Latest Posts - Page 96 of 200

May 8, 2020April 26, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Mastering Skills In Under Ten Thousand Hours

There is a well-known book that describes mastery of skills as needing ten thousand hours. The ideas put forth in the book have many arguments for and against, but that is for another time. In this episode, we look at ways for mastering skills in under the ten thousand hours mentioned in the Outliers book. This theory is critical for our daily exercises in getting better because we do want to reach mastery at some point. Complementary Skills We can assume that there is some amount of hours typically needed to master a skill. Likewise, many skills are related in ways that allow us to learn multiple skills in less time. The whole hours required are less than the sum... Read more

May 6, 2020April 26, 2020 Mastering Your Career

Mixing Side-hustle Tasks With Your Daily Job – Overlap Benefits

Time is arguably our most valuable resource. We can not buy extra time. We can only spend it as wisely as possible. That means we need to be mindful of the cost of our daily tasks for getting better. Fortunately, that time is not a loss. We can plan out our daily steps to improve in ways that allow us to get more done with little or no additional time spent. One way is mixing side-hustle tasks with your regular job. Killing Two Birds with One Stone We have examined how our side-hustle work and a daily job can overlap. Those tasks we do to improve may help our career while our day job can provide some experience that translates... Read more

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