- Complete unfinished Mod 3 prompts:
- Review and revisit prompts that resonate and can help move you forward in the job hunt.
- Revise Resume/LinkedIn/Portfolio:
- Technical Resume Checklist here
- LinkedIn and Github Checklist here
- Cover Letter Checklist here
- Portfolio Checklist here
- Troubleshooting Portfolio:
- “I can’t get the portfolio to save”
- Refer to this video that walks through the fields that should be double-checked when saving
- Use Safari as your browser
- Fill out all fields to be able to save the portfolio
- Pick one of the options below to also complete during intermission:
- Option 1
- Apply to 2 positions
- Share cover letters/resume for those roles with an alum, mentor, or classmate
- Option 2 - Build your Network
- Make 2 connections and schedule 1 coffee chat
- Share outreach messages with someone else for review
- Sample outreach messages
- Use this time to your advantage AND Prioritize self-care.
- Career Resources:
- Resume: Uploaded to CV Compiler Due MONDAY Week 2
- Complete a mock a 20-min. mock behavioral interview with a member of the career development team in order to synthesize their professional development by end of Week 5
- Turing Alumni portfolio: First draft due by 9am Thursday of Week 2 and final draft due by 9am Monday of Week 6.
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Top 3-5 |
| Please list the top 3-5 industries and companies you'll pursue in your job search as of right now. | (1) IXL Learning (2) Duolingo (3) Triseum (4) Khan Academy (5) Codeverse (6) Flocabulary (7) Pearson: the Aida Project specificallly |
| 2 | Reasonings |
| Why did you pick the industries/companies that you listed above? | These are all education technology. I've been a teacher for 13 years. I love the pasison and love that goes into education and I believe that technology can be our friend when conveying new concepts and skills and can potentially save the public education system. |
| How do they relate to the values and goals you have for yourself in your job search? | They relate to my passions; these companies cultures/values also align with my personal and core values. This means, not only would I be working on projects that impressed me and could change teaching (like the Aida project, an AI calculus tutor, what?!?!?!!), but I would also be working amonst people and professionals who hold similar values. This is an amazing feeling, especially after coming from various toxic work environments. |
| 3 | |
| How does your LinkedIn currently reflect your goals and industry interests? | I mention my prior educator background in my header and I list my prior teaching positions. |
| What changes will you need to make to your LinkedIn to better reflect these? | List ALL my teaching positions and pull the core/culture values from the Ed Tech companies I idealize/love the most and add them to my LinkedIn |
- Resume must be uploaded no later than 5pm on Monday of Week 2 to CV Compiler using the promo code Turing2005
- After you receive feedback on the resume, make any necessary changes to your resume and then upload it again to CV Compiler no later than 5pm on Wednesday of Week 2.
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Refine your career vision |
| What are the values that will drive your job search? | (1) Education Technology, (2) Innovative Educational Practices including, but not limited to, game-based learning, (3) Challenging Environment (4) New Skills gained (5) Empathetic Culture (6) Remote Work - possible international allowance (is it a time-zoned company or can you work from ANYWHERE) |
| What are your goals for your job search? | In Turing - (1) follow Career Journal requirements, (2) Continue the 3 cold emails a weekend approach |
| Outside of Turing - (1) Create weekly goals that are attainable that include technical/coding practice, interview practice, cold-outreaches and Huntr updates with details for follow ups, cold-applications, networking to gain referrals | |
| (2) For example, EVERY WEEK: Spend 2 hours a week working on advanved ruby; Spend 2 hours a week working through algorithm challenges/technical interview challenges; Create 5 cold-outreach emails (at preferred companies) to a researched person through linkedIn and update any interactions with people in Huntr; Create 5 cold-applications (at non-preffered companies) using Job Boards like Monster/Indeed/RubyJobs/etc.... and update on Huntr; Follow up with 2 networking contacts - aiming for that referral but make sure it is organic OR apply for any referral positions at preferred companies | |
| What kind of role do you see yourself pursuing in your job search? | Software Engineer; preferably in Educational Technology, however, happy to work anywhere that increases my knowledge/skillsets including the basics of working on an engineering team |
| Based on your latest version of your career vision, list the top 3-5 industries and companies you’ll pursue in your job search as of right now. | Tier 1: Flocabulary, Remind, Kahoot, VIP Kid, Udemy, Udacity, Coursera, Age of Learning |
| Tier 2: Trisuem, Khan Academy, Duolingo Classroom | |
| Tier 3: IXL (absolute dream company), Dreambox Learning, Instructure, Knewton, Zen Educate, Guild Education, Sparx | |
| Why did you pick these industries/companies? | They have similar values and culture that I believe in and above all, their message is to get learning into the hands of the user, while making it accessible and adaptable. |
| How do they relate to the values and goals you have for yourself in your job search? | Technology is part of our life, and there are many issues in education (public or private), that can be tackled by using tech wisely. I don't believe we should live in the status quo of "that's just how education works", but use technology to make "education accessible and available to ALL". These companies embody that concept. |
| 2 | Build your resume |
| What will you emphasize in your resume that directly relates to your targeted industries? : | Pick a template from those listed in the Templates section here. |
| (Check out resume resources including the Resume Checklist) Order your content in this way: Header (Name + Software Developer OR Back End Engineer OR Front End Engineer, etc.), Contact info, Summary, Skills, Projects, Experience, Education | Leave Completed Resume Here |
| 3 | Upload your resume to CV Compiler by following these steps |
| (1) Go to https://cvcompiler.com/students/turingschool (2) Click on “Improve Your Student Resume” (3) Authorize it with either LinkedIn or GitHub (4) Fill out the fields with your Name and Email and the promo code Turing2005 (5) Upload your resume | Completed |
| Based on the feedback you received from CV Compiler, what updates will you make to your resume? | (1) In Demand Tech Skills - check the list of 30, can I add any? (I think CI, Unit Testing, REST, OOP, Deployment, Data Structures are things I can add) - ADDED |
| (2) Accomplishments - Update for suggested resume style language (past tense, what you did) - UPDATED | |
| (3) Action Verbs - I have none - what can I add? (Build, Code, Design, Develop, Engineer, Redesign, Upgrade) - UPDATED | |
| (4) Niche IT Skills - Can add RSpec - ADDED | |
| (5) Numbers - update for quantitative measures - ADDED | |
| (6) Soft Skills - should I remove my "soft skills" - one is in "about me", the other might be referencing "team lead" but it says "leadership" - NO CHANGES | |
| (7) Broken Links - this is true - project repos and apps + turing alum link need updates - UPDATED | |
| (8) Certifications - I don't think I have any? Should I include Turing as a "certificate"? - NO CHANGES | |
| (9) Bullet Points - this might be a mistake? I will need a human to confirm that my work experience and education are succint (paragraph to bullet ratio) - COMPILER MISTAKE, IT IS READING TWO COLUMNS AT ONCE | |
| (10) Resume Section Order - flagged for dates in education - possibly flagged since my education is on the side (I don't think it understands there are 2 columns on my resume) - NO CHANGES | |
| 4 | Set up your Turing Alumni Portfolio (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17sz_0Je9OQfvqQ-NEC3UOMS4wBuKdrhNPqXZVXfP9uc/edit#slide=id.g8ad334faa8_0_113) |
| Use Safari. (1) Log in with the link you got in your email. Going forward, log in at alumni.turing.io/user (username is email without extension) (2) Fill out all fields (3) Select “publish” before saving (projects must also have “published” selected) | DONE! And with new email. |
| What do you want this portfolio to say about you? | I want it to showcase my projects and fields of interest/skills I desire to learn |
| How will you continue to add to this to portray your story and showcase the kind of work that demonstrates your brand? | Update as projects update or new projects come in; Update for new skills learned |
| 5 | Ian’s workshop this week is designed to help you break down your interest in specific industries even further by exploring their tech stacks to decide if you want to utilize any of their tools in upcoming projects. |
| Make a copy of his template here and post a link to your copy here to show what research you’ve completed. You can also link this research to your Huntr board. | Complete |
- Portfolio: why is photo sideways?
