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iOS Preparing for Future Junior iOS Job Applications?

L

logicpro7

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 25, 2006
726
2
London UK
Hey guys,
I am currently studying iOS Development and iOS UI/UX Design via the Bitfountain courses, but whilst i am doing that i would like some advice from the experienced guys that are currently working in this area.

I would like to improve my chances of finding a Junior position sometime next year and want to know what you would suggest, so that i stand out from the crowd.

I have a small list of things that i would say are needed, but feel free to add to my list or offer advice.


Finished Apps on the Apple App Store
Portfolio Website (Wordpress?)
UI/UX Design portfolio

Is there anything else you would suggest?

Would you say to use my real name for Apps on the App store? Or my company name?

Thanks.
 
Hi

I'm following the same courses! So I'm curious to the answers.
I think you must have a registered firm or apple demands your real name.
 
I finished the same course (the iOS 7 development one) and it was an awesome experience. I have learned sooooo much more since I finished it too, if anything, the amount of things I learn per day has at least tripled.

I have been approaching it by gaining experience in things like JSON, Java, PHP, as well as MySQL, MongoDB, etc. and all sorts of other database stuff. I'm trying to become an expert in using databases with iOS efficiently and quickly. Let your skills and experience do the talking for you, try and learn as much as you possibly can and become an expert at something that a lot of companies need.

Personally though, I am not sure that I want to work for a company as a developer. I just love software development as a hobby, it is an awesome and fun skill to learn. I've got so many things on my software-development to-do list that I'm not sure I'll ever be finished :D Maybe one day if I feel I get skilled enough, I will go out on my own as a developer contractor.
 
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logicpro7 said:
Hey guys,
I am currently studying iOS Development and iOS UI/UX Design via the Bitfountain courses, but whilst i am doing that i would like some advice from the experienced guys that are currently working in this area.

I would like to improve my chances of finding a Junior position sometime next year and want to know what you would suggest, so that i stand out from the crowd.

I have a small list of things that i would say are needed, but feel free to add to my list or offer advice.


Finished Apps on the Apple App Store
Portfolio Website (Wordpress?)
UI/UX Design portfolio

Is there anything else you would suggest?

Would you say to use my real name for Apps on the App store? Or my company name?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I would watch the classifieds like DICE, Monster, and head hunter sites, etc... Look for trends and look up what they are asking for. Keep track of these changes as demand can change quickly for speciality tools. Do a look up on the tools and see if they have books published for those tools.

Generally, if a tool has one or more books, it's worth looking into. Look online at what is written about the tools.

Example: Cocos2d is a popular game engine. It has many tutorials and support, but at the same time, Apple now has a game kit API built in, so demand for Cocos2d might drop.

Other tools have the same problem, they might be offering an answer that Apple answers later.

Robert Half used to offer online learning and testing of skills for the people the head hunted for, and local users groups would also have head hunters there that seek talent and talk about skill demands.

If you don't have a local users group, you can be the guy to start one. There's online tools to help with meeting people with common interests and you can get local head hunters or tech businesses to provide space to hold meetings.
 
logicpro7 said:
Finished Apps on the Apple App Store
Portfolio Website (Wordpress?)
UI/UX Design portfolio.
Click to expand...

You almost certainly need to have apps that you have developed in the App store (hopefully with good reviews). They can't be simple apps from templates. For CV purposes, the quality and technical level of these apps is quite important (as in how many different Apple frameworks and APIs can you successfully use?) The use of more difficult frameworks (Core Data, Core Audio, Core Bluetooth, OpenGL ES, MultiPeer, etc.) counts extra.

You not only should should have a portfolio website, but perhaps a blog showcasing your expertise, and your own domain (makes you look more professional).

Unless you are just a UI artist, your portfolio of iOS UI/UX work should be in your apps in the App store. (Perhaps a free app that potential employers can try out.)
 
Thanks for the great advice.

I also signed up for the Android course Bitfountain had on offer last week that starts in January. Although i really only want to work with iOS, having knowledge of Android Dev may help.

Once i have completed the iOS courses, i am planning to concentrate on completing one or two quality Apps with good UI/UX.

A blog sounds a good idea... I already have my own domain name, although it is not my personal name.

There is also a local media user group every month in my city that is actually run by a friend, so maybe a good place for networking with local related businesses.

If anyone here has any links for anything iOS career related or a good source of information, that would be good.

Thanks :cool:
 
logicpro7 said:
Hey guys,
I am currently studying iOS Development and iOS UI/UX Design via the Bitfountain courses, but whilst i am doing that i would like some advice from the experienced guys that are currently working in this area.

I would like to improve my chances of finding a Junior position sometime next year and want to know what you would suggest, so that i stand out from the crowd.

I have a small list of things that i would say are needed, but feel free to add to my list or offer advice.


Finished Apps on the Apple App Store
Portfolio Website (Wordpress?)
UI/UX Design portfolio

Is there anything else you would suggest?

