Review your habit tracker: how did you monitor your habit(s)? What does this tell you about your overall progress becoming the person you want to be? In general, how satisfied are you with how you spent your time this module? What could be improved next module?
I utilized a habit tracker to be sure I was making time for practice for my final assessment as well as my final project. I built in "personal time" on the habit tracker to be sure i took some time for myself. I think my time management definitely could have been better this mod, but the nature of having a two week break in the middle and the volume of refactor tractor project really knocked me off my game. I am hoping to utilize habit tracking more efficiently next mod!
i. Engagement. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you’re engaged in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most (e.g., “Talking through a problem with a partner,” “The moment when I solve a problem that I previously didn’t know how to do,” “Setting up a successful project management process for my team”) and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
I feel most energized when organizing a project and planning the various steps out as well as being able to problem solve hard logic problems. In both cases this boils down to taking in lots of information and being able to parse it down to smaller actionable steps/discrete tasks.
ii. Energy. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you feel most energized in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
The moment when you find the first step to take towards solving a big problem. I love the feeling of "oh i've got this" and moving forward one foot at a time.
iii. Flow. When have you had an experience recently in which you were in a state of flow? You can also think about this as “joy” or “play.” Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
When I have a clear plan and multiple steps to follow - "this is done, on to the next". A well planned and designed process gives me a great sense of flow. I never have to stop and consider the next step because I already have it planned out.
Prototype your mind maps: what do these mind maps tell you about what’s important to you as a software developer? What questions do they bring up about what you still want to learn about this career?
A clear plan is important to me. This also means clear communication of plans and expectations is important as well. I think this indicates that in my interview process I should make a space for questions about the planning process of projects and the communication throughout the project.
Who comes to mind as a person you can reach out to? Why that person? What questions would you ask them? Come up with 2-3 people here to serve as prototypes
I think it makes sense to reach out to different types of people at similar or the same company. Talking to a junior dev at a company would probably differ immensely from chatting with a senior dev at the same company. The insights will be different and the content would be different as well. I would also be interested in chatting with people from a few industries to get a better sense of what they're day to day looks like.
It would clear up some overarching questions I have about what the job will actually look like. I feel paralyzed by not knowing enough about the software developement industry and like I cant move forward until I have some questions answered.
Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach:
Who is the right person for you to reach out to?
I find this hard to define, but at my best guess I think I would like to speak to a woman - ideally one that has had a career shift into tech.
How will you find them? How do you know they’re the right person?
I dont think theres a definitive way to determine if they're the right person before speaking with them. I think its best to remember what my mindset should be - if I speak to someone who didn't have the info I was expecting them to have, I can still learn from them and get important information for my job search. I plan to utilize my personal network extensively to reach out to folx I know in the tech industry already, and finding connections in specific industries through my network.
How will you reach out?
For people in my network - a direct message/email, for folx outside my network -- looking for connections and intros, or reaching out to ask questions (not for a job!)
What questions do you need to ask them?
What kind of mentorship are you provided? What kind of pair programming opportunities are you offered? How is company wide communication? Team based communication? What is the project planning process like? Do you utilize scrum or agile? Do you feel sufficiently challanged at work (not out of your league but pushed to learn)? Do you like how things are organized/handled?
How will you use this information to further your solution?
Not only gives insight into a day to day life and project to project process, but tells me a bit more about whats out there. Based on their responses I would probably come up with further questions that I can then add to my wheel house for future conversations.
How will you follow up?
I always like to follow up with a thank you or a continued connection opportunity. If my contact suggested I look at a certain resource or try something out, I would likely include that in my thank you with any small follow up questions about the resource. And if they mentioned someone else they know or some facet of their company/job that interested me I may ask them to connect me with someone more aligned with that side of the job to continue my conversation.
Execute your plan:
Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. What happened? What other next steps should you take? If this is a person connected to a company you’re interested in, be sure to add it to your Huntr card.
I scheduled a chat for next week with contact of mine with ties to the music industry, and reached out to another friend with lots of music industry ties. (At this point I am mostly interested in hearing more about the software developement potentials in that arena more than anything) I will also be chatting with my mentor this weekend about her role at her job at Slalom, and have a friend I want to connect with who works at Twilio but haven't gotten the chance to reach out yet.