Preston Parry- just a colored-pants-wearing, biking & climbing & dancing, data & machine-learning addicted human
Pertinently for this, I've managed technical teams in 3 different organizations
Reach out! I love connecting:
prestonparry.com
ClimbsBytes@gmail.com
github.com/ClimbsRocks
Questions
Action:
Ask your manager to set aside 15 minutes at the end of each day for questions
Why:
Forces you to be engaged enough to have good questions to ask
Lets you build a relationship with your manager
Gets you unstuck/avoiding potential pitfalls
Honesty
Action:
Be upfront about what you do or don't know.
"Oh cool, I haven't had a chance to play with this technology before."
Why:
Sets expectations properly
Allows you to seek help and progress rapidly
Alerts them that they'll have to pay a bit more attention to your work in this area
Optimism
Action:
Greet each new challenge or tech you have to learn with optimism
"Oh sweet, I've been wanting to dive into this for a while; I'm glad I'll finally have the chance to!"
Why:
You'll actually be better at these tasks if you approach them with optimism
Your coworkers will like you more
Turns each area from a mark against your incoming knowledge into a positive mark for your enthusiasm/optimism
Documentation
Action:
Document everything you encounter!
Why:
It signals, in a very powerful way, that you're invested in the environment around you
Nobody else has been through this recently- you're the most qualified in your entire organization to perform this task
When the next hires come on, you get to mentor them either directly or through your materials- both count strongly in your favor
It sets you apart from everyone else who did the same process in a passive way
Improving Everything You See
Action:
Improve everything you encounter!
Why:
As a new developer, you are not yet burdened with larger tasks yet, so you have a unique opportunity to fix all the small things
Everyone else is just so used to these errors that they don't think about them anymore
Super powerful signal that you care and are engaged and will do more than just the letter of what you're told
It's just nice to help everyone else out this way
Feedback
Action:
Ask for feedback. All the time. From everyone you encounter.
Why:
This is one of the most powerful signals that you are likely to progress very rapidly
It allows people to be much more open and honest with you
Getting feedback across departments opens you up to very new perspectives
You get rapidly better!
The Feedback section is continued on the next slide below
Feedback
Action:
Couch asking for feedback in the positive
"I feel like that went pretty well, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on how I could do this even better next time."
Why:
Most people are conditioned to only give feedback when things are going badly
The Feedback section is continued on the next slide below
Feedback
(Controversial) Action:
Give feedback (after asking if they're open to it, couching it in positive terms and belief in the org, and following all the other feedback best practices)
Why:
You are in a unique position to give feedback on the hiring/onboarding/training process
It shows you are so engaged in making things better that you will risk being uncomfortable to improve the org
It immediately sets you on a different track- this is not a passive team member, this is someone who impacts the world around them and cares
You see how open the org is to changing & improving
Connecting with Coworkers
Action:
Go out of your way to build relationships with coworkers
Invite each of them out to coffee/happy hour/lunch/a bike ride, etc
Join all the team food breaks & coffee breaks, even if you're not eating or drinking coffee
Why:
You'll all enjoy coming into the office more!
Team output is dominated by how well the team communicates and gets along
Your coworkers are much more likely to help you and share useful information with you ("oh yeah, that API documentation is WAY out of date- here's how it actually works") if they like you
Ask Your Manager
Action:
Ask your manager what they've seen really successful people in similar roles do during onboarding previously
Why:
You'll learn useful habits!
You'll signal that you have ambitions and are seeking to be highly successful
It's a chance to connect with your manager as they reminisce over their career and draw patterns from it
That's the end!
What's worked for you?
Gratitude
Thanks for listening, for being engaged enough in your career to care, and for improving the world around you both for your own benefit and the benefit of everyone else