Finding a developer job can be challenging. It’s especially true during a crisis when employers tend to let people go instead of hiring employees for their company. You’ll learn about five ways about how to find a developer job in 2021.
Why should you listen to me? Besides writing a hundred articles for this blog and running a YouTube channel for more than two years, I have worked for more than 15 years in the industry as a software developer. I switched positions twice within the last ten years.
In this article, I want to share my perspective on finding a developer job in 2021. I have to warn you that some sections might not apply to you. I’m living and working in Switzerland, and most of my experience is definitely biased by European and, most likely Swiss employee contracts and the culture of this region.
Nonetheless, I believe there is a lot to share and learn from my experience. There are so many articles about this topic written with a focus on the US job market. If you are in Europe or looking for a job in Europe, this is for you!
Here are five ways about how to find a developer job in 2021:
- Applying to Job Openings – The Traditional Approach
- Build a Portfolio – Demonstrate Your Skillset
- Build a Network – Connect with People
- Don’t Work with Headhunters – Here Is Why
- Use Job Boards – The Transparent Alternative
Applying to Job Openings – The Traditional Approach
Applying to open positions is the traditional way of finding a new job. You read a newspaper or visit a website and go to the job sections to see if there is a role you could fill.
While it is a simple way, it still has its challenges. If you do not have any connections with people within the organization, you are subject to HR filtering your resume before you have the chance to speak for yourself.
If you do not meet the criteria listed in the job listing, the chances are that you’ll never have the opportunity to talk to somebody working in the department you want to work. You’ll get filtered by HR.
In some cases, this approach can still work. If you have a streamlined resume that meets most job listing criteria, go for it and see if it works for you.
If this approach does not work for you, let me show you four more effective options you have below.
Build a Portfolio – Demonstrate Your Skillset
In my opinion, having an online presence is critical in 2021. It’s okay if you don’t want to share your life publicly, but please hear me out.
As a developer, we build things. What’s better than let our work speak for ourselves? If you are a web developer or are searching for a web developer role, I highly suggest that you have a public website.
If it were my responsibility to hire a web developer, I’d love to see what the person did in the past. There is nothing closer to real-world projects than a real-world project.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t suggest that you post everything about your life online. I assume you build a portfolio where you showcase your work. It can be as minimal as a one-page website where you state information about yourself and a link to your GitHub account.
A portfolio is beneficial if you start. If you do not have a previous developer job in your resume, you should build a portfolio to show your skills to potential employers.
The more you advance in your career, the more other assets you have. If you are new – you’ll get a lot of credit for a well-built portfolio.
Finally, this advice applies to web developers and works for desktop application developers or mobile developers, or any other category of software development. Build small projects that show your knowledge in the area you want to get a job.
Build a Network – Connect with People
No, I’m not talking about a physical network or anything related to computer networks. I’m talking about networking with people.
Networking in the Real World
I know, I know there are a few developers who don’t like interaction with other people. At least, that’s what society wants us to believe. Let me tell you it’s wrong. Most developers I’ve come across in the past 15 years have proper communication and social skills.
Communication and social skills become more and more critical. Developers who only implement code might be replaced by developers from countries with a cheaper living standard.
However, if you are deeply connected with your company’s culture, highly involved in solving problems of your customers, and optimizing your development process in-between – you’re the go-to person.
When you have a job, make sure to connect with people from your team and other teams of your company. If you don’t directly work with them, try to interact in breaks and take lunch together. You’ll be amazed how much you learn when you talk to a member of the support team of the application you build – or anyone else in your company.
When it comes time to look for another job, you’ll have a connection with many other people that you can facilitate to help you find a new role in another company.
People change companies over time. If you connect with enough people, you’ll be connected with people from 20 or more companies after five years. It all comes down to mathematics. Let the math help you.
All right, I wrote a lot about networking in the real world. Let’s talk about networking online.
