I Believe I Have What it Takes, But I Don't Know How to Show That to Employers

I’ve always felt like writing resumes, professional profiles, etc. has been my weakest skill when it comes to finding a job, and it may be why I’m still working at a grocery store. It could also be that I don’t apply to enough jobs. I feel like writing has always been my weakest skill and it’s frustrating. I can code well and I believe I can sell myself well in person, but it feels like writing is just this gateway that won’t allow employers to see beyond that, if that makes any sense. Even now, I feel like I’m not coming across correctly.

What I’m asking is writing really that important when finding a job (especially in web development)? If I just keep shotgunning applications out there, will I eventually find something? Would that be a better investment than improving my writing? Because in a lot of ways, I want to get out of my current situation ASAP. I’ve been in it long enough.

Why don’t you use Github to help other projects and improve your portfolio?

I’m asking if professional writing is important. Will employers care if my writing is at the bare minimum?

Professional writing at presenting yourself or at coding?

At presenting myself

If you are applying at the sales division It might be… but if you want to get a dev job you need to prove your worth as a coder and not how you present yourself.

That’s good, because I’m not a fan of writing haha

Yeah, proving wins against presenting!

I mean, I don’t think I have an issue with that. It’s mostly just writing/talking about myself that is the issue

I don’t know for sure how poor writing skills would affect your chances of being hired, but if you’ve been casting your line for a while and haven’t had a bite, professional help may be what you need. Look into hiring someone to write your resume for you. I kan rite stuff reel gud, but when it comes to resumes and cover letters, I’m not better than a toddler so had one written out for me last month. Still no job for me yet, but I’ve had way more responses and it hasn’t yet been a month, so I’m hopeful. There’s a certain grammar to resumes and cover letters themselves that you don’t get just from having solid written communication skills. For instance, you don’t use any articles on a resume at all. No the, a, or an, even if it makes the whole sentence almost unreadable. Who’da thunk it?

Getting to know people > resumes, portfolios. I’ve seen it a million times, and it’s been true for me plenty of times.

Nothing matters more than being on someone’s radar and having connections.

Employers will gladly fill positions with people they know or promote within because it saves so much time and resources compared to vetting a bunch of resumes and going through interviews.

It’s why the hiring agency business is so big. Companies don’t have time to vet people.

Right now, your biggest point of leverage is meeting people.

Start calling agencies and schedule interviews without job postings. Call and ask, “I’m a student doing some research on agencies (or whatever type of company it is). I was wondering if I could schedule an interview to talk to someone in the technical department, perhaps a development manager or CTO for 15 minutes?”

Once you get it scheduled, get some questions together asking about what kinds of clients they get, what kind of tech stack they work with, etc. Then, ask about their hiring process, their company culture, and mention you have been looking around for possible positions that fill your skill set. Mention your interests. Ask if they are planning on hiring or are in need of any entry level positions. Give them a card / resume, ask for theirs. Thank them for their time. Follow up in 3 days with an email thanking them again and let them know you enjoyed learning more and enjoyed the conversation.

These tactics work. Seriously. This has worked for me before.

Also, go to meetups. Ask around on Twitter.

Massive action, not grammar, will land you that first job.

You got this! I believe in you!