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Find a position or use a position you’ve put on your Huntr board and write a cover letter for that position in a Google doc or gist. |
| Reference these cover letter resources as well as the session to complete your cover letter. Post the link to your cover letter here | Cover Letter |
| 2 | Review your cover letter with a peer |
| What feedback did your partner give you? | Research the companies frameworks/languages/etc and tailor my experience paragraph to their processes |
| What next steps will you take to make your cover letter even stronger? | Have another peer review it and then ask a mentor to look at it |
| 3 | If you applied to this position |
| How will you customize your resume for it? | Update the experience paragraph to match the jobs experience required/used |
| What other next steps would you need to take here? | Make personal connections so the opening paragraph and whom it is addressed to is actually personal or attention grabbing |
- Use the list of industries you created last week
- Narrow down some companies within those industries
- Find contacts at those companies
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Back to your resume and cover letter |
| What other next steps do you want to take to make these two components stronger? | I worked on my updates to the rough draft cover letter and started polishing a more final version. I've been slowly updating my resume in accordance with the resume checker and with brainstorming with other students. I am currently working on updating my projects from the portfolio to put cleaner versions including the deployed app on my resume. |
| 2 | Outreach Brainstorming |
| Either explore the company you wrote a cover letter for or find a new company to explore this week; Go to their company LinkedIn page and start to explore the employees. Who are a couple people you could reach out to? Why? | I am highly interested in the company called Redjack. I love their reputation and their company culture! I reached out to a junior dev on the team and their hr rep through linkedin! I just got a coffee chat with the engineer so I am super psyched about that! I have made cold reach outs to many employees of various companies that caught my eye. 9 times out of 10, I try to reach out to an engineer or hr rep, however, I will also reach out to anyone who allows messaging on LinkedIn since not all do. Anything to get my foot in the door, right? |
| 3 | Finalize Your Plan |
| Who have you decided to reach out to? | Reached out to Junior Dev and HR rep at Redjack |
| Why that person? | They are on the team I am interested in or part of the hiring process |
| How will you contact them? | Linked In Messages |
| What do you want to talk to them about? | What is the culture like? What is a day in the life like? What does your workoad look like? What does your work look like? What tech stack? Etc.... |
| How will you follow up? | Respond to linked in and set up a coffee chat |
| 4 | Execute your plan: Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. Be sure to update this in Huntr. |
| What happened? | I got the coffee chat! |
| What did you learn about the company? | That i love them! Hahha. They work in digital intelligence and internet security and safety. They work on things like protecting and saving against human trafficking and so much more. This is a company that seems like a dream. |
| What other next steps should you take for pursuing this company? | I missed the chance to apply, but the next time I see a posting, I will apply right away (posting was removed less than 24 hours, Ian said this happens, so always put in your application before beginning to network). Right now, I want to work the network angle. |
- Complete your Job Shadow
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Prepare for Job Shadow: AEIOU |
| Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis? | What is their tech stack? What does an average week or day look like? What is the work? How much time is spent solo coding? How many meetings do you attend? How big of a company or dev team? |
| Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace? | What is the company dynamic? How do they deal with conflicts? What are resources for those 'falling behind'? |
| Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to see in your interactions during the shadow? | How do they interact? What is the cycle process like? How often do you have intense code sections versus downtime? What are the technologies you use? |
| Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product? | How did they come up with the product idea? How do you test qa or user input? How do you design? |
| Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users? | How do they get feedback? How do they implement feedback? How do they do user research? How often do they test with live users? |
| 2 | After the Job Shadow, reflect on the same questions |
| Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you shadowed? | I loved how passionated and comfortable they were. We didn't speak with a dev until later (in fact, he was a turing alum!), but it was amazing how well oiled and productive the first half was! |
| Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company? | They believed in their company and environment. They didn't hide behind anything or shy away from tough conversations. They were transparent with us, even as questions were asked about tough conflicts like harrasment or prejudice. |
| Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people? | I felt so confident and comfortable asking any question I had. They were open to so much. Beyond that, they gave incredible advice for any position, no matter the company. |
| Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development? | Since our dev was still new to the process, it was impressive to hear how much frontend work he completed as a backend grad during his internship! It was also amazing to hear that he got hired full time and he loved his job and his experience! He was so happy! We got to see a snippet of epic code (some advanced SQL work) that blew me out of the water. But it was nice to how they appraoched him with the bug and how he solved it! He could easily identify where the error was and showcase his nice neat solve. |
| Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users? | They absolutely believe in the user experience. The point of the product is to make studying abroad more approachable and have a site that feels like a one stop experience for users. This is incredible and inspires me! |
| What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy? | I took away how excited I am to get that first job! I was getting sort of disheartened with lots of cold outreaches and zero responses. This was just what I needed to get my breath back and feel motivated. I got to talk to real people who made me feel like this was a world I can't wait to join. |
| 3 | Interview Prep |
| Pick a successful project and write about it with the STAR method (What was the situation/scenario of the project? What was the task/target of the project? What action steps did you take? What were the results?) | For our final Mod 3 project, we created a backend application to support a front end consuming endpoints for forecast, directions, and road trip information. We were given 5 days to complete this endevor and required to consume at least 3 external apis, as well as expose internally built api endpoints, including ones with sensitive data that needed guards for security. This was accomplished by consuming external apis using effective test driven development and using MVC to abstract information for security risks. Also, using the api/v1 nesting format, I built POST requests for the internal structure of creating users, logging in users, or creating a road trip. The final post call still contains sensitive data since it must be authenticated with the backend generated api key associated with a user. I implemented sad pathing to ensure 400 level responses if information was incorrect or unauthenticated. The results were a successful backend application/server that exposed 5 unique endpoints and is set up for further endpoint exposure. |
| Write about a time you failed and what you learned from that experience | In Mod 3, we were assigned a massive project that we pitched, designed, built, and deployed from scratch. This was our first experience with the entire life cycle of product development. Though we had a working product to demo, it isn't actually useful or accessible by others. There are many factors that lead into this, from our ignorance in the life cycle, to our lack of experience with designing, and finally to our newness with multiple repo consumtion, microservices, and working on such a large team. I learned so much about product life cycle, how things can go wrong, and what it takes to fix it. I also learned that when lots of humans are in a pressure cooker environment, harsh feelings can be expressed. What I hope to take from this is a learning experience about the entire life cycle of a product. I would also love to take this project to the next level in another mod and see it fully fleshed out. I would like to gain more experience with the design side and wireframing and approach it as a top down design where our final product demo is where we begin visually and then build out the architechture and frameworks to make the vision successful. |
| Write about how you’ve approached working with a team using a specific example | I have experience in leadership and educating, so I tend to take a leader role where I am happy to teach, rubber ducky, debug, design, or communicate. In our group project in Mod 3, I took on a team lead role where I helped with designing approachable user stories and wireframes and then refactoring as new issues arose. I spent 50% of my time visiting various zoom rooms to debug or explain a concept or give input on a design question. I was also lucky enough to get to spend my other 50% coding where I worked in small groups as a navigator or in paired coding where we either worked as driver-navigator or dividing the work as frontend request/view and backend endpoint exposure and split up the work to meet in the middle. |
| What other stories will you prepare to share? | Why I got into coding. Why I chose Turing. What are my expectations and dreams! |
| Do some research into your top companies’ tech stacks; what do you already know? What can you compare to your own learning? What do you need to learn more about? | Many companies I've researched require javascript which makes me feel comfortable because i can speak to how my learngin in ruby and rails makes it easy to transition to javascript. |
| Using this interview prep resource doc, pick out at least 3 resources you will use to prepare for interviews as well as 3 behavioral questions you could practice | I have signed up for Pramp, I am reading through the interview handbook, I am printing off the cheat sheet and workign through anything that seems tough. |
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Taking stock of where you are |
| What have you accomplished this module? | I have accomplised so much! I can build and consume apis, I can work with multiple apps (like frontend backend and microservices). I was part of of a team that pitched, designed, tested, built, adn deployed an app from sctatch! |
| What have you learned? | Api consumtion, json specs, stubbing api calls, using postman, how not to expose secure data even in an api call |
