Latest Posts - Page 92 of 196

May 4, 2020April 25, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Prior Work As a Starting Point For Higher Quality

Our daily work to get better is not without positive side-effects. One of the most powerful of these is the ability for us to build on prior work. These tools can be a huge productivity boost. That is the case whether we are starting with an application baseline or working from a document template. Prior Work Is An Investment Our daily steps to improve and become a better developer will generate deliverables at some point. These may not be highly polished production items we would send to a customer. Nevertheless, they are a start on that type of work. Therefore, our daily work on improving can also be seen as an investment in some yet-to-be-determined future projects. There is no... Read more

May 1, 2020April 19, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Self-Confidence That Comes From Incremental Improvement

A big part of a good interview is self-confidence. Those that answer questions directly and confidently are more likely to impress than those that waver or seem unsure of themselves. While interpersonal skills are often downplayed for technology positions, they are still essential for getting a job offer. Hard Work Equals Self-Confidence One of the complaints we hear that leads to imposter syndrome is a lack of “earning” the respect or position one has. A possible cure for this is the knowledge that you have put in the hard work and “earned” your position. I can think of no better way to do this than to take daily steps towards becoming better. Since we do this as part of our... Read more

April 29, 2020April 18, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Stories Instead of Buzzwords – Showing What You Know

There are numerous guides and articles on how to interview. They all provide some great suggestions. However, I rarely see an essential recommendation for technical interviews. Some technical interviews require dry and detailed answers. Nevertheless, you will make a better impression when you focus on stories instead of buzzwords. We Solve Problems The most important aspect of our skills is how they are used to solve problems. While a series of buzzwords can be useful for a job search, that is not the best way to show your skills. It is good to include those buzzwords in your answers to technical questions, but not sufficient. Turn the simple responses about your skillset into stories about how you used them. For... Read more

April 27, 2020April 18, 2020 Mastering Your Career

I Can Find That Out,Saying I Do Not Know Yet

We are asked questions every day. Also, part of the expectation of our job is that we will have an answer. However, we do not have to answer immediately. It is acceptable to say that I can find that out or let me get back to you for that answer. Do not rush into a solution when you have time to think through a response or ping others. Experience Is Half The Battle Experience is one of the best teachers. When we are not clear on an answer, we often know where to start looking. This approach may utilize search engines, reference materials, or co-workers. The method we take is not as important as the results we get. Therefore, do... Read more

April 24, 2020April 13, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Accepting or Rejecting Job Offers

Part of advancing our career includes accepting or rejecting job offers. It may come as a surprise to you that we do have a choice. We might even reject an offer without having another option. There are considerations to keep in mind throughout this offer process. The Counter Offer Both sides can always take or leave an offer and then make adjustments. This process works the same for jobs as it does anything else we negotiate. For example, you can conditionally accept an offer and say you also require another week of vacation. There may be a change in your salary, or the bonus structure, or even your workspace. Do not limit your negotiations to simple things like salary and... Read more

April 22, 2020April 12, 2020 Mastering Your Career

One Offs, Side Projects, and Veering From Standards

Rules are meant to be broken, and sometimes there is a reason for veering from standards. We often do this to build a one-off or maybe a proof-of-concept. These are situations where we have a form of excuse to try out a new language or create something quickly instead of “correctly.” The rules are different for these projects, so what should we include in our planning? Avoiding POC Problems A critical flaw in some proof-of-concepts projects is that it is too good. There are times where the powers that be want to move forward quickly and build on that POC. While that may be feasible, it is often a wrong decision. There are short cuts taken for a POC that... Read more