The idea of a graceful exit is particularly important in our small and tight-knit software industry. There are only so many reputable players and word gets around quickly when someone makes a scene.
Check out this article by Scott Kirsner about making a graceful exit.
Software skills to pursue in 2013
The software industry is renowned for moving at breakneck pace, sometimes even a 3 week holiday can see you returning to work and be neck-deep in new terminology, technology and techniques. It has become so critical as a software engineer to stay abreast of technological advances, tools, processes and platforms as it puts your in the right position to be able to make decisions on what is really the best tool for the job, and be able to justify why.
It also means that you are an attractive hire because you show that you are pro-active in your research and awareness, that even though you may not have 2 years experience in a language or toolset, you do know what it is, where it came from and why it exists.
Justin James from Tech Republic describes the software environment quite accurately (it's also quite accurate down here in RSA). He aptly points out the general trend towards splitting platforms between Enterprise (Rapid, tested, best-of-breed) and Consumer (enthusiast, cutting edge and typically open source) segments.
Check out the article here: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-skills-for-developers-to-focus-on-in-2013/3525
We have noticed much of the same emphasis on things like UX (user experience) and responsive design and the notable trending of NoSQL data stores like Mongo and Raven, which will be on our shores in force this year.
Keep these things in mind, so when you're asked in an interview what technology you are interested in, you actually have an opinion on them (not to mention some of these are really fantastic to play around with anyway, win-win).
It also means that you are an attractive hire because you show that you are pro-active in your research and awareness, that even though you may not have 2 years experience in a language or toolset, you do know what it is, where it came from and why it exists.
Justin James from Tech Republic describes the software environment quite accurately (it's also quite accurate down here in RSA). He aptly points out the general trend towards splitting platforms between Enterprise (Rapid, tested, best-of-breed) and Consumer (enthusiast, cutting edge and typically open source) segments.
Check out the article here: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-skills-for-developers-to-focus-on-in-2013/3525
We have noticed much of the same emphasis on things like UX (user experience) and responsive design and the notable trending of NoSQL data stores like Mongo and Raven, which will be on our shores in force this year.
Keep these things in mind, so when you're asked in an interview what technology you are interested in, you actually have an opinion on them (not to mention some of these are really fantastic to play around with anyway, win-win).
Investing in your career
Some of the best developers we hire crack the nod not because they have a particular skill-set, rather because they are well rounded smart-thinking problem solvers who have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of object orientation and computer science. What this boils down to is - if and when you are pulled from your comfort zone, will you be able to cope ? It's easy to get cosy in a job that doesn't offer much challenge but the consequence of staying could have a much larger impact on your career than you might imagine.
When the going gets tough at your company and you start seeing warning signs of instability - will you be in a position to make a move and sustain your income? These are tough questions to ask, but investing early on in the right skills and education can put you in a better position to navigate your career through tough times.
Some warning signs to look out for are highlighted in the following article by Rich Hein
When the going gets tough at your company and you start seeing warning signs of instability - will you be in a position to make a move and sustain your income? These are tough questions to ask, but investing early on in the right skills and education can put you in a better position to navigate your career through tough times.
Some warning signs to look out for are highlighted in the following article by Rich Hein
Realities of Your Industry
I came across this article recently. Some of the advice comes across as quite harsh and the article will not appeal to all personality types, but it's worth a read if you're in the software industry. I certainly wouldn't take all the advice as gospel, but there are some useful things to take away such as being technology agnostic, understanding that most systems you'll work on will be line-of-business and taking an interest in networking.
When is it time to change jobs?
So you went to the interview, you got the job, started working, made a name for yourself from day one but now you are not happy or you are thinking that the grass is greener on the other side. I am sure that most people got through this from time to time and they wonder if moving would be the right move or not. I have always believed that this should be a really easy decision and after spending some time searching Google, there seems to be a lot of people who agree with me:
- Is your current job no longer challenging you?
- Is your current job no longer assisting you to reach your longer term career goals?
- Are you no longer gaining transferable skills?
If you answered no to the questions above, then it is
probably time to make a move. The quicker you do this the better, the last
thing anyone wants to do is stagnate…
Following up after an interview
Once you’ve completed
the dreaded interview, the next thing to do is send a follow up. This shows
your interest in the company, provides you with valuable feedback and
highlights to the interviewers that you respected their time.
The best is to
follow up as quickly as possible with an e-mail. You should follow up for both
in-person and telephonic interviews. The e-mail should be addressed to everyone
who interviewed you and should:
- Thank the interviewers for taking the time to meet with you.
- Reiterate your interest in the company and position.
- Highlight your relevant skills.
- Mention anything you wished you had said, but didn't, during the interview.
- Provide feedback on the interview.
The e-mail should
be short and professional. You need to proof read it to ensure that there
are no spelling or grammatical errors.
Another possibility
is to ask the interviewers to connect via LinkedIn. This may serve you later
even if you didn't get the position.
If you haven’t heard
back in a while once you've sent your follow up mail, send a second follow up
enquiring if your first was received. Don’t start to harass the interviewers as
this creates a negative perception of you as a candidate.
With all your
follow ups, don’t:
- Harass the interviewers. Respect their time and possible workload.
- Go over their heads to someone more senior. You’ll make yourself and the interviewer look bad.
- Be aggressive or disrespectful.
- Be long winded.
- Beg or plead.
- Leave grammatical errors or spelling mistakes.
Here are some links to help you with your follow up:
Approaching a New Dev Job
If you’re starting out in a dev job, you should definitely read Joel Spolsky’s excellent article Getting Things Done When You're Only a Grunt
Some of the advice may be a bit idealistic, but the crux of the article is spot on – just do it. Strategies 1, 3 and 6 in particular give some great advice – these will definitely help you get noticed, but will also help improve the environment in which you work.
