| Throwaway due to coworkers being on here. I've been realizing for awhile, that my current job situation is coming to an end, and I'm trying to think of ways to pursue my next opportunity. I've heard a lot about things like GitHub (but have no experience with it), building examples/demos of tech you know (but can't think of what to build). The other downside, is that my resume looks unspectacular on paper (php/mysql developer, no degree, two years programming/one year as a job). But every job I've been at, whether it was a web job or not, I've always exceeded expectations and gone from an entry level type job, to leading a team of people in a fairly short time. I'm a fast learner and strive hard for the company I'm at, so I guess I'm just trying to think of better ways to show people this. ` Skill set (in case you have ideas for demos I can build): PHP (Object oriented, design patterns, PDO library) --Kohana (Built a few apps in it, but am by no means dependent on it. Frequently read through the source) MySQL Javascript (the actual language, not just frameworks) --jQuery --Dojo (as well as Dijit widgets and such) Objective-C (limited, just started learning and building basic apps like calculators and physics games) Python (even more limited, just enjoy the language and learning it. No web experience with Python) ` As an example, here's some stuff I did for weekend projects to help my wife: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMLflmqMBGc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ9fTSLef4M |
If you want to show someone you learn quickly, start a blog - and chronicle your progress. "How I built [your app here] in a weekend - lessons learned, things I didn't like". Write a lot, especially about things you've learned while building all of your cool side projects.
Have a lot of side projects (or just one big one, if you can't think of many). Most of the jobs I've gotten that don't involve an arduous interviewing process have been because I met someone and said "this is [my cool project] - can you help me solve [problem x]?". I know it sounds weird, but asking someone who knows more than you do to help you out pays off - you end up with mentors, or coworkers, or even friends sometimes.
I guess at the core of it, my advice is: work on some side projects, and try to show them to people who you might want to work with (especially when you're applying for work - I can show you a private example, just send me an email).