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Episode
243
Interview
Web News

Helping Junior Developers Succeed

Recorded:
April 4, 2023
Released:
April 12, 2023
Episode Number:
243

With the current job market seemingly handing out nothing by layoffs, it may seem like landing a junior developer job is an impossible task. While we acknowledge that it is more difficult than it was a year or two ago to land a junior developer job, all hope is not lost. There are always people hiring, even during the worst economic downturns and those that keep at it have a higher chance at succeeding. In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss how to help a junior developer in your life succeed through mentorship, connections, peer code reviews, and more.

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Who’s in This Episode?

Show Notes

Topics

Defining Success

  • What is success for a junior developer? 
  • Learning from and growing at each job/project

Current Job Market & Landscape

  • The tech market is currently plagued with:
    - layoffs
    - hiring freezes
    - lower starting salaries
    - internships on the rise
  • Competition is heating up between candidates "fighting" over a position

What you can do

These points are directed at people that are looking to help a junior developer in their life.

  • Mentorships
  • Code Reviews (peer reviews)
  • Portfolio reviews
  • Community participation
  • Urge the junior dev to create (ie blogs, videos, social media)
  • Refer junior developers for jobs
    - find postings you'd recommend
    - explain how to identify posts they might be interested in, especially if it doesn't say "junior dev" in the listing
  • Change hiring systems (this point is for hiring managers)
    - junior developers can be a great investment to teach someone new exactly how you'd like to do things at your company
    - junior developers do have less technical ability than a senior developer, but they are cheaper to hire and you can promote them as they get more experience
    - create paid internship programs
    - better onboarding procedures (no crazy interviews, no 7-part interviews with take home projects...only to ghost the candidates that aren't chosen)