📦 #001 - Productivity tools and Career tips
A collection of killer resources that will make you stay ahead the curve
Hi, this is Madza! 👋
Welcome to the first issue of The Developer Toolbox!
This month I created a lot of content and came across many useful tools and tips that will improve your productivity and career opportunities.
To make it easier to navigate, I divided everything into categories, gave descriptions, and included direct links.
First, I want to thank the Sponsor of this issue! 💖
Swimm is a code documentation tool built for devs. It integrates the documentation right in the IDE and lets you trust documentation because it’s automatically updated as the code changes.
Use the slash editor commands to create docs quickly, view docs right next to the relevant code, collaborate with your team in real-time, and let AI automatically checks for errors.
They also had an amazing launch on ProductHunt, making it to the Product of the week. So make sure to check that out as well!
🚀 Boost your productivity
A set of tools that will improve your developer workflow
Scribe - Auto-generate step-by-step guides, just by clicking record. Document your processes 15x faster.
Lorem Picsum - A placeholder generator for pictures, with lots of customization options.
PFPmaker - it uses background removal AI, beautifies your photo, and generates dozens of profile pic variations automatically.
Remove.bg - select your image and instantly download the resulting image with the background removed.
CSSGradient - makes it dead simple to create fresh web gradients.
Neumorphism.io - makes it easy to create the complex neuromorphic shapes you’ve envisioned.
Compressor.io - one of the most efficient image compressors out there with a modern-looking UI.
Animista - a great tool for creating custom CSS animations with various effects.
FontJoy - finds interesting font pairings using the embedding layer of a neural net.
Logo Ipsum - tons of available choices and different logo designs fitting every need.
Snappify - create and share beautiful images of your source code.
Poet.so - capture and share Twitter posts as beautiful images.
BrowserFrame - easily wraps screenshots in browser frames.
Box-shadow - create modern-looking shadows.
Readme.so - allows you to quickly add and customize all the sections you need for your project's README.
Metatags.io - a tool to debug and generate meta tags for any website.
Favicon.io - create a favicon in a few clicks from text, image, or emoji.
Unminify - a tool to unminify JavaScript, CSS, HTML, XML, and JSON code, making it readable and pretty.
🧙♂️ AI workflow systems
Artificial intelegence tools that will save hundreds of hours
Writesonic - an AI writing platform to create any form of content 10X faster.
Chatsonic - an AI chatbot designed specifically for content creators.
Deepgram - transcribe real-world audio with an API call.
Lavender - write better emails faster, and improve your sales team's workflow.
Cohere - generate, categorize and organize text at a scale that was previously unimaginable.
Namelix - generate short brand names that are relevant to your business idea.
Photosonic - Transform your imagination into stunning digital art.
Rytr - an AI writing assistant that helps you create high-quality content, in just a few seconds.
Narakeet - a text-to-speech video maker, allows you to turn a script into voice, and edit videos as easily as editing text.
Fireflies - an AI assistant for your meetings. Record, transcribe, and search across your voice conversations.
Midjourney - an AI image generation tool that takes inputs from a human to produce unique images.
Runway - real-time video editing, collaboration, and more, Runway is your next-generation content creation suite.
Talk to Books - explore ideas and discover books by getting quotes that respond to your queries.
✨ No-code tools
Useful web apps that do not require any coding knowledge
Typedream - build web pages, customize them, and even connect your existing database without code.
Framer - an interactive design tool for websites and prototyping. It excels at building entire marketing sites, landing pages, online campaigns, and much more.
Zapier - automate your work across 5000+ app integrations, so you can focus on what matters.
Webflow - create professional, custom websites in a completely visual canvas with no code.
Notion - write, plan & get organized in one place. Free for personal use.
Airtable - a powerful spreadsheet platform for building collaborative apps.
Carrd - simple, free, fully responsive one-page sites for pretty much anything.
WeWeb - build user interfaces on top of existing databases. Visual development with design freedom, security, and scalability.
Softr - turn your Airtable data into a beautiful and powerful website, web app, or client portal.
Zyro - a powerful website builder that makes it easy for anyone to create a professional website or online store.
Bubble - a no-code tool that lets you build SaaS platforms, marketplaces, and CRMs without code.
Adalo - create fully custom no-code web & mobile applications with Adalo's easy-to-use drag-and-drop platform.
Tally - create any type of form in seconds, without knowing how to code, and for free.
Chatfuel - the leading no-code chatbot platform. Acquire new customers, increase sales, and automate support.
Convertkit - easily create email sequences, tag subscribers, grow your list, and automate your marketing.
Miro - a feature-rich whiteboard for distributed teams to brainstorm ideas and collaborate.
Calendly - a modern scheduling platform that makes finding time a breeze.
🔁 Automation providers
A collection of tools that will work for you while you sleep
Zapier - connect and automate 5000+ app integrations, so you can focus on what matters.
Ifttt - connect various developers’ devices, services, and apps to create applets that perform automation.
PowerAutomate - empower everyone to build automated processes using low-code, drag-and-drop tools.
PipeDream - a low code integration platform for developers that allows you to connect APIs remarkably fast.