Would you say to use my real name for Apps on the App store? Or my company name?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about shipping an app to the App Store. I've been an iOS developer for two years and have yet to ship my own app. If I were hiring I'd be more interested in the following:

  • The ability to use beta distribution systems like Crashlytics/TestFlight/HockeyApp (this IMO is just as important as being able to ship to the App Store, and still allows you to invite prospective employers to download your app on their devices).
  • Being able to explain your solutions to any challenges you faced during the development of your app (and which design patterns you've used etc). Also explaining the solutions you didn't go with can prove to be very useful, if you can explain why you didn't go with them, as there often multiple solutions to one problem.
  • Clean, commented code can't hurt. When commenting I find it's more effective to explain what you're trying to do, rather than a literal description of the code.
  • Pick out a few key points of the app that you're proud of so you can explain them if asked. This could be actual parts of the app, or the underlying architecture of code.
  • A basic understanding of source control would be ideal. Git seems to be the most popular, but I think ultimately go with the one you feel most comfortable with as it'll still show that you have an appreciation for the concept.
  • Showing the ability to learn, adapt and listen. I'd much rather hire a junior developer who has shown that they want to improve, learn and become a great iOS developer than someone more experienced but set in their ways.

logicpro7 said:
I also signed up for the Android course Bitfountain had on offer last week that starts in January. Although i really only want to work with iOS, having knowledge of Android Dev may help.
Click to expand...

I started out like this but soon I decided to focus on iOS development. I think it's much better to become a master of one than a jack of all trades when you're starting out. You can always look at Android development later but if you're set on iOS development I'd focus on that - all the time you'd spend on Android development could be put towards improving your iOS development skills.
 
A portfolio of apps or other accomplishments is what hiring managers are looking for. Having one or more apps on the app store is strong evidence that you can create and publish an app. You don't have to be the sole author but you have to be able to talk about the design and implementation of the app in detail.

The hiring manager might ask to see source code that you've written. Either an entire app or one class. When I was asked for this one time the hiring manager said, "Don't edit it before sending it to me. I'll know."

I wouldn't worry about the name used on the app store. As long as you can say "I wrote that app."
 
PhoneyDeveloper said:
A portfolio of apps or other accomplishments is what hiring managers are looking for. Having one or more apps on the app store is strong evidence that you can create and publish an app. You don't have to be the sole author but you have to be able to talk about the design and implementation of the app in detail.

The hiring manager might ask to see source code that you've written. Either an entire app or one class. When I was asked for this one time the hiring manager said, "Don't edit it before sending it to me. I'll know."

I wouldn't worry about the name used on the app store. As long as you can say "I wrote that app."
Click to expand...
Would you say that most hiring managers would be looking for someone who practices MVC (model view controller) to make apps? Right now, I am making apps that can do some pretty advanced stuff but I'm still learning how to write neater cleaner code, so my view controller classes tend to be enormous, which I believe most professional developers would look down on.
 
AxoNeuron said:
Would you say that most hiring managers would be looking for someone who practices MVC (model view controller) to make apps? Right now, I am making apps that can do some pretty advanced stuff but I'm still learning how to write neater cleaner code, so my view controller classes tend to be enormous, which I believe most professional developers would look down on.
Click to expand...

IMHO you really should respect MVC. Your code must be easily understandable and maintainable. Actually it stands to reason that each class can exist on its own too although this is not strictly MVC.
 
MVC is a requirement for iOS and Android development. More or less any GUI app design has to be based around MVC. (So frankly I'm not really sure what you're asking.)

One thing though. My experience with job interviews is that Design Patterns comes up. A lot. Especially if you are interviewed by Java coders. They live, eat, and breath Design Patterns. They will ask many many questions about Design Patterns. Now, we iOS developers use the same Design Patterns that they use. But we call them by other names. I spent quite a lot of time reviewing the Design Patterns for my last interview, couple years ago. Apple has some docs on Design Patterns for iOS, that are helpful to equate Design Patterns as used in iOS development with Design Patterns as used in Java development.

Anyway, being able to talk about Design Patterns at length will go a long way in your job interviews.

If you're interviewed by iOS experts they'll ask you about what's a delegate? what's an outlet? what's an action? If you're interviewed by Java experts they'll ask you about what's your favorite design pattern? what's a factory method? what's the singleton pattern? what's the firefly pattern? What's your favorite unit test?
 
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PhoneyDeveloper said:
MVC is a retirement for iOS and Android development. More or less any GUI app design has to be based around MVC. (So frankly I'm not really sure what you're asking.)

One thing though. My experience with job interviews is that Design Patterns comes up. A lot. Especially if you are interviewed by Java coders. They live, eat, and breath Design Patterns. They will ask many many questions about Design Patterns. Now, we iOS developers use the same Design Patterns that they use. But we call them by other names. I spent quite a lot of time reviewing the Design Patterns for my last interview, couple years ago. Apple has some docs on Design Patterns for iOS, that are helpful to equate Design Patterns as used in iOS development with Design Patterns as used in Java development.

Anyway, being able to talk about Design Patterns at length will go a long way in your job interviews.

If you're interviewed by iOS experts they'll ask you about what's a delegate? what's an outlet? what's an action? If you're interviewed by Java experts they'll ask you about what's your favorite design pattern? what's a factory method? what's the singleton pattern? what's the firefly pattern? What's your favorite unit test?
Click to expand...
Lots of programmers probably would be better in doing so than answering these question. Probably they would better just look at some code written.
 
I know everyone's experience will vary, but here's something I've witnessed in my 10+ years of doing professional development. People can memorize answers to interview questions to impress a hiring manager. That doesn't mean they can write a line of code. Just like anyone can get a certification if they study enough. Didn't mean they can develop a good product. I am probably an awful person in a technical interview, but sit me down and let me bang out code and you'll be impressed. Some Companies/managers get that and understand how people work. Others do not. If you eventually don't get a job even though you know you have the skills, don't sweat it, it probably wasn't right for you anyway.
 
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