What to Do and What to Avoid When Starting Your First Job as a Developer

Starting a new job as a developer can be exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. New tools, internal processes, team dynamics, tickets, meetings, code reviews, repositories, documentation, and expectations can all appear at once.

And while it is normal to want to prove yourself from day one, growing as a developer is not about knowing everything immediately. It is about learning quickly, communicating clearly, asking for help when needed, and building strong professional habits from the beginning.

In tech, continuous learning is part of the journey. Stack Overflow’s 2025 Developer Survey reported that 69% of developers spent time during the previous year learning new coding techniques or a new programming language, while 36% learned AI-enabled tools for their job or career growth. In other words, even experienced developers are constantly learning.

 
So, if you are starting your career as a developer or joining a new tech team, this guide can help you understand what to do, what to avoid, and how to grow from your first days.

Before you start: prepare your professional profile

Your growth as a developer does not begin on your first day at work. It starts earlier, when you prepare your resume, improve your LinkedIn profile, organize your projects, and learn how to communicate your skills.

If you have already worked on improving your tech resume, use it as a strategic tool. A good CV should not only list programming languages, frameworks, or tools. It should also show what problems you have solved, what projects you have worked on, and what value you can bring to a team.

Your LinkedIn profile also matters. LinkedIn explains that a complete profile can help users connect with opportunities, and that adding relevant skills helps others understand your strengths and improves your chances of being found in searches.

This is where you can connect with previous Rootstack resources, such as:

• How to create a strong CV for tech jobs.
• How to optimize your LinkedIn profile when looking for opportunities in technology.

The main idea is simple: the better you communicate your potential before entering a company, the more prepared you will be to take advantage of the opportunity when it arrives.

You joined the development team. Now what?

Your first days in a new job usually involve a lot of information. You may need to meet the team, understand the project, configure access, read documentation, learn how tasks are assigned, and become familiar with the development workflow.

In a software development team, you will likely work with code repositories, task management platforms, internal communication channels, development environments, and code review processes. GitHub explains that pull requests are used to propose, discuss, review, and compare changes before they are merged into a project.

At first, this may feel like too much. But you do not need to master everything in one week. The most important thing is to observe, ask questions, and understand how the team works before trying to move too fast.

Start by asking yourself:

• How does the team organize its work?
• What tools do they use to communicate?
• How are tasks assigned?
• How is code reviewed?
• What documentation should I read first?
• Who can I ask for help if I get blocked?

The faster you understand the context, the easier it will be to contribute value.

What to do when you start as a developer

1. Take notes from day one

During onboarding, you will receive a lot of information. Take notes on access credentials, internal processes, tools, installation steps, important commands, frequent questions, and team recommendations.

Taking notes helps you remember details and also shows organization, interest, and professionalism.

2. Ask questions when something is not clear

Asking questions does not make you look less prepared. On the contrary, it shows that you want to understand things properly before taking action.

However, before asking, try to review the available documentation, search internal channels, or organize your question clearly. Instead of saying, “I don’t understand anything,” you could say:

“I’m reviewing this ticket and I have a question about the authentication flow. I already checked the documentation, but I’m not sure if I should modify this endpoint or create a new one. Could you guide me?”

This shows initiative and makes it easier for others to help you.

3. Understand the team’s workflow

Every company has its own way of working. Some teams use Scrum, others use Kanban, and others combine different agile practices. Some teams expect daily updates, while others work with weekly reports or asynchronous communication.

Before trying to change anything, understand how the team works.

Pay attention to how tickets are created, how tasks are estimated, how commits are written, how pull requests are opened, and how progress is communicated.

4. Learn how to receive feedback without taking it personally

Code reviews are a normal part of a developer’s work. They are not personal attacks. They are opportunities to improve the product, learn from others, and strengthen the quality of the codebase.

Atlassian explains that code reviews help developers learn the codebase, discover new technologies, and improve their skills.

When someone leaves comments on your pull request, read them with a learning mindset. Ask for clarification if something is not clear, apply the changes, and use the feedback to improve.

5. Communicate your progress and blockers

One common mistake when starting is staying silent when something is not moving forward. In development, getting blocked happens. The key is to communicate it on time.

Do not wait several days to say that you could not solve something. If you already researched, tested different options, and still cannot move forward, let your team know.

A good way to communicate this could be:

“I’m working on ticket X. I already tried these two options, but I’m still getting an error in the integration. I’ll review one more alternative and, if it does not work, I’ll ask for support so we do not delay the task.”

