I'm a software developer who's been working with a particular tech stack for a few years now, but I've recently become interested in a different stack that I haven't had the chance to work with professionally. The problem is, I haven't had much time for side projects since my kids arrived, so I don't have any personal projects to show off to potential employers.
I'm wondering how I should prepare for a job interview in this new tech stack. How do I demonstrate my knowledge and enthusiasm for the stack without side projects to showcase? How long should I spend studying before I feel confident enough to apply for jobs?
If anyone has been in a similar situation before, I would love to hear about your experience. What strategies did you use to prepare for the interview? What did you say in your cover letter or during the interview to show your interest in the stack?
Thank you in advance for your advice!
For jobs in the new stack, perhaps send a version of your resume to emphasize your accomplishments and using the right tool for the job rather than using a particular tech stack for a particular project.
If you currently have something like this in your resume: "In Company A, I led efforts to scale their website from 10,000 to 5 million users in Node.js."
Maybe change it to this. "In Company A, I led efforts to scale their website from 10,000 to 5 million users".
That might get your foot in the door for an interview. Then it just becomes a matter of proving you know your stuff in whatever interview you get.