Networking for Junior Devs

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>> Jerome Hardaway: So, networking strategy and in current market. What I have seen, particularly the junior side is people are just, I had it happen to me twice today during this workshop. They are saying hello, they're pitching themselves, hire me or give me a referral. And that's all in the same conversation.

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I don't know who you are, I have no idea how we met, I don't know how you got this email, I have no information about you other than the information you've given me and what you told me to do. That is not networking. That is [LAUGH] stalking and pitching.

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[LAUGH] That is what you do not wanna do because now you've just ended up on my block list, and then I'm gonna tell this with the world about you on Frontend Masters. You don't wanna do that, right? So how you do this, right? First we have to acknowledge the facts about the focus of network.

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You have to shift your focus. Networking is not an end game, it's a long game. It's about consistently showcasing and sharing your value mutually with your community and the people that you are working with, right? Junior Developers, for those on the ones and twos. Your job as a junior developer Is to showcase hard skill value.

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So your focus when you're trying to network is you should be getting a feedback loop centered on your projects or products, right? That works for juniors, that works for mids, some of the seniors, everyone. I have one of my favorite people all he's director of engineering at Hilton.

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He built a Chrome plugin for dyslexia. And while he was laid off and he ended up getting more job hires off of that than just than anything else. And you think about this is a pretty senior person, but he solved a problem that was important to people, all right?

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So that's what you want. You wanna build a product, build a project, get feedback, even if it's in the discussions and things, and then you wanna iterate on that. Now, when troops, the best story I have for that is James Regan, who, he would come to me, ask for my advice in LinkedIn, I'd give him my advice and then he would do it, and then he'd be like, ask for more advice.

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And I was like, okay, this person has built a rapport of trust of, hey, you are actually going to do the thing I tell you to do, which makes me not feel like I'm wasting my time with you, right? So yes, I will mentor you even though my plate is full even though I have four kids, three dogs and a wife, even though I have a job and I have a bunch of troops.

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Yes, I will also talk and mentor you because you're showcasing me that you value my time and my expertise and you're gonna execute, I'm one of those people. I love people that execute, right? I'm probably not the only person that likes a person that if I tell them to do something, they go and do it.

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And I'm like, all right, what else you got, right? People love that. Wow, you did what I said. And you actually did what I said instead of just wasted 20 minutes of my life? That's awesome. Of course, I'm gonna have more time with you, especially in this modern age, you'll be amazed how many people wanna pick your brain, but they don't wanna do the thing that they wanna do because, networking, getting this job in tech it's work, right?

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It looks a lot like work and not just being able to just smooth your way into roles, right? So, this is what you should do as a junior. You should be building a feedback loop based on your projects, build and showcase those projects, receive feedback, iterate based on the feedback, keep people updated, even if it's just live on LinkedIn, so people can see it.

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And then always, you can make it even more personal. If I'm on LinkedIn, I get feedback from somebody like this person. I was like, that person, gave me feedback on how to improve this. And he gave me these changes and then I implemented them. I wanna thank you for spending your time and do this, right?

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People love gratitude, right? Everybody loves being thanked. I have yet to meet one person that's like, no, don't thank me, right? Veterans, they say that, but we all actually do like being thanked for our service. It's just the right thing to say is don't thank me for my service I work for a living, I volunteer.

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But we're all like, yes, somebody recognize that crap was crazy, right? So [LAUGH] all right, don't let us lie to you all on the news, but keep it up.