#064 - You’re doing networking wrong feat. Lawrence Lockhart · Backend Banter summary

Key takeaways

Transitioning into tech requires structured effort and patience; it's not always an easy switch.
Local, in-person jobs can significantly enhance a new developer's career through community engagement.
Purposeful learning is crucial; self-taught developers should focus their studies on relevant skills for their desired roles.
Effective networking involves building genuine relationships, rather than making transactional connections.
Mock interviews and practice can significantly prepare candidates for job interviews.
As developers, it's essential to embrace changes in technology or reevaluate one's position in the company.

Summary

Transitioning to Tech from Hospitality

Lawrence Lockhart shares his journey of moving from a blue-collar job in hospitality management to becoming a full-stack developer. He emphasizes that the transition is not as straightforward or quick as some might portray online and discusses the challenges he faced while acquiring the necessary tech skills.

The Importance of Local Employment

The conversation highlights the significance of seeking local, in-person jobs especially when starting a tech career. Lawrence advocates for new developers to build connections within their local tech community, which can lead to better support and job opportunities.

Learning with Purpose

Lawrence discusses how essential it is to focus on purposeful learning when pursuing a tech career. He stresses that self-taught developers should create a structured learning path aligned with their career goals rather than dispersing their focus across unrelated topics.

Networking Effectively

The podcast delves into the realities of networking in tech. Lawrence explains how to build genuine relationships rather than transactional connections and highlights the importance of engaging with local communities and meetups.

Technical Interview Preparation

Lawrence offers advice on approaching technical interviews, emphasizing the need for practice. He encourages candidates to seek mock interview opportunities to refine their skills and build confidence, viewing interviews as learning experiences rather than just job assessments.

Choosing Between Learning New Skills or Leaving

A poignant moment in the discussion revolves around the choices developers face when their company changes direction, such as adopting new technologies. Lawrence insists that developers can either embrace the new skills or consider leaving, but warns against being a negative presence in the workplace.

Show notes

In today’s episode, we welcome Lawrence Lockhart, a former hospitality manager turned full stack software developer. Apart from his tech job, he’s also a developer advocate, a teaching assistant at a coding bootcamp and a tech meetup leader, so you know he spends a lot of his time helping others build and transfer their existing skills into tech, being a powerful voice in the tech space for upcoming developers.

Today we talk briefly about how he managed to switch from hospitality to tech, and how that wasn’t as easy as a lot of people online make it out to be, the importance of local and in-person jobs as opposed to starting off remote, how learning with purpose is essential if you want to make progress and advice for people starting out!

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Lawrence's X/Twitter: https://x.com/LawrenceDCodes

Lawrence's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawrencedlockhart

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

00:44 When did Lawrence start to be more involved in the online tech communities?

02:23 How did Lawrence meet James Q Quick

04:42 Transition from a Blue Collar job into Tech

10:59 6 months is not the standard anymore to get in the industry

13:44 The Timeline Discussion

15:56 Kelsey Hightower

18:09 Has Lawrence worked as a dev in non-tech companies and where he works now

23:33 It's IMPORTANT to go for local market and in-person jobs first

24:27 How networking actually works

28:46 Learning with a purpose

36:43 You shouldn't be trying to minmax your career path

39:43 Advice to people that are unsure in their skills

43:51 How to approach interviews

49:31 You have to practice interviewing

54:48 Learn the thing or get out

58:33 Disagree and commit

01:01:45 Where to find Lawrence

#064 - You’re doing networking wrong feat. Lawrence Lockhart