I am finding developers on Threads and interviewing them, right on Threads. You are welcome to follow along and let me know on Threads if you would like to be interviewed.
Note: The views in these interviews are personal views and do not represent the interviewee’s employer.
“Making real connections and playing an active part in the dev and tech communities.”
— Rob Kendal (@kendalmintcode) on Threads
Today we have @kendalmintcode. How did your career take you from developer to consultant/teacher?
Thanks for having me 😊.
I started out in IT infrastructure and self-studied web development.
Over my career I’ve been very fortunate to work with top developers and designers and I’m always looking to help others in the way that they helped me.
So I started writing technical articles and tutorials, produced a beginners course on React (newline.co/cours… and built a coding newcomers community; anything to help people learn really.
Why do you think writing is important for developers, especially new developers?
Two main reasons:
It helps document your knowledge.
It helps other people looking for a solution or to help their own learning.
This is especially key for new devs as you’re learning so much. Being able to explain topics and concepts well (and simply) to others (even if that ‘other’ is your future self) is a big step in understanding something to a good level.
Plus, you then have a library of information in your own tone for reference purposes later down the line ☺️
As a developer, how does creating content online help your business?
Oh tons of ways but I think the main ones are:
Visibility — writing about areas and topics I’m knowledgeable in helps me rank well on search engines, which means more potential clients looking at my site and products.
Credibility — writing technical articles well and giving helpful advice away for free helps reinforce my skills.
What type of development is your specialty? Products? Stack? Front-end? Back-end?
I started out as a full stack dev in the glory days of Asp.Net 2.0 and spent a lot of my early career in full stack web dev space.
Nowadays I’m largely focused on front end and UI projects based around TypeScript and React.
I have some full stack things going on but I really enjoy the UI side as I find it more creative and it directly impacts the user.
More recently I’ve been building with Astro, Prisma, Redwood JS, and @supabasecom 🥰
What are some tips for a junior developer looking to advance?
Ooo that’s a good one; I have lots, but the top ones are:
– Start writing and making helpful content
– You don’t have to know it all
– No one else knows it all
– Ask lots of questions!
– Network, network, network (who you know is vital)
– Get a mentor
– Celebrate your wins 🏆
links:
Follow-up: what are some tips for networking well?
Making real connections and playing an active part in the dev and tech communities.
This might be attending coding meet ups and local events, or going to conferences and trying to talk to people to get to know them.
I also find LinkedIn a massive help (my buddy @dthompsondev has a great course on getting the most from LinkedIn). I take time to chat with recruiters and other devs on there and it pays off in the long run.
Example: I was made redundant and found a new job in < 2 days
How can people find you elsewhere online?
This has been amazing and such a different experience for me.
Huge thanks for having me Ryan and if anyone has more questions, please reach out on here or via my website robkendal.co.uk.
See the full interview on Threads: @ryan.swanstrom • Threads Dev Interview #19 I am finding developers on Threads and interviewing them, right here on… • Threads
