Running Start

<p>You're looking for your first software engineering job. Maybe you're graduating college or maybe you've decided to switch careers. Maybe you're finishing up at a coding bootcamp or maybe you taught yourself how to code.</p><p><br></p><p>You've come to the right place.</p><p><br></p><p>Getting a job is hard. Getting the <em>right</em> job is harder. </p><ul><li><em>How do I know which companies and positions to apply for?</em></li><li><em>How do I get an interview?</em></li><li><em>How do I prepare for my interviews?</em></li><li><em>How do I look for red flags that should turn me away from a company?</em></li><li><em>How do I navigate one or more offers?</em></li></ul><p><br></p><p>But once you've gotten the job the fun is just beginning. Now you have questions like:</p><ul><li><em>How do I make a good first impression?</em></li><li><em>How do I set myself up for success?</em></li><li><em>Am I moving too slowly?</em></li><li><em>What's my manager thinking?</em></li><li><em>I can't do this. I'm in over my head. Are they going to fire me?</em></li></ul><p><br></p><p>And even once you're feeling comfortable in your new role you'll have yet more questions.</p><ul><li><em>What should I be doing to get promoted?</em></li><li><em>How do I identify growth opportunities?</em></li><li><em>Where do I want my career to lead?</em></li><li><em>When is it time to look for a new job?</em></li></ul><p><br></p><p>These are all real questions that I've asked myself throughout my career. These are the things that I wish I would have known when I was first starting out and even as I've progressed.</p><p><br></p><p>I've learned a lot the hard way by making mistakes and learning from others. In my last several years as an engineering manager I've also learned a lot about what your manager thinks how to use your manager effectively and how to navigate your career. And I've been taking notes.</p><p><br></p><p>Are you interested in a strategy guide for your software engineering career?</p><p><br></p><p>What if you could learn from my mistakes and insights and grow faster in your career?</p><p><br></p><p>What if you knew how to avoid opportunities that would hold you back or would even be toxic?</p><p><br></p><p>What if you knew how to take what it is that makes you unique and make that your biggest selling point?</p><p><br></p><p>That's why I wrote Running Start.</p><p><br></p><p>My goal is to help you get a job keep that job and thrive. Not only in that first job but in your entire career.</p><p><br></p><p>My target audience is anyone who isn't stereotypically represented in tech including but not limited to: women BIPOCs self-taught career switchers bootcamp graduates and many more. But I also hope that this book will be useful to anyone in tech.</p><p><br></p><p>With that in mind I took great care to make sure point out where people's experiences might differ from the norm. I also tried to get as diverse a set of pre-readers as possible to really hold me accountable for making sure I do right by all backgrounds and experiences.</p><p><br></p><p>My goal is to get as many different people in tech as possible. Not because of some artificial diversity targets but because I truly believe that the best teams are the ones that are the most diverse. Not only that but the teams that have the most different <em>kinds</em> of diversity. It takes a village to be a truly successful development team. You need people from different backgrounds with different life experiences different skillsets different abilities and disabilities. The more diverse a team is the better a product they'll put out. I'd bet a million dollars on it.</p><p><br></p><p>This book is my way of trying to help make that happen.</p>