Some people want a new job but are unsure if they can get one. They worry about the local market, their experience and the competition. They worry instead of planning and taking action. Or, they don’t know where to start. In this episode we cover the 5 steps you need to take to get a new job in tech.
Many software developers and IT professionals struggle with a negative mindset and it holds them back in their career. Here's what you need to do to overcome the internal obstacles holding you back.
This week I answer 3 questions from the @CodeNewbies Q&A tweets. Q1: What do you feel would help you stand out when applying for a job in tech? #CodeNewbie Q2: What could be a challenge that you’d face when trying to get hired? Q3: What can we do today to best prepare ourselves to get that dream job? What are the best resources to help with that?
Career Design Patterns Academy member Bryan came back for a second mock interview armed with the feedback from his first mock interview. This time around I adopted a "difficult boss" persona and interviewed him one on one. Download the post-interview feedback discussion at careerdesignpatterns.com/interview.
In this episode we host a practice interview with Brian, one of the beta members of the Career Design Patterns Academy. Brian is a .NET developer with 8 years experience who wants to get a new job and increase his salary. Joe Zack (of Coding Blocks podcast) and I interview Brian as if we were hiring a new team member to our fictional software company. Download the interview feedback audio and tips checklist at careerdesignpatterns.com/interview.
In this episode I discuss the origin story of Hello Tech Pros, the social anxiety and soft skill disadvantages I overcame and how I help software developers and IT professionals get better jobs, make more money and have a bigger impact on the world.
This is the final episode of Hello Tech Pros, Season 1. Going forward, we will be rebranding the show and focusing on soft skills and career development tips for software developers. For more information, visit CareerDesignPatterns.com.
What software developers say and what they mean are sometimes two different things. Or to put it another way, what software developers say and what you hear are two different things. In this episode we discuss common statements from software developers and parse them for clues into their true intention. Learn how to improve the communication between developers and non-developers, go to hellotechpros.com/manage.
George Mocharko helps create authentic, crafted, strategic messaging for small businesses, start-ups, and non-profits. He also specializes in digital and print publications management, with professional-quality newsletter & magazine design and production, including marketing collateral creation. George has a Master's degree in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University's School of Policy, Government and International Affairs and a Bachelor's degree in Communication from Mason. He studied Digital Marketing at Georgetown and Front-End Web Development at General Assembly. He is a member of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Society for Technical Communication, Graphic Artists Guild, and Project Management Institute®. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/ux-of-technical-documentation-george-mocharko/ What You Will Learn From This Episode People don't read the whole doc, they need an executive summary. Focus on the UX of technical documentation. Remember that they are consumed by people, not technology. Start thinking about doc from inception and include a tech writer role. Make sure the documentation is accessible when anyone picks it up. A documentation specialist's job is to capture, aggregate, sort and redistribute knowledge. Professionals think 9-5, M-F. It's not time management, its energy management. Cater to energy and communication styles.
Matt Miller spent the first 9 years of his career as an Air Force pilot, before entering the private sector to work in both the medical device and advertising industries. While a top performer in the corporate world, his long term desire was to be his own boss. A good friend one day mentioned the gum ball machines he and his young daughters owned, and that conversation began a 10 year business quest that has brought Matt’s company, School Spirit Vending, to the cutting edge of both the vending and school fundraising industries. Today, School Spirit Vending’s franchising program provides a proven and profitable business system for busy professionals and their families looking to develop secondary income streams with a limited time commitment. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/matt-miller-entrepreneurship/ What You Will Learn in This Episode Why flashy and glamorous isn't always profitable. Why you shouldn't tie your career or your business to the training or jobs you had years ago. How Matt built a profitable business one vending machine at a time while deliver pizzas. Why you should start thinking about "bricks of income" and how to start stacking them. The franchise business that helps schools raise money without sending kids door to door or bringing in volunteers. Resources Mentioned HTP-27: From Bubblegum Machines to Mobile Apps — Leon Fowler on Entrepreneurship Live Your Dreams: Top 10 Reasons to Get into the Vending Machine Business Start Your First Business - free email and audio course
Shayla Price creates and promotes content. She lives at the intersection of digital marketing, technology, and social responsibility. Originally from Louisiana, Shayla champions access to remote work opportunities. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/shayla-price/ What You Will Learn in This Episode How to create your own job when your employer doesn't meet your needs. The obstacles that Shayla encountered when tackling entrepreneurship in the non-profit space. How to determine what is in demand in the current market and decide which gaps to fill. Why you should focus on delivering results with the skills you have rather than chase new skills. Why it's important to realize people are ahead of you and behind you, and why that's just fine. How Shayla used her first low-paid gigs to jump start her business. How to grow into a person who is in high demand. Resources Mentioned The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
James Hopkins is a Co-founder of the Atlas App Store, an early stage Google Play alternative. He studied economics at CU Boulder, and worked at two startups - a health tablet company, and energy retrofit company - before deciding to start his own venture. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/james-hopkins/ What You Will Learn From This Episode App Search engines can't find products via their underlying functions. Only apps with the largest budget get top results, but what you can do about that. Why it's easy to develop apps, but not to get exposure. Why you should be focusing on developing localized apps. The basics of app store submission forms. Non-SEO tactics for app adoption. Resources Mentioned HTP-216: How to Overcome to Cycle of Meh — Patrick Vlaskovits Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Kamil Rudnicki is a programmer, entrepreneur, founder of Timecamp, and student. He is fascinated with the usable psychology of self-improvement, business, philosophy, meditation, good and meaningful life, decision making and what future will bring. Kamil is an Introvert (INTJ). Minimalist. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/kamil-rudnicki/ What You Will Learn in This Episode Why introverts find social situations exhausting. How to find the right mentor by looking 2 steps ahead instead of 100. Why "just in time learning" is highly effective and efficient. How to build a personal knowledge base and use it to maximize your continuing education. How to save time on reading time management articles by practicing time management. The biggest time-sink apps that are destroying your productivity.
