Fwd: Hack your coding career with these tools

You now know what to learn, where to learn it, how to get a dream job in tech, and more
Now, I want to share my favorite career-related tools, broken down into categories:
  1. Tools for everyone
  2. Tools specifically for full-time job (FTJ) chasers
  3. Tools for freelancers, solopreneurs, and biz owners
Ready, set, it's time make money!!!
*TOOLS FOR EVERYONE*
LinkedIn profile: It's time for some tough love: if you don't have a LinkedIn profile as a professional, you look like a hermit. Need help creating yours? Check out my $7 LinkedIn crash course for techies.
Github: Github has many purposes. But essentially it's for anyone who is writing code. Which includes web developers, programmers, web designers, UX designers, etc. Learn more here.
Online portfolio/personal website: Claim your domain name while you can! Your portfolio/personal site can be as simple or detailed as you want it to be. Need help or inspiration? Make sure to check out my free portfolio course.
Business cards: Some argue that business cards are dead...I say not. You never know when you may meet someone that you'd like to stay in touch with. Business cards make that simple. On Moo.com, it's easy to design your own business cards by uploading unique designs or using one of their premade templates.
Boomerang: Perfect for anyone with a crazy Gmail inbox. Boomerang allows you to respond to emails later by "boomeranging" them—sending them back to your inbox at a later time so you don't forget about them. It also lets you send emails in the future. (I use this tool all the time.)
Grammarly: I am obsessed with this free Google Chrome tool/web app. It's like spell-check steroids, because it actually helps you learn by pointing out why the mistake you're making is wrong. I use their premium package, which gives you even more grammar insights and allows you to have people proofread your work. I recommend Grammarly to everyone because the way you write—in emails, cover letters, project proposals, etc.—says a lot about you in a professional context. You want to make sure your spelling and grammar is polished.
*FULL-TIME JOB CHASERS*
Resumes: Every FTJ hunter needs a resume. A great way to master yours is with The Insider's Guide to Tech Resumes, taught by Jonathan Chizick and Jeremy Schifeling on Udemy. They explain EXACTLY what tech companies look for when reading a resume, and how you can display your skills and experience in a manner that will have hottest tech companies calling you for an interview.
Cover letters: Again, my friend Jeremy Schifeling has a book on cover letters, Get It Done: Write a Cover Letter. Check it out! (It's only $0.99 on Kindle, and free if you're an unlimited user.)
Interview prep:
  • Cracking the Coding Interview: A book about how to successfully prepare for a high-level tech interview. You will learn about the interview process as well as how to answer difficult programming and technical questions.
  • Interview Cake: A website site that helps you prep for interviews by running through practice questions.
Glassdoor: Website with a wide spectrum of resources like salary insights, career reports, company reviews, and more. They also spotlight common interview questions asked at particular companies. It's a great place to glean insights before heading into a face-to-face interview.
*FREELANCERS, SOLOPRENEURS, AND BIZ OWNERS*
Project proposals:
  • Proposify: Offers themes and design templates that can be customized to your needs. You have the choice of importing a pre-written proposal or starting from scratch on the site. Prices range from $25 to $100/month.
  • ProposalPad: PDF proposal service that lets you customize your proposal with a variety of different tools and options. Prices range from free for the Basic version to $18/month for the Pro version.
Project management system: If you're working on multiple projects, with multiple people, you need some kind of project management system. I formerly used Trello, but now I use Asana. There are many out there--just find something that works for you.
Freshbooks: An accounting tool designed for small business owners and freelancers. One of its key features is allowing you to invoice. It also has expense capture, time tracking, payments, and reporting. Try it free for 30 days before committing. Packages start at $9.95/month.
LegalZoom: LegalZoom comes in handy with a variety of business-related legal issues. It can help you choose the best business structure for your business, answer your legal and tax questions, assist you in securing your intellectual property rights, and keep your business goals on track with its available tools and services.
Contactually: Contactually is a customer-relationship-management (CRM) tool that helps you build better relationships with your clients and/or customers. It allows you to organize all of your contacts in one location, and in varying "buckets" depending on your relationship with that contact. You can then set appropriate reminders for communication. This system makes it easy to keep in touch with everyone who needs to stay on your radar. Prices range from $35 to $125 per user per month.
Toggl: Simple time-tracking software that enables teams to easily track billable time. Prices from free to $49/month if billed annually. (Or $59/month if billed monthly.)
I hope you enjoyed this roundup of career-related tools. Also, make sure to check out the tools page on LTCWM if you haven't yet! There you'll find a big list of my other favorite things, from courses down to electronics.
Best,
Laurence

Popular posts from this blog

Fwd: 4 ways to advance your tech career

Image
By now you may have noticed that there's not just one single route into tech. Loads of techies are self-taught, some study computer science at college, and others go to intensive bootcamps. Whether you're learning to code, applying for jobs, or starting your own business, there are loads of different strategies you can try. Today I want to highlight four approaches you can take to advance your career.  1. Look for opportunities within your current workplace In episode six, I spoke with Christie Pitts. Christie began working at Verizon twelve years ago as a customer service representative. Today she's a venture development manager at the same company. Listen to our conversation to hear how she progressed within the company. 2. Code every day for 100 days In episode seven, I spoke with Alexander Kallaway. Alexander is a front-end web developer and the creator of the #100DaysOfCode movement. Listen to our conversation to he...
Read more

Fwd: options for app developers (web, desktop, mobile or cross-platform)

Image
Hey, If you're diving into app development for the first time, it can be difficult to know which platform you should be writing for. This week's sponsored post is from Geoff Perlman of Xojo. In it, he lays out the pros and cons of each platform, and lets you in on how to develop for all of them at once. Click here to read the full sponsored post. Here are the main takeaways: Desktop Apps - These normally provide the richest (and fastest) user experience, but they're not great for apps that people want to use immediately. Web Apps - These solve the problem of users wanting to use the app immediately, but they're at the mercy of your users' Internet speed. Mobile Apps - Fast, responsive, easy to install... but there's not a lot of screen space to work with. That means mobile apps are best suited to "dashboard-type" apps that display the status of something without being super interactive. Cross-Platform Development - Cross-platfor...
Read more

Fwd: 4 ways to fast-track your success

Image
Recently I've been hearing from a lot of LTCWM readers who want to know how to speed up their progress. Some of you have been job hunting and want to know how to get your foot in the door sooner rather than later. Others have just started coding and want to know the most efficient way to reach their goals. Of course, there's no substitute for putting in the work, but there are a few ways to fast-track your progress. Here are some of the approaches that we've been talking about on the podcast recently... 1. Learn to negotiate. If you're applying for jobs, one way to get ahead is by negotiating a higher wage. If you already have a job, you can ask for a raise instead. In episode 14, I spoke with Alexandra Dickinson. Alexandra is the founder of Ask For It – a consulting company that gives people the skills and confidence to negotiate. In our interview, she shares her top tips for negotiating a higher salary. Learn how to negotiate a higher wage. 2. Gro...
Read more