When I interview candidates, I specifically look for signs of having been a big player in a tiny team. People from this kind of background often think of themse

When I interview candidates, I specifically look for signs of having been a big player in a tiny team. People from this kind of background often think of themselves as senior developers because they've had a lot of responsibility. But, their knowledge is entirely confined to the things they've directly experienced. Their knowledge is a mile wide and a molecule deep. They don't know the correct terms for things, haven't thought at all about the trade offs involved in different approaches, and (as others on this thread have pointed out) don't know how to deal with a bigger team of people who all have their own opinions, knowledge and experiences. I might still hire these people but in junior, not senior roles. My advice: Be very humble. Don't expect to be given the same responsibility elsewhere. You may feel you've earned it but you haven't proved that yet. Really. Learn to accept criticism and to discuss your approach with other people, even if you think you've got it right. Also, go back and study those textbooks you've been treating as less important, really hard. Believe it or not, you are at the very beginning of your career. There's still a long way to go. Good luck!