David Fradin was a classically trained product manager at Hewlett-Packard during the 50 years that HP grew 20% a year. Apple recruited him to bring the first hard disk drive on a personal computer to market. He soon rose in Apple’s management ranks to the same level as Steve Jobs by heading the Apple /// product line and providing the profits which helped fund the development of the Macintosh. Since 1969 he has worked on over 75 products and services, at 25 small, medium and large organizations and eleven startups covering hardware, software, services, internet, SaaS, mobile, advertising, online training, video and for non-profit public policy associations and political campaigns. He has taught what is in this book to thousands of senior managers, product managers, and product marketing managers worldwide at small, medium and large companies. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/david-fradin-product-design/ What You Will Learn in This Episode How tech leaders can combine value and vision to develop culture in their startup. Why SPICEs are the key to success. Strategy Process Information Customer Employees Why hackathons and venture capitalism may be counter to the results you are trying to achieve (fire, ready, aim). Why the salesperson's responsibility is to understand what the customer wants to do then match them to product or service that meets that need. Don't define yourself by the solution, but by the problems. How to observe users like a scientist.
Conrado Lamas is a journalist who's been working with startups and digital marketing for almost 5 years now. He explains how writers could and should transit to digital marketing, and how everything is learnable. Conrado works at Carts Guru, after successfully releasing Mailtrack and transforming it into a leader of its success. What You Will Learn in This Episode How to understand people's behaviours using empathy. A brief history on traditional journalism and why today is so different. The trending "fake news" and what it means to professional journalism. Why Google rewards good journalism with better search rankings. What you can do to engage in contemporary journalism.
Amar Vyas is a husband, Co-founder of Kamakshi Media, and sometimes a writer. A self-described nomad, Amar has lived in fifteen cities over the past twenty years, including two years spent at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the Indian Institute of Management, (A) Ahmedabad for his MBA. In his spare time, Amar likes exploring offbeat places, learning Gujarati from his wife, and spending time with his dog, Buddy. Amar and his family lives in Bangalore, India. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/amar-vyas-product/ What You Will Learn From This Episode Why entrepreneurs need to be as smart as possible with their seed funding. The 3 questions Amar asked when starting his media business. Why WhatsApp may be the biggest missing piece to your marketing and content distribution channels. The magic "Tardis" podcast boxes that may soon be all over India. How bots will transform the delivery of audio content.
Nina Meiers loves the leverage and flexibility technology provides and decided to embark on a farming journey growing healthy, delicious foods without chemicals. Nina is an offline farmer and online entrepreneur who juggles feeding the chooks and alpacas with building websites and ecommerce for a range of companies, locally and nationally. Nina loves the grounded lifestyle of being a farmer combined with the location-independence that online business provides. What You Will Learn From This Episode How you can work remotely as a freelancer. Why DotNetNuke content management system is underrated. The unique customer service tactics that Nina used to grow her client list. When to bill your clients even when they aren't being cooperative. How to be more productive by unplugging from technology.
Anthony Delgado has been an explorer of the digital space for over a decade. From transforming start-ups into multi-million dollar organizations, to helping nonprofits develop digital solutions to real world problems, Anthony’s passion is using software to help change the way people interact with the world around them. Anthony is a full stack developer and technology hero at websignia, a digital strategy and innovation agency. websignia has worked with a wide variety of different companies including sports, media, entertainment, healthcare, government agencies and non-profits. Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/anthony-delgado-technology/ What You Will Learn in This Episode What a hackathon is and how it can help launch your career or product. How to get superpowers using the Twilio API. The 3 consecutive winning hackathon entries that Anthony's team delivered. 5 ways to dominate your next hackathon.
Avrohom Gottheil helps businesses save time and money by ensuring they have the right technology in place to effectively optimize their business communications. Avrohom has been in the telecommunications industry for over 20 years, and businesses from all over the world have reached out to him for his expertise in assisting them with installing, managing, maintaining, and training them on their phone systems. This past year Avrohom's company, SimiPlex Technologies, launched a new product portfolio which enables him to help businesses take their communications to the cloud! Show notes at http://hellotechpros.com/avrohom-gottheil-entrepreneurship/ What You Will Learn From This Episode Why being self-aware is more important than being good at your job. Why having the right support system in place is critical to your business success. The best way to ensure that your company grows and evolves. Why Avrohom hired 3 coaches simultaneously and the biggest lesson they taught him. How to fold time and find shortcuts to success.
The steps Justin Esgar takes to ensure that guests have a great conference, leave positive reviews and book again next year. Justin Esgar filed his patents at conception, and today he is a serial entrepreneur, Mac guru, app developer, conference owner and speaker who revels in making life better for everyone through technological innovation. SAVE $75! The ACEs Conference is dedicated exclusively to helping you grow your IT business. You already know how to do the work. Learn how to scale and monetize. Use discount code TECHPROS and save $75 on your registration. What You Will Learn From This Episode How to build your businesses like a wheel with spokes where each venture supports the other. Why Justin built the ACEs Conference focusing on the business side of IT. How to avoid losing $20K when hosting your first conference. The 5 things you need to put on a great show. The kinds of sponsors that would be good for your event. The steps Justin takes on launch day to ensure that guests have a great conference, leave positive reviews and book again next year. Resources Mentioned ACEs Conference 2017 — Use code "TECHPROS" and save 20%! The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) by Chris Hardwick