- What is your greatest strength and how do you know?
- I believe my greatest strength to be my ability to notice my own patterns, and adjust or rewrite those patterns to better fit my goals. I routinely check in with my current habits, and my goals for where I would like them to be. I use an app called "Done" to track those patterns visually, and through the visual tracking I've been able to build habits that I desire, such as meditating consistently, stretching, journaling, and reading. I've gotten a lot better about being consistent with those habits by being more realistic about the goals I set, so instead of trying to meditate for 45 minutes every day, and then feeling bad when I can't keep it up, I set more moderate goals, gain confidence through meeting those goals, and then I continue building on them slowly.
- How do you work best?
- I work best in a classroom setting, or at the very least by going to a destination outside of my apartment with the stated goal of going there to get a specific task done. Bonus points for doing some sort of physical activity on the way, such as riding my bike, or walking, or skating. Bonus bonus points if I do it first thing in the morning, preferably before others are even awake. There is something about getting up when everyone else is still sleeping that makes me feel motived and gives me some momentum to power through difficult tasks.
- What is your greatest area of improvement?
- My greatest area of improvement would be in dealing with disagreements or differences in perspective, especially when it comes to discuassions of politics or values. I can be dismissive of views different than my own or I can become frustrated by them. I am working on more easily getting through disagreements, specifically by speaking less and listening more. I need to remember that it's not my job to get everyone to see things my way, but rather it's my job to make sure that I say my piece respectfully, and hear the opposing side respectfully as well.
- How do you hope to maximize your strengths for your new career in software development?
- I can identify how my patterns differ from my teammates, either in terms of workflow or communication, and work to make my patterns of behavior match with theirs for more fluid work. My experiences as a teacher have given me skills to build, maintiain, and repair relationships with the people I work with, and I hope to carry that into my career as a developer. I want to be the true team player, that values the relationships within my teams over the individual conflicts or issues. I'd like my co-workers to know that even if we have disagreements one day, the next day will be a fresh slate.
- How might knowing about your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer?
- If I can vocalize my strengths and working preferences, I am more likely to know wether a employer and I will match well. If I can be known as a true team player, my reputation or letters of recommendation will speak to that and allow me to have the relationships I want to have at work. When I can recongnize the patterns of the workplace, I am more likely to be able to fit in at new jobs and with new people. I hope that that same pattern-recognition will allow me to take ownership over my mistakes and pitfalls without being burdened by feelings of guilt or low self-esteem.