SALARY NEGOTIATION AND JOB HUNTING FOR DEVELOPERS

Have you noticed these days that Nigerian youths are deviating to fields in tech as a means to find greener pastures overseas? The world now revolves around tech and that’s why I believe it’s important to share some tips on salary negotiation for developers.

With the new opening by the UK for immigrants, it seems that there are more open doors in the tech field. And clearly, these organizations are ready to pay something hooge.

Is this to say that they don’t pay enough in Nigeria?

I guess the issue can be owed to the fact that many lack good direction in finding that dream job. Several tech companies in need of developers are poor at scouting for skillful developers. You would be shocked to see some companies give a certified back-end developer a ridiculous task, by doing something like this:

We can see the magic you did with XYZ’s server. Can you take this chalk and demonstrate how you would fix a server that has been down for 6 months, on the blackboard to my left?

Absurd right?

Anyways, this article is dedicated to developers, especially if you are just starting out on this journey. I will be showing you simple tips to avoid making mistakes in your salary negotiation and job hunting as a developer. Shall we begin?

How to Get the Best Job Offer as a Developer

1. Know your industry

The world today is a social media age where people source growth and knowledge from a community society to push them to be better. So, if you snooze, you lose. 

Find out enough information about your field in that region you are looking at working. For instance, learn about how much a developer earns in Nigeria. Learn about the company in the UK that your eyes are fixed on. 

Resources like Toptal, are a good start to increase your chances of understanding your industry and getting employed. It will connect you to several other developers. There, you can dialogue, share relatable experiences, showcase your work, and get noticed by top companies all over the world to work on their projects. Some other social networks you can choose from are:

• GitHub: With this platform, you can explore your next project, find out what’s trending, and connect with the achievements of developers like Felixonmars and Jess Frazelle. 

• Geeklist: Geeklist is a social network platform for developers to highlight their achievements, share resources, collaborate, and build great ideas. Connect with users like Eric M. Lang and Jay Bobo.

• Snipplr : Snipplr is streamlined around code snippets for developers and programmers. As a developer, it is impossible to know the code for everything. It is why Snipplr was created. It allows users to refer back to codes when needed, just like a library situation. It also makes a user’s code library accessible to others to do whatever they want with it. Isn’t that innovative?

• Youtube: There are great Youtube channels for programmers and developers like Learncode.Academy, The Coding Train and Web Dev Simplified.

• Reddit: Though Reddit is not restricted to developers, it is a more flexible community. It’s a platform where developers can post their works as links, text posts, images, and videos, which are then voted up or down by the members. Here, you can get suggestions, remarks, and criticisms from people to get better at your niche.

2. Define a niche you plan to focus on

Coding all day long is stressful enough – How much more coding stuff that you find uninteresting? Decide what you want to do in your next job. This will channel your focus to the right place to search.

According to several tech folks that I have conversed with, they all say the same thing – that it is impossible to cover many areas in Tech. So, as a Full Stack developer, for instance, you need to streamline your expertise to one or few areas, even down to the tools you use. From IDES to project management apps, you’ll find options to choose from.

The demand for Full Stack developers has increased, and so have the tools – which means you can’t be doing guesswork when it comes to choosing tools. Tools like Backbone, Visual Studio Code, WebStorm and TypeScript will be useful to you and specific for this career path.

3. Be prepared

Even if you specialize in one language, you need to show how you can adapt to the evolving world of tech. Go beyond what a typical developer is known for by:

• Honing soft skills and other skills that can aid your work. Streamline these courses to self-development, communication, empathy, confidence, and team management. Yes, you can be a Jack of all trades and master of one (which is quite obvious).

• Build that CV. Take online classes on platforms like Udemy or Coursera to get certified. A good part about this is that most of these classes are affordable; some even give discounts. Here are two examples of great classes I recommend:

1. Become a Web Developer from Scratch

2. Front-End Web Development

• Take it further by getting materials on Youtube to teach you the best to win the heart of your employer as a developer.

Just stay up to date with relevant information. 

4. Network

It is great to collaborate and network with other fellow developers, but beyond this is networking with people that may most likely give you the job. 

Attend meet ‘n’ greets, boot camps, and the likes, and learn to master the art of intentional networking.

One very practical example is a new development for the next generation of Bitcoiners and Lightning developers in Africa called, ‘Qala’. Qala has effortlessly given its interns a platform to showcase who they are globally all over strong social media networks like Twitter. Once this next batch is done with their training, you can imagine the number of tech companies that would request the genius of these folks, due to the backing this training program has already. 

If you are one who doesn’t mind being bored in the house all day, while making cool cash on a steady, Tamborin is a place to start from. Tamborin is a platform that directs bad-ass remote technical jobs across the globe straight to your inbox. 

As downplayed as Facebook is today, do you know that there are several working groups for developers to choose from? When you check out communities like Python Developers Connect, they provide job opportunities within and outside the country. They equally share tips on how to get better at your craft and land great job offers. They answer questions and share opinions about your field and opportunities. 

5. Showcase your work

How would the world know you if they don’t see you or hear about you? The world is technologically advanced to a point where your work speaks for itself. You can achieve this with the power of a portfolio. 

Three developer portfolios that can inspire yours are Emily Ridge, Pierre Nel, and Timmy O’Mahony. Their versatility in colors, user experience, effects, the use of images, and videos will get you set to work. 

Like I said before, maximize social network platforms and learn from developers who are making it big in the industry like Ire Aderinoku, Prosper Otemuyiwa, Laurence Bradford, and Matt Farley. Let their stories inspire you and spur you to action.

Now that you have gotten your recruiter’s attention, the next thing to thrash out is how to land a mutually agreeable offer between you and the company. I recommend you read our article on how to negotiate your salary and other offers like a pro. These simple, but concise tips will give you a great start on your road to the big dream. I hope to hear positive feedback from your interview. 

Good luck!