How did Callie Buruchara become a senior in a short period of time? She did 7,281,392 LeetCode problems. ... but you'll never guess how many linked lists she reversed! Callie attributes much of her success to getting her senior role to her communication skills. She explains that communication and people skills were able to shine when her team needed more informal leadership and guidance to bridge some challenging times. This is one of the ways that Callie REALLY stood out. Does that mean she can't reverse a linked list? I'm sure she can. Callie is still very technical, but she has a strong set of communication skills to allow her to work very effectively with others. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

Your definition of success is all wrong. These were powerful words to hear from Callie Buruchara when we sat down for a recorded chat about communication for software engineers. Callie explained that for individuals trying to get into software engineering, they see her as someone who is very successful. And she is! She's a senior software engineer doing awesome work. But their view of success is not the same view of success that Callie has. It's not about knowing all of the coding languages. It's not knowing every tech stack. It's not about always writing perfect code. How do you view success in a software engineering career? Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

Why should I care if they don't understand? It's their problem. Callie Buruchara says communication in software engineering is one of the most important skills you can have. And I 100% agree with her. But why? Why should you care? Isn't it the other person's problem if they don't understand what you're trying to say? It's certainly got to be their lack of experience or their lack of communication skills or some other deficiency on their part. ... Right? This was such a great conversation with Callie to go over the many reasons why software engineers NEED to have good communication skills. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

This is one of THE most important software engineering skills It's not reversing linked lists. It's not traversing trees. It's not how to implement bubble sort (please don't). It's communication. One of the most important skills you can learn as a software engineer is communication. I sat down to chat with Callie Buruchara to discuss this, and it's not just "Okay, it's important, go do it!"... We talk about WHY. We talk about the situations it's helpful in. And just like anything else -- you get better by practicing it. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

Feedback is something that REALLY needs to be tailored In this discussion with Callie Buruchara, we sat down to go over communication skills for software engineers. Of course, feedback is a big part of working in teams AND a big part of being able to grow in your career. But have you stopped to think that how you give feedback shouldn't JUST be based on your personal style? You need to adapt it to the person you're giving feedback to! This can also help explain why sometimes getting feedback from certain individuals isn't as great -- perhaps they aren't doing a stellar job adapting their approach to suit what works best for you. You know what could help that? Communication. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

Every other learning modality is second best to project-based learning for software engineers. @JohnVandivier has gone through the data that supports this -- and if you tag him, I bet you he can point you directly to it! There are lots of resources and ways that we can learn: - Reading articles - Watching videos - Course-based learning - ... you name it! But building things is essential for learning software engineering. John even recommends the learning-in-public approach that can help even further in your job search. Do you agree with what the data suggests? Do you find that you learn more effectively in other ways? Let us know what we missed! Watch the full video here: youtu.be/IfpFm44-2ZM

You probably don't want to hear this but Waterfall actually works. And before you rush to furiously write angry messages... I didn't say that other things don't work. I also didn't say Waterfall always works. In my conversation with Jade Wilson, she shared that her team doesn't just follow one software development process blindly. In fact -- they might use a variety depending on the situation. That's right! Waterfall sometimes AND Agile in other situations. Different types of deliveries require different approaches, so there is no one right way to deliver things. Have you successfully worked across different delivery methods? Watch the full video here: youtu.be/1EBogK5KCR8

How frustrating do you think this would be: Imagine this scenario: You've spent years working on your technical skills as a software engineer. Thousands of lines of code were written. Hundreds of features delivered. Even more bugs were fixed. You've been on countless design reviews and code reviews. But you've been unable to communicate your ideas effectively. As a more senior engineer, you're unable to pass on your lessons learned in an easy-to-digest way to the more junior developers. In our full interview, Jade Wilson and I discuss soft skills and why effective communication is key to reducing friction -- even selfishly if you want to reduce friction for yourself! Watch the full video here: youtu.be/1EBogK5KCR8

Why have something like a "Brag Document"? To be honest, I still find the name a little off-putting and awkward, so I personally prefer to use "Highlight Tracker". That name also gives it more meaning, in my opinion. The goal is to track the highlights of the things you're working on for impact and career growth that you've discussed with your manager. As a software engineering manager, I can't observe every possible interaction with each of my team members. It's not even something that would scale. But I leverage working interactions, one on ones, and other types of feedback to get my input. You could also help by sharing with your manager more concrete examples of things so that they have more examples to work with. Not only is it a great reflection tool for you, but it's a great conversation-started to use with your managaer. Watch the full video here: youtube.com/watch?v=DYOHDAUT…