Networking Online
I have about 150 connections on Xing and 200 connections on LinkedIn. I worked with most people that are directly connected to me. If I haven’t worked with them, I at least talked to them at a local user group meeting or had any other meaningful interaction.
Usually, I add people on LinkedIn or Xing after I talked to them in the real world. Nonetheless, I assume it’s also possible to build relationships online. Take part in forum discussions, join groups with your topics, etc.
If you want to work for a specific employer, you can also start following developers or other people already working for the employer and making some connections. You can comment on what they share and offer meaningful advice if they post a question. If they have a job opening, you can express your interest, and you already have a better chance than somebody utterly unknown to the company.
Networking can help you find your first job, but it’s more helpful at later stages of your career when you already have some work experience and therefore built your network for years.
Don’t Work with Headhunters – Here Is Why
If done right, it would be awesome. Sadly, the truth is that (almost) nobody does headhunting the way it should be.
Headhunters are people who either work for a specific company or an agency. Either way, they want to find people to fill open jobs. What sounds like a good deal for an employee isn’t in reality. Let me tell you why.
First of all, headhunters often don’t know what they’re doing. It’s sad that I have to write it like that, but it’s the truth. They copy & paste IT phrases and perform automated searches across Xing or LinkedIn profiles before they copy & paste a message and send it using personal messages.
Headhunters Are Expensive
Headhunters cost a lot of money. If you are an employer and want to fill a position with a candidate referred from a headhunter, you should expect up to 20-25% of the first-year salary to be spent on the headhunter. Filling an 80’000$ role means you have to pay at least 16’000$.
For a potential employee, this means that the company has a significant expense in hiring you. You have a worse position negotiating your salary. It’s between two and three months of salary your employer has to pay to the headhunter.
If done right, headhunters would build a network with different companies and deeply connect with employees and learn about their motivation and skills. Working with an employee over the years would allow them to find jobs that perfectly fit their needs. It would be beneficial.
Sadly, the headhunting industry is more of a day-trading business with short-term financial goals dominating their decision-making process.
One last thing. Headhunters often fill positions nobody wants to work in any way. If a company has an excellent reputation and an HR department, I’m sure they’ll find other ways to attract talented developers.
Use Job Boards – The Transparent Alternative
Job boards are platforms (mainly on the internet) where employers post a job offer, and potential employees get to see what job openings there are. It’s a marketplace for jobs.
Not all job boards are equal. But the ones that I think are most helpful provide a lot more value than headhunters. Companies usually post a lot more information about their job instead of only posting HR marketing terms. Companies typically state what technologies they use, what products they develop, how their development process looks, etc.
I’d summarize job boards to be a lot more honest and transparent than any other form of headhunting. For example, you can often see the expected salary a company wants to offer to fill a position.
Another important aspect of using job boards is that the employer needs pay a lot less than if a candidate comes through a headhunter. Usually, job boards earn their money from the masses and not from a single job filling. That’s why employees have a better position to negotiate their salary, benefits, or other details. There is no massive fee compared to headhunting.
Remember, not all job boards are the same, but I’m sure you’ll recognize what platforms are helpful to you by now. If you are looking for a role in Switzerland, I highly recommend SwissDevJobs.ch.
Conclusion – Find a Job the Smart Way
I hope this article helps you see where you are in your career and what options you have to increase your chance to find a job that fits your needs.
Building a career in software development isn’t easy. Due to how our industry handles raises and how you gain experience in different areas, we change jobs more often than other professions.
If you build your portfolio and network along the way, I’m sure you’ll be set up for a great start. If you are actively looking for a job, consider job boards to find a good fit.
If you are not successful using those tactics, you can still try to work with headhunters. In this case, I’d directly contact them and let them know what position you want. It helps a lot in filtering out jobs that would not fit (e.g., wrong technology stack or wrong level of experience).
Please, let me know on Twitter or below this post how you got your current job and what tactics you used to get it.
