

Ask HN: How do I show a company that I'm worth hiring? - ThoroughlyR

I want to start applying to companies looking to hiring junior developers, but I don't seem to meet the requirements for any of them.<p>I don't have a college degree. I don't have an amazing GitHub account. I'm not the best programmer in the world. I'm certainly not a "rock star" or a "ninja".<p>What I DO offer is passion and the ability to learn quickly. What else do I need to convince a company to hiring me?
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kevinconroy
Here's one out of my personal playbook on both sides of the hiring process:
Find a company that has an API and build something with it. Make a mashup,
augment a feature that they have, or build a missing feature. This shows them
that you are passionate about their company, have the ability to execute, and
can deliver value.

Find a company that you want to work for that doesn't have an API? Build one
for them. Scrap their website, grab some basic data, and show them that you
can build a rudimentary API that gives customers access to build on top of
what they want. Or build out a cool feature that they're lacking.

More than programmers, companies are looking for people who can help them
improve their business. If you can bring passion, execution, and vision
together you'll always find a job you want.

Also, we're hiring: [http://www.globalgiving.org/aboutus/jobs/software-
engineer-f...](http://www.globalgiving.org/aboutus/jobs/software-engineer-for-
good.html)

~~~
ThoroughlyR
I tried to have a look at your API, but it won't load. :) Just sayin.

EDIT: Nevermind, it loaded.

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ryanmolden
Where do you live? One often overlooked avenue is to get contacts in the local
tech community via meetups/OSS. Having an existing employee vouch for you is a
big leg-up, but of course that person is putting their reputation on the line,
so they have to really know your talent / passion / dedication first. Probably
not what you want to hear as it doesn't help find a job today, but having
people that can vouch for your skills, long term, is invaluable and takes time
to build up, so starting ASAP is a good idea. One of the open secrets in the
tech world is that most job qualifications are a bit overboard and can be
waived entirely for a good candidate. Just realize not ticking any of the
skill boxes AND not having an inside recommendation is a hard thing to
overcome, so you need to attack one angle or the other.

~~~
ThoroughlyR
I'm from Jacksonville, FL. Unfortunately, there isn't a huge software
community here -- at least not that I can find.

~~~
ryanmolden
[http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-Miami-FL-startup-scene-
like...](http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-Miami-FL-startup-scene-like-these-
days)

Now, obviously Miami is a long ways away, but at the very least looking into
some of the links in the Quora response may lead to interesting things. Or

<http://jacksonville.startupweekend.org/>

Alternatively you could find an OSS project that fits in your wheelhouse and
could be something you could get into. Most projects have lots of 'grunt' work
that needs to be done, it isn't glamorous or really challenging, normally, but
it can get you familiarity with the codebase (necessary for more interesting
changes) and it can get you into 'the scene' so you can get to know other
project members, get CR's from them (very helpful for learning, though can be
scary for beginners...or even experts :)), pointers to jobs opportunities,
etc..

