The demand for .NET professionals is increasing, but with almost one-third of IT workers feeling that they don’t have the training to enhance their careers, businesses are struggling to find the talent they desire. Staying on top of the trends, technologies and thinking of the .NET development movement is crucial for your performance, career and salary. Our consultants at Evolution Recruitment Solutions have got the top resources to help.

Why stay up-to-date?

Before we get to the how, let’s look at the why. .NET is a dynamic sector within the IT industry, making it all too easy to fall behind quickly. Using resources to keep your skills, knowledge and thinking relevant will:

Enhance your career opportunities

Businesses are looking for .NET candidates to take them to the next level. If you can demonstrate a proactive attitude to personal development, you can outshine other candidates and increase your career options.  

Become more productive

New technology evolves to make your work quicker and easier, giving you more time to develop soft skills such as teamwork, communication and project management.

Networking

Networking helps you to build contacts and connections that are useful in future career moves, and it becomes even easier when you have interesting, relevant and topical information to talk about.

How to stay up-to-date

We’re all busy in our work and personal lives, but making small changes to your day can make a big difference to your knowledge. Try being:

• Active - set aside a small amount of time each day or week to dedicate to acquiring new knowledge.
• Social - engage with like-minded people to discover areas of knowledge you lack in.
• Inquisitive – if you come across something you don’t know, ask someone about it.

Where to keep up-to-date

There are tons of resources out there to keep you relevant, and our consultants at Evolution have rounded up their favourites:

Blogs

Online articles delving into the latest .NET trends, advice and questions are everywhere. Our top blogs for information are:

• Microsoft’s .NET blog, described as the “first-hand look from the .NET engineer teams”
• Microsoft's ASP.NET blog, with announcements, updates and fundamental information
• Mikesdotnetting, covering all things ASP.NET
• OdeToCode, covering topics including .NET Core, Azure, Cloud and ASP.NET
• Matt Warren, a resource great for those interested in CLR and CoreCLR.

Newsletters

Let someone do the rounding up for you by getting the best .NET news straight to your inbox. Popular newsletters amongst the .NET developer community include:

• c# digest - a weekly digest sending you the top five links that will keep you on track
• The Morning Brew - a daily update of the .NET world, focusing on ASP.NET and JavaScript
• Morning Dew - another daily news-drop from .NET developer Alvin Ashcraft
• Evolution’s Quarterly News Roundup and blogs - delivering you the top news from across the IT industry

Websites

There are numerous .NET communities across the internet, the most popular being:

• Reddit - described as the front page of the internet, Reddit offers numerous subreddits for .NET developers including /r/technology, /r/dotnet/ and /r/web_design
• Stack Overflow - the world’s largest developer community, Stack Overflow, offers a platform for developers to learn, share and develop their knowledge.

Podcasts

Want to stay up-to-date while carrying out day-to-day tasks? Podcasts could be for you. Two .NET podcasts we love are:

• .NET Rocks - a weekly talk show covering anything from basic information to hardcore discussions
• Hanselminutes - Described as the leading voice for all things Microsoft, Scott Hanselman’s ASP.NET podcasts feature guests from far and wide

Meetups

What better way to stay relevant than by meeting up with the people that can help. There are many networking and meetup events across the UK for .NET developers, including:

• London .NET User Group - A regular meetup of London-based .NET developers
• Dot Net North - A gathering of .NET developers in Manchester and North-West England
• Glasgow Mobile Developers Group - A group for Glasgow-based .NET developers in the mobile applications industry
• .NET South East - A group for .NET developers based in the South East

Social media

If you often find yourself procrastinating on Twitter, make it useful by following these .NET tweeters:

@netmag

@codrops

@odetocode

@IrisClasson

@jongalloway

@haacked

Specialist recruitment agencies

It’s the job of specialist IT recruitment agencies, such as Evolution Recruitment, to stay up-to-date on:

• Skills in demand
• Salary ranges
• Upcoming job opportunities
• Industry news and trends

Connect with one of our specialist IT recruitment consultants today by getting in touch.