| Where are you stuck (have you not been able to follow through on outreach? Is your resume not finished?)? | Following through with networking or job research. I don't see it as a block but that there just wasn't enough time to dedicate to it (even though we were absolutely given plenty of time and notice). I prioritized my lessons/projects/assessments over the job hunt. Perhaps this was due to my self-doubt when I got zero responses to cold outreaches. But now, I am motivated and ready to go. Tonight I am excited to work though resume/portfolio updates! Maybe I needed a real world push - since I now have some interviews and coffee chats lined up, so my resume and portfolio are now on my radar. That is a bad habit I hope to braek after Turing! |
| Will complete Below | By Friday Nov 13, 2020 |
| Reasons | I would like to develop Plan #2 and update resume/portfolio to prepare for a culture fit interview I have tomorrow morning. I would like to implement parts of plan 2 and also take my time on creating great plans for #1 and #3 |
| 2 | Create plans for 3 different companies you want to target |
| Questions to reflect on here: Why do you like this company? What makes you want to work there? Why are you a good fit for this company? What do you bring to the company? What transferable skills do you have? What do you already know about the company (product, team, culture, company size, location, etc.)? What do you need to learn? | see plan documents below |
| Outreach: look at the company’s LinkedIn page: who could you reach out to? What questions do you want to ask that person? | see plan documents below |
| Experience: once you’ve made a connection at the company, how could you find out more? Consider setting up a job shadow or exploring their tech stack in your projects | see plan documents below |
| Read back over the plan. How does it reflect your vision? | see plan documents below |
| Imagine that you get the job. A year later, what have you gained from this experience? How have you started to fulfill your vision? | see plan documents below |
| Plan #1: | Company Redjack: I want to create these plans with thoroughness and thoughtfulness - WILL BE POSTED BY FRIDAY, NOV 13, 2020 |
| Plan #2: | Company Epsagon (where I have my culture fit interview tomorrow) I want to create these plans with thoroughness and thoughtfulness - WILL BE POSTED BY FRIDAY, NOV 13, 2020 |
| Plan #3: | Company IXL (ultimate dream job) I want to create these plans with thoroughness and thoughtfulness - WILL BE POSTED BY FRIDAY, NOV 13, 2020 |
| 3 | Make it actionable: rank each plan on a scale of 1-5 for how much your plan aligns with the following |
| Plan #1 | |
| Available resources to help you pursue it: contacts, time, knowledge of the company, etc. | response |
| Coherence: how it aligns with your career vision | response |
| Confidence level: how feasible does this feel to you? | response |
| How excited you are about it? | response |
| Plan #2 | |
| Available resources to help you pursue it: contacts, time, knowledge of the company, etc. | response |
| Coherence: how it aligns with your career vision | response |
| Confidence level: how feasible does this feel to you? | response |
| How excited you are about it? | response |
| Plan #3 | |
| Available resources to help you pursue it: contacts, time, knowledge of the company, etc. | response |
| Coherence: how it aligns with your career vision | response |
| Confidence level: how feasible does this feel to you? | response |
| How excited you are about it? | response |
| Now, pick the plan with the highest numbers across the board. What steps will you take next to pursue this strategy as you go into the next module? | response |
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Review your habit tracker |
| How did you monitor your habit(s)? What does this tell you about your overall progress becoming the person you want to be? In general, how satisfied are you with how you spent your time this module? What could be improved next module? | I wasn't supremely satisfied with how I spent my mod, then I had to pause and recognize just how much work I had accomplished and how much work went into trying to maintain habits or resetting when I was outside of habits. After I readjusted and removed the self-deprecation from my mind, I realized that even though I wasn't hitting every habit - the constant push to improve my life and my stress levels eventually led to more successful weeks at Turing. My habit monitoring occured through my own created files and my checking in with my husband. My husband was more of an anchor when I realized I was getting away from healthy habits - he would help me reset by prioritizing which habits would help me get back into a learner mindset quickly. |
| 2 | Mind Maps |
| ENGAGEMENT: What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you're engaged in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most (e.g., "Talking through a problem with a partner," "The moment when I solve a problem that I previously didn't know how to do," "Setting up a successful project management process for my team") and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?). | I am engaged when I am learning something new; especially when I have something active to work on - aka: participating in a code review or getting to learn my reading a PR versus only peer coding! I love learning new things and cracking puzzles - for me, the best feeling is getting a piece of code working after I've had to research or reach out to peers. This means, I learned something AND I was able to use it! |
| ENERGY: What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you feel most energized in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?). | My energy appear when I am either in a peer setting and feeling challenged (not in a peer situation where I need to teach) OR when I am organizing - I felt a lot of purpose and energy when I was sorting our project user stories this week into chunkable groups that we could work through solo/partnered instead of in the group of 4. |
| FLOW: When have you had an experience recently in which you were in a state of flow? You can also think about this as "joy" or "play." Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?). | I was in my most joy or play when my group had an amazing plan with resources/solutions and we got to split up the work. I got solo, focused coding time and when I did have an issue - I could reach out and get help with my team. This is a big shift, as most of my project work has been peer coded up until this point. |
| 3 | Prototype your mind maps |
| what do these mind maps tell you about what's important to you as a software developer? What questions do they bring up about what you still want to learn about this career? | What is important to me: my own growth and my perceived impact through product/project launches; The questions that it brings are company specific: What do your developers typically work on? How often are they working on new products? |
| 4 | Prototype your outreach: (Be prepared to share this in your small group discussion) |
| Who comes to mind as a person you can reach out to? Why that person? What questions would you ask them? Come up with 2-3 people here to serve as prototypes | I want to find a linked in profile of a engineering team member at a few innovative education tech companies (like IXL, Duolingo, Codeverse, Khan, Flocabulary). I would want this person because they could truly answer about the enjoyment and fulfillment of working on the engineering team. |
| How would this outreach help you further your job search strategy? | It would help me decide if this was the career path for me. Would this career path mean future burn out? Do I need to take time away from education and get my bearings in other tech fields first as a developer? |
| 5 | Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach |
| Who is the right person for you to reach out to? | An IXL engineering team member and an IXL Mathematics Curriculum designer. |
| How will you find them? How do you know they’re the right person? | LinkedIn and the Company website: confirm against each other |
| How will you reach out? | Via email |
| What questions do you need to ask them? | What is a day in the life like? How did you get there? What is the relative experience on the team? Any junior devs? What are project lengths? Who do you report to? Standups/Meeting quantities? Focused coding percentage? |
| How will you use this information to further your solution? | Add to my huntr and keep an open line of communication (just in case they are ever offering jobs - I can be recommended) |
| How will you follow up? | Keep information about that person on my Huntr, so when I reach out again (3-4 weeks after initial contact), I can bring up a topic we discussed before. |
| 6 | Execute your plan |
| Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. What happened? What other next steps should you take? If this is a person connected to a company you're interested in, be sure to add it to your Huntr card. | Sent a cold email - no response. Working on setting up more during my intermisison week since Week5/6 is kicking my butt |
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Prepare for Job Experience: AEIOU |
| Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis? | (1) What does a day in the life look like for you? (2) What are typical changes to your workday throughout the week? (3) What are atypical; and why are they atypical? (3) What is a breakdown of your time spent (where do you spend your most time during a week/project)? (4) How does your team work well? (5) What is an area of improvement for your team? |
| Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace? | (1) How would you describe the Engineering Culture? (2) How does the engineering culture mesh with the companies culture? (3) How do they differ? (4) What is one thing that amazed you when you came to this company, regarding it's values/environment/culture |
| Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to learn during this experience? | (1) What typically languages/frameworks do you use? (2) How often do you feel you are learning new concepts/products/software/language? (3) What are the resources for a team member who needs more help in an area? (4) What does leadership look like on your team? (5) What does a typical day look like for a team-member? |
| Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product? | (1) What is the product you guys work on? (2) What is a major update you guys are working on and why? (3) What are accessibility constraints you have thought about? (4) What are future accessibility updates you would like to see updated on your product? |
| Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users? | (1) What does a typical user look like? (2) What is a typical user experience? (3) What is one suggestion your users made that was updated into the product? |
| 2 | After the Job Experience, reflect on the same questions; what are your takeaways from the activity? |
| Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you met with? | The ability to be a creative developer - he said there are many different types of developer jobs - it can be company dependent or project dependent - don't hesitate to move companies to figure out what kind of dev job suits you best |
| Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company? | They talked about the ups and downs at each company they worked for - how it can change and it can be appropriate to leave a company due to culture or to search for a company based on culture |
| Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people? | They were confident in their answers even when they didn't have a response. They were honest and open and were happy to tell you if they didn't understand something or if they didn't have the answer. |
| Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development? | Their approach was once you find something you enjoy, learn a lot about it. He specialized in Microsoft products. This doesn't mean he can't figure out other languages/frameworks/etc; but if you ask him about Microsoft stuff, he will confidently answer. If you ask about other stuff, he can do his best, but will remind you of his speciality. |
| Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users? | Every company he worked for, approached users differently. He said watch and learn how your company/teams does things first. Adapt and understand the system. |
| What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy? | I feel more confident about what the first few years of a developer career might look like. Movement is okay and can be expected. |
| 3 | Assess your habits from week 3 (called prompt 1 in the lesson, but is prompt 3 in the journal) |
| How did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen? | Last week, I lost a lot of good habits for the sake of completion of a project. I AM NOT GOING TO LOSE MYSELF AGAIN. How did you spend your time this past week? I spent most of my time working on a single project. What was effective in your habits? I focused on healthy eating and waking habits - my wakeup time is closer and closer to 5:15 every morning, in fact, this morning I was out of bed on the computer by 5:32am :). What could be more effective? Maintaing my exercise/yoga/meditation routines - not only is this healthy no matter what, but my body is slowly rebelling, the only way to keep myself happy and active is to stay fit and create muscles to compensate for the joint loss - THIS MEANS DAILY YOGA and 4 cardio exertions a week. What steps will you take to make that happen? I have reset my morning routine, now my goal is yoga on MWFSuns (aiming to increase to 15 minute dailies) && add in at least 1 complete cardio exertion (I like road biking, so I am working with my husband for an indoor trainer as winter approaches, but this shouldn't stop me from attempting one bike ride a week and maybe one urban hike a week) a week (aiming to increase to 4 a week) |
| 4 | Implement a reiforcement strategy |
| To make one of your habits more satisfying, what is a reward you can give yourself immediately after completing the habit? How will this reward encourage you to continue completing that habit? | A reward for post-yoga can be editing my current office-clean-cartoons bundle. Last week, every time I entered my office, I would clean and watch 8-15 minutes of cartoons (I don't have a problem pausing my shows). This week, I want to bundle cleaning with exiting my office and then using the cartoon as a reward for yoga completion - I can do my morning exercise and then as I sit for my daily no-stress time, I can use it to watch cartoons and reject the chaos in my head. I think this would encourage many healthy habits. If I clean up at night, then I am more likely to roll out a yoga mat in a clean room. If I start my day with an energizing burst of yoga, then I am more likely to feel more relaxed and focused during the work day; thus the reward is some fun cartoons for timebox=10minutes. I think the biggest gain will be having that healthy mindset around stress - to often I let stress live inside of me instead of recognizing it as an outside influencer that I only have so much control over. My daily yoga/medidation gave me at leaset 15 minutes of "no-stress-time"; my eventual goal is to live 24-stress-free hours - something I'm pretty sure I've never actually experienced in my entire life, but a goal I've been working on for a very long time :) |
| 5 | "Don't Break the Chain": Use a habit tracker |
| What is a habit that you want to make sure to do every day? How could you visually cue yourself to complete it (i.e., moving a paper clip)? How can you visually track it each time you've completed it? Could you automate the tracking? How will you do that? Need help? Check out one of these habit tracking apps | My Updated Turing Habit Tracker. I've been polishing and updating this - this is what I check daily to see how I am doing with my habits and I still allow myself to be flexible when I need to |
| 6 | How to get back on track when missing a habit |
| If you miss a day or two of completing your habit, how will you get yourself going again? | I do habit checkins with myself often, so this is an easy place to begin. If I notice I'm struggling, my next step is to inform my support (typically my husband or mother) and let them know what habit I'm struggling with and how they can help me overcome it. My husband helped me last week with my wake up times and my mom helped me reset my morning routines with an open communication about what my "goal for a daily mommy text" was and how she could be flexible when I don't but redirect me in a nice way :) |
| 7 | Pick an accountability partner (your cohort accountabilibuddy, your mentor, a close friend, etc.) and create a habit contract with them. |
| How often will you check in with each other? How will they hold you accountable? | My hsuband is my biggest accountability partner. We have a non-written agreement and he checks in with me often. He uses my googlesheets habit tracker to check in with me (we also use a seperate moods tracker app that he has access too so he can identify my mental health/emotional state before he sees me after a remote day - this lets him make the best judgement calls for how to redirect me) |
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| Prompt | Response |
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| 1 | Assess your habits from week 2 |
| How did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen? | I lost many of my routines last week as emergencies caused some chaose in my partner project. I have some reflections around the situation after many conversations with safe people: (1) If what you are giving is being returned, learn to step back and let go (2) Always take time for yourself - at the end of the day there were circumstances that prevented your full completion of the project anyway, don't let the project take away your routines (3) Communicate early and often when things are going wrong. I plan on using these concepts if there are any future frustrations - but in the meantime, this week is about resetting and trying again. What I did still accomplish: I still ate healthy (non-allergenic) meals 3-times a day; I still walked my dog every evening; I still maintained by health, skin, beauty routines. What I could do better: I need to continue attempting yoga every morning; I need to continue purposeful pom breaks; I need to continue working on creating designated worktimes for Turing and sticking too it (AND not feeling guilty when I am taking a break). |
| 2 | Reflect on how you’ve spent your time so far at Turing to gauge your engagement and energy |
| When have you been excited, focused, and enjoyed your work? | When I am learning something new, when I am challenged and solving a puzzle, and when I am helping another understand a concept I am beginning to understand (this is a two-fer, I get enjoyment from the art of teaching AND the solidifying of my knowledge, especially when they have new or contradictory information! |
| When have you felt bored, restless, or unhappy? | When I don't feel like my learning is improving or when I am experiencing "imposter syndrome" or when I have an "unproductive struggle" that takes me a while to recognize. |
| When do you feel energized in your work? | When I am solving problems or teaching others |
| When is your energy drained? | When I don't feel heard no matter how many times I try to rephrase or redirect; when my opinion's "don't matter" or my partner/group mates don't respect my code/thought-process |
| 3 | Setting up habits and routines to make time for the job search this module |
| Block out time on your calendar this week to work on your job search. When will you make this happen? How will you hold yourself accountable to this? What activities will you focus on during this time this week? What outcomes do you hope to reach by the end of this week because of these activities? | I wanted to work on this anytime between Tuesday the 1st and Friday the 4th, however, my focus ended up being an unhealthy prioritization of my project and I ended becoming so exhausted and wornout - I spent the 3-day weekend as a couch potato. I recognize this is now in the past and I can't do anything about it except find a solution to move forward on! I will block out time during lunch today (after my donut chat) to (1) Create 5 new cold-call emails using your template (2) Update your cold-call email list with more names and contacts from linkedIn |
| 4 | Applying wayfinding to using job search resources |
| Go through the resources listed here and explore 2-3 tools. List what you looked at here: | I looked at the BuiltIn Jobs board and did a quick checkout of what their site is: looks like a recruiter website for dev jobs (specifically around colorado if I go to the colorado site); I skimmed the Colorado Tech magazine (looks like a lot of amazing articles and opportunities when I have the time); I also looked at the ruby on rails job boards - I didn't realize there were even websites to find a job based off a language, that is impressive! |
| Apply wayfinding: of what you looked at, what did you discover that aligns with your vision? If it didn't align with your vision, what will you try next? | I discovered that many cutting-edge education technology companies have similar values that I am searching for - this means if I end up in that field and at those companies - I should feel aligned with my job! Specifically, I am just so impressed with IXL. |
| Find a job posting that aligns with your vision. What's the posting? How does it align with what you're looking for? Add it to your Huntr. | Haven't found any in education technology that align with what I am looking for; however, I am updating my Huntr board more and more with dream jobs and have begun my cold outreach emails (that are currently only focused on introducing myself and asking what it would take to join their engineering team). Huntr |
| What next steps will you take to explore that opportunity and find contacts? Add that information to your Huntr card. | On Huntr |
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Assess your habits from week 1 |
