🎓 InternshipsJunior Developer1 min read

Self-Taught Dev Built a Template Portfolio and Landed a UK Internship in 2014

A self-taught developer in England got his first front-end internship by converting free design templates into live sites and hosting a portfolio on GitHub Pages. The initial offer was retracted, but the employer connected him with other companies actively hiring junior developers. The role exposed him to backend development, DevOps, and Linux, pulling him well beyond front-end work.

Key takeaways

  • →Build a portfolio of real, deployed sites rather than toy projects no one can visit.
  • →Host your work publicly on GitHub Pages and link your profile prominently in applications.
  • →Accept that an offer can fall through; stay in contact with the employer because a referral to the next company is still a win.
  • →Use your first role as a forcing function to learn adjacent skills like DevOps and back-end, even if you were hired as a front-end dev.
  • →If you have no UI work to show, a published library plus a technical blog can substitute as proof of skill.

I got my foot in the door via a front-end internship in England. What I did was find free website design templates and turn them into live, working websites. This was around 2014. I then put together a portfolio, hosted it on GitHub Pages, linked it to my GitHub account, and started applying.

It was a paid internship through an EU-funded program. They made me an offer and then retracted it. But thankfully, right before the end, they were kind enough to connect me with a couple of other companies that were desperately looking for a junior dev. I'm really grateful for that because it exposed me to much more talented developers, and I learned a tonne: vim, back-end development, basic DevOps, Linux. I barely do front-end anymore.

If you're a front-end developer, it's easier because you have something to show. If you're a backend developer, you can cook up a library in whatever language you use, share it with the community, and pair it with a blog. That combination goes a long way.

Adapted from a public post by zabana on Hacker News. Read the original →