CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR CAREER DEVELOPERS

PATRICK MCKENZIE

BOARD MEETING

KALZUMEUS SOFTWARE

A BLOG POSTMOST USEFUL THING I SHIPPED IN 12 YEARS AS A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

THREE STAGES

“LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE WITH THE COMPANY.”

SCARIEST WORDS IN ANY LANGUAGE

JUST WATCH BRANDON HAYS’ TALK FROM KEEP RUBY WEIRD 2015.

A BRIEF TAXONOMY OF DEV CAREER PATHS

▸ Go broad : Senior engineer -> Software architect

▸ Go deep : Senior engineer -> Staff Engineer

▸ Go management : Team Lead -> CTO

▸ Go lateral : Growth Team / Risk / Ops

▸ Go business : Consultant / Founder

ASIDE: WHERE SHOULD I WORK?

THREE RULES

WORK WHERE PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU.

SOFTWARE ENGINEER

NOT GREAT VISIBILITY

DEVELOPER EVANGELIST

KEITH CASEY

WORK ON SOMETHING YOU CAN SHOW.

GITHUB IS OVERRATED.

YOU CAN READ THE STRONGEST ATTACK ON DR WRIGHT IN THIS POST ON GITHUB

THE BBC

THANKS FOR DOING THAT HIGHLY TECHNICAL ORIGINAL REPORTING

“I GAVE ONE RATHER MEDIOCRE TALK AT A REGIONAL TECH CONFERENCE …AS A DIRECT RESULT I NOW WORK AT TWITTER.”

CURATE YOUR BEST WORK ON YOUR OWN PLATFORM.

WORK ON SOMETHING YOU CAN KEEP.

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE “TYPICAL” HIRING PROCESS

FAIRLY REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE

OUR STANDARD HIRING PROCESS

▸ Resume screening

▸ Phone screen (non-technical)

▸ Programming screen (technical)

▸ On-site

▸ Interview #1

▸ Interview #2

▸ Interview #3

▸ Lunch With Team

▸ CEO Interview

▸ Decision

YOU SHOULD AVOID THIS PROCESS.

TO PREVENT ENGINEERS FROM GETTING JOBS

WHY THAT PROCESS?

NON-TECHNICAL HEADS OF RECRUITING WILL SCREEN OUT DONALD KNUTH FOR INSUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE OF C.

ENGINEERS ARE MOST MARKETABLE FOR THE THINGS THEY ARE ALREADY DOING; THIS IS GENERALLY WHAT THEY LEAST WANT TO DO AT A NEW JOB.

Dillon Forrest

ONE OF SMARTEST THINGS I’VE EVER HEARD ABOUT CAREER PLANNING

COLD EMAIL OUTREACH TO A HIRING MANAGER DOES THEM A FAVOR.

WHAT A GOOD COLD EMAIL CONTAINS

▸ A real human clearly sending one-on-one email.

▸ Demonstrated value you’d bring to a conversation.

▸ An explicit ask for what you want.

I’M STUDYING CS AT $UNIVERSITY. YOUR COMPANY CHAIONE IS DOING SOME REALLY COOL THINGS THAT I AM INTERESTED, I WONDER IF WE WOULD HAVE THE CHANCE TO TALK.

Did Not Get A Job Interview

I WATCHED YOUR PRESENTATION ON PRODUCTIZING TWILIO APPS. GREAT STUFF — I WROTE ABOUT IT HERE. CAN WE TALK FOR 15 MINUTES ON TUESDAY ABOUT WHAT STARFIGHTER IS DOING THESE DAYS?

A Much Better Cold Pitch

THE BEST COLD EMAIL ISN’T.

MISSION: UPGRADE EARLY COLD CONTACT TO WARM INTERNAL REFERRAL

AGENDA FOR COFFEE DATE OR SKYPE CALL

▸ Demonstrate you’re not an axe murderer.

▸ Listen about what the company is doing.

▸ Give evidence that you’d be interesting to work with.

▸ Do recon on what their hiring process is.

▸ Ask explicitly for them to get the ball rolling for you.

ENTERPRISE SALES 101: TALK ONLY TO PEOPLE WHO CAN SAY YES.

CONDUCTING YOURSELF AT A JOB INTERVIEW

▸ You should know their format cold before you go in. Ask.

▸ Coding tests: answer correctly and concisely then refine.

▸ The job interview is about their needs, not your skills.

▸ Demonstrate enthusiasm and engagement with the mission.

▸ Do not negotiate until you have achieved Yes-If.

JOB INTERVIEWS ARE TERRIBLE.

DODGING THE DREADED SALARY QUESTION.

TRY ONE OR MORE OF THESE ON FOR SIZE

CLASSIC DODGES THAT OFTEN WORK ON SALARY QUESTION

▸ Defer: “I want to make sure we’re a good fit first.”

▸ Redirect: “I’d like this job to be a big step forward for me in terms of responsibility, impact, and salary.”

▸ Invert: “You’d know better than me. I just want to do great work and know you’ll treat me fairly.”

▸ Consider: “It would depend on the full context of the offer.”

▸ Range: “It sounds like you’re trying to qualify me for a range. If you tell me it, I’ll tell you if we’re in the ballpark.”

ROLEPLAY THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

IMPLEMENT A COMMITMENT STRATEGY.

TRADE FOR WHAT YOU WANT.

I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF. CAN I HELP YOU?

▸ patrick@starfighters.io or @patio11

▸ https://www.stockfighter.io <— If you like the Twilio API, you will enjoy playing with this.

▸ https://www.starfighters.io <— We can help you hire pre-vetted, extremely talented engineers.

▸ You absolutely cannot waste my time by talking to me or reaching out. This is my vocation and my passion.

▸ Shoutout to Josh Doody’s Fearless Salary Negotiation. Buy a copy (or get one from us).

PERSONAL NOTE

FRANZ APOSTOLIN MEMORIAM

BECAUSE IF SOFTWARE PEOPLE DON’T RESPECT COPYRIGHT THEN WHO WILL?

PHOTO CREDITS

▸ Cubicles: (CC) https://flic.kr/p/7yV6B3

▸ Keith Casey: Silicon Hill (nominative use) http://www.siliconhillsnews.com/2014/01/23/keith-casey-developer-evangelism-has-been-both-the-best-and-worst-job-in-my-career/

▸ Barbed wire: BBC (CC-BY-A) https://flic.kr/p/kYhdCi

▸ Franz Apostol: Keith Perhac