| How did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen? | Oof - my habits and I were not friends this week, more like distant cousins! Haha. Week 1 habits kind of fell to the way side, if I had to compare myself to my best week of habits from Mod 1, then I would say I was at about 50%. I spoke with my husband and friends about how I was getting back on track, and I am lucky enough to have their support. My friends were happy to have scheduled call times and my husband is helping me reset my morning routines (which is where I lost most habits - mostly because I don't want to get out of bed!). The easiest way I felt I could conquer this and work towards a better week 2 was by trying to wake up 15 minutes earlier each day. I was starting to wake up closer to 6:30 instead of my usual 5:15, so I began pushing for 6:15, then 6, and now, Thursday of Week 2, I woke up today naturally at 5am, but really got OUT of bed at 5:45. Still not perfect, but I am getting more and more done in the morning! I had time for yoga most mornings this week, a nice hot shower, time to get dressed for work instead of sweats or pajamas, AND I even met some of my pom goals this week: Spend my morning poms focusing on quick yoga/stretches for wrists/shoulders/computer_people && leg circulation(I bought this electric mat that helps with leg circulation and I LOVE it!) and standing in the afternoons! |
| 2 | Write a draft of your professional story here as 1-2 paragraphs. |
| Focus on answering the questions who are you, why are you here, and what's next? Consider how to talk about your motives and values, the turning points that led to your career change, and what you envision for yourself going forward. | Story Doc - I promise it is shared this time! |
| 3 | Update your LinkedIn profile |
| Include the following: updated photo/headshot, headline, summary statement using your story, and Turing added to your experience and education sections. Include a link to your profile here in the journal. Remember the guidelines and tips from the lesson here. | First I had to create a new email address (my name changed and I want to make sure everything is up to date before I begin pursueing my career). New email is priya.r.power@gmail.com. This will be my new professional email and I will keep the old one just for subscriptions and other nonsense. I read that creating seperate email accounts can help you get your digital inbox under controll. This is definetely something I want to have taken care of by the time I graduate Turing (deletion of old subscriptions or unnecessary emails). I have created a LinkedIn Profile associated with my new email! I have added a headshot (I need to setup my home studio and take some new ones). Added headline and other information; shortened my about me - still working on updating professional story to add to LinkedIn (should it just be a copy paste from above??). I also know that there is a LinkedIn Post for my fullstack channel to share and get connected, will work on adding mine to the list and following my fellow cohort-mates. My Profile |
| 4 | Next Steps |
| What other steps will you take this week to update your branding or practice your story? | I can begin working on research about developer interviews before the coding challenge. "How do you get the interview? - aka: what should your resume, networking, and cold-calling, look like.". "What are typical developer interview questions". And if I have time, I can begin preliminary research on the coding interview. |
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| Prompt | Response |
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| 1 | Reflect on your habits from last module. |
| What behaviors and activities were helpful for you? What activities and behaviors could be more effective for you? What processes would you like to try differently this module to become more effective at your work and as a software developer? | Behaviors that were helpful was to track my habits, actually sit down and list everything I hope to achieve in a day and a few that were weekly. This allowed me to see where I had overstretched my abilities and where I was missing opportunities. It was hard micro-managing my life and time, but in the end, it was a great tool that is becoming easier and easier to do during Mod2. I want to work on really having a definitive idea of what every day/week/month/inning looks like. I began working on a more detailed calendar that focused on the things I wanted to see and created a definitive daily schedule. I realize I need to be flexible with myself, however, this made it easier to see what I wanted to focus on and where there was time for it. |
| 2 | Setting intentions for this module |
| Who do I want to be this module? What specific habits would help me get there? How are those habits tied to the identity of a software developer? | I want to be an organized, quick-learner, extension-achieving Turing student this inning. |
| 3 | Incorporate temptation bundling to create a new habit by using this template |
| After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [HABIT I NEED TO DO]. After [HABIT I NEED], I will [HABIT I WANT TO DO]. | link to my temptation bundles |
| 4 | How to enjoy “hard” habits |
| Reframe your habits to consider their benefits rather than their drawbacks; name 3 habits that you have to do and explain the benefits of them. How do they further your goals longterm? How will they add to your processes as a successful developer? At the end of the day, how do they add to your life? | (A) Waking up on time; (B) Previewing Lessons; (C) Morning Yoga |
| (A) Waking | The benefit: It helps my routine to wake up around the same time every day; it allows me plenty of time to get work done in the morning and keep my family life happy. The longterm goal: I am a morning person is much easier to succeed at when you actually wake up early! Successful developer: Having healthy habits as a developer IS important for maintaining that work-home balance; I like working before I go to work, not after. Life: Becoming a morning person has increased my productivity and my ability to maintain some semblance of a personal/social life even when I get bogged down with work. Because I wake so early, adhering to that "hard-stop" at 7pm most nights doesn't mean that I've lost precious worktime! |
| (B) Previewing | The benefit: It makes it easier to learn, retain, AND THEN USE the information I am learning; I don't mind learning for learning sake, however, this is something I want to access and improve in the future, so these skill sets need to move past understanding and into creation. The longterm goal: Understanding how I learn is important to my success in any endeavor - I know that I learn through repetition and hands-on experience - so part of that repetition is previewing lessons and vocab! Successful developer: In the dev world, I imagine continuing education and learning NEVER stops; this is good practice for that field where languages and concepts change or are updated often. Life: Becoming the two identities "I am organized" and "I am prepared" are not easy; this is excellent practice to developing those life-long attributes that I want. |
| (C) Yoga | The benefit: When my body is healthy, relaxed, and strong, the rest of me can feel that way; I face several heatlh issues so the ways in which I used to keep healthy and fit aren't always the best for me anymore - but with yoga, there are literally 1000s of unique ways I can use yoga: for my gut health, for my joint health after being at a computer all day or sitting all day, for my stress points, for my joint degredation, you name it, I can find a book/article/video/call_a_yogi and find a solution using yoga! The longterm goal: This feeds directly into the identities "I am strong" and "I am healthy" and "I don't let stress rule my life"; I use yoga daily to ground myself and it allows me to build muscles when I used to dance/weight-lift to build/maintain muscles; Transitioning to this practice gave way to healthy mindsets (I no longer felt like my joint degredation was ruling my life), it gives me a daily practice to build for healthy habits, AND it allows me time every day where I CANNOT think about anything except my body and breathing (this is the best - I work on those stress-free-yoga-meditation sprints just like I work on productive-code-sprints). Successful developer: I think this is a practice I SHOULD continue even as a developer - it directly builds into my health which in turn will either make or break me as a developer! Healthy human = healthy developer. Life: It is important for me to take control of what I can and to let go of things outside of my control. When I had to transition away from the body-strenous classical dance, all my other routines that went with dance, disappeared. I no longer at "like a dancer", I no longer cross trained "like a dancer", I no longer considered myself a dancer. I challenged that mindset and began looking for outlets that I could control. My mentors reminded me that this practice, yoga, that I have been doing all my life to maintain my flexibility and breath as a dancer, was actually much more than that! I began all this research on what yoga was, currently it, and can be for anybody. I fell in love with how my body began to feel and now, I don't ever want to stop feeling this strong and healthy. Once I had yoga as a routine, I realized that many of the physical activities I assumed were no longer an option, I can actually still do. I started dancing again! I also took up road biking and mountain hiking, and I've started learning white-water kayaking and mountain biking. I no longer feel like I am ruled by my body-restraints, but that I can modify many activities to me AND I can build strong muscles around the joints to compensate! |
| 5 | Environment design (optional 5-min. additional reading: Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More) |
| How does your environment set-up currently help you with your habits? How could it be improved to make it easier for you to follow through on your habits? | From last mod to this mod, I made some changes to help improve my environment. I already am lucky enough to have an entire office in my apartment, but my husband and I worked to make this a space that was more welcoming instead of just a catch all for everything because we just moved. Things I love about my environment: (a) My desk is next to a big, beautiful window so I can see nature, hear nature, and feel connected to the outside world. This also means I get a lot of natural light! (b) I have a decent desk setup - an external monitor and laptop both at heights that are health for sitting and standing; a nice chair that has lumbar support; a wobble stool for standing or sitting; a small stool under my desk since I am short (when you are short and can't touch the floor when seated, this puts strain on your thighs, knees, and hips). (c) I have nice/useful things displayed and everything else well-organized and "hidden". This allows my office to be full of supplies for both me and my household without letting me feel like my office is cluttered - STRATEGIC! (d) The space was redesigned to also feel like a nice hangout space for my husband - this means he can join me when he has breaks without feeling like he is invading my space AND it means I can request company if I am feeling lonely in the remote space. (e) There is still room to workout! Currently it just holds my yoga gear, but future plans are to mount a smaller tv on one wall with a webcam for remote workout sessions with friends OR for my indoor biking in the winter! (f) I WORK FROM HOME CURRENTLY! This is amazing just by itself. I feel much more comfortable with my health issues when I am in the comfort of my home to deal with them. When I worked in offices, I would just put up with the pain or find ways to ensure I could survive. But that was the buzzword - Survive. Working from home - I AM THRIVING! (g) Remote work means that I actually eat 3 meals a day! (h) Remote work means I have a dog or cat to cuddle as often as I need! (h) I MOVED TO COLORADO! (i) Colorado means I get outdoors so much more often - Texas... you rarely walk outside during the summer months (j) Colorado means I get to camp when I need to reset away from work! Regarding improvements: Because I already noted all the ways I didn't like my space last mod and my husband and I had a plan for intermission week to update, I don't feel like there is much left to improve. Would I like a nicer, maybe slightly more compact sofa? Yes. Would I like an electric sit-stand desk? Yes. Would I like a keyboard/mouse stand attachment that I can swing towards myself? Yes. Would I like to transition to better keyboard/mice for wrist support? Yes. Would I like at least 3 external monitors? Yes. Would I like an office with lots of laptop working spaces that are comfy and support my personality? Yes. Could I continue to list all the nit-picking or downright-expensive ways I could improve my working environment? YES! |