N8n - free and source-available workflow automation - install on prem, download their desktop app or use the cloud service.
CircleCI - industry-standard CI/CD platform that lets teams build and deliver great software, quickly and at scale.
Cron-jobs - Scheduled execution of your scripts. Run in flexible intervals, from minute-by-minute to once a year.
📄 Resume builders
Tools that will create professional portfolio and resume in minutes
Kickresume - create a beautiful resume quickly with the help of artificial intelligence and our customizable templates.
DevCover - an easy way to create a developer portfolio. All you need to provide is your GitHub and Hashnode usernames.
Dopefolio - fast multipage portfolio template for developers. Easy to set up, fully responsive, optimized for SEO, great audits score, and more.
Simplefolio - a minimal portfolio template for developers. Modern UI design + reveal animations, optimized with Parcel.
HTML5up - probably the best collection of modern, sleek-looking, and performant HTML5 portfolio templates. Highly customizable and responsive.
Github-resume - a service that creates a resume based on your GitHub repos/activity. All you need to create a resume is your GitHub username. Great to generate an overview for tech-savvy people.
Best-resume-ever - create a professional-looking resume by cloning the repo and editing the data.yml file. Lots of beautiful templates to choose from.
Resume-template - a simple Jekyll + GitHub Pages-powered resume template. Clone it locally and customize it however you want.
Landing-page - my personal open-source portfolio placeholder template, to showcase social media links. Pure HTML and CSS.
🎖️ Prepare yourself for the market
Some of my best tips to stay organized and follow great patterns
Be patient and stay consistent. If a company needs to hire quickly, they may request an interview right away. Similarly, a company may contact you months later with a job offer.
Update your resume. Check that all of your information is up to date and correct. Have another person look over for grammar and formatting errors.
Tailor your resume and cover letter. Modify them to better fit the specific responsibilities and qualifications of the job you want.
Apply to jobs you are underqualified for. Feel free to apply for jobs where you may not meet every requirement. If you don't apply, you'll never know.
Send follow-up emails. Always send a thank-you email the next day. Explain that you are still interested in the position and had a pleasant conversation with them.
Keep track of the jobs you apply to. Write down which jobs you applied to and when. This way, you won't apply for the same job twice and you'll remember when to contact an employer.
Learn job keywords. Learn which keywords are relevant to the type of job you want because search engines use them to help you find them.
Ask for informational interviews. If you make a good impression during this meeting, they may remember you when a job opening arises.
Be mindful of your online presence. Some hiring managers use social media to learn more about an applicant. Maintain a courteous and professional demeanor.
Act kindly to everyone. When starting a business, treat everyone with respect. You never know if they will have a say in a hiring decision.
🔍 Job hunting strategies
Strategies to use to beat the competition for the job market
Networking. By broadening your professional network, you open the door to new career opportunities. This way, more people will be willing to recommend you for a new position.
Online job boards. It's much easier to find a job now that most job postings are digital. You can search for your desired job title using keywords.
Recruiters. Many businesses use staffing agencies to fill open positions. Working with a recruiter or headhunter can be extremely beneficial in your job search.
Referrals. It might also be worth asking a trusted friend if their company has any openings. If you both believe you'd be a good fit for a position at their company, they may recommend you.
Job fairs. Job fairs are frequently held by colleges, universities, and businesses. They are frequently organized by industry, though some have businesses in a variety of job sectors.
Company websites. Some businesses prefer to keep their job postings on their website. Before you apply, learn about who they are, what they do, and who their clients are.
Cold calling. You could also contact a company directly even if there are no current job openings. You could call them directly or send an email about any available positions.
Internships. Starting with an internship is a great way to build your resume and make professional connections if you are inexperienced.
Volunteering. This is especially true for nonprofit organizations that may not have the funds to hire you right now.
👨💻 Sites to apply for your next role
A set of platforms offering wide list of job opportunities
🔸 Research prospective companies
🔸 Connect with existing contacts
🔸 Easily grow your network
🔸 Can see applicants’ skills assessments that they’ve passed
🔸 Can invite specific applicants to apply
🔸 Offers job seekers job alerts to more easily find your job opening
🔸 With over 4.5M visitors, the largest remote work community in the world
🔸 No scrape listings from other platforms
🔸 See the salary range for the roles
🔸 Trusted by the worlds leading tech companies
🔸 Helps companies find great remote talent and connect them with top candidates
🔸 Daily updated Remote Jobs at over 2,000+ remote companies
🔸 Create a profile, and get great matches
🔸 Companies apply to you
🔸 Choose, interview, and accept
🔸 Unique jobs at startups and tech companies
🔸 Everything you need to know to job search - including seeing salary and stock options upfront
🔸 Tons of opportunities for freelancers
🔸 Hourly or fixed rate, you decide
🔸 Secure payment provided by the platform
I really hope these resources provided practical value for you! If so, make sure to connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn for daily content!
Also, I already have tons of ideas for the upcoming issues, so if you liked the first one make sure to share it with your friends and subscribe below!
this shows your humbleness . you are not gatekeeping this list for yourself but you are helping collage students like me. thanks brother!!
❤️❤️