Observations from a Pandemic

The Corona Virus pandemic isn’t slowing down, but mentally I’ve emerged from hibernation. It hit hard in April of 2020, and now it’s October. That is how long it took for me to emerge from the haze of feeling mentally unsettled.

Read More
Oct 23, 2020
Enough Tutorials Already!

The other day someone reached out to me with a question I get somewhat regularly, but I never really thought to write down my answer much. The question was, “How do you come up to speed quickly on new languages and technology?”

Read More
Oct 20, 2020
A Vignette of Kaizen

Don’t tell my kids, but we bought an absurd present for Christmas, and I spent a few hours putting it together and hiding it in the attic. It is called a Pickler. As I assembled it, I went through several rapid improvements in my approach to building...

Read More
Oct 13, 2020
The Ups and Downs of Recruiters

Last night I saw a tweet fly by about a new book coming out that was all about the technical resume. I found it fitting since today I want to start promoting my first-ever class on the same thing. They mentioned it includes advice from 200+ recruiter...

Read More
Oct 09, 2020
Imposter Syndrome After a Decade

Okay, so I’m old. I’ll be forty in two years, and writing that is enough to put me in my place. At the same time, I’m experiencing a lot of imposter syndrome in similar ways when I’ve started my career or transitioned to new ones.

Read More
Oct 07, 2020
Piercing The Veil With Failure

Years ago, I worked with a team, and they showed some remarkable results after I suggested some pretty bold changes. On that team, there was one person who continued to work the way they always did. The team was frustrated with them and eventually ex...

Read More
Oct 01, 2020
One Resume to Rule Them All

Most people I meet on their path to getting the job they want in software show me a resume that looks like something they either haven’t touched since school or full of fancy design aspects and empty when it comes to content. I quickly explain the co...

Read More
Sep 23, 2020
The Power of Personal Responsibility

At a conference during the time between sessions, someone remarked that The Responsibility Process changed their life. I read the book and went through the class, and it changed my perspective as well.

Read More
Sep 17, 2020
Thinking About a Portfolio Site?

I get asked pretty regularly by people about how to go about building a portfolio site. My controversial answer is, “Don’t.” What I want to talk about today is why I recommend limiting your time making a portfolio site and using that time on other th...

Read More
Sep 15, 2020