| 6 | “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” Read this 4-min article on how to stop procrastinating. |
| Apply the 2-minute rule to reframe 2-3 of your habits by scaling them down into the 2-minute version. How does this reframing help you think about shaping your new identity as a software developer? | I call this chunking and it is something I have been doing as long as I have been working on myself :) I chunk as many things as possible in my life. I don't mind timing my temptations (this used to be an issue, "I just need to finish this episode", "Let me complete this level", "I just need to finish this crafting project"). Now - all my temptations can be paused at any point if I need to time myself. That was a hard since it challenges the ugly side of perfectionism - the I-never-get-things-done-because-they-need-to-be-perfect. My ENTIRE morning routine is broken into small, chunking segments. Example: My morning bed-yoga routine used to follow videos/articles/routines - now it is how much bed-stretching can I do in 5 minutes before I HAVE to jump out of bed; Example: I struggle with getting my body/skin care routines in and I used to spend 30 minutes or more making sure I took care of everything - Now, I have about 5 minutes every morning to use the bathroom and take care of whatever I can. This means some mornings I may remove facial hair, others I may focus on inspecting or repairing skin blemishes, other mornings I may only have time to wash my face and put lotion on, etc, etc. For the morning, the only major requirements I have is that I put on my sun allergy lotion. I do the same for my night time routine but for 10 minutes. The only requirement at night is removing makeup (and that has been bundled into my hard-stop routine). It has become more about, "What Can I Get Done in the Time I Have?" instead of trying to complete these lists of things I "should" be doing. |
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Habits Reflection |
| How have you seen yourself become more aware of your habits? Have you tried implementing anything new? What have the results been? | I absolutely am more aware. Week 5 was a rough week for my habits, however, I can feel my productivity levels match my habit abilities. Aka - the better I am with my habits, the better I am with my code, communication, empathy, and self-love that day. This shows me that my habits and routines have a direct relationship with my success. I can't wait to continue defining what my daily work routine looks like and finding the best Turing work life for me so I can create the best Dev work life in the future. |
| 2 | Design Thinking Reflection: Cultivating Beginner's Mind |
| How can beginner's mind be helpful when it comes to thinking about your career and job search? What are some habits you could put into place to cultivate beginner's mind regularly? | Wow oh Wow. Beginner mindset saved me multiple times this week. Not only is it useful in something "small" like your code, it helps in literally any aspect of my life. It's just a problem solving technique. If your problem in communication or empathy on a team, go back to the beginning. Challenege what the problem actually is, define it from the beginning, and work it over. This helped me overcome some team communication issues this week because I had to put myself in my teammates mindsets to come up with the appropriate questions to ask. This ensured I had empathy and an open-mind for their answers and it ensured that my question didn't offend them. We were able to quickly move past our frustrations and move on! This also helped me this week when my husband and I started road biking again. I was an adult bike learner, so I already have anxiety. I learned and practiced on streets in San Antonio, Texas, so again, anxiety about new streets, drivers, rules here in Denver. All of a sudden, my husband told me that I was going to lead. Many of the roads we were on had bike lanes, however, there is still a major stress that comes with leading. At first, I was horrified and anxiety ridden. I talked to myself and said, "hey, change your mindset". I was able to overcome the stress, lead, and remember that just because I was leading, doesn't mean that my husband wasn't watching out for our safety. The beginner mindset of "I am still learning. He knows that. He will guide me if I make mistakes" started ringing through my head. And it was true! I suddenly slowed down and forgot to warn him. Luckily, he is an extremely experienced road biker, so he was waiting for it. After it happened and we moved past the obstacle, he gently reminded me how to inform him I need to suddenly slow using my hand signals. It was a learning moment instead of a "failing" moment! |
| Optional additional reading: | How to Cultivate Beginner's Mind to Become a True Expert |
| 3 | Flower Exercise |
| Go through the Flower Exercise brainstorming worksheets linked here. | Priya's Brainstorm |
| Then complete your Flower Exercise final worksheet here and link that finished worksheet here. | Priya's Final |
| 4 | Strengths |
| Write out your top 5 strengths that you've seen in action this module; then write out the strengths of a software developer. Where do you see these lists overlapping? Where are they different? | After writing out my strengths and the strengths I believe a software developer needs, all of my strengths overlap. This is proving to me more and more that I am in the field I finally belong in.
|
| 5 | Vision Statement |
| Write a refined vision statement here (what new things have you discovered this week to incorporate into your vision statement?): | I want to help transform what education looks like in the digital world. I want to help make it accessible to all ages, all learning styles, all accessibility, and actually have lasting impacts on a person's technical/academic skill sets as well as their life/soft skill sets |
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| Prompt | Response |
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| 1 | Habits Reflection |
| How have you seen yourself become more aware of your habits? Have you tried implementing anything new? What have the results been? | Absolutely!! I noticed I'm more aware of when I am following my habits plan or when I am deterring. I notice my moods and abilities after a "good" habit day versus a "bad" habit day. I am adding more habits to my scorecard as I recognize ones I've missed and I'm recognizing opportunities for better habits! |
| 2 | Start Where You Are |
| HEALTH: How would you rate your overall health on a scale of 1-5? How do you currently make time for activities associated with your health? What is a small change you could make here to readjust your health ratings? | Self-Rating: 2.5; I do yoga daily (sometimes twice), including meditiation and body injury checks. I check in on my injuries daily outside of yoga as well and treat self as needed; For mental health, I do self-assessments and talk things through with husband to get a logical mindset on emotions. |
| WORK: Make a short list of all the ways you work right now; How much value do each of those things bring to your life? How are those activities purposeful for you? | My Turing work looks like researching topics, preparing for daily lessons, solo-practice, assigned group-work, and personal organization projects. Each of these tasks brings unique value, however, they all increase my learner aspect and my ambitious-self-worker aspect. They currently give me a positive boost because I enjoy learning and I enjoy working. Recently, I have been reflecting on work-to-live versus live-to-work. I recognize I am currently a live-to-work mindset, and I need a plan in place for my work tasks if I begin to transition to a work-to-live mindset. I personally want to adapt that mindset because, for me, it is the healthier long-term habit. My "normal" work tasks include weekly grooming of the animals, daily 15 minute cleanups, |
| PLAY: What activities do you do that bring you joy throughout an average week? In what ways could you make a small change to bring more joy into your life? | My current play tasks are walking the dog, daily watching of cartoons (this is my stress relaxer since I mostly watch shows in 10-15 minute increments), weekday evening social times with my husband, and weekend hikes/bike rides. I have been working on my routines and habits for many years, so any time my schedule allows for play, I take advantage of it to break the monotony. I self-describe as being a "child-at-heart", so I am prone to finding opportunities for play where I can. |
| LOVE: How does love currently show up in your life? How do you show love to others right now? What adjustments would you like to make in this area? | Love appears in my life in the form of communication and experience. I cherish an honest and open conversation and an educational conversation that I can learn from (even if I'm just learning more about that person). I also love experiences so I enjoy moments I get to share with friends and loved ones. The simple conversations aren't what I cherish, it is the big moments and the experiences we share. However, I am starting to see that not everyone is that way. I need to adapt and work on maintaining friendships. I show love by being an active listener anytime you need me, checking in on them, creating social dates (and keeping them - I struggle with this sometimes, but it is a habit I am working on), support their decisions, be an ally if they are a target, and try to find ways to make their life easier (keep an eye out for solutions to issues they might be facing). I would like to show my love by being present more often (even in a digital space). I get so caught up with work that I can forget to maintain my relationships, from my mother, to my husband, to my best friend. |
| Looking back at the 4 areas, do any problems emerge that you want to begin designing solutions for? | WORK and LOVE |
| 3 | Define your needs, problem, and insights |
| Based on what you wrote about above and your group conversation, what problems have you identified that you'd like to design solutions for? What do you already know about what you want for your career? What do you still need to find out? Who or what do you want to grow into by the end of the Turing program? | I want to work on long-term maintainance of relationships. I also want to work on effective worktimes and recognizing my own work boundaries. Basically, work belongs to "work hours" and I need to learn to give myself seperate space to live. During Turing, I know this may be difficult. However, I want to practice some seperation here, so when I begin working I can continue keeping work and home seperate. I know that I would like a remote positition, preferably one that helped be gain a visa for a country other than US. I know that I would like a minimum salary that is defined by my husband and my comfort. I know we live mostly frugally and really only need enough for daily living, healthcare, and potential real estate. I know that I would like to work in an empathetic environment where I am seen as a vital team member and not just a woman of color. I know that I would like to work in a technically skilled environment that would challenge me and help me grow as a developer. |
