Before landing your first development role: Don't overlook the soft skills
Tags: leadership, codenewbie
Published: 2020-08-09 03:33:55

Learning a new programming language or a new development stack can be challenging for anyone from the seasoned vet to the code newbie. While you take on learning new syntax and injecting your newly gained skills into your project, there is one skill that should not be overlooked the *soft skills*.

##What are these magical soft skills?

Soft skills help you take your projects, career, and personal growth to the next level. They are the skills necessary to be productive outside of your own bubble, working within a team, and helping guide who comes next.

**What we are going to cover in this article:**

* Working with a team on a project
* Connecting with fellow developers

## Working with a team, do it early
You may wonder, why work with a team? I am just trying to get a junior developer role so I *can* do that. There are a ton of benefits to collaborating on a project even before you land your first job.

#### Working on a single part of a larger project
Learning code is amazing and it can be a lonely existence, but it doesn't have to be!

By working on a just a single module inside of a larger project, you learn what it takes to write code that other developers will be interacting with. This code could be the glue to an entire project and it adds a level of stress only found in a team environment.

During this process you will develop real world GIT (or other version control skills), learn from other developers, and have an additional project to add to your portfolio. Being able to speak about these experiences during an interview will set you apart from other coders. 

*What challenges did you overcome?*
*What part of the project did you contribute?*

Plus you will continue to develop your coding chops! 

A few places you can find some projects to collaborate on? 
* **Right here on dev.to:** [Contributors/Collaborators Wanted](https://dev.to/listings/collabs)
* **Reddit:** [r/WebDevBuddies](https://www.reddit.com/r/WebDevBuddies/)

## Connecting with fellow developers
Developing a solid network is essential for furthering your career in any industry, but especially vital in the competitive coding arena.An important part of developing the network is looking at where you want to go and developing your roadmap. 

*Start by connecting with developers at a similar skill level as you*. These are great connections to build and foster. Not only will you have someone to reach out about a question you may feel too intimidated to ask on twitter, reddit, or discord but also someone to learn with and possibly tackle a side project!

*Connect with a developer(s) who is where you want to be*. This can be the most intimidating part of networking, but don't let it deter you. 

Reach out on their preferred platform and ask a simple question, for example:
 
> Hey, I am just beginning my coding journey and I have really love the work you did with XXXX. If you have some time, I would love to ask you some simple questions about your career.

Not everyone will respond, but asking them about their journey could help build a contact. You never know when you will cross paths!

## What's next? 

Get out there! Put yourself out there, building more and more connections will help you further your career and help accelerate your path to a job in web development.