How to Stand Out at Your Current Software Development Job (5 Tips to Get You Noticed) | Arc.dev
If you want to stand out now in a good way, how do you go about doing that?
Back in my day, if you wanted to get noticed in your current software development job, you just deployed some dodgy code and shut down the server for a day.
There were good times.
But today, there's terrible people all over places like GitHub and GitLab have developed tools to stop us having all that fun.
So, if you want to stand out now, in a good way, how do you go about doing that?
Let's get into it.
So let's talk about some really simple ways of standing out and getting noticed in your current development position.
We'll start from the easy options first and we'll work our way up because we want to be as lazy as possible right?
Number one, clear the error log.
This sounds pretty trivial.
And really it is.
And hopefully your error log isn't really that long.
But in most cases, it's one of those things that just starts to build and build and build.
It's usually filled with lots of warnings and things that no one can really be bothered to fix.
But what if you took the time to go and fix those problems?
Let's face it.
Most of your time as a software developer is spent tracking down bugs.
And a error log that seems to have infinite scroll is not helping anyone.
Clear down those warnings and annoying little bugs is no one's idea of heaven.
That's why they exist right?
But let's face it.
If you were to clear that all down, the team and your manager will thank you for it.
You'll be a hero.
I'd be a great superhero.
Number two, refactor.
Code base is growing and grow and grow and grow, and eventually they grow out of control.
Refactoring, like testing, is one of those jobs that we all know needs to be allocated its fair share of time, but the unrelenting pressure for that next untested feature is not going away anytime soon.
Take the time, your time.
Go the extra mile.
Put in a few pull requests over the coming weeks and months.
Put the code base back into a manageable state.
If you make sure that you get everyone's agreement on how it should be refactored before you start, and then you go about doing this, you're well on your way to getting hero badge number two.
I still think it'd be a great super hero.
Stop it.
Get some help.
Number three, reduce costs.
There's so many ways to reduce costs and it's hard to know where to start.
Can you reduce load on the server?
Can you reduce the volume of data being stored, even if it's just in the error logs that we talked about earlier?
Can you improve the caching and therefore server load?
What about finding cheaper tools and packages?
Reducing image sizes.
Most people forget that one.
The list goes on and on and on and on.
You don't even have to do the implementation.
Not yet anyway.
But you know your code base and your app.
So go through it.
Do some calculations, work out where the pain points are and then turn those pain points into dollars.
If you can calculate problems in terms of dollars.
Now you've got people's attention.
Remember management doesn't like tech.
They like money.
When you come forward with these ideas, make sure you're always talking in terms of financial benefit.
Number four, increase conversion.
It feels like we've comes too far already, no?
We've talked about decreasing the amount of money going out.
So now let's talk about increasing the amount of money coming in.
More conversions means more cash.
Now this could be huge.
If you have the right ideas, you could potentially change the course of the whole business.
Again, it's a bold developer that just goes ahead and drastically changes the UI/UX on a whip.
But again, you can do this risk-free.
Make a case for it.
Showcase how you would implement it.
Maybe an MVP or even a screenshot is really valuable here.
And then, if you get agreement, you can develop it.
Maybe run some A/B tests to see what difference you've made.
And finally, option number five, present an MVP for a complementary product.
Developing an MVP is big leagues.
It requires a huge commitment so it's not for the fainthearted.
And while we're talking about MVPs, most companies are laser focused on their single product or service offering.
Showcasing something that would complement their existing offering shows passion for your subject shows maturity and even entrepreneurship.
You're offering your bosses a new way to make them more money.
It's a no brainer, even if they don't like the idea, you've shown yourself to be forward thinking.
So let's sum up what we've learned.
Did we learn anything?
To stand out, you've got to do more.
And to show your seniority, you've got to show that you don't just care about the product, but you also care about the company and the customer.
I've tried to show a variety of ways for you to stand out from demonstrating your attention to detail in the code and your passion for it, to showing that you think bigger, you think about the business as a whole, and that you're ready for more.
I hope this has brought you some value in giving you some ideas for how to stand out in your current role.
As ever, if you liked the video, then please like, subscribe, click the bell, put a nice comment, send me love letters, anything.
I don't mind.
Okay.
I'm going now.
See you next time.
