Jacob Smith

It’s official: landing a software engineering job is tougher now than it was just a few years ago. With many startups shutting down and big companies laying off employees, candidates with 0-5 years of experience are feeling the pinch. What can you do? Shift your storytelling from tools and languages to the impact you've made. Highlight who your users were, how you improved their lives, and any recognition you received. Remember, outcomes matter more than just the technologies you used!

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💻 Live Coding Challenges vs. Take-Home Tests: Which is Better? 🤔 When it comes to technical interviews, both live coding challenges and take-home tests offer unique benefits: 🚀 Live Coding Challenges: - Real-time problem-solving: Shows your ability to think on your feet and adapt quickly. - Collaboration under pressure: Simulates teamwork, demonstrating communication skills in high-pressure environments. - Immediate feedback: Speeds up the interview process with on-the-spot insights. 📝 Take-Home Tests: - More time to reflect: You can plan and structure your solution without the time constraints of a live interview. - Real-world work simulation: Provides the opportunity to showcase how you’d solve problems in a real-world setting, using all available resources. - In-depth solutions: Allows for more thoughtful, polished code that can demonstrate your best practices and attention to detail. Both approaches have their place — live coding highlights a candidate's problem-solving under pressure, while take-home tests allow you to showcase your skillset thoroughly without the added pressure of extra eyeballs. What’s your preference? Let me know!👇 #TechInterviews #LiveCoding #TakeHomeTests #CareerDevelopment #Hiring #TechCareers #JobSearch

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I just used the Vercel blob storage for the first time. I am impressed by how straightforward this is to use in NextJs

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"I don't like leetcode style interviews!" See I wasn't making it up! Kurtis Nusbaum tells us more about why engineers don't like leetcode and the types of interviews that lead to a more enjoyable and effective interviewing experience.

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Jr. Devs, When you are sitting in that interview chair trying not to say the wrong thing and trying to remember all the stuff you’ve been told about how to interview well, don’t forget this one thing that should give you at least a little more confidence. You're not the only one being interviewed. You may think… duh, there are tons of candidates for this job. However, that’s not what I’m talking about. You are interviewing the company. Most Jr. Devs don’t think like this because, frankly, most Jr. Devs are just trying to get a job and they often don’t care or don’t consider the company or the culture they end up in. I’ve spent a lot of time on the DevMentorDave YouTube channel recently talking about mentoring and the need for it in our organizations. But that’s only one part of finding the right fit. The company is looking for candidates they think will fit what they need. Notice I said, ‘NEED”. They don’t just hire because it’s fun (it’s not). They need someone and you need to make sure they are a good fit for YOU before accepting an offer or before leaving the interview. Don’t just ask questions you found on a website or were given by a recruiter. Think about what matters to you as an employee and as an individual and ask questions that will impact how you work and impact your success and future. That level of confidence and interaction in the interview may just set you apart from the pack, even if your dev skills are the same as all the other candidates. #juniordeveloper #mentoring #interview 

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I posted recently about how salaries are still climbing at the top end of the market for hands on Software Engineers. Yesterday we took on 2x Senior roles paying $180K+Super+10% bonus, last week we took a re-brief for another Senior role with a salary increase to $180K+Super+ESOP. Don't get me wrong, it's still only really in that pocket of hands on Senior-Principal level Engineers (for now), but it's starting to feel very similar to some of the work we were doing during the post Covid boom. "We'll pay whatever just get me amazing people" "Not finding anyone good at all, what would another $10K-$20K get us?" "Happy to give a bonus if it'll get it over the line" All snippets of recent conversations with hiring managers... Something to just be aware of though is the trickle down effect. We took a Mid-Senior role on at $160K+Super+ESOP yesterday, and we also took on another Mid-Senior role up to that kind of level about 2 weeks ago. Maybe it's just 2 outliers with big budgets signed off, or maybe Senior is becoming too expensive, and that money is being chucked at the next best thing. Also - as a side note, if you can't run a near perfect process right now for those types of roles just give up, you are wasting your time.

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How do Software Engineers get promoted? Technical ability + soft skills +strategic moves Here's how to stand out 🤝 Master your craft 🔊 Dive deep into your technical skills. Always be learning, whether it's new programming languages, frameworks, or tools. Your commitment to excellence sets you apart. Solve the right problems 🔊 Look for opportunities to solve problems that align with your team's goals and your company's mission. It's not just about fixing bugs; it's about identifying and solving high-impact problems. Communicate with impact 🔊 Whether it's through code comments, documentation, or presentations, your ability to clearly communicate complex ideas is crucial. Remember, your code isn't just for machines; it's for people too. Take initiative 🔊 Don't wait for opportunities to come to you. Propose new projects, improvements, or innovations that can drive value for your team and company. Show that you're thinking ahead. Seek feedback 🔊 Regular feedback is your growth catalyst. Embrace constructive criticism and use it to refine your skills and approach. Remember, feedback is a gift that helps you grow. Network internally 🔊 Build relationships outside your immediate team. Understand the broader business context and how your work fits into it. These connections can provide valuable insights and opportunities. Demonstrate leadership 🔊 Leadership isn't just for managers. Mentor juniors, lead by example, and contribute to a positive, inclusive team culture. Show that you're someone others can look up to. Align your goals with your manager's 🔊 Understand your manager's priorities and how you can contribute. Regular check-ins to align your goals can pave a clear path to your promotion. We are djr 🔵 ⚪

