First off, I know its been a while since I posted here - it makes me feel guilty every week that I dont write - commitment can lead to guilt I guess
So I hope you all have been doing great!
Btw, happy Heritage Day! Crisis even that passed since we last spoke
Iβve been going through major difficulties recently
Grandma had a stroke and then past away 3 weeks later
Tree literally fell on the car - 60k ZAR damage (not covered by insurance)
Client hasnt paid over 100k ZAR in contracting fees, but of course, i did have to pay the developer, so thats a real sore spot
AND i had a past client hire a developer i sent them 2 years ago but doesnt want to pay for them - so more lost revenue
All told, weβve had death in the family and down close to 300K zar - all in the space of a few months
Life is funny some times
But we continue - and I hope to be back weekly, in your inbox, delivering some good shit π
Im not writing the above for thoughts, prayers, sympathy - im documenting this, so you can see not everything is always perfect in life, but we must perservere and we must dust ourselves off
I wrote this because I want to show you that I will come back stronger

JOBS
See my last email
Iβm hiring for 13 developers now - not saying we will get any of those roles, they arent easy to fill
But if youβre available for a short term contract, and are a very strong developer - lets chat - reply here and send me your CV

INTERVIEWS
Always be interviewing

You can think of this as Networking - but you really got to be doing this all the time, like, every few months
Interview
Update your CV
Understand salaries
Be open to new opportunities
Make new connections and friends
You dont even need to interview for opportunities you really want, you need to do it for practice, market research, confidence, leverage, risk mitigation
I mean, the list here is long - but the point is short - always be interviewing

CAREER
Always be improving
I interviewed a candidate last week - needed someone with 8 years of experience in Python and Node.js
On paper, the dude was awesome - the CV read like a dream, ticked every box nicely
Then came the interview andβ¦
β¦what a let down
You wanna know why?
Because doing the same thing over and over again for 3 years is not experience, itβs repetition - and consistently doing that, is not a career, itβs cope and hope
If youβre not learning, having a job doesnt mean a thing - you think because youβve been doing something for 10 years, means you can do it for another 10?
Thatβs unrealistic, and its unfair on yourself, you are literally lying to yourself, and then blaming others when you cant get a job, or when you get βrestructuredβ out of a job
This economy is not friendly, its not an environment for hope, its an environment of difficulty and uncertainty - you will get caught if youβre not improving, and itβs not going to cost the company anything, theyβll get someone else and youβll be left out
Be honest with yourself - Are you learning anything new?

PERSONAL STUFF
Wanna see a tree on top of a car?
Well, here you go - I went to buy some burgers, parked at the side of the road, 5 minutes later, a freak storm, and a tree falls on my car!
Those 2 burgers ended up costing me 60β000 ZAR lol


THATS A WRAP
I know Iβve said im back like twice already haha - once was after some much deserved rest and another after like 3 weeks of not writing.
Its not easy doing this stuff you know :)) but honestly, i missed this
I missed sitting by my macbook pro m1 (13inch) - lying on the couch, and having my fingers go at it for 30-40 minutes
ANY HOW!
Let me know if you like this and as usual:
LinkedIn - Iβm always hiring - but only 2 to 4 people a month - connect with me on and send me your CV - currently, I only hire people with 7 or more years of experience - if you have less, but are EXCEPTIONAL, iβll make exceptions
Youtube - iβm always making content to help you out, subscribe and binge
Free Career Advice - iβm going to be giving away CV feedback for early subscribers for free, I usually charge $100 for a resume roast - iβll make a recording and send you feedback - just reply back to this email with your CV - its totally free for first 10 people