Dear new developer,
Perhaps you took the first job offered to you. Perhaps you joined a friend’s company, then realized it wasn’t quite what you were promised. Perhaps you joined a company as the only developer and didn’t realize you should avoid working alone.
You might feel trapped by the money, trapped because you believe you promised to stay for a year or two, or trapped by the position, without the ability to grow.
The most important thing to do is to prepare to leave. How can you do so? Here’s a three part plan.
Know what you want
First, write down what you want. You know more about what you don’t desire, but you need to have a clear path toward what you want. I’ll open up a google doc and write down all the things I’m disatisified with about the current situation I’m in. That may be people, it may be responsibilities, it may be salary, it may be situation, it may be the manager. This venting helps me get clarity.
Then, take some time thinking about what you’d change to be happier. This may require some research. You can do a lot of research by googling and reading, but you may also want to reach out to some members of your community to ask about their jobs. Hey, I said this was a three part plan, I didn’t say you wouldn’t have to do some work.
Think about your runway
Next, consider your financial situation. Do you have money saved up? Can you cut costs? Figure out your financial runway. If at all possible, save up three to six months of expenses, as that will make any transition time much much easier. The alternative may be borrowing from friends and family if possible, or the credit card companies if not.
I find that even just the exercise of looking at my expenses and income cause me to be more aware of my spending. You don’t have to wallow in it (though plenty of people swear by living on a budget); rather the goal is to set yourself up for success should leaving a job turn into a longer period of unemployment than you planned for.
Reach out and interview
Third, interview. Find companies who you are interested in based on the previous thought and research, and apply. Look on the company website, but don’t apply through it. The best way to apply is to hand your resume to someone already at that company. I find applicant tracking systems to be mainly good at weeding me (and others) out. Use LinkedIn to find people you know at the company. This also lets you ask them about the company culture and the job. Lots of companies, unfortunately, have job listing pages that may not reflect current needs.
If you don’t know anyone at the company, see if you can start. This includes following people on Twitter, watching speakers from the company, and connecting on LinkedIn. Please please, if you connect to someone on LinkedIn, write a quick note: “I was just watching your presentation on Kotlin and wanted to connect with more people in the community.”
Don’t be transactional about any of these interactions; you’re trying to learn more about the position and company, but you also want to provide value to the other person. How can you do so? I dunno, every situation is different, so ask.
I also use a spreadsheet to track all my applications, including contact info, links to the the job, and notes. I always have a ‘follow up date’ column where I can put in when I should reach back out again. It is hard when you are in the throes of the job search, but remember that usually finding and hiring candidates is just one part of the hiring manager’s job, and so you might slip between the cracks. Take control, send regular follow up emails, and you can avoid that fate.
If you do get an interview at a company you like, this should give you some great information. How prepared did you feel? How competent? Did you crush it or did you flub the interview? By the way, flubbing an interview is never fun, but when you already have a job is about the best time to do so.
What was the reaction of the interviewer and the company? You may not get as much information as you want (I never do) but you’ll get some feedback. I like to update that spreadsheet with whatever I learned: was there a question I didn’t answer as well as I could have? Was there a technology I need to brush up on? Do I never want to interact with that company again? All good data.
Consider your situation
Now that you’ve have prepared with your wants, your financial situation and gotten feedback from the hiring market, you can reconsider your situation. Does it seem better now? Or are you still feeling trapped. Sometimes popping your head up and looking around at other opportunities can actually make you happier where you are. Other times it reinforces your desire to move on.
If the former, go to your manager with a concrete set of changes you’d like. The amount of work to put into this depends on the scope of the changes. If you’d like more money, justify it with the value you are providing and how your salary compares to other like positions. If you want to spend more time on a different project or technology, make sure you understand how that would benefit the company, not just you.
Be flexible. If you want mentoring but there’s not money to hire a senior developer above you, ask if you can attend conferences or hire a senior developer on an hourly basis to bounce ideas off of. I had an acquaintance who regularly hired people on Upwork to consult with when he ran into thorny technical issues.
The point is to inform your boss, in a polite way, of any changes which would make you happier. Know that there might be no time or budget for some of them, but I guarantee that you’ll have a higher chance of making something happen if you present reasoning why both you and the company will benefit. Bosses don’t read minds.
If it is time to move on, keep interviewing and when you get an offer, leave professionally. Give two weeks notice (or whatever is typical in your country or spelled out in your employment agreement). Connect to co-workers on LinkedIn. And head off to your next adventure.
Sincerely,
Dan
Letters To A New Developer 