career-journal-mod2week4.md

1. Prepare for Job Experience: AEIOU

• Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis?

  • Is there a schedule that you stick to?
  • Do you make your own schedule or is there one set?
  • What does one day look like usually?

• Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace?

  • How has work changed since going remotely?
  • Do you prefer going to the office or working remotely?
  • What is the culture/workspace like for women software developers?

• Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to learn during this experience?

  • How many different type of teams are there & what type of teams are there?
  • What does a company look for in a dev?
  • I hope to learn what it is like in a day for a dev, what is the common thing that companies look for in a dev, and how the company operates day to day.

• Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product?

  • What does your work/codebase look like and what language is used?
  • Is there a norm/rule that all developers follow?

• Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users?

  • How do you track user experience?
  • How do you ask for & look at feedback?
  • Do you test with a small group of user first before updating the software?

2. After the Job Experience, reflect on the same questions;

• what are your takeaways from the activity?

  • My takeaway is that networking and putting your foot out there as much as possible is the way to look for a job.

• Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you met with?

  • I think for me I was not engage as much because we just talked through things and since I am visual learner I wanted to see something.

• Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company?

  • I noticed that they really like their enviroment and structure because they knew what they were looking for.

• Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people?

  • I felt like she was very nice, and down to earth. She related to us which was comforting.

• Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development?

  • This part personally I didn't think we delved deep into it so I am not sure.

• Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users?

  • That they should go out and do research about how users are using the app rather then guessing what would happen.

• What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy?

  • My main takeaway is that networking is huge to find a job that aligns with what I am looking for.

Ideas below are adapted from Atomic Habits by James Clear

1. Assess your habits from week 3: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen?

• This past week was break and I defintely spent it more relaxing then practicing and working on coding. What was effective was having someone hold me accountable and made sure I logged on and did what I needed to do for that day. I know this really helped me more over this break then last break and I am going to keep implementing to for the next breaks.

2. Implement a reiforcement strategy: to make one of your habits more satisfying, what is a reward you can give yourself immediately after completing the habit? How will this reward encourage you to continue completing that habit?

• Reward is to get away from the computer and watch an episode of something that I am currently into. This will encourage me to comtinue because it tells me I have something to look forward to when I am done and well as it is relaxing.

3. “Don’t Break the Chain”: Use a habit tracker

• What is a habit that you want to make sure to do every day? How could you visually cue yourself to complete it (i.e., moving a paper clip)? How can you visually track it each time you’ve completed it? Could you automate the tracking? How will you do that?
  • A habit I want to do everyday is keep practicing coding. Visually I love sticky notes so I would write down all the task I have to do and once I finish one I would crumble it up and throw it away in the trash.

1. How to get back on track when missing a habit: if you miss a day or two of completing your habit, how will you get yourself going again?

• How I would get back on track is usually spend a little more time that day to catch up and I wouldn't get my reward that day, so I know I can't being missing a habit.

2. Pick an accountability partner (your cohort accountabilibuddy, your mentor, a close friend, etc.) and create a habit contract with them. How often will you check in with each other? How will they hold you accountable?

• I already have that set up and we check on each other everyday!