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goobster  ·  2712 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 19, 2016

    I am going to keep a list of tasks that aren't on the current sprint that I can work on in the absence of anything else.

This is also a great time to learn about other things that may be tangential to your current job, but might be useful in the future. For example, if you are working with SQL databases in your job right now, start learning Hadoop. Or look into NoSQL databases, in general. That way, when someone comes up against a database problem in the future, you could mention that maybe a NoSQL solution would work, and mention Hadoop.

Or, another team might be looking for Hadoop people, and you - being already inside the company, familiar with the people and the systems, etc - mention that you have been doing some research on it, and stood up and instance on your home computer to try it out... and suddenly another team is possibly looking to hire you away, and train you on this more cutting-edge database technology.

Sticking with the idea you might work with SQL databases, another option could be to start playing with Tableau, which is brilliant for doing data visualizations. And there is a free version at public.tableau.com. So when someone needs to visualize some data, you could drop it into Tableau, munge it around a little, and produce some really brilliant charts.

So yeah... look just outside the area/thing you are working on. What is connected to it? What interests you there? Do a little research on those things. Figure out if you like them, and get some familiarity with the tools.

As a fairly new person to the workforce, you may not be aware of how important incumbency is. Already working there gets you 90% of the way to any other job in the company, really. It is HARD to hire new people, and is fraught with wasted time, frustration, and bureaucracy. In addition, nobody is productive for their first three months as they try to figure out how to work within a new company's structure, and with their tools, people, etc.

It is way easier to hire someone away from another team. So if you are already working there, know their implementation of JIRA, and are producing good work, then your lateral possibilities within the company are HUGE.

And if I need to hire someone, and I can go talk to two or three other managers you have worked for, and they give you a good reference, then I REALLY want you on my team. Someone who has been around on a few teams, and has been productive, is way more valuable to their next team, too.

There are some insights from a hiring manager's perspective. I hope they are useful!