In today's episode we discuss the concept of adopting self-coaching personas, and discuss a critical first persona to start with.

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High-leverage work often comes in the simplest form of helping another person with their efforts.

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Learn to prioritize, and everything else falls into place. This is clarity through perspective and purpose.

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Your career growth will be directly correlated to your ability to solve critical unsolved problems in the gaps of your organization's problems. Focus on finding the problems that have a high chance of success for you specifically - the low hanging fruit.

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In this episode we discuss the delineation between culture and values. What you allow is just as important as what you value.

🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked

Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com.

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The blunt reality: Merit cycles are not how you build your earning power or career. They are a function of company culture and HR, and generally speaking are disconnected from your biggest opportunities for growth.

So, where should you focus? That's what we talk about in today's episode.

🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked

Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com.

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In today's episode we discuss focus, again. This time, through the lens of a few mental models that help us decide what is actually the right thing to focus on. You'll learn the real enemy of focus (note: it's not just distraction).

🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked

Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com.

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I'm joined today by Brian Pulliam. I've personally engaged Brian as a career coach. In this discussion we'll talk a bit about coaching, and about how you can set yourself up to become a much better candidate in your job search as an engineering leader.

Values Exercise Live:

• Jonathan and Brian perform a live exercise, transforming company core values into interview questions.
• Discussing the importance of aligning your experiences with the values that a company holds.
  • "I'm going to do this live right now with you, actually. I think it'll be a cool exercise..."

Advanced Interview Techniques:

• How to handle unexpected questions by paraphrasing.
• Preparing for common interview questions derived from company values.
  • "You should convert every single one of those core values into a question that starts with tell me about a time when you demonstrated X."

Finding a Way to Succeed:

• The importance of creative problem solving in leadership.
• Examples of finding efficient solutions to technical problems without writing code.
  • "With zero lines of code...the ops team just reconfigured a job to run more often."

Effective Storytelling in Interviews:

• How to use stories to demonstrate competencies and cultural fit.
• The role of storytelling in making a lasting impression on interviewers.
  • "Stories move the world...people write $50 million dollar checks to startup founders based on stories."

Building a Culture of Excellence:

• Strategies for fostering a high-performance team environment.
• Reflections on leadership and creating positive workplace dynamics.
  • "We provide stable, fast, low friction developer experiences for all engineering teams at Zillow."

🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked

Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com.

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I'm joined today by Brian Pulliam. I've personally engaged Brian as a career coach. In this discussion we'll talk a bit about coaching, and about how you can set yourself up to become a much better candidate in your job search as an engineering leader.

Introduction to Career Coaching:

• What is a career coach and how they differ from a manager or mentor.
• Brian Pulliam shares his journey from tech to becoming an athletics coach.
  • "I was in tech for about 26 years...being an athletics coach with my wife...I sought out my own career coach."

The Value of Career Coaching:

• How a career coach can provide objective, unfiltered feedback.
• The benefits of having an advocate without conflicts of interest.
  • "As a career coach, you know, I'm self-employed...no conflict of interest, maybe with your own boss."

Strategies for Career Growth:

• The importance of optimizing your career path like you would optimize code.
• Using career coaching to navigate sticky situations and grow professionally.
  • "We optimize for memory, right? We optimize for CPU...coaches can help you learn how to optimize."

Interview Tactics and Mindset:

• The value of authenticity in interviews and presenting your true self.
• Why technical proficiency isn't the only factor in landing a job.
• How asking the right questions can set you apart from other candidates.
  • "The person who starts writing code right away...is almost certainly not perceived as a senior developer."

Preparing for Market Fluctuations:

• Understanding the cyclical nature of the tech job market.
• How to prepare for job changes even when you’re happily employed.
• The analogy of tech hiring seasons and being ready for winter.
  • "Tech has hiring seasons...the challenge with the hiring seasons in tech...they are of indeterminate length."

Building a Resilient Career:

• Insights into maintaining career readiness and job security.
• The importance of continual learning and adapting to market demands.
  • "Test your ability to get a new job when you don't need a new job...the power you have when you go into an interview and you are happily employed."

Real-life Examples and Lessons:

• Brian’s personal experiences with layoffs and career transitions.
• Practical advice on leveraging your network and resources.
  • "My very first job out of school...I got laid off very unexpectedly...26 years between layoffs."

Preparing for Interview Questions:

• How to handle unexpected questions by paraphrasing.
• Preparing for common interview questions derived from company values.
  • "You should convert every single one of those core values into a question that starts with tell me about a time when you demonstrated X."

🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked

Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com.

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In this episode we talk about the concept of "resetting your base" - moving in a direction you don't necessarily want to go in order to achieve better outcomes in the long run.

🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked

Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com.

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In today's episode we discuss how you might build your confidence without being disingenuous. This isn't a lesson in psychology or tricks - it's about building true confidence in what you do (and importantly, don't) know.

🙏 Today's Episode is Brought To you by: Unblocked

Your developers know how to write code. What they’re missing is the context to know what code to write. Unblocked gives engineering teams the answers they need to get their jobs done – without having to wait on or interrupt their teammates. Get started for free at getunblocked.com.

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