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Observation: 9/10 SWE's quit at “reading the docs”. Cut through the BS with this easy trick: Take action and build. Writing code is 100x easier than the docs make it sound. “Reading the docs” gave me crazy imposter syndrome: -Git -WPF -Kafka -OAuth -Angular -GraphQL -RabbitMQ -Kubernetes In ALL cases, I conquered my fears by building. Except for WPF. I gave up on that. And Kafka, that's for another day. Forcing yourself to build/code/deploy melts analysis paralysis. Then you'll say "oh that was pretty easy". Trust me, we aren't building rockets. Practice AND Study build true mastery.

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Rails 7.2 now makes sure jobs get enqueued after the current database transaction is committed. Previously, your jobs would run before the records were saved to the database causing errors, so Rails takes care of it for you. If you've ever had to remind yourself (or your team) to use `after_create_commit` callbacks instead of `after_create`, this solves that problem. ActiveRecord uses transactions behind the scenes, so it's an easy mistake to make. And with jobs being retried, it's confusing why the job fails then succeeds a second later. This is another great example of conceptual compression in Rails! https://lnkd.in/gyNtiPnr #ruby #rubyonrails #rails

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Want to know how I helped a software engineer overcome crippling presentation anxiety? It wasn't just about the presentations... He was battling: → A serious knee injury and recovering from surgery → Sleepless nights that destroyed his focus → Anxiety that was killing his confidence The cost? His credibility was slipping. Opportunities were passing him by. His irritability was pushing people away. But here's where it gets interesting... We tackled it with a simple 3-step approach: ― Light Breathing - This wasn't just about calming down. It increased oxygen delivery to his muscles and tissues. (Hello, faster recovery!) ― Nighttime Mouth Taping - Sounds weird, right? But it encourages nose breathing during sleep. (Game-changer for sleep quality) ― Box Breathing before presentations - Think of it as a secret weapon. 4 seconds in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold. (Instant calm and focus) After 8 weeks on my daily breathwork program: The results? ✅ Deep sleep up 120% (Tracked on his Whoop strap) ✅ Recovery speed doubled (His doctor was surprised) ✅Confidence tripled (His words, not mine) But the real transformation? He went from: "Please don't make me present" to "When's my next opportunity?" The ripple effect? → His credibility soared → Opportunities started flowing → Work became fun again That's what proper breathing can do. Want to learn these exact techniques? DM me "ICE" and we can chat more about my coaching program. Because here's the truth: Your breath is the most underrated performance tool you have.

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Today's Righteous Ruby Remind is about standardizing a project on the `.ruby-version` file! (I picked this up from some friends on the Shopify Ruby Infrastructure team). When specifying the Ruby version in your Gemfile, there’s a newer `file` option that bundler recognizes to read in the version from a `.ruby-version` or `.tool-versions` file. This, coupled with most tooling honoring the `.ruby-version` file by default, means you can fully manage your Ruby version in one spot. Solid!

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Don’t have a JD to prepare against?  Not sure about the nature of the interview round? Just follow these steps (more details in the video) - ▶️ Understand the Company’s Tech Stack ▶️ Know Your Interviewer ▶️ Always be ready for coding and System Design ▶️ Practice Time-Boxing ▶️ Verbalize Your Thought Process ▶️ Stay calm and be flexible For any clarity or details, feel free to reach out to praveen@scrabbleinc.in Scrabble Jigsaw Game Room FYLM

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I once asked a lead engineer on Angular: Which is better: Angular or React? His response: "Both require good engineering to be effective." So, my developer friends, consider this a reminder that "frameworks" like Diátaxis are fine, but they still require good engineering--such as UX, information architecture, style, maintenance processes, and so on--to create great documentation experiences for your customers. Alas, the framework alone isn't enough.

