Tag: career

I am an advocate of actively managing your career, as well as taking time to think about what is important to you. I say this because most companies where I’ve worked have not had much of a progression path. They might say developer I and developer II, but the requirements and skills needed are often very nebulous and poorly defined. As we approach the end of the year, I ask those of you that want to drive your career forward to think

Redgate has tried to do better. We had skills maps (reflections), and now we’ve moved beyond this to a progression framework. Ours is based on one from Songkicker. I don’t know what the details of our framework are, but I did read through the framework, which I like.

If you look at the PDF, I was especially the Skills section, consisting of 7 skills: leadership, mentorship, technical skills, communication, emotional intelligence, delivery, and business knowledge. There are example behaviors after this, with differences between roles. A Software Developer (1) ought to ask for help during a standup (communication), or explain product team goals to a starter (business knowledge). This contrasts with a Software Developer (2) where the same items suggest delivering a presentation (communication) and ask a PM for clarification on a piece of work’s priority (business knowledge).

While the review of many of these items will be subjective, there seems to be some guidance that helps someone understand the types of skills that they might need to gain or improve if they want to move to a new role. I also like the progression of roles isn’t necessarily into management, which wasn’t the case when I started my career. Often there weren’t senior technical roles that paid what management did.

While you can’t make your organization change their job titles or career paths, you might plant the bug in HR and management’s ears that having some sort of skills list and examples of what is required for promotion. It can help them better choose the people that will help the company grow, and help you decide how you can grow with it.

Of course, if management chooses to reward and promote those they like, then you have learned something as well. You can play that game if you choose, or make plans to find a better organization by building the skills some other team might value.

Steve Jones

Merry Christmas today. Happy Holidays to all of you, for whichever holiday you celebrate this time of year.

It’s been a long, hard year, but I hope you are healthy and happy as we close out 2020. Hopefully next year is more enjoyable for all of us.

Steve Jones

It’s nearing the end of the year, and usually this is a time where I look back at the current year and then forward to the new one. I’ll do some of that from a technical standpoint the last week of the year, but this week I wanted to do this from a personal standpoint.

I read Jen McCown’s “Reflections Not Resolutions” recently and it stood out to me as a way to look back at my life and career. Jen takes a moment to think about how her life and career may have gone, without much judgment, but with some appreciation. A positive view.

For me, I think professionally I turned inward a bit this year. Without events to go to, no travel, and struggles to cope at times, I could view my professional year like this:

• I didn’t travel at all for work, but I did keep presenting at virtual events, and even learned to enjoy the experience, something I’ve disliked in the past.
• I am amazed that I’ve written over 180 coping tips as part of the Redgate Community Circle, and used them to help me maintain productivity.
• I struggled with maintaining connections with individuals and teams at Redgate, but I learned to appreciate how valuable those connections are. I am also looking forward to finding ways to improve this.

Personally, I found some insightful things.

• The only airplane trip I had this year was before the pandemic, getting family together for my wife’s birthday in Las Vegas. Despite the effort, hassles, and money, I see the value in celebrating events together
• I learned to listen, sympathize, and allow my kids to struggle with virtual school while just enjoying the chance to be with them
• Coaching is a real joy for me. Having the spring season cut short, and next year’s season move was a challenge, but I really have enjoyed the limited opportunities I had to work with 2 groups of young athletes.
• I rode horses more this year than ever before, acquiring a small modicum of skill, but enjoying the time to be with my wife in nature.

I’ll save my wishes for another day, but it was good for me to think about the losses, changes, gains, good times, and bad as I tried to put these thoughts down. I hope you take a few minutes and try it as well.