In 2010, I began my professional career. Our team gained a new member the following year. He had recently graduated from college. He was modest and introverted to some extent. From now on, we'll refer to him as Mihir.
Mihir was quickly transferred to a new project. The project was both interesting and challenging at the same time. It was for a new client, and the team needed to make a good impression. It was led by an architect who was very bright, intelligent, and hardworking. Mihir told me one fine day that he was having trouble delivering as promised. He considered me as one of his close friends. He hardly ever spoke to anyone. He'd only recently started his career and needed some time to settle in.
Mihir told me over coffee a few months later that he had resigned and that today was his last day. I was shocked. When asked why, he said that he had some family issues. His mother wasn't doing well, and he was having difficulty getting involved in the project.
I tried to explain him that resigning was his last resort. He could have taken a couple of months off, took care of his mother, and then returned. He could have requested to be transferred to a different team. However, it was too late.
We didn't communicate again after that. He called me almost 8 years later, to tell that after he had resigned, he took a year off. He took care of his mother and got a new job. He was doing well. He worked on a firm's custom bespoke tool and had gained considerable expertise in it. Unfortunately, the firm ran into some difficulties and had to shutdown their business. All of his abilities and knowledge were useless now.
He then sought my advice. And asked me, what should he do next? He needed to find work. He was the primary earner in his family. His savings will be exhausted soon. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't imagine myself in such a situation.
I gathered my courage, told him not to worry, and invited him to my home. He arrived, and we had a lengthy discussion. I told him I could help him with web development and that there are many opportunities for UI developers. He agreed. He was hardworking.
I sent him a list of articles on JavaScript, HTML, and CSS that he should read. He read them and returned to me after a month. I then introduced him to React. He learnt it for a month. I then advised him to open a github account and start working on some fun React projects to gain confidence. He did that, and said he was prepared to go on for interviews.
I advised him to be open and honest if an interviewer inquired about his relevant experience in UI development. In addition, he should also discuss his side projects. He began preparing and appearing for interviews.
After a few months, he called me to tell that he had received an offer with a very good package. He was overjoyed, as was I.
Apart from giving him some direction, I hadn't done much. No other technology, in my opinion, could have accomplished this in such a short period of time. It's simple to get started, and success is unavoidable with consistent efforts.
Cover Photo by Kevin Delvecchio on Unsplash
