Building a career as a Flash Developer

As a Flash Developer, you will constantly be required to hone your skills and keep up with the cutting edge technologies that are constantly emerging from this fast paced industry. Building your career is important while maintaining regular development job duties.

• set reachable goals - take control of your career by going in a direction that will both fulfill your job requirements as well as satisfy your personal ambition. Set short term as well as long term goals. Be realistic about your current coding and developing level and strive to advance your skills one step at a time.
• find a mentor - if you have more senior Flash Developer working with you, look to him/her as a mentor to help you move towards your goals.
  
• be a mentor - as you advance in your skill level as a Flash Developer, you will no doubt have the opportunity to be a mentor to a junior developer. This will challenge you to really be on top of your game, and by offering to help others, you will also find that your own knowledge base will become more rounded.
  
• communicate your goals - if your employer doesn't already have a career building program in place, make sure to express your career goals to your employer. It is important that you are afforded the opportunity to advance your career and your emplyer should help you in advancing in your pursuit of your goals as a Flash Developer.
  

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Landing the Flash Developer Job

Congratulation! You got the job!

Now that you are officially a Flash Developer, don't rest on your laurels. To start you will likely have a job probation period. Usually this period will last for three months and it will be an opportunity for your new employer to evaluate your ActionScript coding skills and how you work with the rest of the team. This also is your chance to get ramped up on what you need to know to excel at your job, as well as if you are comfortable with the culture. There are some key things that you can do to make sure that you impress during your job probation period.

• arrive early and stay late - you don't have to be excessive about it, but on the other hand don't bring unnecessary negative attention to tardiness. Staying late will often be expected when meeting a deadline. Missing a deadline has a ripple effect on the overage of a project. Show that you are willing to go the extra mile (within reason) to get the job done.
• be proactive not reactive - you will be given a number of tasks to do to ramp up on depending on your coding level. Ask to be able to help on actual project work as soon as possible. The sooner you are coding ActionScript for an actual project the faster you will become comfortable with the work flow of the company and be able to prove your value as a Flash Developer.
  
• be measured about when asking for help - although you will have "buddy", someone to help you get ramped up, be considerate when asking for help. Remember your buddy will probably be in the middle of coding for a project, or multiple projects, so try to keep random interruptions to a minimum. Write a list of questions that you need answered and wait until you have a scheduled time with your "buddy" to ask them. Of course, if you are blocked, meaning you are unable to do work due to an environment setup problem etc., by all mean don't hesitate to get help.
• do your homework - gage the expectations of your manager and if you feel the need, do a bit of extra ActionScript research or ActionScript tutorial at home to give yourself more confidence at work the next day.
  

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Preparing for multiple job interviews

If you are trying to find a job in a large interactive agency as a Flash Developer, expect to have multiple interviews before you are able to secure the job. At the very least you will have three interviews.

First Job Interview

Your first interview will be with a human resources recruiter who will be looking for general people skills, general technical skills and will ask you any of the standard interview questions.

On a side note, when entering the job interview process be very conscious of the surroundings and be observant of the employees that you may not be interacting with. Ask yourself some questions that can help you determine whether you want to work for the company.

• Do people seem happy at their jobs?
• Is there the feeling of a positive atmosphere between workers?
• Does the physical environment seem ergonomic? Remember you will be spending long hours sitting at a desk, so comfort and ergonomics is extremely important.
  

1st Interview preparation tips

• emphasize experience working in a team environment
• express the desire to work in a team environment
• have an example of a stressful work situation you were in and be able to explain how you dealt with the situation. If you are new to the work force or haven't experienced a stressful work situation then use a stressful life situation. If you haven't experienced either, then consider yourself lucky.
• be enthusiastic about the chance to learn and build your career as a Flash Developer with the company that you are applying for.
• talk about your willingness to collaborate with other team members and share you knowledge with others.
• prepare a question about the hiring company. Medical benefits, overtime expectations, job probation period length, or team culture are a few areas that you should be interested to know about. Remember, you are also interviewing the company and want to make sure that they are a good fit for what you are looking for in building your career.

