How to become a successful Junior Developer with Danny Thompson

🎙 About the episode

Meet Danny Thompson 🇺🇸! Danny worked in gas stations frying chicken for 10 years before teaching himself how to code. Since then, he’s gone from strength to strength, working at Google for a stint before returning to a company called FrontDoor as a Software Engineer. Along the way, he’s amassed 140k+ followers on Twitter, helping others learn to code and break into tech with measured, actionable advice. He joins the Scrimba Podcast to talk job-hunting strategies and mindset, plus answer quick-fire questions so we can get to know him better.

🔗 Connect with Danny

• 👨🏻‍💼 LinkedIn
• 👩‍🚀 GitHub
• 🐦 Twitter
• 📹 YouTube
• 💯 TikTok

⏰ Timestamps

• Introduction (0:00)
• Danny has 141K followers but he doesn’t want you to follow his advice blindly (01:22)
• Danny’s new role - returning to work at his previous company after working at a FAANG company (03:02)
• Should Juniors look for work in their local area, remote, or both? (14:59)
• Transferring skills from your previous non-technical jobs with confidence (17:32)
• Alex challenges Danny about what to do if you’re sensitive to rejection (21:24)
• “The best thing that never happened to me” (25:34)
• Tailor your application to the role or you’re probably going to fail (27:37)
• Anticipate what employers want to know and prepare an elevator pitch (30:05)
• Quick-fire questions (32:20)
• Closing words by Danny (37:16)

🧰 Resources mentioned

• HOW TO USE LINKEDIN PROFILES TO GET JOBS! Stand out where the hiring managers hang out!
• Ask an Expert: Improve your LinkedIn Page with Danny Thompson
• Ask an Expert: How to get a job with no CS degree
• Danny’s Commit your Code Discord community (join link)
• Code Connector
• Find a Google Developer Group

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