@phpdeveloper.org
While the advice that Matt Stauffer gives in this new post to his site is more targeted towards people applying at his company, it's full of great tips for just about any job seeker looking to land a role in web development.
I just finished reading over 200 applications for our latest job posting, a Web Developer job at Tighten Co.. We still hire infrequently enough and are small enough that the two founders (Dan and me) and our operations manager (Dave) read every single application, which is hours upon hours for work before we even get to our initial phone screen.Some applicants, and some tendencies among applicants, have stood out as best practices, but many more things have stood out as consistent turnoffs. So, I figured I'd share some with you here.
He includes helpful hints on topics like:
- actually reading the job description
- writing custom cover letters
- updating your site and resume to the latest information
- provide up to date code samples
- check spelling and grammar
He offers one other piece of advice that I think a lot of job seekers don't bother with: set yourself apart somehow. This may mean extra work on the application but it can yield very positive results. He ends the post with some extra tips he received as feedback on Twitter, asking hiring managers what they really want to hear from applicants.