Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-stand-out-entry-level-software-engineer-xavier-e-l%C3%B3pez/
The author hopes that applying some of these will make you stand out and accelerate your early career as a developer.
- Always be learning
- Learning is considered a lifelong journey in this field
- Read books and articles, take courses, and participate in workshops and hackathons
- Sometimes, companies pay for you to do this, ask your manager about this
- Don't assume existing code is untouchable
- Well-intentioned code can have anti-patterns in it, be hard to read, get stale over time, and it can create bugs. So go ahead and suggest a change to the code, it may need it.
- If in doubt, underpromise and overdeliver
- Your goal should be to match and exceed expectations consistently
- Best to consistently deliver on your goals and surprise people with your speed than to promise the moon but always be late.
- Embrace the grunt work
- See a problem? Volunteer to help fix it. See an area of improvement? Say yes to working on it.
- As a result of it, the product improves, the productivity and morale of those around you go up, you learn a new skill, and you gain the respect of others.
- You can then use this goodwill and track record to work on more exciting things over time.
- Code is social
- Review your teammates' code and learn from it.
- Don't just read it, but also comment on it and ask questions. Learn from how people write code.
- Feedback = Improvement
- Explicitly ask for feedback from your manager and teammates.
- Use this feedback to transform yourself continuously.
- Remember that one of the best ways to learn is by doing the wrong thing, realizing why it's wrong, and then not doing it anymore. Rinse and repeat.
- Take ownership of something
- Work with your manager to find something that can be yours.
- Working on a project of your own gives you a way to be unique, learn about all the stages of development, and cultivate accountability.
- Look for the low-hanging fruits
- There are many small things in the codebase that you can do with your current skillset.
- Taking these on and showing off your skills right away is an excellent way to get noticed.
- Be everywhere
- Show up every day to discuss problems, answer your teammates' questions, celebrate wins, and provide moral support when things go wrong.
- You want others to think that you've been at the company for much longer.
- Speak up
- It's a good idea to be humble in general, but you also want to communicate your thoughts, even if you lack experience.
- People like to see new people with different perspectives add to the conversation.
- Rely on your manager
- Ask your manager to help you plan out your goals and to keep you accountable. They're there for you, use their time and support wisely.
- Have fun
- You want to enjoy doing this because you'll likely be doing it for many years. Find projects that connect with you, work on problems that excite you.
- Find informal mentors
- Have lunch, coffee with more experienced engineers, develop a rapport with them, and ask them questions you have.