| 4 | Ideate |
| When you discussed software developers with your small group on Monday, what assumptions came up about what software developers actually do? What steps could you take to challenge those assumptions and find more facts to answer the question of what developers do? In addition to what a typical software developer life could look like, what do you want yours to include? | Some assumptions were about the percieved level of coding done in a day; I could look up how developers actually work using search phrases like "day in the life of (insert job title)"; I could also contact developers using networking/turingchannels/coldcalls and interview them or even ask for a shadow opportunity. I want my day to include working on a team, researching the product, field work to understand the user, and code work. |
| 5 | Prototype |
| What is the basic threshold that your new career must meet after Turing? What would you hope WILL NOT happen in your future after Turing? What is your absolute, no-holds-barred, ideal dream for your future after Turing? | It should meet basic salary requirements (Turing median) and remote or Denver based. I really hope that I won't get a local job, I would really prefer remote since it allows me to deal with some of my health issues more readily. My absolute dream career is to work in a remote environment, my work is project based, I work within a team (actually, lead teams would be more ideal) and that what I do is impactful and important in the world in some way, shape, or form - preffered is working in education and changing access to lessons that are effective and engaging and include upper level (high school level) STEAM courses. |
| 6 | Test |
| Based on this week of reflections, write out your initial vision statement for your career: | I strive to become a leader in the developer field, helping transform companies or projects I work with/on into an empathetic and impactful event -- while at the same time being the best wife and daughter I can be. |
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Habits of a Software Developer |
| What do you think are the traits of a good software developer? What are they like in the workplace? What would you as a co-worker think of this person? | Curious or adventurous, also critically minded and logical sequencers, and probably also intuitive and empathetic. They are probably life-long learners. In the workplace, I believe developers are probably great communicators who ask lots of effective or clarifying questions. I would probably enjoy that person as a coworker, but perhaps this is because I'm describing my ideal coding buddy. |
| What are the habits that this person demonstrates to embody the identity of a software developer? | They practice their communication via all methods, such as writing, spoken, and non-verbal behavior. They updated their knowledge on empathy and technology practices weekly, either through news, classes, articles, projects, etc. They have a schedule they stick with, whatever that means to them even if it accounts for flexible time. |
| Who do you want to be as a software developer? What kind of behaviors do you already have in place to be that person? What behaviors would you need to put into place? How will you do that? | I want to be a empowered, logical, empathetic developer who is always willing to learn and be challenged. |
| 2 | Working on the 1st Law of Behavior Change: Make it Obvious |
| Bring self-awareness to your current habits by making a Habits Scorecard. Make a list of your daily habits (examples: wake up, turn off alarm, check phone, etc.) as a way to bring awareness to what you do. Then, decide how effective that habit is for you and your goal of becoming a software developer. Put a + next to habits that are effective; put a - next to habits that are not effective; put a = next to habits that are neutral. | Habits scorecard found here |
| Pick 1 new habit you'd like to build and create an implementation intention following this template: "I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]." Then, stack the habit onto something you already do: "After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]." (Hint: make this highly specific and immediately actionable) | I will wake up at 5:30am the first time. After the first alarm, I will get out of bed immediately and not hit snooze. |
| Design your environment for success: what changes could you make in your space to better implement your habit? How could you remove any triggers for bad habits? How will you implement these changes? | I will move my alarm (phone) somewhere further so I MUST get out of bed to turn it off. I will talk with my husband so he is aware of these changes and can prepare mentally as I work through this habit. I will turn off the snooze option on the alarm and prepare my morning routine the evening before so everything is ready to go (clothing for work, towel for shower, yoga room for exercise, etc..) |
| Respond after a few days of this implementation: What are your results? How do you feel about this method? How will you move forward with this habit? | I've been trying to update my sleeping. I don't know if that is a habit I am able to work on just yet, but I am attempting. Thus far, very little success (but this could be due to stressful dreams that are grounded in Turing stressors). I stilll plan on working through this habit during Week 4 and am trying to be flexible with myself everyday I don't wake up at 5:30 and end up waking up closer to 6am. |
| Additional Optional Reading: | The Five Triggers That Make New Habits Stick (https://jamesclear.com/habits-scorecard) |
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| Prompt | Response |
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| 1 | Power of self-reflection |
| What is challenging about self-reflection? | Man, so many things are challenging about thinking about myself. It's hard to be vulnerable when (as an Indian-American woman) I've been conditioned that showing vulnerability and weakness won't help me get ahead. This is a horrible condition that I work against and do what I can to better understand myself. It is also difficult because it's hard to hear our flaws and it's embarrassing to think of yourself as awesome or skilled in something. At least for me, that's something I face. I am learning to take compliments and to toot my own hor and I am learning to calm my temper when reflecting on my flaws. I am human. Therefore, I am flawed. This is inevitable and my success can only come from my continued growth, so I need to embrace and move past those flaws. |
| How can you continue to build the habit of self-reflection at Turing? | Follow up with PD and Gear Ups along with continuing and owning the discussion for myself. I can continue to use research and online tools to help me understand myself (such as personality/character/etc tools). I can contribute to groups that I am drawn to and that would challenge me. |
| 2 | Social identity mapping |
| First, create you own social identity map on a piece of paper (or print this out): Outer ring: write words that describe your given identity. Middle ring: list aspects of your chosen identity. Center: write your core attributes—traits, behaviors, beliefs, values, characteristics, and skills that you think make you unique as an individual. Select things that are enduring and key to who you are. | Done |
| After you complete your map: | |
| Underline the items that are important to you. Put a + beside the items that you believe clearly demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry. Put a - beside the items that you believe do not demonstrate that you fit into the tech industry. Put a ? beside the items that you're unsure how they could show your ability to contribute to the tech industry. | Done |
| Reflect: | |
| What does your social identity tell you about what you already bring to the tech industry? | It says that I have something worthwhile to bring to the table (just like everyone else). It says that my background and my experiences are important in this field as we consider all types of users/clients/humans. |
| What would it look like for some of your minuses or question marks to turn into pluses? In other words, how could some of these traits be assets for the tech industry? | I think I don't always think about my innate given identities as things that help me fit in or don't fit in. It's not that they aren't impactful, it's more like an ostrich with their head in the sand (debunking the ostrich myth) that I didn't want to think about how being a female, or short, or brown, or american, or middle-class might impact how others view me. |
| 3 | Values mapping Pull out 5 values for each bullet below from this list: |
| Always valued: | Balance, Connection, Adventure, Mental Stimulation, Family |
| Often valued: | Peace, Openness, Recognition, Community, Stability |
| Sometimes valued: | Wholeheartedness, Usefulness, Accomplishment, Competence, Joy |
| Seldom valued: | Job Security, Pressure, Risk Taking, Silence, Time Freedom |
| Reflect: | |
| What do these values tell you about yourself? | These values tell met that I care about my personal mental health and family first, that I crave stability and balance, and that work isn't something I value, but how work makes me feel. My sense of accomplishment, or connectivity, or anything else, those are tied into my successes at work, however, I can see now that I will still be happy with my values at any place of work as long my workplace aligns with my own values. This is a concept I didn't understand or fathom because I never saw my values as something worth pursuing as you research a company or workplace. |
| 4 | Workview & Lifeview |
| Summarize what good, worthwhile work means to you (Tip: this is NOT about what work you want to do but about why work matters to you): | Good, worthwhile work gives me a sense of accomplishment, success, and usefulness. It stimulates and challenges me and makes me feel adventurous. It doesn't overtake my life and prevent healthy boundaries. It leads to my or my teams recognition. And above all, it leaves me with a sense of community accomplishment and peace. |
| Lifeview: summarize what you value in life; what matters to you? | As I reflect mroe and more, I used to think my life was my work. Now, I am recognizing, my values in life CAN be different from my values at work. In life, I value peace, prosperity, balance, openness, communication, love, empathy, and social connection. I believe in the power of community and I see that reflected in my personal choices in life, such as yoga, meditation, biking, hiking, and playing with my pets. These are all activities that can be both solo and community. |
| Where do your views on work and life complement each other? | My sense of community is the perfect complement. I believe my work should impact either my community or a community I am passionate to see uplifted. |
