Soft Skills Hard Data
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Daniel Judge's Code on the Beach 2015 Session. A lot of what happens in our career is not because of our technical skills. Instead of worrying about new technologies, we should focus on improving our soft skills. Are you looking to get a promotion or land a better job? You'll need technical skills to get you in the door, but your soft skills will win you the job. We'll dive into areas that help us the most: social skills, professionalism, setting goals, productivity, and staying healthy.
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Soft Skills Hard Data
- 54. https://www.flickr.com/photos/rochephoto/2940983659/ • Daniel Judge • @DanielWJudge • DanielWJudge.com
Editor's Notes
- “Imagine it’s 5 years from now. Would you be ok with your life if nothing has changed?” This presentation is about the non-technical parts of our job.
- About 10 years ago, I was in a rut. I wasn’t advancing. I was doing the same thing over and over each day. I noticed that the people that got ahead weren’t always the ones with the best technical skills. Pushed myself outside of the comfort zone
- Mike's story: * joined the Baltimore Opera on a bet to meet girls * auditioned and was given the job on the spot for QVC as a host; on another bet * narrator for deadliest catch * host for Dirty Jobs * exterminator * landfill * linemen replacing power poles * horse breeder "I can say the willingness to get dirty has always defined us as an nation, and it's a hallmark of hard work and a hallmark of fun, and dirt is not the enemy." TRANSITION: as developers, we need to do the dirty jobs in programming - TESTING
- if the guys from Office Space had done developer testing, they wouldn't have had the problems
- THAT WAS EASY TRANSITION: we need to improve our documentation and writing skills
- We all have seen poor documentation Here’s how to make your documentation better: Humanize your work. Add more http://stevelosh.com/blog/2013/09/teach-dont-tell/ http://blog.screensteps.com/14-examples-of-bad-documentation TRANSITION: use more images and examples
- Use more images Screenshots and examples are easier to follow TRANSITION: dirty job #2 is to be a finisher
- Think before you start "Short-cuts lead to long delays.“ – Mike Rowe Work until you finish When looking at a resume and references, if someone is described as a ‘finisher’ then we want them on the team. "Rather than rockstars we should look for composers and song writers." – Phil Haack Rockstars don’t get along with other people, they only do their own thing Studio musicians are the unheralded foundation of the music world TRANSITION: sometimes we find that doing the dirty work isn’t enough, we have to do things we didn’t expect to do
- Show up late Act bored and disinterested Demand special treatment While talented, are moody
- Sometimes we have to do things we didn’t think we could do Story about Leroy moving to Niceville and winning employee of the year Story about me switching to euphonium TRANSITION: to do that, we need to constantly looking to improve other parts of our life.
- The average millionaire reads 1 non-fiction book a month Millionaire next door by Dr. Thomas Stanley
- Have trouble reading? Use Audible like Al Letson! TRANSITION: another way we can improve is through pluralsight. A proud sponsor of code on the beach
- These are a sample of the soft-skill courses I found on pluralsight TRANSITION: A lot of those pluralsight courses deal with communication. It’s a fundamental part of the job.
- If you can’t communicate well, you won’t get or keep the job! Get in front of customers Story about how ActiGraph sends developers to trade shows and get them in front of customers Learn how to talk to your boss * Story about how I approached my dad about attending Virginia Tech and helping them save money
- Do toastmasters Story about Bett Correa and how her presentation last year blew me away I joined because of Bett I’ve spent the last 6 months practicing portions of this speech Gives you the opportunity to practice in a safe environment Provides you with feedback Practice leadership skills It will also show you how efficient meetings should be TRANSITION: time for an activity on communication
- Presentation: Introduce the activity by emphasizing just how important the way we say things is to the meaning that is communicated to others. It has been shown that this dimension of voice inflections comprises approximately 38% of the message received. It becomes obvious that what we say isn’t nearly as important as how we say it. However, we don’t typically focus on this dimension of communications as much as we should. Too often we are much more concerned about what we are going to say rather than how we are going to deliver the message. However, paying closer attention to how people communicate can provide extremely valuable information about how they really feel.
- Purpose: To emphasize just how important voice inflections are to the meaning of words Debrief: Reflect on how differently this same tiny word could be interpreted by the way participants said it each time. Acknowledge that these differences may be very subtle at times, but in these subtleties lies the difference between understanding what someone really means and missing what their message is entirely. TRANSITION: another good way to improve our communication is spend time with other people
- If you don’t have 3 hobbies, you don’t have a life!