This shows responsibility and clarity.

6. Focus on quality, not only speed

When you are starting, you may feel pressure to deliver fast. But in software development, delivering quickly without understanding the impact can create bigger problems later.

Before marking a task as complete, review your code, test your changes, validate that you did not break another functionality, and make sure you followed the team’s standards.

Speed improves with experience. Quality begins with good habits.

What to avoid in your first days as a developer

1. Pretending you know something when you do not

You do not need to have all the answers. What you do need is honesty when something is new to you.
Saying “I don’t know yet, but I can research it” is much better than pretending to understand and making mistakes because of a lack of clarity.

2. Staying blocked for too long

Being independent is good. Isolating yourself is not. If you have spent too much time trying to solve something without progress, ask for help.

A good developer is not someone who never gets blocked. A good developer knows when to ask for support in order to move forward.

3. Making changes without understanding the context

Before changing code, understand what problem it solves, what part of the system it affects, and what impact it may have.
Sometimes one line of code is connected to processes that are not obvious at first. That is why reading documentation, asking questions, and reviewing related code are important before making significant changes.

4. Ignoring documentation

Documentation can save you many hours of confusion. Even when it is not perfect or fully updated, it can give you context about architecture, technical decisions, installation steps, deployments, or internal workflows.

Before asking a basic question, check if there is already a README, onboarding guide, internal document, or previous explanation from the team.

5. Taking feedback as personal criticism

If someone corrects your code, it does not mean you are not good enough. It means you are part of a collaborative process.
In tech, work is rarely done alone. Learning how to receive feedback with maturity can make a big difference in your professional growth.

6. Constantly comparing yourself to more experienced developers

It is normal to see other teammates solve tasks faster or understand things more easily. But remember: they may already know the project, the client, the architecture, or the common issues in the system.

Your process is just beginning. Focus on learning, not comparing.

7. Trying too hard to prove yourself

Sometimes, in an effort to make a good impression, you may promise more than you can deliver, take on tasks without fully understanding them, or suggest changes before knowing the context.

First, listen. Then, understand. After that, contribute.

How to grow from day one in a new tech role

Growing as a developer is not only about writing good code. It is also about how you communicate, collaborate, learn, and respond to challenges.

These skills can help you stand out from the beginning:

• Clear communication: Knowing how to explain what you are working on, what you need, and what problem you are facing is essential in any tech team.
• Technical curiosity: Do not settle for “it works.” Ask why it works, how it connects with other parts of the system, and what alternatives exist.
• Organization: Keep your tasks clear, update your progress, and respect agreed timelines.
• Openness to learning: Every project, client, and team can teach you something different. The more open you are to learning, the faster you will grow.
• Responsibility: If you commit to a task, follow up on it. If something changes, communicate it. If you make a mistake, take responsibility and learn from it.

Learn how to use technology in your favor

Today, developers have access to tools that can help them research, document, test ideas, and understand code faster. But using modern tools does not mean depending on them completely.

AI tools can be helpful, but they require technical judgment. Stack Overflow’s 2025 Developer Survey shows that developers are adopting AI-enabled tools, but it also highlights that trust in AI-generated results remains a major topic in the industry.

If you use AI as part of your workflow, do it responsibly:

• Do not copy code without understanding it.
• Verify that the solution makes sense.
• Review security, performance, and project context.
• Use the tool as support, not as a replacement for your judgment.

A developer who knows how to use modern tools with critical thinking can bring much more value than someone who only looks for quick answers.

Your first developer job is a learning stage

No one expects you to be a senior developer on your first day. What teams do expect is willingness to learn, responsibility, and a good attitude.

You will make mistakes. You will have questions. You will receive feedback. You will face tasks that seem difficult at first. All of that is part of the process.

The important thing is to build a strong professional foundation: ask intentional questions, communicate progress, care about the quality of your work, learn from your team, and stay open to improvement.

In technology, growth does not mean knowing everything. It means getting better constantly.

Take the next step in your tech career

If you are starting your career as a developer or looking for your next professional step in technology, Rootstack offers opportunities to keep growing. Rootstack’s Talent section presents the company as a web, mobile, and automation solutions agency from Panama with global clients, and its Jobs page includes current openings for different professional profiles.

Explore our job opportunities and follow us on social media to discover more career tips, open roles, and content designed to help you grow in tech.