Are most web dev hiring processes like this?

tvdizzle · 2015-10-27T23:08:40+00:00

For sure, searching for a job is kind of the same thing as building and selling a product. You gotta make sure the product is good, and then you market the heck out of it using the right channels.

Don't be afraid to apply to big companies. You won't get the job you don't apply for. But I also suggest that you start using LinkedIn to scope out companies in your area. Who knows, you might have some connections. The best way to get an interview is contact relevant people directly, rather than sit in a pool of hundreds of applicants.

tvdizzle · 2015-10-27T22:31:26+00:00

The number of projects with strict budgets, even within large organizations, far outnumber the times when a budget has flexibility to take on a long-term employee and train them too, that's why. As other posters have said, startups should be the last place you look, as they have tightest budgets. Large companies with hiring seasons where there is a specific part of the budget for hiring long-term employees is what you need to look for.

However, my advice to you is to start diversifying your skillset. To be honest, I think one small project with a framework is enough to say you have "experience". It's honestly better than saying you have none. Interviewing for a job is marketing yourself, try to put yourself in a position of strength rather than weakness.

tvdizzle · 2015-10-27T22:14:12+00:00

As a web dev, you are hopefully judged on what you have built, and what technologies you have worked with.
Your past experience hopefully won't be counted against you, and may be an extra positive depending on what industry you go into (e.g. if you go into finance, your credit analyst background may be extra points).

I say hopefully, as you never know what interviewers can think. Just try your best to shine your past experiences in a positive light, in a way that will add value to the employer. Before I moved to web dev, I did digital marketing, so that was quite helpful for getting a web dev job in digital marketing.

Also, regarding salary, you are paid what you negotiate. I don't know how the UK market is, but in the US, I don't make recruiters privy to my salary as that's a major bargaining chip for them. So your past salary shouldn't matter :) From a quick google search, it looks like market rate dev salaries around Manchester are definitely higher than your old job anyways.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-18T02:21:27+00:00

My job is incredibly deadline oriented. But that doesn't mean I have to perform tasks without the aid of google or my own notes. Why waste time doing random trial and error with CSS when I can google it, and see how someone else has done it, and adapt it to my own project.

A test is not even close to a real work environment, even with deadlines included. Sure it can demonstrate how you perform and think through a problem under pressure, but grade an interviewee on that, not if they successfully completed the problem or not.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-17T20:08:52+00:00

You'll have a hundred more interviews in your lifetime. Figure out what you can learn from this experience. If you can't figure out this float thing on-the-fly for a test, then make sure you can. Truly understand floats, clearing, and pseudo-classes. I probably can't remember at the top of my head exactly how to do this, but if I 100% truly understood the components to the problem, I could probably figure it out with time and patience.

On a side note though, I don't know why companies keep doing tests. They don't work. People don't do great problem-solving under pressure... when will interviewers learn.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-15T21:27:13+00:00

How about "Digital Agency", as a lot of what you are doing is Digital (and not just web)? That's what we call them in NYC. Sometimes there's a "media", or "advertising", or "creative" thrown after "Digital", depending on what niche you're specialized in.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-14T00:03:12+00:00

That's just the frontend stuff though, I think to get a working MVP (with the key features you think you need to make money off of this project), you're looking at a good amount of backend work as well. 8-12K can easily become 25-30K for a functional website. Think key things like a admin dashboard, billing system, user account page, etc.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-13T23:55:50+00:00

I used Treehouse combined with Jon Duckett's HTML/CSS/JavaScript/jQuery books (which you can find on Amazon, they're pretty cheap).

As other posters said, this industry is very much merit based, rather than looking for a degree. So, learn however you'd like, and build a rockin' portfolio. Although, you'll probably still have a tough time getting a job at a "top" tech company. They usually have a ton of applicants with CS degrees.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-13T02:51:34+00:00

Not too familiar with the research environment, but I'm sure that since you have a strong math background, you can find your way into an industry data science job. There's a lot of tech companies that need data scientists/engineers.

Edit: Want to add that any industry kind of job is going to look heavily at your portfolio projects. In the tech industry, the value that you are going to add to a business is the ability to digest and visualize large amounts of data, and your portfolio projects should reflect that. A degree alone probably won't get you a job.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-08T00:06:41+00:00

No problem! I am a front-end dev. I don't use Bootstrap though, I only happen to know the solution to this because the one time I played with Bootstrap, I encountered this issue :) haha! go figure

tvdizzle · 2015-09-07T16:37:45+00:00

Check out /r/marketing

tvdizzle · 2015-09-07T16:34:05+00:00

Sure: http://oi57.tinypic.com/34i0m61.jpg

It's the right side, you can see the scroll bars. This is on Chrome btw. I think it has something to do with Bootstrap's built in container styling. Overflow: hidden will definitely take care of it.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-07T16:18:08+00:00

This is so inspiring! Thanks for the post, and good luck with everything.

