Ask HN: Is This Enough to Get a Job?

Your demos might be good... but I can't see without logging in. One suggestion... if you are trying to showcase your work, don't make people set up an account to try it out. Maybe have a demo site specifically for that purpose that doesn't require login or has a demo account for people to use so they don't have to sign up themselves.

EDIT: BTW, this is exactly how I got my first job... I wrote a demo app and showed it to a potential employer. It was enough to get my foot in the door at a place where I had the privilege of working long hours for low salary until I had enough experience to apply for more desirable positions. Confidence and shoe leather can be as good as an formal education... good luck :)

This guy speaks the truth. A demo which requires a login causes me to :(

Right, the trick is to convince someone with hiring authority (try to avoid HR like the plague) that you can "add value"/do the job, and demos like this can go a long ways towards that.

For this approach I like the distilled wisdom advocated by Nick "Ask The Headhunter" Corcodilos (http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/), he really understands all this including the tech field, e.g. check out his great "Death By Lethal Reputation" essay on how a company destroyed itself through its hiring and personal practices: http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/halethalrep.htm

Quite a few years ago one of my biggest clients stopped me dead in my headhunter's tracks. A human resources manager at the company wanted me to tell her why the company's name was "Mud" among engineers in Silicon Valley. Actually, she asked me for a formal, written report.

"Too many job candidates -- engineers and managers alike -- are rejecting our offers outright, and even more of them refuse to come back for a second interview," she explained. "Management really needs to hear the truth, and I know you know what's going on."

Pre-Micheal O Church era, BTW ^_^.

I did not consider how having to log in to view the functionality would prevent people from actually clicking around the website and will work on changing it so people can see everything on the site, they just can't follow/like/post etc unless they are registered. Thanks you for the criticism, It is truly appreciated. Hopefully by demoing these 2 apps I will be able to squeeze my foot in the door!

Stuff like logins are extra work the user has to do and it increases your bounce rate -- people seeing it, and then just leaving because of it.

You might want to try comparing how many people show up vs how many people register. Then you'd know.

Yes. The market is full of uninterested, uncaring, 9 to 5ers. The bar is really really low. Just show up with some excitement and a "can ship" attitude and you will be snapped up in no time.

To answer your question, which nobody else seems to have done:

Yep, they're plenty to land you a job.

> "Do these apps that I built 100% myself demonstrate enough skill and understanding in web development to land a entry/mid level job?"

Like others have mentioned, this in particular is hard to evaluate without a. source code, b. demo login. Otherwise, all I can glean from this is that you know how to make landing pages :P

But I wanted to point out some design issues I found in your sites. This may or may not actually affect your candidacy, but I thought you should know about them in general as it might signal a lack of attention to detail:

a. Ex: https://i.gyazo.com/205c90719b7e16c19d29fba8b27006c9.png - the error messages are unstyled.

b. Ex: https://i.gyazo.com/fa23a197fa0adb4f8fc0a9aa88ae3797.png - the error message here is too small for me to read.

c. Ex: https://i.gyazo.com/fa3dcbe0c61735b8f958d4d556f57526.png - This is nearly impossible for me to read.

Basically this would signal to me that you're likely not too design-inclined and I would probably focus more on your backend abilities (if given source code). These would be red flags if you were applying for a position that involved design or UX though.

Thank you very much for constructive criticism! I appreciate it all! I should have noted in the question these apps are more to show my developing skills as I am not looking to be a designer. I just want to focus on development for the time being. I will style off the pages you mentioned and try to make them easier to read. Thanks again for the input!

No problem. I recently wrote a book (https://kokev.in/hired-fast) that helps junior devs get jobs, I'd be happy to send you a copy if you email me (you can find my email in my profile)

I wish there was an option to just buy the ebook for $10 or something. I would very likely have bought it instantly if it was an option. As a college student $39 is a bit steep, especially when I can't find any external reviews.

I also agree the price is a bit high, but it says you can get a refund within 30 days.

Thanks for the feedback! I settled on that price for a lot of reasons, but mostly because: 1. it helps you get better jobs, faster. That to me is worth thousands, much less $39. 2. I share techniques that lose a bit of their value if every applicant knew about them, so pricing high protects my readers in a way.

It's hard to find a balance, I'm not 100% positive if this is the right pricing for it. But, like the sibling poster mentioned, I offer a full refund and you can always sign up for a free sample—it also adds you to the mailing list wherein I share some useful info for free.

I think it's definitely enough to get you hired. It's also exactly how I landed my first job. During the interview, the senior developer that did the hiring made a point of mentioning that having a demo project showed what I could do and made me stand out from the other applicants he was looking at. Good luck!

The logging in is a bad practice for demos, like the other person said.

I can't see sh!t. I really, really wanted to read what to do list app is all about but I just can't. Light Blue and White just don't work well together.

As far as landing a job. I see you already got a lead. I feel like dumbass now. These kind of apps I made just for fun with web.py and felt it's way too simple to pitch similar demos for a job. Even entry level ones.....I think I am suffering from imposter syndrome.

Good luck to you and thanks for reminding me of some things....

Noted! I completely understand how the color contrast on the 2-Do app can be very hard to read, especially closer to the top where the background gradient is lighter. I will try to make a better text color so it is easier on the eyes. Thank you for the input! I really appreciate it!

Is the source for these projects on GitHub?

not the OP, but yes, he has put them on Github:

Open Recipea - https://github.com/ipbyrne/rails-OpenRecipea-webapp

2 Do App - https://github.com/ipbyrne/rails-2-Do-webapp

Alright guys for any one who made comments about the landing pages I have removed them for demo purposes so you can now see more of the app with out having to be logged in or sign up. You just need to be logged in if you want to post,like,etc. I hope this enhances the demo experiences!

I am self taught web developer! <---- Awesome.

http://www.businessinsider.com/jack-dorsey-on-programmers-20...

Confidence and (this part is tricky) the _ability_ to show your willingness to learn is often more than enough to get yourself any job :)

Best of luck! I think you'll do just fine! :)

Checked out your demos and your blog, sent an email.

In case you don't have any/significant prior work experience, apart from demos, which is must anyways, doing some internships with start ups may be more helpful.

Start ups are always in need of extra hands, so any help with no/little/moderate expectations is generally always welcomed.

Gain some experience developing real world applications, working in teams, understanding developer workflows in teams, etc.