...yet

It was our early start-up days - a year before the acquisition.

The 6 of us were in a small conference room talking to a prospective client about the (really objectively awesome) software robotics & automation platform we'd built.

My oldest brother, the founder and CEO, was leading the call. He was breaking down exactly how our customers were dramatically cutting costs in full transparent detail. And as the customer was thinking through how much they could save with our software robots, my brother concluded: "The only thing it won't do is pick up the phone and make a call."

There was silence as the customer digested it all. And I, the Sr. Software Engineer at the time, invited only to provide engineering support for technical questions felt compelled to break the silence.

I muttered (though still intentionally audibly) "...yet."

My brother glared at me. I smiled. We were generally pretty good at staying strictly professional at work - so while I knew I was in hot water with the boss, I'll admit, I was a little proud to have gotten my brother's goat.

Luckily (for me) we landed the client and "...yet" took on a new meaning. It transformed into a rallying cry for possibility.

"...yet" became how we concluded calls. "It can't make a call ... yet".

"...yet" became the joke we'd sometimes drop when a customer would ask us wildly ambitious questions.

"...yet" became the reminder that we weren't done, and we couldn't wait to show our progress.

"...yet" became the mantra for what we were working towards.

There was a time when we were much younger: we were out somewhere, and I was desperate to be back home. He was frustrated by my impatience and quoted the Rabbit from the Trix cereal commercial. The Rabbit, always desperate to get his hands on a bowl of Trix, had set up an elaborate plan to keep the kids from getting in the way. He just had to wait.

"Patience is a virtue." the Rabbit said. It's what my brother quoted back to me on that impatient day. Of course, I was too young to know what any of that meant.

"...yet" eventually became the proxy for the white rabbit's message.

For the challenges we face - skill and talent are sometimes not enough. We wish it could be - but sometimes, it's just patience.

"...yet" is for perseverance. It's for those patience-is-a-virtue type challenges.

"...yet" eventually became the reminder that I still had time with him.

"...yet" is how I remember him.

Popular

Work Experience vs Professional Experience

Image
In reviewing a bunch of resumes this week, I noticed quite a lot of resumes with a  "Work Experience"  section. In each of those resumes, people had de-valuing some very valuable  experience - and I write that with no exaggeration. The problem is people were looking at their experience purely through the "Job Title/Relevancy" lens and had reduced their experience down to a list of discrete, random, disconnected jobs. No interconnectedness, no narrative thread weaving through it all. As much as you may feel some jobs have no way of being connected, the reality is  you   are always the connection . To not connect them on your resume is to lose all that growth, knowledge, skills, impact, value, and trajectory. In other words - you lose the " You " in the resume. I recommended they start with a small change. Reword "Work Experience" to "Professional Experience" because, ultimately, every single job they had was in service of building their ...
Read more

Let's Clear Up The Ambiguity!

Image
Job seeking is hard - especially when you factor the ambiguity around expectations, the lack of transparency and consistency around process. It's frustrating dealing with the sheer subjectivity of everyone's opinions. Just think of even the basics: How long should your resume really be? Traditional black and white, or modern? Should you include a headshot? Oh - and cover letters - are those needed? Is anyone actually reading the cover letter? What are they looking for? Is there a bias for people with a more traditional background? Worst of all: The dreaded typo  that you catch only after applying to your dream job.  Are typos really going to cost you the opportunity??? To help bring some clarity to the process, I surveyed a bunch of hiring managers. The results were really interesting, and very illuminating.     If you're on the job hunt, I hope this information helps out! One final note: My recent post,  7 Steps to Writing an Amazing Resume , factors a lot of...
Read more

FAQs for a Software Engineering Hiring Manager

Image
Technical Interviews have evolved a lot since the early I transitioned from being a Software Engineer to an Engineering Manager. Particularly in the post-Covid era, there's been a greater emphasis on the person, which I think is an important and welcome change. Over the decade of interviewing hundreds of coders, I've also had the pleasure of working with various bootcamps, colleges, and hundreds of individual job seekers on LinkedIn. Across all the changes over the past years, across the various locations and mediums, something remained consistent throughout: The questions I get asked.  With that in mind, I thought - why not make a FAQ from my perspective as a hiring manager? While this is my perspective, it's based off years of observation and supporting data. But that being said, advice is not fact. You may disagree with certain points, and that's OK. Opinions we disagree with allow us to better understand our own views. At best, I hope these responses help you...
Read more

7 Steps to Writing an Amazing Resume

Image
  Since sharing my resume template  I've received plenty of feedback from job seekers, HR and hiring managers - all of whom value its purpose. Two (now former!) jobseekers even shared that as soon as they used my template, they were getting calls. Something about this template works, and given the traction it's getting others, I wanted to share - in more detail - why  this approach works so well.  Before continuing, let me give an important disclaimer: This resume isn't a miracle cure that's going to land anyone their dream job. Unless they're filled with lies, resumes are only as good as the candidate themselves. But they can also be a whole lot worse. This template and approach are all about maximizing the potential candidates have by highlighting and summarizing key areas.  Last point before beginning: If you don't know me, it's worth stating this advice comes from more than a decade of having hiring a broad range of coders: straight out of college, hig...
Read more

7 Steps to Building your Portfolio MVP

Image
Often when I suggest to coders that they build a portfolio, I'll hear back: "I don't need one..." "With all the effort it takes to apply, where will I find the time?" Simply put, having a portfolio's never going to hurt your chances at landing a job - it can only help. That second question is where a lot of struggle - because applying to jobs can be time consuming. Especially if you're wrapping up a bootcamp, or having to manually type in your resume info after uploading your resume. That's why I made these 7 steps which, when done correctly, can really help you stand out with a hiring manager. And, the best part is, it should only take you 2 days. Being the Agile-Obsessive that I am, it's all about maximizing value while minimizing effort. Fix links to your Resume, GitHub, LinkedIn, etc. at the top where they're always accessible. Link to everything here - and then remove all other links on your Resume except your Portfolio link . It sa...
Read more