[csorrell]

Landing the first junior development position can be hard, especially for remote positions. Just know that it is possible, and be persistent. Think of your resume as a marketing device and not just something that lists relevant work experience. When I was starting out I made it the point of my resume to highlight my skills as a fast and eager learner above everything else.

When you get to the interview stage, continue to sell yourself as someone who can figure out how to do the things you don't yet know how to do, because that is really the most important thing that employers are looking for when you don't have previous work experience in the field. People will hire you when they believe that you are able to meet their expectations, you just have to convince them that you can.

I agree that building a solid Github profile can take a lot of time, but in my experience having something is far better than having nothing. After I added a handful of simple programming exercises I had done (mostly from weekly school assignments) to my profile, I started getting a heck of a lot more call backs from potential employers. As a junior developer, just having a profile puts you ahead of most of the competition. How well built out it is doesn't matter as much at this stage.

As for sample programming tasks, it's pretty common. Not every company does this, but it's something you should expect. Less than half but more than a quarter of the companies I was applying for at a junior level were asking for this. They shouldn't ask you to complete a task before the initial interview though. If they do, I would pass.

Good luck.