8 job search tips to get a developer job you love in 2024

Why 2024 is a great time to join the developer job hunt#

There are an abundance of unfilled job listings from junior developers through senior developers. With the world having gone remote during the pandemic, companies have had to adapt by accelerating their digitalization and automation strategies. Stack Overflow has quantified that lockdowns accelerated cloud migration by three to four years. The increased demand for software, cloud solutions, and web presence has led to an increase in technical job openings ranging from DevOps engineers and software developers, to skilled programmers to successfully lead newly-formed low-code development teams.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates an above-average growth rate for the following roles between 2020 and 2030:

• Software developers, QA analysts, and testers: 22%
• Web developers and web designers: 13%

And yet, according to a pulse survey by Stack Overflow, while over 70,000 technical roles were open, only 20% of respondents were actively looking for jobs, while 54% were open to opportunities but not actively looking. While there’s a large quantity of opportunities open to developers, a sizable amount of developers aren’t taking actionable steps toward their job search.

Developers who are actively looking stand a chance at finding more satisfying jobs. The most adaptable companies have learned that to retain developers in a competitive market, they must invest in their growth and offer more satisfying work conditions. In what’s known as “The Great Resignation,” the tech industry saw a 4.5% increase in resignations in 2021. Among other factors, increased workloads during the pandemic heightened developer burnout. The desire for better working conditions, as well as an influx of competitive job listings, have already prompted many developers to move on to better roles.

Here are a few things you can gain by seeking new developer job opportunities in 2024:

• Better pay
• Leadership and growth opportunities
• Flexible hours
• Collaborative team culture
• Good code quality

While the job hunt can be a long process at times, there’s a lot to gain by looking for new job opportunities this year. It may seem like a daunting process, but if you break your job search plan into digestible chunks, you can celebrate each step as you bridge the gap between you and your dream job.

8 job search tips to get a developer job you love in 2024#

1. Study and prepare for every interview round#

The job interview process consists of several rounds, and each round is meant to evaluate a different part of your skillset. The coding interview assesses your programming skills and problem-solving abilities, while the behavioral interview assesses your soft skills and cultural fit. If you’re making the leap to senior level positions, you’ll want to prepare for the system design interview, an integral round that assesses your design skills and your ability to apply system design principles to real-world problems.

Before getting overwhelmed, just know that you don’t have to know everything before the interview. What’s important is that you study enough of the fundamentals and practice applying them to a diverse set of problems. In the likely event that you’re asked a completely unfamiliar question, your foundational understanding should be enough to help you apply theory and tackle the new problem.

2. Research the company for your application and interviews#

Every company uses a different tech stack. Look into the programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and APIs that your potential employer uses, and highlight your experience accordingly in your resume and cover letter. You may not have obvious work experience with certain technologies, so be sure your application clearly points to any internships, open-source projects, or volunteer projects where you applied a given technology. If you don’t know everything about an employer’s technologies, be honest. Any skill gaps that are a deal-breaker will be addressed in your phone screen with a recruiter.

Companies might also have interview processes that are unique to them. If you’re interviewing for a big tech company, there’s luckily an abundance of forum threads and company-specific coding interview guides that can prime you on what to expect. In many cases, you can apply what you learned about a company-specific interview to interviews at other company or startup.

3. Show your soft side (with soft skills)#

Your soft skills are just as important to as your technical skills. Soft skills will help you build rapport with colleagues and stakeholders. Your ability to build positive and supportive relationships with the people in your workplace will help make your team happier and more productive.

For the most part, your soft skills will be assessed from your responses and demeanor during interviews, especially the behavioral interview. You’ll also want to highlight some soft skills on your resume.

Here are a few soft skills that recruiters and hiring managers look for in programmers:

• Clear communication skills
• Adaptability
• Collaborative and team-oriented attitude
• Patience and approachability

4. Collaborate and network with the dev community#

Just as software development is a team sport, so is getting noticed for a job. In fact, after landing their first job, most people land their next job opportunities through their network. Hiring managers have more confidence in candidates who are backed by a strong network. It can take time to build your network, but it’s never too late to start. Even if the results aren’t immediate, you never know when the people in your network will help you get noticed or alert you to future job opportunities.

Networking is like an alchemy through which you turn perfect strangers into your advocates and mentors. You can build your network by attending networking events, participating in meetups, open-source projects, hackathons, or leveraging social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn. Ask the people in your network (neighbors, friends, and family included) if they know a relevant contact in a company or role that interests you. Often, people are more than happy to meet and share their tips or experiences. While posing questions on forums and boards can yield insightful responses, you can make a lasting impression by meeting someone in-person for a coffee instead (safely, if you can).

5. Gain new skills and demonstrate a growth mindset#

Even if you specialize in one language or framework, you want to show your adaptability as a professional in the constantly evolving world of tech. You don’t need to be proficient in all the latest technologies, but dabbling enough to talk about tech trends such as virtualization can position you as a great employee to train into new skills, should your company ever need it. That being said, the more you know, the more dangerous of a candidate you become. Learning new programming languages, libraries, and APIs is always a good idea if you have the time.

Here are a few actionable ways you can catch up on the latest technologies and highlight your willingness to learn:

• Taking online courses and getting certifications
• Participating in bootcamps
• Contributing to open-source projects
• Participating in hackathons
• Sharing your learnings through social media or blogging platforms