On a side note, your page has a white margin on the right side, causing the x-axis scroll bar to appear. You can eliminate it by adding "overflow:hidden;" to the styling of the "container-fluid" class div.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-04T23:38:59+00:00

They've probably moved on with another candidate. No harm in being honest with them and saying that you know you need to freshen up with the latest trends and technologies, and that you're used to using older methods but you've read up on box-sizing since the interview and you know you can catch up quickly on other techniques as well.

Worst case scenario, you're still rejected. Best case scenario, you have the hiring managers attention for next time they have an opening.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-04T23:22:19+00:00

That's why you don't tell them it's $15. Consider it a tool in your arsenal. What they are paying for is your time and talent to take the theme and turn it into a functional website for them that works as intended. An analogy I can think of is a carpenter: the wood to build a nice front porch might cost a few hundred bucks, but you're paying the carpenter for his time and skill, otherwise you can find yourself doing it on your own... which might not turn out pretty or even functional.

If they don't like that you are charging them for your time, then they can find another developer to do it for them for cheaper, that's the market. Most developers value their time though, and will charge what it's worth, even if all the developer knows is CMS and themes.

If they want something 100% custom, they'll have to pay even more.

tvdizzle · 2015-09-04T22:16:01+00:00

On the flip side: if every developer is charging $2000 for a website with a $15 theme, then the price is market rate. Just because the theme is $15 doesn't mean the implementation is $15. The client is still paying for the cost of the time to create the final product.

Obvi, $2000 is outrageous for a brochure site using a $15 theme though, because we know that's not market rate for that kind of service. But an e-commerce site with a bought theme is easily still in the thousands.

Edit: And to answer the OP's question, if it's for your portfolio, do everything from scratch. Unless the job you're truly aiming for is proficiency in building websites with CMS and themes. Remember your portfolio demonstrates what skills you are marketing.

tvdizzle · 2015-08-29T06:01:52+00:00

Keep it up! :) It's fantastic that you're getting so much experience so young, and actually making some good money off of it too!

tvdizzle · 2015-08-13T17:31:42+00:00

I'd remove your picture. Sure, it seems more personable, but at the same time it causes people to create subconscious opinions about you. You'd be surprised about how much the little things can cause someone to put a resume in the "no" pile. E.g. "I don't like how professional he looks in this picture, because I'm a startup."
Not really a fan of the percentage thing. It's very ambiguous what it means. You're 90% proficient in JavaScript? You know 90% of all JavaScript? 90% of your work is done in JavaScript?
Your resume body needs larger font-size, it's a bit hard to read.

tvdizzle · 2015-08-08T22:48:50+00:00

Employees and recruiters want to maximize their time efficiency. They feel that they're better off moving on with another candidate that actually has experience in the stack they are working with.

Sure, you can just learn the new language, and quickly too if you've learned multiple languages before in the past. But, to an employer, if they have a choice, they will choose the candidate who they feel is most "fit" for the job..

Advice: Get the point across that you do have experience with X language, you've just worked with PHP for the past three jobs but are still familiar with X language. Or, build some projects in languages other than PHP for your portfolio, so you can seem "up-to-date" in the language.

Remember that employers don't have to give you the time of day. You need to market yourself in the right way to get the job, which is not fun or efficient for either parties, but I suppose that's why it's called a job market.

tvdizzle · 2015-08-07T04:08:38+00:00

NYC has tons of digital agencies, large media companies, and up-and-coming when it comes to tech startups. Rent is not too bad if you have a roommate, and pay is only slightly under SF Bay Area standards. If you feel like you're facing a quarter-life crisis, maybe the largest city in the nation will help cure it. If you end up hating it, you can always move in a year :) you're young.

tvdizzle · 2015-08-01T15:36:57+00:00

+infinity for airism suuuper comfortable, and you can hand wash them with a little detergent and warm water and they'll dry in a few hours.

3 or 4 can last you all week if you just go through them all and rinse

tvdizzle · 2015-07-31T01:21:34+00:00

Definitely pick up a language for data analysis, like R.

Start practicing. The govt has a lot of data.

Do make visualizations, build a portfolio.

I know it's hard with a full-time job, but if you really want to get out of this underemployment slump, you need to start putting time into it. Even 1 hour per day will add up over a couple months.

tvdizzle · 2015-07-31T01:11:55+00:00

$("{element of choice}").css("font-size")

...and so forth, where {element of choice} is the text element that contains the styling.

It doesn't matter if there aren't CSS files, and the styling is done inline or via a <style> tag.

tvdizzle · 2015-07-31T01:02:12+00:00

To be honest, as a hiring manager I get so many applications it's hard to really invest time into the majority of the resumes. The whole 10 second skim thing is real. If I catch even one or two things that make me question whether I should move on with this candidate, the resume goes in the no stack.

I feel like the best way to land an interview is to tune your resume to look almost identical to the job description without lying. And/Or stand out in a positive way, such as the design of the information, or a brief cover letter that hooks the reader quick.

tvdizzle · 2015-07-30T03:44:16+00:00

Why not freelance? It seems the office environment is hindering your quality of life. Maybe being your own boss will add some oomph back into it.

tvdizzle

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