Web_Developer_Chronicles_4_Networking

So this week was a much more relaxed week, I got approved on my first capstone project. I was especially happy because I was able to get approval on my first attempt at submission. That was especially reassuring for me because I had wanted to present a more polished and professional product, and it served as validation for my hard work.

This week I also had a mock interview on web apps. I handled myself pretty well, and I'm proud to say past this successfully as well. Something I learned, however, is that how much you give while answering can cost you. Some of my answers could have ended sooner and still would have shown competency. Also, I learned from this that I could ask if more is needed, allowing potential future interviewers to seek more. That cost me some time in the interview that affected me once I got to the live coding challenge. I was quickly able to complete my DOM coding challenge, and with "console.log( )" I was able to troubleshoot a couple of minor issues I had. But when it came to my API request coding challenge, I ended up running out of time. Thankfully, I was able to get the majority of my programming in Javascript completed. What I finished gave the interviewer a good idea that I was knowledgeable and fully aware of how to complete the task. My API request live coding challenge ended up being the only area where I lost any points, but thankfully I still got four out of six. The interviews are starting to become a bit easier for me to handle, but the concept of performing the job duties during the interview is still something I am learning to accept. Never in my professional life when interviewing, have I been asked to perform expected responsibilities during the meeting.

After completing my interview, I moved onto my next module, which was Networking. Networking, in of itself, is a challenging area that I know many can struggle with doing effectively. I find that I'm probably going to as well, but I went ahead and dived into the deep end and began to cold outreach to folks on LinkedIn. There was much useful information in this module from Thinkful, and I hope to become effective at Networking quickly. The Pandemic certainly puts a dampener on my ability to go to meetups or networking opportunities. Given where I live in Fresno, CA, there are already fewer opportunities than in a lot of other major metropolitan areas, but I am thankful that there are at least some. I found a community workspace called "Root Access Hacker Space" with much activity and joined their Slack workspace. Along with meetup.com, I plan to use these going forward to network in my area.

Now I begin Phase 2 in my education at Thinkful with React. So wish me luck and talk to you next week.