Hi everyone,
It’s Jordan here.
I’m so excited to share this first newsletter issue with you. I plan to make these short and packed with valuable nuggets you can start using right away. So let’s jump right into it.
Thought experiment
Take one second to think about the senior engineers you work with.
What is each one known for?
“Jim, oh yeah, I go to him for database questions.”
“Diane, I go to her for API design.”
“Nick, he’s the frontend guy. He helped me with that weird styling bug last week.”
Now think, what are you known for?
If the answer is, “I’m not sure,” this issue is for you.
Main takeaway
If you only take one thing from this, remember:
It’s easier to grow and get promoted in your career if you’re known for something.
We’ll talk about how to make this happen, but first, let’s talk about what you’ll see if you’re successful at this.
How you’ll know if you’re successful
Your manager and peers will mention the impact you’re making more often
People will come to you for questions more
You’ll be relied on for your expertise, leading to you feeling more job security
In general, more opportunities will come your way, leading to more you can put on your performance review.
Alright, now let’s talk about how to make this happen…
How to become known for your thing
Figure out what you want to become known for. Is it GraphQL, CSS, API design, databases, concurrency, testing, service architecture, the list goes on…
This should be something you are interested in and has value to the business. Being a GraphQL expert is pointless if your company isn’t using it.
Become good at that thing. Read books on the topic, follow industry leaders, watch talks about how bigger companies do that thing
The most important step: SHOW, don’t tell, you are good at that thing.
How to show, not tell
Making a Slack post like, “Hey everyone, if you have database questions I just read a book on it so please come to me” could work, but it’s much better for others to figure out for themselves you’re the person to come to via your actions.
Here’s a set of ways you can start making yourself known today:
Post updates about what you’re working on to your PMs or stakeholders. Have a Slack channel dedicated to the project you’re working on. This consolidates information and allows for more iterative, productive discussion.
Hold a weekly project sync with project stakeholders. Give updates on what you worked on and show what has been accomplished.
Present your impact to engineers via demos. Or make an all-hands presentation. Tie it to your specific area. For example, I did a presentation on “Why accessibility matters” and people started coming to me for anything accessibility.
Share learnings. If you’ve read a book, watched a video, read a blog post, or learned something new, condense the key takeaways relevant to your team into a small doc and share it in Slack.
Refactor existing code to a new pattern and tell people. Here’s an example. I recently added an ESLint rule to our codebase to prevent an inaccessible pattern of icon buttons without a label. I shared that I added this ESLint rule in Slack and let people know the new pattern moving forward.
Leave PR review comments or design doc comments. Let’s say you want to become known for API design. Start leaving more comments on people’s docs or PRs that work in your learnings from API design. There’s likely a section for this in your design doc template, so focus on that area.
Isn’t this icky?
Reading this, some may feel weird or like this is a form of shameless self-promotion. As engineers, I know it can be tough for us since we’re generally a more introverted bunch.
In all honesty, if you follow the tips above…
20% is self-promotion
80% is being a rockstar team member
The challenge as an introvert is accepting and getting over that 20%.
I have seen too often people doing fantastic work and not getting recognized for it; leading to them staying at the same level for far too long.
I want you to be in the group that does fantastic work and has the tools to effectively share that, build up the people around you, and get recognition for it.
To end with where we started…
If you only take one thing from this, remember:
It’s easier to grow and get promoted in your career if you’re known for something.
Thank you
Thanks for joining me on this journey to being a high-growth engineer.
I’m looking forward to sharing the next issue with you. In the meantime, feel free to catch up with me on LinkedIn.
Best,
Jordan
These are some great tips. As an introvert I can relate to not wanting to self-promote, but if we don't do it who will?
The key as Jordan says is to show people what value you add and what expertise you have without shouting about it.