One simple tip to make sure you get mad on every code review. Make sure that every piece of feedback is: - Someone criticizing you personally - Calling you out in public for doing things wrong - A person getting mad at you for coding a certain way - Someone thinking that you're stupid for missing a scenario - Just too picky because it's a typo - Colleagues trying to slow you down and prevent you from doing good work Bonus points if you read every comment in a very angry or condescending tone of voice in your head. Extra bonus points if you start a comment thread on the review to write essays back and forth. Want to level up your code review experience? Listen to Callie Buruchara about prioritizing communication skills. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

So how would you go about using a "Brag Document"? Use it as a record of all of the things you've discussed with your manager for what you should be focused on: - Areas that influence your career progression - Areas that influence the impace you're having "But Nick, I haven't had those conversations yet!" Do that first! Your "Brag Document" isn't a log of every single thing you've done -- that would be overwhelming. Once you've got alignment with your manager about what things you should be focused on for your growth, use it to keep track of the things that are influencing progress on those goals. Watch the full video here: youtube.com/watch?v=DYOHDAUT…

When AI generates code for you, what’s your default reaction? This might vary greatly from person to person, depending on your AI workflow, but for that reason, it could be an interesting discussion!

It's a misconception that people working in industry have their language or tech stack mastered. As Callie Buruchara calls out in our discussion together, this can be a big barrier for new folks to try and get past. How could I ever get a job and break into the industry if I don't have X, Y, and Z mastered like everone else?! ... They don't have them mastered. They are always learning! As software engineers, we ALWAYS need to be learning. But we use our problem solving skills, resourcefulness, our ability to analyze, AND our communication skills all together to accomplish our goals. We get a lot of practice along the way, but we're always learning. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

People first to be an effective engineering manager. In my video that I put together about using "Brag Documents" or other forms of highlight tracking, I wanted to explain *WHY* these are helpful. As a software engineering manager, I want to focus on: - What keeps my employees engaged - How can I help them through challenges - Alignment on career progress - Visibility into high impact areas It's impossible for any one person to see it all of the time for an entire team, so... help your manager help you :) Watch the full video here: youtube.com/watch?v=DYOHDAUT…

Not everyone likes public recognition. In fact, some people HATE it. This is one of many very simple things you can learn about others when it comes to communication. In this conversation with Callie Buruchara, we discuss how communication is critical for software engineers and how the most effective ways to communicate are very situational. What are YOUR most important communication tips for other software engineers? Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

Is Developer Relations Right for You? An Honest Breakdown With @fharper In this episode, I sit down with Fred Harper, Developer Relations Manager at TinyMCE, to understand what developer relations actually is. Fred shares his 20+ year journey from software developer to DevRel! Watch it here: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/s…

Looking for a "Brag Document" template? There's no right or wrong way to make a "Brag Document" -- just find a way that helps you organize your accomplishments and the impact that you're having over a period of time. Find a way that let's you draw upon this information easily for conversations, but also isn't a burden such that you don't want to use it. Remember - these are just tools to help you have more meaningful conversations with your manager, especially with respect to career progression and impact. I have a free "Brag Document" or "Highlight Tracker" template available -- just ask and I'll provide the link! Watch the full video here: youtube.com/watch?v=DYOHDAUT…

Rogue refactoring is not the way. It ain't it. When I sat down to talk with Callie Buruchara, we discussed a fundamental software engineering skill: Communication. I know tech debt, refactoring, and clean code are some of the biggest focuses for software engineers. I get it, I do. I love to program. I love working in code that feels good to work in. But if you're constantly "going rogue" to go clean up code because you don't have alignment with your stakeholders... You're prioritizing the wrong debt paydown... Pay down your communication debt first. Get on the same page and stop perpetuating the situation that forces you to want to go rogue. Watch the full video here: youtu.be/AWTwji6mmeA

Providing mentorship is a great opportunity at any level. However, the likelihood that you're encountering mentorship opportunities at a junior level is low. That doesn't mean you can't be helping onboard the next new employee or finding a way to help someone out in some other capacity -- but usually at this level the focus is more on becoming a productive individual within the team. As you become more and more experienced and increasing in level within your role, I would expect that you're finding more of these mentorship opportunities. Not only finding -- but participating in. One of the best ways to increase your influence and your impact is by helping level up those around you. Watch the full video here: youtube.com/watch?v=DYOHDAUT…