The secret to a career in software development.

Now before we start getting into the meat of this article, I know what you're thinking. Alex, what kind of clickbaity title is that, and what the heck does it mean? Well, unbeknownst to me about a week ago, there's a huge community on the internet leading in future-employer brownie points. I'm here to talk about that.

With the internet becoming more and more involved in hiring processes, especially in software development, having an online presence has become a necessity to stand a chance in this fast-expanding field. So how do you stand out? To answer that question, let's take a step back and look at this from another perspective. Some of you might relate to this or not, regardless, it applies. So, me being a 90s baby, most of my teenage years were around the time of the social media boom. With all these amazing platforms opening, it was clear that employers started investigating accounts to see how their job candidates behaved outside of work. If you had pictures that might've seemed a little irresponsible or inappropriate, your chances of getting that dream job are very slim. With that said, My parents made it apparent that I needed to be aware of how I presented myself online. I'm sure you're all aware, this is still a big part of hiring processes, but unfortunately, it's not good enough anymore.

So how do I increase my chances of being hired? Here's the answer: Create. It's that simple. Find a subject related to your field that you're passionate about and just create. A good example is a blog(like this one, ha). It might seem ridiculous, but it makes sense. Does it need to be extravagant? No. Does it need to be 500 pages? No. It has to be something. Not only does it deepen your knowledge of the selected subject, but it also means that you're researching, learning, and sharing ideas. It shows just how sophisticated you are when it comes to your field. It demonstrates to your future employer that you love challenging yourself and expressing your ideas publicly with confidence.

To conclude, the world is transitioning into one where your online presence has a bigger impact than your physical presence. Your job application is just a stepping stone into your online world. Showing that you're capable of keeping yourself in check and exploring new things has a HUGE impact on your career. So get out there and create!

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - Gandalf, Book I