Presidents visiting them all day. This conveys the image that a) your company is relatively small (the CEO of GM never personally sells you a car) and b) you are probably the most knowledgeable person in the organization about your product, but once you land the account the client company will mostly be dealing with newly hired second level staff. Monish recommends that Founder/ CEOs hand out a business card that has the title "Head of Sales" or "VP of Sales". By working in the Head of Sales role, and by your ability to speak knowledgeably about the product, you will convey the message that a) every person in the organization is very knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the product (even the sales guys) and b) you will personally be available to answer the client's questions over the long run. I've used this effectively many times myself.VR
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