This document discusses how to build a personal tech brand through collaboration, publications, and community involvement. It recommends asking how each activity benefits your career goals and end game. Suggestions include contributing to open source projects, writing a blog, joining professional organizations, public speaking, and networking at events. However, it warns to be aware of intellectual property restrictions in employment contracts. The overall message is to gain experience, showcase your skills, and get involved in order to prove your abilities and advance your career.
2. From this point onwards in your
professional career, everytime you’re
asked to do something, everytime you
consider going to an event or spending
your precious time on an activity, I want
you to keep one key thought at the front
of your mind…
3. “How does this benefit me?"
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4. This might sound incredibly selfish but it
doesn’t have to be…
Your benefit could be altruistic,
supporting others, or even because you
need to keep your job!
This is about focus.
Take a look at this cartoon…
5.
6. Chris Hadfield is an awesome human.
(quote illustrated by http://zenpencils.com)
“Every decision you make…
turns you into who you are…
don’t let life kick you into the adult you
don’t want to become.”
7. Early in my career I let life kick me.
I let opportunities come to me rather than searching
for them.
I had fallen into IT because of a childhood passion
but had no direction.
My PhD wasn’t written up, I was playing far too many
console games and my Guide computing badge was
my only relevant qualification.
You may have read that the Guides are
“introducing” computing and STEM interest badges.
They had them three decades ago and they quietly
disappeared… this is an original complete with
CRT monitor!
8. I had to change my current brand from:
“capable developer, no prospects”
to
“credible c-level executive”
I had to reinvent myself
9. Then I took a step back and made a plan
Technical skills only
Projects highlighted technical ability
No leadership
No external interests
No relevant technical qualifications
STEM undergraduate degree
Starting Brand End Game
Leadership experience
Broad experience in different areas
£M budgets
Innovative projects
Credible expert in industry
Better life balance and salary
“The Plan”
10. I looked at my manager and his manager and the
CTO.
I watched what they did.
I heard them speak in meetings and make decisions.
I knew I could do their jobs.
But…
As Denzel Washington said in “Training Day”
(and later Gerard Butler in “Law Abiding Citizen”)…
11. “It’s not what you know, it’s
what you can prove"
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12. Similarly David Wong in his “6 Harsh Truths” post
(http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-harsh-truths-that-will-make-you-better-person/”)
“It doesn’t matter what’s inside – you need to
demonstrate that to the world. Kill the excuses and
[do] something”
So I put all my energy into building “Brand Jan” and
I now have a new end game for myself.
So how to build brand “you”?
13. Brand “You” is a combination of your:
• Professional experience
• Publications
• Collaborations
• Community involvement
Know your end game and what you
need to prove to get there.
14. If you don’t have the
experience you need, find a
way of getting it
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15. In one company, my manager left and I had been
doing his role during the hiring process. I applied
too and was told I didn’t have the experience even
though I’d been successfully doing all the aspects of
the role while they recruited. I asked how much
more experience I needed and they had no answer.
I updated my CV and left the company for the
senior role I wanted 5 weeks later.
16. Be the person you want to be, not the person
you think you have to be. I’ve got to where I am
without screwing anyone else over to do it,
despite being on the receiving end of that style
of management.
You don’t need to be a dick to people to be
successful – there are too many dicks in tech
already.
Being respected as a leader is a great personal
benefit.
18. Professional collaboration is not like those
horrendous school projects where you did
everyone else’s work!
Find people with similar ideas and create
something together. Whether it’s a python
library or a meetup group – go for it.
19. You’re not alone.
There’s a huge support
network out there.
Find a mentor
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20. Come to meetups, conferences and make contacts.
Have personal business cards and leave something
tangible with the people you meet.
I guarantee there will be someone feeling as shy as
you are. Find someone who isn’t talking to anyone
else and ask them what they thought of the last talk.
Chances are they were wondering how to start a
conversation too. You never know when you might
meet your next employer, employee, or someone
else who can benefit you.
21. Your CV only goes so far.
This isn’t enough anymore
to prove your skills.
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22. When I recruit, I gets lots of very similar CVs. I
look for skills that go beyond:
Passion, motivation, intellect and innovative
thinking.
This is where building brand “You” really comes
into its own.
23. Write your own blog or
contribute to
http://medium.com or
http://dev.to
Dev.to is particularly
embracing of people just
starting to contribute.
Ask your marketing
department if they need
content for the company
website.
Get Writing
And
Be Involved
24. If you’re worried about abusive comments turn them off.
I’ve only had one negative comment on my own blog
– an attack on my appearance.
Ad hominem attacks don’t upset me. If they’d
managed to construct a logical argument against my
opinion then I might have actually been affected!
There have always been trolls, the internet has just
given them a voice they don’t deserve.
25. “It’s a lot easier to criticise
other people than to create
something yourself”
David Wong, 6 Harsh Truths
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26. Contribute to http://StackOverflow.com answer
questions, even if it’s just to point people at other
answers.
Fix bugs in open source projects and build your
github profile. There are lots of simple issues
that nobody has time to fix for beginners, tehn
move on to the harder problems.
Think of all the python libraries that haven’t yet
been made compatible with python 3… probably
due to the change in print()…
27. Join organisations that support your chosen area.
British Computer Society http://bcs.org
IEEE http://ieee.org
Royal Statistical Society http://rss.org.uk
These cost a subscription but can provide support,
training, discounts to conferences and a route to
publications.
28. Women on Boards http://www.womenonboards.net
has Non-Exec board positions for both
experienced and early stage women.
Further in your career and have the experience?
http://journalism.co.uk and
http://www.expertsources.co.uk to make yourself
available to freelancers for articles and opinions
(requires payment)
29. Speak about what you love.
To get into bigger conferences you need speaking
experience, sometimes videos. Get this from internal
presentations, speaking at meetups.
Practise until you’re comfortable speaking, but always
speak on topics you are passionate about.
30. Even the shyest individuals
overcome their fears when
talking passionately about
what they believe in
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31. Did you see the intellectual
property clause?
On signing, everything you
create even outside of
working hours belongs to
your company if it’s capable
of being used by them.
This apples to UK contracts – international
contracts may have different policies
Did you read
Your contract?
33. If a company wants to patent your work then that’s
great for you!
Companies can’t be named as inventors, only
people, and only the people who had the idea are
named, not the people who only implemented it.
The company may own the IP but the patent will be
in your name as long as it is active, even if you leave
the company (or have left before it’s filed).
Patents prove you are an innovative thinker.
34. If you talk or write about your work, make sure the
company is happy with it – if you make public
something innovative then they will not be able to patent
it in future. Don’t lose your job building your own brand.
Finally, think about the brand you want to build and how
you’re going to get there. Chances are that you’ve
been around 10 people today who can help you either
directly or through an introduction.
