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4 Ways to Become a Successful Developer in 2022

By Vahid Haghzare, Director Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment &
Armae Garcia, Marketing Associate, Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment

One of the top IT Recruitment Agencies in Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai, Japan, and Shenzhen, SVA Recruitment is an IT and employment agency that provides jobs, executive search, and recruitment services.

Programming is one of the most versatile careers in the IT industry. As you may see on any IT Recruitment Agency website such as SVA Recruitments, you have so many options. All industries have current demand for your skills- be it 100-year-old Investment Bank, or 6-month-old Metaverse gaming baby/start-up. You will be able to choose to work in large or small companies. You will have choices to work remotely or settled in a big city top floor skyscraper office.

But it is also an extremely evolving profession. Diverse and constantly updated skill sets, practice, and knowledge are required if you want to thrive in this profession.

To become a successful and respected software developer, or climb the engineering career ladder, you have to be able to do more than just code! Wherever you may be or hope to be, from Shanghai to Hong Kong, Singapore, or Dubai, these rules are universal.

And Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment’s Tech Recruiters talk to the very best engineers every day, and here we list the 4 best ways to help you become a prominent candidate, moreover a top-tier developer in the market.

1. Always Be Learning = Key to Your External Competitiveness

While maintaining your current technical skills is important, keeping an eye on the current trends in the software industry is also vital, considering that companies are always redefining their Tech stack.

Make sure to know what’s in demand on the job market. If you know what recruiters are looking for, use that as an advantage to develop your skills and enhance your knowledge.

According to our clients in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Japan, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS remain vital keys for web development for their companies.
As more companies strive in utilizing their collection of data and producing innovative AI applications, Python is increasingly gaining much attention globally.

Most employers are also seeking out candidates who have knowledge and experience in using Rust or Clojure script.

Those who want to succeed in the software industry should keep learning new things, even if this means working on projects that aren't directly related to their main area of expertise.

With the growing popularity of coding boot camps, online learning platforms, and free web resources, people without a computer science degree can now learn how to code. Coding should be your passion even after the workday ends.

A number of websites—including YouTube, Github, Stack Overflow, W3Schools, and FreeCodeCamp—provide an array of opportunities for you to enhance your technical skills without cost. Online-training platforms also exist that offer information on a range of programming languages, tools, and frameworks such as PluralSight, Udacity, and CodeAcademy - these are just some of the most popular. You could consider trying open-source projects such as Tensorflow, Django, and the Python project.

2. Keep Your Coding In-tact = Crucial to your Internal Reputation

One of the most challenging scenarios for a developer is tracking bugs in code, this is what also makes them feel burnout. Also known as Technical Debt, the ability to write clean and quality code is ideal for the company.

A correct code will give you less time spent on tracking bugs, and save you from justifying why your product isn’t functioning properly; that is why it is okay to make more time in checking and making sure that your code is precise. This also saves time for your colleagues as they don’t have to double-check your work every time.

What stands out for a lot of employers we have helped introduce candidates for is a programming candidate who is dedicated and thorough. IT recruiters at Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment have seen reference checks usually come back to bite those who put less care in their coding in current or previous organizations- the referee complains about lack of documentation and Technical Debt you had left behind, and we have had candidates lose a job offer due to such reference checks!

Development teams frequently work under significant time pressure and sometimes resources are limited, which makes it difficult to achieve both speed and quality that the company demands.

3. Don’t Neglect Your Soft Skills = Essential for the Career Ladder

The importance of technical skills for a career in coding is obvious, but once you've mastered your technical skills, it's important to develop your interpersonal skills as well.

A skill that was traditionally inspected at more mid to senior leadership roles, employers are starting to give increasing attention to soft skills at more hands-on coding positions as well. Your JavaScript skill will not be much of an advantage if you can’t communicate properly in the interview, or to your colleagues, or to the client.

Vahid Haghzare, Director of SVA Recruitment said, “Our clients in 2022 typically prefer a candidate who is versatile, open-minded, good communicator even though his/her coding skills are not that strong over a candidate who has a ‘know it all attitude and chooses to work individually.”

You need to ask yourself, “What type of developer would I want to work with?” Be that person.

4. Becoming a Team Player = Vital if you prefer Remote Working

Related to the previous point but slightly different, teamwork is the key when you are in this industry where there are projects that need to be done on time. Collaboration is a must to keep track of who's working on what.

The remote working arrangement surely made a positive change for some but it also forced us to learn to work individually. This makes working with a team much more challenging than before.

As companies start to slowly bring back-office work arrangements, some developers have expressed their want to keep the remote working arrangement. If this happens, teams should think of more ways to communicate and collaborate with each other effectively if you stay virtual.

Hence, meeting virtually using online platforms such as Skype, Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, etc. but they should still consider scheduling a meeting personally at the office from time to time.

As they always say, communication is the key. Communicating makes work easy and most especially enjoyable.

Enjoyed this article? Check out more blogs and thoughts from us.
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Visit our Job page for more Job opportunities and the Current Candidate page for available candidates.

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Silicon Valley Associates is ideally positioned to support the continual demand from tech companies and IT Departments looking to hire in Hong Kong, Asia, and Worldwide. Please let us know if you would further advise on the above topic or your hiring needs

4 Ways to Become a Successful Developer in 2022

1. Always Be Learning = Key to Your External Competitiveness While maintaining your current technical skills is important, keeping an eye on the current trends in the software industry is also vital, considering that companies are always redefining their Tech stack.

2. Keep Your Coding In-tact = Crucial to your Internal Reputation One of the most challenging scenarios for a developer is tracking bugs in code, this is what also makes them feel burnout. Also known as Technical Debt, the ability to write clean and quality code is ideal for the company.

3. Don’t Neglect Your Soft Skills = Essential for the Career Ladder The importance of technical skills for a career in coding is obvious, but once you've mastered your technical skills, it's important to develop your interpersonal skills as well.

4. Becoming a Team Player = Vital if you prefer Remote Working Related to the previous point but slightly different, teamwork is the key when you are in this industry where there are projects that need to be done on time. Collaboration is a must to keep track of who's working on what.

1. Always Be Learning = Key to Your External Competitiveness

While maintaining your current technical skills is important, keeping an eye on the current trends in the software industry is also vital, considering that companies are always redefining their Tech stack.

2. Keep Your Coding In-tact = Crucial to your Internal Reputation

One of the most challenging scenarios for a developer is tracking bugs in code, this is what also makes them feel burnout. Also known as Technical Debt, the ability to write clean and quality code is ideal for the company.

3. Don’t Neglect Your Soft Skills = Essential for the Career Ladder

The importance of technical skills for a career in coding is obvious, but once you've mastered your technical skills, it's important to develop your interpersonal skills as well.

4. Becoming a Team Player = Vital if you prefer Remote Working

Related to the previous point but slightly different, teamwork is the key when you are in this industry where there are projects that need to be done on time. Collaboration is a must to keep track of who's working on what.