Second Job Interview

The second interview will be with a senior Flash Developer. It is this interview that will make or break your chances of getting the job. This interview will likely be very technical. Don't be intimidated because you will not be expected to know everything. Be honest about your ActionScript coding skills. If the Flash Developer interviewing you doesn't feel you are being honest, they will quickly expose you with a couple of targeted questions. As a Flash Developer you will not only be required to do coding, but it is essential to be good at problem solving. Think about how you solve problems before going into the interview and have an example ready should that subject come up.

Second job interview preparation tips:

• prepare ActionScript 3.0 code samples (Do not use code samples from the Flash help files or copy code from internet sources. You may be asked to explain your code)
• comment your code to show that you are thorough and meticulous about your ActionScript coding practices
• learn or demonstrate your knowledge of MVC (Model View Controller) design pattern as this is the most commonly use design pattern in Flash Development.
• talk about other design patterns or frameworks that you are familiar with or have used.
• be able to talk about your process behind developing Flash projects.
• be prepared to potentially have to write a short test, or have to demonstrate your ActionScript coding skills or problem solving abilities.
• emphasize your problem solving capabilities
• prepare a question that is directly related to the Flash Development process at the company.
  

Final Job Interview

If you make it through the first two job interviews, then you will probably only have to impress for one more vital interview. At this point you are probably considered a finalist for the job. Likely the hiring Manager will be looking at whether you will be a good fit for the company and the team that you will be working with. You will probably be asked why you want to join the company and it is at this point that you should speak to the exciting opportunity to with with their interactive agency.

Final interview tips:

• emphasize your excitement to grow a career with the company
• recognize the kind of work that the interactive agency does and how you want to contribute cutting edge technology to their repertoire.
• prepare a good question to end with. This will be your last impression and could be the difference in landing the job. If you don't already have a question in mind at this point, then ask about the forward direction of the company and prospective clients.

Hopefully these tips will help you realize your dream of becoming a Flash Developer.

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Know your potential employer

Take the time to research the company that you are hoping to work for. Any interactive agency should have a body of work that is probably accessible on the internet. Try to find examples of the work the company does. Some company portfolios may be for private clients and are accessible for the public. If you are unable to find the company's interactive portfolio, then inquire about the type of interactive work they do when in your first interview. Prepare yourself to talk about how your skills will fit in with the direction of their company.

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Writing a concise resume

A resume that chronologically shows a continuous employment is ideal. Don't be discouraged if you don't have a lot of experience. You have to start somewhere. If you have a gap in your resume where you didn't have a job, don't fret. Regardless of whether you were working or not, make sure to maintain a continuous history of employment or be prepared to answer why there are gaps in your history. Traveling or living in foreign countries are generally looked to as positives, especially for when you were in your early 20's, but make sure to give your potential employer the feeling that you will be sticking around. If a recruiter is looking for a full time Flash Developer, they will also want to feel that you are going to be staying in the job and growing your career with the company.

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Creating a rock solid portfolio

An impeccable portfolio is essential when finding a flash developer job

Here is a list of things to do when creating and maintaining your flash developer or flash designer portfolio.

1. Keep your portfolio current.
• check all links to websites to ensure they are still live links
• make sure the work you did is still on the site. Explain how to find your piece if you are unable to directly link to it.
• add every significant flash development or design project as soon as the project is complete. This way you won't have to scramble to make you portfolio should you need it quickly. Don't miss an opportunity because you didn't take the time to prepare your portfolio. Visit it regularly and tweak it to perfection.
2. Put your best foot forward
   • start with your biggest and best work.
   • don't clutter your interactive portfolio with old or out-of-date projects work.
     
3. Explain your development or design role in the project
   • Even if you did everything on a website it is a good idea to note the different tasks you did during the life of the development of a website or other project.
   • include a list of the different technologies used to accomplish the project goals.
   • note multi-tasking capabilities as most Flash projects will require you to be proficient in a number of other discipline.
     
4. Communication is key
   • any interactive agency recruiter is looking for people with good communications skills as well as good technical skills. Emphasize any examples that demonstrate your abilities to communicate with team members or the client.

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