Tech Lead

Being an Advocate for Other Women

A woman in the industry was looking for an organization that valued diversity and inclusion. She was one of the first few employees hired for a start-up division of a larger parent company and formed a national, company-wide women’s committee. She recommends that all hiring managers have at least one woman or other diversity candidate in the room during an interview. She also suggests having a peer buddy to provide a safety net if someone in the room tries to shut her down mid-thought. People need to be aware of what needs to change and have introspection to understand why they are not getting what they want or need.

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.

A good performer who lost passion for his company

A good performer in the company had been losing his passion for the project he was working on due to strategic decisions and personal problems. The manager gave him a lead role on a new project to motivate him, but after a couple of months it was clear he wasn't meeting the bar. The engineer eventually left the company, and the manager learned that he should have pushed the engineer harder to make a decision and should have been more aware of his personal situation before giving him more responsibility.

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.

How to set up a new engineering team

This article discusses the challenges of building a team when the only engineer on the project is also the manager. It provides advice on how to recruit and onboard new engineers, such as having a plan in place for the first week, month, and three months, having an onboarding buddy, and giving engineers chances to deliver code early on.

Ensuring success for new hires

To avoid taking chances when hiring a new team member, it is recommended to hire them at one level lower of the desired position and promote them after a period of time. This gives the new hire time to learn the ropes and grow into the role, while also providing motivation and a positive vibe to the team. It also presents lower risk for the hiring manager and lower impact of potential failure for the team.