In this post, I share what I learned about interviewing for a DevRel role, as I think there are a lot of folks who think they can’t achieve this role. This short list of Dos and Don’ts are really simple and easy to address. Make sure you follow them so you don’t lose out on any great DevRel opportunities.

Let’s make the most of those interviews!

Interview tips

1. You DON’T need to have a massive social media following to get your first DevRel role, but you DO need to have a Twitter, GitHub and LinkedIn profiles with some relevant posts on them.
   • As part of their initial screening, your future employer will look up your social media profile to see how you engage with the Tech community.
   • Eddie Jaoude often explains on Twitter how to engage with others in a constructive and friendly way.
2. You DON’T need to have a huge portfolio of talks, but you DO need to have some current examples of material you could produce.
   • Start a blog or write on dev.to or Medium to produce some writing samples. Personally, I prefer dev.to between the two as the text editing is in markdown.
   • If you do manage to speak at a conference, then you can use this as a video sample content. Otherwise, try to record a short tutorial or similar and upload to Youtube.
   • I made this blog using Jekyll and Github Pages, but if I were to start over I’d probably opt for dev.to.
   • In my experience in interview process, everyone looked at my blog and read some writing samples, including the CTO, when I got to the final round.
3. DO write a bespoke resume that highlights your DevRel adjacent experience.
   • Engineers are ofen used to just sending round the same resume to all their roles, as it doesn’ really play that much of a role when getting selected for interviews. This is not the best tactic if looking to get your first DevRel role.
   • I wrote up a special resume that highlighted my relevant experience more than just the technologies I worked with. You should include: your talk samples, your blog, any event organising experience (such as hackathons or other events) and any open source contributions you might have.
   • This will help your future employer see your DevRel potential, even if you might not have full time DevRel experience.
4. DON’T underestimate the power of the cover letter.
   • Engineers are not used to writing cover letters, but I think they are a great opportunity to showcase your writing skills when applying for a DevRel role.
   • I wrote a 1 page cover letter, where I explained why I wanted to be considered for the role. This gave me the option to explain my resume a bit more and offered some background about why I was interested in working at the company I was applying to. Again, everyone read this letter throughout the interview process.
5. DO research the company you are applying to more than you might do for an engineering role.
   • Most DevRel roles, including the ones where you will be joining an established DevRel team, require you to be a self starter with ideas.
   • Make sure you research the company you are applying to and come up with some concrete ideas of how you can contribute to their program.
   • I made some boards with screenshots from the company website where I jotted some ideas. In the end, I ended up sharing my boards during the interview. As I was quite nervous, my preparation helped me anchor myself and present my ideas.

Parting words

It might be intimidating to move into a new role, such as DevRel, but don’t underestimate what you can bring to the table!

The field of DevRel is still growing and getting more established, so there is definitely place for you to get started in it.

I’m happy to help with resume and cover letter reviews, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter if you need a second pair of eyes on these.

Happy interviewing & job hunting!