If you’ve been thinking about applying to be a Happiness Engineer but aren’t sure yet whether you’re ready, this guide will help you prepare to apply. There’s no guarantee that doing these things will result in you being hired, but many of our strongest candidates have prepared in some of these ways before applying.

Build Real WordPress Experience

The most valuable thing you can do is use WordPress. A lot.

• Set up your own site (or several!). WordPress.com lets you create a site for free. Build something real. Break things and fix them. Try different themes. Install plugins. Experiment with the block editor.
• Try WooCommerce. Even setting up a test store and walking through the setup process will teach you a ton about how online stores work on WordPress.
• Troubleshoot on purpose. When something doesn’t work as expected, resist the urge to just search for the answer and move on. Dig in. Look at what’s happening. Try to understand what the root cause of an issue is rather than looking for a simple fix of a symptom. That troubleshooting instinct is exactly what we’re looking for.

Get Into the WordPress Community

• Volunteer in the WordPress.com forums. Start helping other users with their questions. This is essentially practice for the HE role and is a way to showcase some relevant support work. You’ll build WordPress knowledge, develop your support communication skills, and show genuine initiative. If you do this, mention it in your application and link to your profile.
• Attend a WordCamp or WordPress meetup. These are community events where you can connect with other WordPress users, learn from talks and workshops, and immerse yourself in the ecosystem. They’re affordable, welcoming, and a great way to deepen your involvement. You might even find us at a career booth. Come say hello!
• Follow WordPress development and news. Read the WordPress.com blog, follow WooCommerce updates, and stay current with what’s happening in the ecosystem.

Build Your Support Skills

If you don’t have customer support experience yet, find ways to start.

• Freelance or volunteer. Help people with their websites. Offer to troubleshoot for friends or local businesses. Any experience where you’re solving someone else’s technical problem through clear communication counts.
• Practice writing support responses. Find real questions in the WordPress forums and draft responses, even if you don’t post them. Focus on being clear, warm, and thorough without being overwhelming.

Develop Your AI Skills

This is newer territory, and it’s increasingly important.

• Go beyond prompting. If you’ve only used AI to ask questions and get answers, start experimenting with building something. Automate a repetitive task. Create a workflow. Build a tool that solves a real problem.
• Try building with AI coding tools. Tools like Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or Cursor let you build things even if you’re not a traditional developer. Try shipping a project: a browser extension, a script that automates part of your workflow, a custom tool for something you do regularly.
• Use AI in your WordPress learning. As you’re building sites and troubleshooting, practice using AI as a research partner. Ask it to explain concepts, then verify by testing. Build the habit of understanding what AI tells you, not just accepting it.
• Document what you build. When you apply, you’ll want specific examples. Keep track of the workflows, tools, or processes you’ve created with AI and what impact they had.

Develop Your Technical Foundation

You don’t need to be a developer, but a solid technical foundation goes a long way.

• HTML & CSS basics: MDN Web Docs and freeCodeCamp are excellent free resources.
• Domains & DNS: Cloudflare’s Learning Center explains how the internet works in approachable terms.
• SEO fundamentals: Many customers want to grow their audience. Understanding the basics of how search engines work makes you more helpful.
• eCommerce concepts: If you haven’t run or helped run an online store, even a small test shop will give you useful context.

Resources to Help You Level Up

WordPress Skills

• WordPress.com Learn – Tutorials straight from the source.
• WP Beginner – Great for building foundational knowledge.
• WordPress.tv – Video content from WordCamps and the WordPress community.

HTML & CSS

• MDN Web Docs – Solid, comprehensive tutorials.
• freeCodeCamp – Interactive learning that’s actually free.
• CSS-Tricks – Because CSS can be tricky!

Domains & DNS

• MDN Web Docs DNS Guide – Easy to follow explanations.
• Cloudflare’s Learning Center – Deeper dives when you’re curious.

AI Tools & Learning

• Claude Code – Build projects and automate tasks with AI assistance.
• GitHub Copilot – AI-powered coding that helps you build tools and workflows.
• Cursor – An AI-first code editor, great for learning to build with AI even if you’re not a developer.
• Prompt Engineering Guide – Learn how to get better results from AI tools.
• Zapier and Make – Build automations and workflows without writing code.

Customer Service Skills

• Support Driven – A community of support professionals with workshops and resources.
• LinkedIn Learning courses like “Customer Service Foundations” and “Technical Support Fundamentals.”
• Google IT Support Professional Certificate – Covers both technical and customer service skills.

Get to Know Automattic

• The Automattic Creed – Our values.
• The Happiness Engineer Blog – Stories and day-in-the-life posts from current HEs.