How I Landed My Dream Software Job in 12 Months

Twelve months ago, Matt Woods was just wrapping up his first developer conference. Now, he's shipping real code at Tailwind, an OKC software SaaS startup. In this talk, Matt unpacks the 3 cornerstone habits that paved the way to consistently grow as a software developer, balloon his professional network, easily share the best takeaways to begin building an audience — and of course, get his dream software job.

Matt Woods is a marketer and developer at Tailwind. He's crazy about craft coffee, podcasts and leveling-up the skills needed to create jaw-dropping products that make people's lives better.

Transcript

1. How I Landed My Dream
   Software Job in 12 Months
   Matt Woods - @matopher
   

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2. From "What is
   an Array?"
   Pairing with my co-
   founder & tackling
   real code
   ! "
   ➡
   

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3. Leveraged LinkedIn to connect with 25 growth
   professionals from great companies in ~24 hours
   

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4. Opportunities to meet
   founders & CEOs
   from Hubspot, Drift,
   Shareaholic & more
   

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5. 3 Key Habits Opened the Door to
   My Dream Job in Software
   1) Become an automatic learning machine
   2) Build a 3 circle network
   3) Share your byproducts
   

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6. Hi, I’m 

   Matt Woods.
   Marketer + Developer
   mattwoods.io
   @matopher
   

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7. Become an Automatic
   Learning Machine
   

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8. "Why am I feeling apprehensive
   towards getting involved in new
   projects involving software
   development?"
   
   

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9. A: You need more wins.
   How do you get wins? 

   Ship more.
   

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10. Start small & consistent
    

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11. "When you want the absolute
    best chance to succeed at
    anything you want, your
    approach should always be the
    same. Go small.”
    - Gary Keller
    

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12. Healthy inputs & outputs
    Input: Tutorials, Classes, Podcasts,
    Events, Blog Posts
    

    Output: Create a Forcing Function
    for yourself to SHIP
    

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13. What worked for me )
    Input: OK Coders, Tutorials,
    Podcasts, Events
    

    Output: Mentors & Work Projects
    

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14. Always Be Shipping
    - Habit Tracking App
    - Search Tool
    - Simple API
    - Blog
    - Personal Website
    - Random quote generator
    

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15. How to Ship MORE
    - Pair with someone who ships
    - Copy on "easy mode"
    - The Airbnb 10-to-1 exercise
    - FreeCodeCamp, Javascript 30
    - Build something to learn something cool
    - Get paid to make things
    

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16. What to Learn?
    - How you learn is often more important
    than a specific tech stack
    - https://codeburst.io/the-2018-web-
    developer-roadmap-826b1b806e8d
    

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18. Build a Three-
    Circle Network
    

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19. MATTWOODS.US
    Inner
    Circle
    Professional
    Network
    The Crowd
    Start with
    your Inner
    Circle and
    grow naturally
    

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20. Inner Circle
    Prioritize Mentors, role models 1-level above
    you, best-in-class peers, and mentees
    “Who can I learn from for 10x growth and tough
    decisions?”
    

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21. Professional Network
    Professional groups, “superconnectors,”
    classmates, family friends, relatives, former
    coworkers
    “Who can I ask a favor from with a quick
    message?”
    

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22. The Crowd
    Social media followers, email subscribers,
    website visitors, blog post readers
    “Who can I meaningfully help today?”
    

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23. Surround yourself with the right people
    Introduced me to new new ideas
    ✅ Gave feedback on my podcasts, videos, and side
    project ideas
    Keep me accountable to actually ship work — whether
    it’s a blog post like this or a quick-and-dirty API.
    

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24. Endless follow-up = your new default.
    Don’t attribute to hostility what can be
    easily blamed on busyness.
    

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25. Once I followed
    up with an
    investor 48
    times until I got
    a meeting.
    -Steli Efti, CEO
    @ Close.io
    “ “No,” can mean
    “not right now.”
    

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26. General Follow-Up Schedule
    Day 1: First follow-up (+2)
    Day 3: Follow-up (+4)
    Day 7: Follow-up (+7)
    Day 14: Follow-up (+14)
    Day 28: Follow-up (+30)
    Day 58: Follow-up (+30)
    … (from there on once a month).
    

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27. Share Your Byproducts
    

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28. Why share your byproducts?
    Help others, help yourself.
    Create opportunities.
    

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29. Don't "create." 

    Document instead.
    https://signalvnoise.com/posts/1620-sell-your-by-products
    

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30. Always Say “Yes” to Public Speaking (Even
    When It’s Scary)
    
    

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31. Pick 1 primary channel
    (and stick to it.)
    

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32. Two contrasting specialties = your superpower
    MATTWOODS.US
    Software
    Development
    Marketing
    (Skill #1)
    Your
    Superpower
    (Skill #2)
    

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33. 1) Discover new pain points 

    2) Validate ideas quickly
    Tap your community for on-
    the-fly insights
    

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34. Social Post -> 1:1
    Follow-up
    

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35. Matt Woods - @matopher
    3 Key Habits Opened the Door
    to My Dream Job in Software
    1) Become an automatic learning
    machine
    
    2) Build a 3 circle network
    
    3) Share your byproducts
    

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