07 Dec 2024 #writing
I almost broke my daily writing habit today.
Starting on November 1st, I began writing daily here on my blog. I chose to go with a good headline and one main idea. That’s good enough to mark the calendar and call it a day. No need for an introduction, 10 main points, and a conclusion.
I start my writing sessions after sitting in silence for 10 minutes with my eyes closed. Like magic, before finishing those 10 minutes, something comes to mind.
That was not the case today.
I looked at Hacker News, searching for something to react to but found nothing interesting. Reddit? Nothing. Old posts to expand on? Nothing. List of drafts? Extra nothing.
Until I had to step outside for a while.
There’s something magical and mysterious about taking a walk… Well, there’s nothing magical about that. More oxygen gets to the brain, and that activates certain brain regions.
On my way back home, I had something to write. I rushed to my laptop before I forgot it.
If you think you’re facing writer’s block, read something to prime your brain and step away from your computer for a walk. Before you get back, you’ll have something to write. It works every time.
06 Dec 2024 #writing
That’s better than simply claiming on your CV that you did something.
Write about what you’re doing and what you’re learning at work. For example, write about:
- Challenges you’re facing while solving a problem.
- Lessons you’re learning from every project.
- Checklist you use to review pull requests.
- Most common code review comments you give.
- Difficult situations you have overcome.
I wrote my first post to document an alternative for a coding task I had. For my 2022 Advent of Posts, I took a lot of inspiration from what I was doing at work at that time.
There are always alternatives to avoid disclosing real code. 99% of the time, we’re not doing top-secret rocket science. But companies don’t want the world to know how they’re doing CRUD applications.
You can share isolated coding blocks and use different business domains to represent examples and coding issues. Using movies, posts, and reservations is a good alternative.
Instead of saying “trust me, I know how to do that,” you could say “I’ve done it and here’s where I wrote about it.”
05 Dec 2024 #career
Do you have a minute?
That was the last message you got from your boss’ boss.
Earlier that day, you logged in to work as usual. And you had a couple of “Are you still around?” messages. You knew it was happening. Again.
Then came a quick goodbye message from another colleague. He shared his email and contact details.
You went through the daily meeting knowing something was in the air. Some team members didn’t show up. Everybody pretended nothing was happening. But everyone knew it. It was the most awkward and useless daily meeting of all.
This “Do you have a minute?” conversation was different. You felt the disturbance in the Force right from the start. Your boss’ boss looked downwards, his voice is trembling. A small speech of how bad the economy was going. Your only thought was, “It’s my turn?”
Then the bomb: “We have to let you go this time.”
Definitely, it was your turn.
You left that last meeting relieved and worried at the same time. “What am I going to do now?”
And just like that, you got disconnected from the VPN and the company chat.
It was nice while it lasted.
That’s how being laid off feels. I know. I’ve been there. More than once.
Layoffs are always around the corner. High interest rates. A recession. AI…Today it’s a large U.S. company. Tomorrow who knows?
We’re better off rolling our own insurance policy:
- Building a brand
- Starting a side hustle
- Creating an emergency fund
- Growing a professional network
- Having multiple sources of income
- Learning different skills to monetize
Winter is always coming. Make yourself layoff-proof.
04 Dec 2024 #career
It all starts with the job description.
No job description? Red flag.
“We’re looking for a passionate coding ninja to join our family. We work in an agile and fast-paced environment. We’re looking for a coder with 5 years of experience who can work on our public web page, mobile app, backend, frontend, DevOps, security, compliance, sales, marketing, documentation…Compensation based on experience and interview results.”
I’m making that up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a “real” job description like that one out there.
Passionate, coding ninja/superhero/master, family, fast-paced, high pressure…Nothing screams danger more than those words in a job description. Run, Forrest, run!
After reading between the lines of the job description, look at the company website.
“We’re a family.” That was the opening line on the careers page of a company someone tried to refer me to. I stopped reading. I didn’t need to look at anything else. It was a hell no. That was a blinking danger sign with sirens.
Ironically, every company claims to offer excellent conditions, and every applicants seems to be the perfect candidate for the job.
03 Dec 2024 #misc
It’s more important to ask who this isn’t for than who this is for.
Who isn’t this course for? Who isn’t this coaching program for? Who isn’t this blog post for?
I created a Udemy course on unit testing, one of my favorite subjects. I answered who this course is for on the landing page.
One student said some parts were too advanced. He had just started with the subject and my course covers more advanced material. It wasn’t for him.
So I asked for feedback. What were those challenging parts? There’s room for improvement there. Extra lessons and better lesson descriptions.
And I quickly updated the landing page to show who this course isn’t for. That will attract fewer students but the right ones. The ones my course is really for.
Whatever you’re doing, answer who this isn’t for.