Developers: How to stay on top of your game even without a job.
Tags: learning, recruiting, developer, growing
Published: 2020-01-24 18:47:53

---
title: Developers: How to stay on top of your game even without a job.
published: true
description: 
tags: learning, recruiting, developer, growing
---

It difficult. You know that book, titled _"To Be a developer is not a Day Job"_. 
You probably know it by a different name, so let just agree to disagree.

You may be at the time of your career where you're either; transitioning to tech, a non-cs student learning to code, a cs graduate, or just a regular developer trying to keep up with your skills, (aren't we all). Don't even get me started on JavaScript.

So, you spent the weekend waiting for the recruiter's respond, and when it finally came, it say's "We decided to go with another candidate", you've tried every tutorial online but still can't stop using google, or may be you've just built something so cool and you are ready to title yourself the world best developer but then you tap on twitter, here is a 12 years old bragging about how he has just launched his third start up. Like "Did I miss something?"

![Did I miss something](https://i.imgur.com/I6gKIc1.gif)<figcaption>Picture Credit: [imgur](https://imgur.com/gallery/I6gKIc1/comment/180506276)</figcaption>


>Before I continue, I will like you to know that every successful developer you see out here has been through this same sh*t <figcaption>Please don't argue it the same. You can ask them</figcaption>

Which now bring me to why I am writing this. I'm not going to take you through some Wikipedia of who I am, but the past few months, let's just say I found a way out of it, and it not a Job.

There may come a time in live, where it feels like everything is just coming down on you, that was where I was a few month ago.

![Thanos throwing a moon](https://i.makeagif.com/media/9-23-2019/JChiBC.gif)

But this is not about me so enough with the introduction. _Let's get to work!_

### **You need to love this Job.**
It not a suggestion or a recommendation, it the base of it all. It not just coding, to grow in any aspect of life you need to find love and passion in it. 

If you can't find passion in coding, I suggest you start searching for it, because to be honest, you are going no where without the love for it. Take it from me, this profession is that jealous.

Being passionate about what you do, it will push you to always do more, it will kick you up from your bed in the middle of the night, it will make you talk to yourself on the street and it will always challenge you to the point you start second guessing yourself. But at the end of it all, even the smallest achievement will always give you joy and fulfillment.

### **Be honest, even with yourself.**

You have to decide what you want to do with your skills. Do you want to work as a developer? Do you want to be a freelancer? or Do you want to start your own Startup. _Remember, we are talking about staying on top._

This decision will help you focus on your journey, it will create a pathway for you to navigate. This is not as simple as it sounds, making this decision may probably take it own time and it okay if through your journey this decision changes, it is natural.

### **Be calm, be positive and play it cool.**

Your inbox is probably fill with rejections, _they choose to go with another candidate. **Yes! but that doesn't mean something is wrong with you!**_ they were not satisfied with your technical test result. **Good! now you know what you need to work on!**

This here is the big one: _After evaluating your resume your profile and the job description are not a good fit at the moment **(I've lost count of how many mails I have with this in the body)😂😉**_. 
> You don't know what is going, Eventuarry 😁 (ask Nigerian Twitter)


Every time I apply for a job, I always create imaginery moment of me in the office smiling with my colleagues and building stuff, but when I get a response, I just start all over again.


### **Join a community**
Go on twitter, dev.to or most effectively attend meet ups. You get to learn how others are navigating through this journey, you get to network and even get a job offer.

### **Be ready to speak up.**
Be ready to tell anyone and everyone about your skills and your current background. If you are looking for a job, say it. If you are in need of gigs, let them know. If you need resources to help you learn, ask for it. You will be surprised who is willing to help. And do not be afraid to reach out to your Mentors.

### **Get a Mentor**
On a final one, get a mentor. Not necessarily but look up to someone, seek guidance.

### **Conclusion**
Do you have tips you can share? will love to talk about it in the comments. Share this article, with others.