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Your developer interview process sucks 🪠: Here’s how to fix it? 1/3 👍 Are top-tier developers slipping through your hiring net? How many "perfect on paper" developers crumble during technical assessments? This is going to be part 1 of a 3-part series on refining your hiring process, specifically focusing on how to effectively qualify a candidate's technical ability. In the past few months, I’ve worked with clients to improve their interview process, and these are some of the things that I think about when designing the interview process. 🟥 Not all developers fit in the square hole – Tech test vs. Paired Programming As a software developer and a recruiter, I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I’ve taken technical tests, given them, and done my fair share of pair programming interviews. The more I reflect on it, the clearer it becomes: these approaches test very different things. Depending on what you're looking for in a candidate, one method might be way better suited than the other. 🤖 Technical Tests are a great tool for verifying a developer can fulfil the duties of their role. You find tech tests resonate best with developers who can work independently and churn out work quickly in isolation. These candidates often excel at solving problems in a controlled environment but are not necessarily the candidates you want in a highly communicative or client-facing environment. These people will often be your top developers, and you don’t want to miss out on them! 🤝 Paired Programming, on the other hand, allows you to assess how someone interacts in real-time. It’s about collaboration, listening, and adaptability. When you are pair programming with a candidate, you can quickly gauge their soft skills, how they approach problems, and how they deal with the unexpected. More importantly, you get to see how they learn and improve in the moment. Often, I find candidates who would excel in a technical test can falter in the paired programming stage due to social anxiety, lack of soft skills, or difficulty thinking out loud under pressure, even though they may be highly skilled technically. 🤔 Ultimately, you need to be more diligent when making your interview processes. Think about what the role entails. What test would best suit that individual? Cater the process to them so they don’t fall through the cracks. 🎯Are you looking for someone to be a production machine? Or a team player who you can work closely with? If you want a team player, you’re going to have a pair programming interview where you can collaborate, teach, and see their process. If you're facing tight deadlines and need a developer who will take ownership of their space - implementing a technical test can help you find that person. Tomorrow I’ll follow this up with some horror story technical tasks I’ve come across and how we can improve them to be 1. Relevant, 2. Fair in terms of time commitment, and 3. Truly reflective of the real challenges developers face on the job.

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Why do software engineers make so much money? 💻💼 It’s simple: they create products that can be copied and sold over and over again without extra cost. Some people might think software engineers are overpaid, but here’s the truth—you get paid based on the value you bring to your company. If you build a great product that generates profit, the company shares some of that success with you. 💡 The beauty of software engineering is that you build something once, and it can be sold millions of times with zero additional work. That’s why it’s such a powerful and rewarding field to be in—and it’s only going to get better! 🚀 #florianrakete #raketementoring #programmers #softwaredeveloper

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Top 3 things I’m hearing software engineers want… (aside from money & flexibility) 🎯𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 & 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 🎯𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬  🎯𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 If you’re hiring for software folks… A good place to start is highlighting these in job specs. Then as part of your interview process. And once they’re in the door. Put it into practice and your retention will improve. Otherwise I might be speaking to them again 😊 Anything I've missed? #softwareengineer #retention #talentacquisition 

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🎯 Hiring managers…have you ever felt overwhelmed opening a new software engineering role? 🤓 Hiring software engineers for your team shouldn't be a headache. My video below reveals the top 3️⃣ struggles I see – and the small, actionable 🎯 adjustments that'll save your team time in the hiring process. 🤝Ready to partner for a smoother search? Watch ⬇️!

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The start of this post is going to be slightly embarrassing but here goes... It's important to the story to tell you I hate bugs. On Friday, I opened the blinds in my office to find a huge moth. Roughly the size of a U.S. silver dollar. (To me, it was a kaiju, ok?!) I went to grab my Swiffer stick to poke it just so it would land in a better place for me to catch and release. The moth was poked, flew a little too close to my liking and I sprinted in the opposite direction, twisting my right foot and pulling a muscle in the process. I iced and elevated my foot for the rest of the day and one thought crossed my mind: "Things are going great." While we're on the topic of health; physical, mental, or otherwise, 2 weeks ago, I had a panel style interview that I was absolutely ready for... until I wasn't. I started catastrophizing, thinking I'm not going to get this job, I'll never get any job, and I'm going to be interviewing and sending out resumes forever. And, to be honest, I started to cry. I started to catastrophize and fill with even more anxiety. I thought "Should I cancel or reschedule? Should I just collect myself and go through with the interview? What would they think of me if I cancelled last minute?" I'm also highly aware that if I start to sense that things aren't going well during an interview, I have a tendency to dissociate so that was a concern. I usually have performance anxiety before, during, and after interviews but this was another level. I got it together, splashed some water on my face, and still not feeling like 'I got this,' decided to keep my interview. I joined the call, my interviewers arrived and my only thoughts were "Don't dissociate, Don't dissociate." I had no idea how I did it but as soon as the small talk was over, I started knocking the questions out of the park. I had an answer for everything. At the end of the interview, one of the interviewers said "I don't know if you know this about yourself, but you're an excellent interviewer." (Part of me wanted to stare right at the camera, long pause, and stoically say ... 'I know'. Then say "That's right. I Solo'd you." But alas, I did no such thing.) Apparently, I have the ability to summon what I'd like to call 'interview health', whenever I need it. I'm fully admitting that I stole this concept from a Patton Oswalt comedy bit on the concept of 'stage health.' You can be sick as a dog before getting on that stage but through sheer force of will and enough adrenaline pumping through your veins, you can get through whatever it is you have to do. In his case, a 10 minute set. In my case, an hour long panel interview. I kinda like knowing I have this in my back pocket. #StageHealth #LetMeBeYourPersonalityHire #AdrenalineRush

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