In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes review resumes, websites, and online presences, and discuss pros and cons, what you should focus on, and more!

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Show Notes

04:32 - Why does an impression matter?

All of this stuff comes together to work in your favour when you are hunting for a job.

05:14 - What goes into an online presence?

Twitter
- Share what you know
Online website
- Design
- Messaging
- Effort
- Personal life
Blog
Resume
It’s not about being popular, it’s about relationships and positioning yourself as an expert. People mix up their hatred for “influencers” with having a rock solid network of people who they can help and who can help them.

07:25 - A couple stories

@HenriHelvetica
- You don’t know how many times I’ve tried to convince (esp people of color) to try a lightning talk. This stuff gets you to research, and you might even make discoveries.
- I know it’s a step out of the comfort zone for many, and that’s cool, but don’t be upset at those who go for it, and land some work.
- I do (did) lunch n learns @ Juno, and I started to end them w/ a post bootcamp life — tell them what it’s like, and to be active on twitter (share what you read, what you’re working on, listen to others, follow great devs, etc.). One person DM’d me to tell me she took that in and decided to try. “I never forgot that time you gave a talk at HY and one thing that you emphasized was to make your voice known on Twitter. You said that this has opened many opportunities for you and that’s been happening to me more and more recently. I never set out to build my account but the growth has indeed happened and along with it, opportunities from people I’ve never expected.”

09:40 - Ash Connolly

https://ashconnolly.com/
https://www.notion.so/ashconnolly/Ash-Connolly-321c5a65350f477897ed025f4daa1bb0
Software Engineer
Using new tech with high end clients
Review
- Pros
  - Clean, simple design, but doesn’t feel like it’s missing something
  - Animations are a nice touch
  - Easy to see their work (e.g. photo, title, short paragraph, link)
  - Testimonials is good, I might change the word testimonials, but that’s small
- Cons
  - Nitpick - footer emphasis color looks like a link
  - HTML is good, but missing some semantic tags like
    ,
    ,
    , too reliant on divs
- Resume
  - Pros
    - Good idea of what Ash has accomplished (e.g. just by reading his summary, I’m left feeling impressed because of his client base and his extras like writing for FreeCodeCamp and Marvel Blog).
    - Work history - good way of describing what he did. “Carried out performance audits and site speed improvements”
    - Links to writings and side projects
  - Cons
    - Lists Brad Frost as someone who shared his post. This feels a little weird.
    - Nitpick - CSS & CSS3, HTML & HTML5 on the languages. In 2021, just put HTML & CSS.
    - Work history - WAY way too much. Keep it to one sentence and three or four bullet points for each job. Ain’t nobody gonna read all that.

20:48 - Matthew Bidwell

https://matty.dev/
Backend dev
Not focused on dev
Review:
- Banging domain
- It’s clear who he is, what he is about
- Links to Twitter, Github and LinkedIn right away
- Blog posts showing he knows what he’s talking about

24:42 - Leah Lundqvist

https://leah.link
Review:
- Pros
  - Fantastic aesthetics on site
  - Good lead paragraph
- Cons
  - I’m not sure what work she actually does
  - Github pages are great for digging but not curation or showing off
    - Same with Twitter
  - For instance, I saw on Twitter that Leah made https://app.airport.community/app/rec1CbVg4J5aqScUQ but there was no mention of it anywhere else. A page full of the most recent / best projects with quick links is essential for anyone.
  - Don’t make them hunt for it
- Twitter review:
  - Unreal
  - Pinned tweet

31:04 - Ismail Ghallou

https://smakosh.com/
Best one yet
Clear explanation right off the bat
Dribbble - shows me he’s up on the latest
Open source
Testimonials
Talks
Blog
https://twitter.com/smakosh - Twitter lines up
Most recent tweets about tech

40:18 - Jhey Tompkins

https://jhey.dev/
Whimsey
Sound!
Good use of CSS and SVG animation

46:28 - Wes’ website

websos.com
Can’t view source
Whimsey
The right kind of animation
The link to the Syntax podcast has no indication that it’s going to take you offsite.
The background image is good, but not as good with a wide browser.
Custom scrollbars are nice
Overall the site is a delight

53:25 - Scott’s website

scotttolinski.com
Font’s a little big
Link to documentary is great
Bio should include links
Page animations are great
Showing personal life / interests is good
Super fast

Links

××× SIIIIICK ××× PIIIICKS ×××

Scott: Swedish Dishcloths
Wes: Paper Wheels Knife Sharpening System

Shameless Plugs

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