How can I confirm what I built in my previous company?
Hello Everyone,
I am in a peculiar position at the moment. When I graduated, I started working at a startup funded by a small business. After two and a half years of working part-time(using Flutter and Django), I finished the MVP and left the company for a different one (another small business that offered a full-time role using RemixJS and TypeScript).
Now, my initial employer's website for the MVP application is down. They mentioned they might make even more MVP changes before showing it to their clients. I think they either ran out of budget or are cost-cutting to avoid paying for website hosting.
My problem is that I cannot showcase what I built to potential Flutter and Django clients. My expertise is still in Flutter and Django, but I am desperately trying to skill up in the JavaScript ecosystem quickly.
What should I do in this scenario? This hurts my credibility, as most clients want to see what I have built.
The only solutions I have found so far are:
- Show the WayBack machine version of the website.
- Build a side project using Flutter (I am a terrible designer, though).
Please let me know what to do as I am very worried about this!
What would you do in my situation?
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
![Entry-Level Software Engineer [L3] at Google company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fgoogle.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D780356ef-3efc-4728-9eb4-d909b75bb4a6&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Discussion
(5 comments)- 22 months agoEng @ Taro
I recommend collecting screenshots of your MVP from the Wayback Machine and showcasing them on a portfolio website or in a slide deck. By creating a portfolio or slides, you can control the narrative and highlight your contributions rather than leaving it up to the clients to interpret. In your portfolio or slides, focus on emphasizing the technical challenges you tackled and the solutions you implemented while building the MVP. This approach not only demonstrates your skills but also tells a compelling story of your work.
- 02 months agoEntry-Level Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
Hello Charlie,
Thank you for the input.
The website only contains the information that the app existed. It does not have the screenshots of the actual app that was built by me. I have the app's screenshots saved, but I can't share them without their permission due to an NDA. Do you think just asking the initial company owners to show some screenshots would be the best?
What else would you do in this situation?
- 1
2 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroIs the idea with the side project that you would recreate what you built and then demo/take screenshots of that for future gigs and jobs?
If you can't use Wayback machine or get screenshots/videos from your previous employer, the next best thing you can do is provide references vouching for what you've built. Otherwise it's tricky.
- 02 months agoEntry-Level Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
Hello Alex,
Thank you for the input.
I meant to build a completely different side project to showcase my skills (nothing to do with the App).
The Wayback machine works, and it has some screenshots showing that the app's website existed, but it does not contain screenshots of the apps that were actually built, and the Wayback machine screenshots are all over the place with weird fonts and spacing.I asked for their references before, so that shouldn't be an issue. I can attach screenshots for the resume, but clients generally ask to see what I have built.
What do you think the best course of action here is outside of getting references? - 12 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
I think Wayback machine is all you have then :(
You did the best you could. I'm a big fan of building more side projects to boost your portfolio and grow skills.
