The Monday Byte

Welcome to the Monday Byte where I send you 5 things each week so you can improve your English and land a remote dev job.

📖 Word/Phrase - elevator pitch

You're standing in the elevator. You notice the person next to you is wearing a Vercel shirt.

"OMG. I'd love to work there!!!!" you think in your head.

Well, now is the time to pitch yourself and get your foot in the door.

That's an elevator pitch. It's a short thing you've prepared for situations like this. Don’t memorize something. But be ready to pitch yourself at any moment.

Here's a guide from Indeed on how to give an elevator pitch.

💬 Pronunciation - Developer from Brazil

Last time I critiqued a developer from Brazil, you and everyone else loved it. It was my most viewed and clicked video.

Good news. I’ve critiqued another Brazilian friend.

You’re going to like this one because I changed up the style. Take a look at let me know what you think:

Want me to critique your English? Reply to this and let me know!

🗣️ Real World Conversation - What’s your story?

Pretend you're on a call with a recruiter and they say, “What's your story?”

Think of this as your intro. Your goal is to convey that you speak English proficiency. The recruiter should forget you’re a non-native.

It is crucial you practice this.

Here’s the elevator pitch for my story (btw, I’ve used this to land jobs at startups and big tech like Meta).

🔗 Content - The freeCodeCampe Podcast

When I was first getting started as a dev, the freeCodeCamp community was my pod. I spent tons of time reading their forums and listening to the podcast.

It's a lot of advice and inspiring stories from people like you and me who learned to code on their own. It'll be a great way to practice your listening skills too.

Fun fact: I was interviewed for the podcast back in 2019. Listen here.

💪🏼 Exercise - Cold DM 3 people on Twitter

Wanna hear something crazy? 50% of the jobs I’ve had have come through Twitter.

Yeah, I know. Who thought Twitter would lead to more jobs than LinkedIn? Not me.

And that’s exactly why I’m giving you this exercise. To start putting in reps of cold DM’ing people on Twitter in English. Much harder than your native language.

Let me know how it goes!

Bonus: I’m putting together a free guide with examples and tips for sending cold DMs on Twitter. Reply to this email and I’ll send it to you.

Enjoy the week, we’ll talk again soon. And hey, remember, if you want a specific topic covered or need help, hit reply and let me know!

- Joe