Staff Engineer

Building and Formalizing a Career Ladder in a Startup

Small startups often lack career ladders, but formalizing them is not recommended for teams with less than 30 employees. To help engineers grow their skills, managers should identify the skill sets they lack and line up appropriate training and incentives. For those on the management track, they should be given function, task, client, and project management responsibilities to master before taking on human management. Soft skills and training courses should also be lined up to help organize and structure employee progress. Ultimately, it is important to remember that every person is an individual and requires an individual approach.

Coaching Before Radical Candor

This article discusses the author's experience with managing a team of PMs, and how they failed to meet their deadline due to lack of feedback. The author then took action by providing feedback on the spot, publicly explaining the consequences of underperformance, and shifting their mindset to become more proactive. The article also highlights the importance of challenging the status quo, being responsible for the team as a whole, and investing in emotional intelligence.

A Detailed Hiring Process

This article outlines the hiring process of a manager, which includes a behavioral screen, technical screen, and on-site interviews. The manager emphasizes the importance of standardizing the process as much as possible, and uses a debriefing to ask questions and clarify why people said Yes or No to a candidate. The manager also does not do consensus hiring, and if a candidate receives all yeses but a No for technical reasons, then they will not be hired.

Developing Your Personal Brand: A Brief Guide to Creating an Elevator Pitch

This article discusses the importance of having an elevator pitch to present yourself in a professional setting. It provides advice on how to create a two-minute pitch that includes ten things you are good at and proud of, and how to turn those into stories. It also suggests asking friends and colleagues to help identify your strengths, and to practice the pitch to make it sound natural. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of having a consistent message about yourself across all platforms.

Is Management the Right Path for You

This article discusses the importance of understanding where one's energy comes from when considering a management career. The author recommends reflecting on past accomplishments and experiences to determine what brings energy and what takes it away. They also suggest trying both the technical and people routes to see which is the best fit and to be aware of the expectations of the role. Finally, they emphasize the importance of developing skills regardless of the career path chosen.

Being In Two Minds On Becoming a Manager

This article tells the story of an engineer who was unsure of whether to pursue a career in management. After being flagged by leaders as a potential manager, they were exposed to different versions of what a management position could look like and decided to take the plunge. To prepare, they found a mentor, attended classes, and interviewed other managers to gain insight into the job. Ultimately, they learned that it is important to be clear about what you want, document a plan, and look for mentors to help you reach your goals.