| Where do they clash? | I don't think they clash anymore. They used to when my values were more self-centered and about my personal success and ambition. Both age and wisdom-born-from-failue have brought me new values and removed older values. |
| Does one drive the other? How? | My personal values are beginning to drive my work values. I am committed to maintaining routines in my personal life, which ends up making me better organized, healthier, and refreshed for coding everyday. |
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| Prompt | Response |
|---|---|
| 1 | Describe one of your strengths |
| What is something you have learned to do well (list a skill)? | I can communicate very well. |
| What is something you know about (list some knowledge/expertise you have)? | I know a lot of healthy communication, diffusing negative or angry situations, and relationship boundaries. |
| What is something you have a natural ability to do well (list a talent)? | I am a natural conversationalist. There are very few topics I am uncomfortable talking about and many people feel relaxed when talking to me. |
| How could you combine these to describe a specific strength? | An Empathetic and Active Listener |
| 2 | Read through your Top 4 results from Pairin |
| In your own words, what do these top 4 qualities tell you about yourself? | My Pairin results tell me what I already know and understand about myself: I am vibrant, loud, sometimes brash. I LOVE to learn and I can connect the dots quickly in many different skillsets. And sometimes, my confidence and boldness are actually my weakness instead of my strength. I have learned how to use these as strengths and how to avoid them becoming my flaws. |
| Do they resonate with you? Why/why not? | This resonates pretty soundly with me. I feel the Pairin survey took a lot into consideration, the biggest being my own personal choice. I can't wait to see how I grow and what my Mod 4 Pairin result will be. |
| How do they relate to the strength you wrote about in Prompt #1? | They absolutely speak to my easy nature when speaking with others. My "superpower" is making friends anywhere and everywhere. The standoud and self-confident Pairin results absolutely speak to my prompt #1. I will say that I have taken many personality exams, it helped me develop a better sense of awareness. The hardest part about these personality exams is answering honestly, but I feel my Pairin results accurately reflect who I am and what makes up my biggest strengths. |
| 3 | Challenges with strengths |
| What can make it challenging to recognize your strengths? How can you work through those challenges? | Societal norms can play a large part in failing to recognize our strengths. My confidence and talkative nature I see as major strengths. Unfortunately, as a woman, I have worked in male-dominated work places where these traights were labelled as negative. When I was younger, I took these negative interactions to heart and started working on "toning" myself down. It took many years of working on myself before I could allow my strengths to shine through freely. It is hard to identify who you are and what you do best, but I think actively pursueing that answer is the best method. Attempting various personality exams, asking others how they see you or if they agree with the results and why. It helps to see recognizing your strengths as a long-term project that you consistently work on. |
| Do you ever see yourself overusing certain strengths? | Yes. I lean on my determination, discipline, quick-learn-quick-research strengths more than anything else. I know that I should reach out for help more often and Turing has created such a norm of communication and curiousity. However, my go-to for work or notes or projects is to attempt it myself. When I get stuck, I work through it using research and patience. My first instinct is NOT to ask for help. This is a bad habit that I want to actively work on in my time at Turing. |
| In what circumstances would you want to use them less and amplify other strengths? How could you adjust your approach in those instances? | I want to use the above strengths less often when working on projects, especially collaborative projects. I am transitioning into a field with more project and group work, I need to hone the skill of working on a team, collaboratively. I want to build up my empathy and communication strengths by seeking help more often and actively while working on projects. This also means I need to ramp up my organization strengths to ensure I give myself enough time to work AND enough time to ask for help (and get an answer back). |
| 4 | Strengths in action |
| Write 1-2 sentences describing how you like to work (i.e., Do you pre-plan? Do you talk through your ideas first? Do you work better with deadlines? How do you stay organized?) | I am a to-do list person. As I assignments or deadlines come in, I will add them to my calendar and then try to break it down into achievable steps. I don't enjoy others micromanaging me, but I love to micromanage myself. |
| How could you describe these working preferences to your project teammates? Your mentor? Your instructors? | I enjoy deadlines and I like specific instructions, or the ability to ask detailed questions about aspects of the project. |
| What would you need to be aware of when working with people who have different strengths from you? | That I can come off as brash or intense. I also need to understand not everyone works best with scheduled times. |
| How could your Pairin results help you better understand your everyday working preferences? | They just reaffirmed what I already knew about my working preferences. The rougher way I could describe myself is a controlling perfectionist. I was that kid in high school who would just do the whole group project so it came out 'perfect'. Seeing my Pairin results shows that I haven't changed much, but the biggest change is my awareness and how I handle myself in group work as an adult. |
| 5 | Continued growth |
| Is there any particular strength you'd like to sharpen while you're at Turing? Any area you consider a weakness that you'd like to strengthen? | Healthy collaborative working environments. I want to be challenged working with people with different personalities and expectations so I can hone my group working skills. |
| What are some steps you could take here? | Learn to step back when others are talking and allowing other voices to be heard. I also stop myself from assuming a leadership role (though this one is very hard for me) and only take one up if the group prefers it. I also like to talk to others about their working preferences. This opens my eyes to different work styles and gives me clues about how I can work with that person. |
| How could you be aware of progress you're making? | Check in with my group mates. I want to be honest and candid with them about what I am working on so they feel they can give me honest and constructive feedback. |
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| Prompt | Response |
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| When you've worked towards a goal in the past, what systems or tools have been helpful for you in accomplishing that goal? How could you adapt those same systems/tools to use while at Turing? | Organization is my key tool when accomplishing goals. I use checklists, calendars (both digital and physical), reminder systems that are digital and human, and check-recheck systems. I believe these tools will help me be a more organized note-taker. It will prevent me from procrastinating assignments or projects. Finally, being ultra organized will help me catch errors early on and hopefully seek answers from internet researching, my peers, or my instructors. |
| As you start this new career, what is one of your strengths and how do you know? | A strength of mine is being meticulously organized. I know this is a major strength because this has helped me in most careers and in school. I still work to overcome issues like procrastination or being unorganized, but I consistently work on my personal, academic, and work goals. The sheer effort and determination I've placed into becoming an organized person has also been a strenght. Practicing the process or organization, the repetition, the willpower, and restraint, this has created those innate skills in me as well, which I use in careers or personal goals. |
| Describe how you work best (conditions, environment, preferences, etc.): | I work best within a system that I understand. This doesn't necessarily mean my own system, I can adapt to new workflows once I have saught understanding. If there isn't a system in place, I will work to first create one. This ability to adapt and work under a variety of systems means my best working conditions can and will change depending on the work I am doing. |
| As you start this new career, what is your greatest area of improvement when it comes to your professional skills? | Technical writing and communication. I am verbose and creative when it comes to my writing, which is drastically different from the logical and critical thinker I typically am. For some reason, my brain views writing as a creative outlet. Though this can be great sometimes, in technical careers, I know this will become a hindrance. I work on this by responding to random prompts I find on the internet and having friends and family edit my work. Currently, I'm working on word count and active tense. I recognize this is a weakness which will only grow larger as techncial communciation will become my bread and butter in the world of programming. |
| How will developing a deeper understanding of your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer? | Honestly, I hadn't thought of this until the journal prompts made me write it out and consider the connection. The strengths conversation is an easy bridge to becoming a better software developer. I recognize our strengths from our lives and previous careers will have roots in our beginnings as developers. The crazy one for me was looking around my office and having to describe what my working conditions looked like. I never realized how much my physical space represented who I was as a learner and who I am as a worker. I see evidence of my progress as an organizer and evidence of my attempts to prevent procrastination. I believe that focusing in on those foundational skills will make not only me a better developer, it will make be a better employee in any career path and a better person for it. |
| Describe the vision you currently have for your career after Turing: | My ideal career after Turing would be finding a position at an educational software company. I would prefer to work on apps, games, or curriculum design projects, however, I would be happy getting in on the ground floor. I would prefer if the position was remote to maintain flexibility at home. I would really enjoy working for IXL. I like their educational philisophy, I love that they use game-based learning, and I would love to help them advance the world of high school educational technology. |
M2 Week 1: Really like how thoughtful you're being about all of this! It looks like you've established some really solid routines, and also have are self-aware about what works for you. One note: I requested access to your linked document, but also if there's anything in there that you'd like to keep private feel free to leave those permissions as they are.