Tag: career

Today’s editorial was originally published on June 8, 2011. It is being re-run because Steve is on vacation.

I think that most of the developers or data professionals out there have been through a variety of types of interviews in their careers. You might have had technical interviews that asked you to write code, or maybe you’ve been quizzed on SQL Server trivia or asked to explain methods and properties. Maybe you’ve had interviews with managers that had you define a few database terms. Perhaps you’ve just had someone ask you the ten common interview questions without requiring you to demonstrate any technical knowledge.

No matter what you’ve experienced, I think that many people would agree that the hiring process needs work. It does a poor job of actually predicting if the new employee can produce quality code or manage servers. Why is that?

Many companies have really tried to solve this. From the famous “How would you move Mt. Fuji?” questions at Microsoft to the common CS type questions at Google. Joel Spolsky has his own guerilla guide, which I assume has worked well for him, though on a much smaller scale. I think, however, that for the most part no one has come up with a good way to solve this issue.

A friend sent me this piece recently: Why the New Guy Can’t Code. It’s a little heavy handed, but there was one quote in there that I thought made sense: “don’t interview anyone who hasn’t accomplished anything. Ever.” It’s so easy to set up your own website, design a database on your personal machine, even put an app out for sale, that there’s no excuse not to make some effort to accomplish something. Craig Farrall talked about building something in Looking for Work in SQL Server, as did Brandie Tarvin in Changing Career Gears. It’s also one of the things I talk about at the Modern Resume: show people what you’ve done.

I don’t know that we’ll ever find a fool proof way to hire great employees, but hiring people that have proven themselves in the past, and can point to something they’ve done, is good start.

Steve Jones

We work in an interesting industry. While I think you can certainly enter many other professions, electrician, plumber, artist, etc. without any formal schooling, programming allows you to earn a very good living with little physical effort. You can also work in any location, even from home. I think the opportunities and requirements open this field up to many more people than previous occupations in the past.

Of course, plenty of people still go to school to learn about computers, though I’m not sure I’d recommend that to people if you want to work in this business. I think you can teach yourself lots of the skills you need, and I think companies are really starting to realize that a college degree doesn’t correlate with a strong technology worker.

I was reminded of this when I saw a piece on a student that dropped out of a computer science curriculum. While I would hope that 3rd year CS students had written lots of code (I had by that point), I do agree that the exercises and requirements of many universities do not necessarily prepare many students for working as developers or DBAs. The most valuable thing you can learn in university is great communication skills, on which most people don’t spend enough effort concentrating.

There is a lot of potential for universities to really train students in very strong ways to solve complex algorithmic problems, but schools need to evolve more quickly. The world is advancing quickly and companies are searching for employees that can learn quickly and adapt to new situations. However for students to learn these types of skills, we also need instructors that are willing and able to adapt as quickly to teaching new subjects and techniques, rather than relying on a curriculum that was built twenty years ago.

Steve Jones

In April, Ed Leighton-Dick set up a challenge to motivate new bloggers to begin writing about their knowledge of SQL Server. This is a passion of mine, and I believe this is one of the ways you can truly help interest potential employers in your work. It’s allows them to perform some due diligence, and I’ve had success in my career with employers being impressed with the knowledge I’ve shared through blogging.

Ed made note of a new Twitter hashtag, #SQLNewBlogger, and there were a few people that participated in the challenge. However, there weren’t enough. I was really hoping to see more people join in, start blogging, and showcasing their knowledge. Therefore, I’m making an appeal here.

Let’s extend the SQLNewBlogger. I’d like to change the rules a bit and see if I can motivate a few of you to start building your communication skills and showcasing your knowledge across the next year. Just like a class at a gym can motivate you to try harder and longer than you might otherwise, I’m hoping the #SQLNewBlogger tag can do that.

If you’re thinking of asking for a raise, or looking for a new job next year, in 2016, do these things now:

1. Set yourself a weekly reminder, and appointment, at a time when you can spare 15-30 minutes. Use this time to work on communicating, through writing.
2. Get yourself a note taking system. You can use OneNote, Evernote, Remember the Milk, or Notepad. As you write queries, set up a system, or solve a problem, make a note of what you did. Pull out that list each week when the reminder you set in #1. Completely ignore anything anyone else has written on your subject and write your own thoughts.
3. Make it a goal to get a 1-2 page post done each month. I’d like to think that in 1-2 weeks you can get one done, but find your pace.
4. Use the #SQLNewBlogger tag to ask for help reviewing your post (you want good quality) and then finish one post a month. If you’d rather do this privately, have a friend review your work.
5. You can get a free blog at WordPress, TypePad, Blogger, etc. You can choose to write and safe drafts forever, or publish posts for potential recruiters and employers to learn about your skills.
6. Let us know what you wrote about. Either a link if you’ve published it for us to see, or a title if you keep the content private.

That’s it. If it sounds like a lot, I’d remind you this is asking for 1-2 hours a month. 12-24 a week, to showcase your knowledge, grow your career, and maybe most importantly, improve your ability to write a sentence. We communicate constantly in this business, despite all the code we write, so learn to do it better.

Next year, whether you publish publicly or not, you’ll have 12 things that show you have some knowledge about SQL Server. I’ve got a few references on setting up a blog, choosing topics, and writing better.

I’d also like my fellow bloggers to encourage and cheer on the people making an effort to share some knowledge and grow their careers.

Steve Jones

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