My ability to care for others and act with empathy is one of my greatest strengths. I know this because of how emotionally charged I get when I see a friend or family member deal with a traumatic incident or part of their life, watch someone being rude or disrespectful to other people, and even when I'm watching a powerful scene of a movie or show with quality character development. This characteristic has allowed me to form strong and meaningful relationships with people throughout my life which I attribute to being able to have deep conversations. While I believe this to be a unique part of my personality, it has been a blessing and a curse as over the years I have come to understand that some people are simply not comfortable, or are even incapable, with being as open as I am.
I generally work best under a little bit of pressure in a comfortable environment. Starting a project or homework immediately when there is plenty of time to get it done tends to be a little difficult for me as I don't feel any pressure. On the other hand, starting too late when the due date is fast approaching creates too much pressure and doesn't allow me to think clearly. I certainly have struggled with procrastination all of my life and it has contributed to my general anxiety. I know that this is something that I can improve upon and it's not something inherent to my personality. Making small changes to my routine and habits has helped a lot over the last couple years but I still have more I can improve upon.
Having a higher self esteem is likely my greatest and most important area of improvement. I've struggled with a 'I'm not good enough' complex throughout my life and even more so in my adult years. It's likely a trait that started when I was young and has manifested in different ways as I have gotten older. I've improved significantly on this over the last 2 years, especially in the last year, and I attribute that to seeking help, being more honest with myself and people around me about my thoughts and feelings, and actively going after things I want in life instead of waiting for them to come to me.
I hope that being a strongly empathetic person will help me stand out when working with coworkers and clients and allow me to be an even stronger team member. Caring about people's ideas and desires might help in developing high-quality software with features that are important to others. Being empathetically driven will also help in having strong bonds with my coworkers which would improve the workplace environment and allow us to work well together. Combining my ability to act with empathy, think creatively and be passionate about my work feels like a great road toward success in software development.
Knowing and embracing what I'm good at and in what conditions I work best in will allow me to work efficiently with generally less stress. It will also allow me to hone in on and develop the traits that I'm not as confident in demonstrating. I know that there will be times I have to be more adaptable, depending on a variety of factors, like the client we are working for, deadlines, and dealing with difficult or hard-to-meet requests. Being confident in my abilities while understanding that other individuals have different strengths and preferences is an important part of being a strong team member.