- TRANSITION: story about playing at the Kennedy Center because I got back into band
- Get back into band - story about tuba Christmas in DC TRANSITION: once you find stuff to do, you need to make sure you get your job done
- DO YOUR WORK! Pomodoro Why do this? Immerse yourself in programming, confining emailing to one or two Pomodoros a day. Break large, demanding tasks into shorter steps. Separate time they spend developing and refactoring. TRANSITION: now that you know how to get things done, what should you do during those tomatoes?
- 1. Choose a task you'd like to get done: 2. Set the pomodoro for 25 minutes: 3. Work on the task until the pomodoro rings 4. When the pomodoro rings, put a checkmark on a paper 5. Take a short break 6. Every 4 pomodoros, take a longer break
- Goals the best way to predict your future is to create it
- Why Goals and not Resolutions - resolutions are generic ideas and difficult to measure - resolutions can't be adjusted based on events - resolutions don't have a time barrier
- - goals are specific and easily measured. at the end of the year (month, day) they can be evaluated - goals are adjustable based on what's happened. Did you set a goal to lose 15 pounds by December and have already lost it at the end of november? Change that goal to lose 20 pounds! - goals have a clear defined time window
- Now that they're set what do you do? - write them down. this will make them easier to remember and help remind you of what you want to accomplish. - make a list of things that you can do TODAY that will help accomplish the goals - let other people know what your goals are! this helps bring accountability - evaluate them once a month. this will help you determine if they need to be adjusted use a site like stickk.com to help you TRANSITION: one of the most challenging goals people have keeping to deals with a taboo subject - MONEY
- Story about me and Dave Ramsey Paid off $12k in debt in 5 months
- Story about me and Dave Ramsey Paid off $12k in debt in 5 months
- “Many people who live in expensive homes and drive luxury cars do not actually have much wealth. Then, we discovered something even odder: Many people who have a great deal of wealth do not even live in upscale neighborhoods.” Eighty-six percent of “prestige/luxury” cars are bought by non-millionaires TRANSITION: the #1 goal set by people relates to diet and health. Programmers are stereotypically unhealthy and overweight
- Programmers are getting fatter - Linux t-shirt size Standing desks Working out Story about how I was making this presentation and realized I was going to be hypocritical Find accountability partner from work At ActiGraph one of mine is my boss
- TRANSITION: we’re all just trying to be Chris Pratt
- TRANSITION: another area that developers are stereotypically bad at is dressing well
- Dress for the job you want joke
- Stereotypical developer TRANSITION: here are several suggestions on how to step up. Starting with the #1 offender - pants
- Your mom bought you those pleated Khakis. And unless you’re wearing these pants Urkle style, half way up to your chin, the pleats will bulge out and give you a cotton accordion spare tire. add poofiness to your lower midsection that isn't flattering. Pleats make you look fat
- they make your feet look small and are unflattering Other items: Slip on shoes (not loafers or boat shoes) - you're one step away from Velcro. Step up and get some laces! Baggy or boot cut jeans - if you're skinny, I recommend slim fit jeans, other wise go with a straight leg Cargo pants/shorts - add a lot of bagginess to your legs Wrap around sunglasses - unless you're on a boat or playing a sport, they look cheesy TRANSITION: here’s what an easy outfit looks like that is still jeans and a t-shirt
- You can go to Target right now and buy a v-neck t-shirt, darker jeans, and a shoe similar to the one shown for $75 TRANSITION: once you’ve improved your style, your confidence will shoot up. People will compliment how you look. The challenge is to make sure you keep that positive attitude up!
- Golf and how it relates to attitude Respond, don’t react
- Negative self talk Story about Shari talking about what she doesn’t want to happen Story about me quitting golf and coming back to the game
- When things go bad, your positive attitude will keep you moving forward Respond, don’t react Story about doctor and medication Story about Buster and how I react Story about getting interrupted and how I make it clear when I’m working TRANSITION: how are you going to respond when something bad happens
- TRANSITION: wrap up
- “Just like you, I was lied to and told that the only way to advance in the technical field was through technical skills. Hopefully, you see that there’s more to work than coding.”