Episode 424: Bragging without ego and how to predict layoffs
Sep 2, 2024
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The hosts tackle the fine line between humility and self-promotion when presenting yourself in job interviews, suggesting strategies to showcase your contributions without coming off as egotistical. They also discuss job security, offering practical tips for identifying potential layoffs during the hiring process. Insights on how aggressive hiring can signal instability, and the importance of leveraging LinkedIn for insider information, are explored. The humor and camaraderie make for an engaging listen on navigating the corporate landscape.
Effective self-presentation in interviews requires junior engineers to emphasize business impact and personal growth to avoid appearing egotistical.
Monitoring business performance indicators and understanding team roles can provide insights into job security amidst potential layoffs.
Deep dives
The Challenges of Self-Presentation
The dilemma of self-presentation in job interviews is highlighted, particularly for junior engineers who must convey their contributions without appearing egotistical. A listener recounts how they manage critical infrastructure as a sole developer, yet struggle to communicate their achievements without coming off as self-satisfied. It's suggested that focusing on the business impact and being open to learning can help soften the tone of their delivery. Emphasizing personal growth and the challenges faced while achieving their goals may also contribute to a more humble and relatable narrative.
Navigating Layoff Concerns
Concerns about job security amid potential layoffs are addressed, especially for those newly entering the workforce. It is noted that directly asking a manager about layoffs is unlikely to yield honest answers, as they may not have knowledge of future decisions. Instead, keeping an eye on business performance indicators, such as team budget constraints and revenue flow, is suggested as a way to gauge stability. Additionally, asking specific questions during interviews about the team’s critical role within the company can provide insights into potential job security.
Understanding Organizational Dynamics
The complexity of corporate structures can obscure the clarity of roles within a company, impacting perceptions of job importance. Shared experiences reveal that even managers might not fully understand where their team fits within the company's core operations, making it challenging to assess overall job security. Evaluating the proximity of a team to critical functions and decision-makers is a practical approach to discern how essential a role is to the organization. Utilizing LinkedIn to connect with current employees can also provide additional perspectives and insights into the risks associated with potential layoffs.
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:
Listener Billy Bob Taco asks,
I work at a small-medium startup, as a member of a very small team (read: just me). I work on infrastructure and APIs that support every other team, such as mobile and web clients, as well as other services. I’m relatively junior, and had to work hard to prove myself in this role. I do 100% of the system design and maintenance as well as feature development. I’ve been told on job interviews that I came across as a “little egotistical” when describing the role and the impact its had, but I don’t really know how to soften it! It’s my experience that I’m talking about when trying to share my ability and potential to fill a role. Help?
Listener TimeDisplacementBox says,
Great show, your future episodes just keep getting better and better. I have a question about avoiding lay offs. In this timeline I recently joined a large company out of college. I worked hard and surpassed goals set by my manager, getting very positive feedback at review time.
However, a few weeks ago I started hearing that the company was over budget in engineering, huge changes started happening in upper management, and less work started flowing to our team. The concern was grounded in reality as one morning the company disbanded the team and laid off some of the newer hires including me.
Aside from additional time travel, are there any questions I can ask during interviews to help ensure I am getting into a team that is safe from lay offs? And on the job, can you directly ask your manager if lay offs are in the future, or do you just need to watch out for the signs?