Changing Lanes: How to Pivot to a Mobile Dev Career

Aug 14 2023

Want to move to a mobile dev career? Learn how to decide if a career change is right for you, get the skills you need and tailor your resume to fit your new role. By Eric Jenkinson.

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Changing Lanes: How to Pivot to a Mobile Dev Career

20 mins

Updating Your Resume

Next, look at your resume. As an experienced IT professional, your resume might be long — mine was over three pages. I updated my resume by changing my intro and adding new education. But even though all my mobile items were highlighted, the rest of my experience dwarfed them. This made it easy for my resume to get filtered out or set aside as a fluke.

This was made clear by how many applications I filled out that were rejected in a manner of hours… along with the many that didn’t even receive a response.

I started getting responses when I changed my resume drastically based on advice from my bootcamp mentor and a recruiter. When I was done, my resume was under a page long, and it only included the following sections:

  • Objective
  • Education
  • Link to my app in GitHub
  • Skills in mobile development
  • One entry for experience

The entry for experience only briefly summarized my 30 years of experience.

Every email response I made to potential employers contained a call to action for the reader to look at my project on GitHub. In every interview, I actively referenced my project on GitHub. If an interviewer can see your app code or download your app from an App Store, the dynamics of the interview change in your favor. True, you don’t have years of mobile development experience, but you do have years of IT experience and a demonstrated ability in mobile development. That makes all the difference.

When looking for appropriate roles, pay particular attention to the list of required skills in the posting. If you followed the Apprentice book for your chosen platform, you should notice that the book covered many, if not all, of the job’s required skills.

If you start seeing several listings that you haven’t covered, for example, Core Data, consider looking at the topic in some detail. While you don’t have to know everything about mobile development to obtain a role successfully, paying attention to skills that come up in job postings will improve your chances.

Handling Recruiters

Once you flag your profile as “open to a new role” on your chosen job site, recruiters will email you. Make sure your profile is updated to match your resume to lower some of the noise.

You’re likely to get offers to apply for jobs you are not interested in. Occasionally, a recruiter will reach out to you with a role that is in mobile development but beyond your current abilities. When that happens, take the time to reply to them. Thank them, let them know that the role isn’t a good fit, and send them your updated resume.

This will make a good impression and improve your chances of receiving notice of open roles that fit your experience level.

Where to Go From Here?

This article is the beginning of a process that is going to take time, effort, and maybe a little bit of money on your part to complete. And there’s no better time to start than now. Here are some great resources that helped me make the transition to a mobile developer role.

Get a start in your desired mobile platform in less than two and a half hours!

Kodeco’s Apprentice series of books

When you are ready to take a deep dive, consider one of Kodeco’s bootcamps:

“Hack Your Job Search” is full of great advice and recommendations to help you get a job in mobile development.

Key Takeaways

  • Switching to a mobile development role is possible with planning and reasonable expectations.
  • Your prior IT experience will help you secure a mobile development role.
  • Obtaining the knowledge necessary for a beginner role is possible.
  • A completed app in GitHub or one of the app stores sets you apart from many applicants.

Remember, you aren’t alone in your journey to change careers. Many have done it already, and many more are starting every day. Click the “Comments” link below to join the Kodeco Forums and discuss switching to mobile development from another technical field, how to find a job as a mobile developer and more.

About the Author

Eric Jenkinson is an experienced technical engineer with over 30 years of experience across various industries. In 2022, he decided to switch careers to mobile development. In 2023, he successfully made the switch.