Infinite Bridges


He stepped into my office and closed the door.

This was a bad sign. Any time one of your direct reports quietly comes it and closes a door, you know it's bad news.

"What's up?" I say.

"You're going to be mad at me." He replies.

Yep. Bad news - but at least, this statement reduces my anxiety: I can infer some context; It's not personal, it's not health related, it's not a family-event. He's probably moving on...

"Are you about to resign?" I ask, to cut the tension.

"I...didn't expect you to ask so bluntly..."

"You've lined up a new role though, right?" I reply, with the tone of a concerned parent.

"Yes..."

"Cool, tell me about it..."

He proceeds to tell me the role, what it offers.

"That sounds great, I can see how that would be a big move for you. Just so I make sure - you're committed to this decision, right? I mean, based on what you described, I'm assuming you're not here to negotiate..."

"No, I think this is kind of my dream job - at least for now. I've loved working here, but it's not my long term goal."

"I get it - so why would I ever be mad at you?"

"I know the pressure it puts on you and the team..."

"That's my job to worry about not yours - I appreciate your concern, but I'd never be mad at you making what was obviously a tough decision."

"But, it messes up the project timeline..."

"Don't worry about that - if I wasn't already accounting for the risk of you leaving, I'd be a terrible manager. I have contingency plans - it doesn't mean you're easily replaced, don't get me wrong. You're leaving big shoes to fill - but you've been here 19 months...that's right on average when people usually leave a company."

"So you're not mad?" he says, laughing.

"I'd only be upset if you were leaving without another role lined up - or if you were going someone worse. In those cases, you're basically saying you're miserable here. But you're taking a big step up, and going to a place that's going to be great for you. It would be incredibly selfish of me to take that personally. I guess I do wish you'd let me know you were looking, so I could have helped you get the best possible role - but it sounds like you didn't really need my help anyway."

--

Some years later he calls me to let me know about the new role he's landed. It sounds really cool. We're both giggling like excited middle-schoolers. I'm just as excited for him as if it were my own news.

We're both older now. We haven't kept as in touch as we'd promised when we both agreed to "not be strangers" - but we've still chatted on occasion.

It's unlikely our paths will physically cross again given he lives hundreds of miles away. Despite that, a bridge that's never burnt spans any distance.

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