How to Get Hired as a Web Dev and WOW Hiring Managers + much more

Matt Studdert just released his brand new designer to developer handoff tutorial workshop and also answered the top upvoted student questions from the Zero To Mastery developer community.

Scroll down below the video to see all the questions Matt answers in the Ask Me Anything.

There were some great questions. Here's one of our favourites:

How can you stand out and WOW a hiring manager to take a chance on hiring you as a junior developer?

Here are Matt's suggestions (and we totally agree!):

1. Create and showcase projects you've done
2. Clearly explain the technical choices you made for each of your projects (ex: a Readme file for each project outlining the decisions you've made and why)
3. Show small, ongoing commits that show the evolution of your project rather than one giant commit at the end
4. Critiquing and reviewing other developers work even as a junior (ex: code reviews, videos, posts)
5. Show your willingness to help others (ex: answer questions on StackOverflow, work on open-source projects)

The key skills that you are showing to the hiring manager that will set you apart as a developer looking to get your first job:

• Passion/desire
• Communication
• Teamwork

The best part is that anyone can do these things but most people don't and that means you have a great opportunity to stand out.

Watch the full "Ask Me Anything" 👇

⏲ Timestamps (feel free to skip ahead):

• 0:00 - Who is Matt Studdert?!
• 1:33 - What are the best resources to become a frontend developer?
• 4:19 - If you had to go back and learn to code from scratch starting today, how would you do it?
• 6:56 - Why did you start Frontend Mentor? What are your goals for it?
• 10:06 - Do you think design is a necessary skill for all web developers?
• 12:23 - Do you have any general tips for improving design skills, especially for developers wanting to do freelance work?
• 13:49 What tools would you recommend for design? Adobe tools like Photoshop / XD vs. Affinity vs. Figma vs. Sketch?
• 15:10 - Are you hiring any developers at Frontend Mentor?
• 15:50 - How can a junior “wow” you or a hiring manager into taking a chance on hiring them even without previous web development job experience?
• 18:37 - Is it worth ~$10,000 that it costs to go to an in-person coding bootcamp (aren't they online now anyways with covid)?
• 19:54 - How do in-person bootcamps compare to online coding bootcamps?
• 21:24 - Do you have any tips on how to actually get a developer job as someone with no professional work experience?
• 22:53 - Should I still apply? How can I stand out and still get interviews to prove I would a great hire even without 1-2 years of experience?
• 24:24 - What do companies typically look for when hiring entry-level developers?
• 25:43 - What is more likely to help me get an interview for a web development position: an active Github profile vs. a really nice portfolio website with lots of projects?
• 26:44 - With so many skills, languages, tools out there and with the tech industry constantly changing, how do you choose what to focus on learning?
• 27:54 - Do you have any tips for staying motivated and committed when things are getting challenging?
• 29:39 - Is it possible to change careers to become a developer / programmer even at the age of… 40? 50? 60?
• 30:04 - How much time should I spend “studying” on a daily or weekly basis? Any suggestions on how to split that time up between things like tutorials vs. coding challenges vs. projects vs. recruiting?
• 31:40 - As someone who is currently a full-time developer, what are the best ways to level-up my career as quickly as possible?

📚 Resources mentioned:

1. Matt's Workshop
2. Andrei's courses
3. freeCodeCamp
4. CSS Tricks blog
5. Josh Comeau blog
6. Frontend Mentor
7. Design for developers course
8. Design for developers book
9. Design challenges
10. More discussion on staying motivated & time management
11. Changing careers and becoming a developer at 38
12. How to get your first dev job

If you haven't noticed, our focus here at ZTM is to teach people all around the world to code, get hired and advanced their careers in the most efficient way possible. You can see all of the ZTM Academy courses by visiting the courses page.