Episode 444: Surrounded by apathetic coworkers and put it on my resume?
Jan 20, 2025
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Frustrated with apathetic coworkers and legacy company cultures? Discover strategies for finding a vibrant team that aligns with your product-thinking passion. The discussion shifts to accurately reflecting technical skills on resumes, tackling the thin line between confidence and exaggeration. Learn about the impact of AI on job hunting and the need for concrete examples of proficiency. Plus, explore the common disconnect between self-assessed skills and reality in the competitive tech market.
Developing strong soft skills and emotional intelligence is crucial for engineers to enhance their collaboration and workplace dynamics.
Shifting from large tech organizations to smaller startups can revitalize motivation and foster a more engaged product engineering culture.
Deep dives
Importance of Soft Skills in Software Engineering
Great software engineering extends beyond technical expertise; it requires strong soft skills. The discussion emphasizes that despite having a significant amount of reading material, like books and PDFs, many engineers struggle with practical application and communication within teams. The ability to connect with others and navigate workplace dynamics defines a successful software engineer more than just coding skills. This highlights the necessity for engineers to develop their emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication.
Navigating Workplace Culture and Apathy
Many engineers face challenges in cultures that often normalize apathy and lack of engagement, especially in larger organizations. The insights shared focus on the frustrations of working in environments that prioritize bureaucracy over innovation, restricting creative input from engineers. The conversation encourages those feeling stagnant to consider shifting to smaller, more agile startups, where a strong product culture may be more prevalent. This sense of agency and ownership can revitalize motivation and enhance job satisfaction.
Choosing a Suitable Work Environment
For engineers unhappy with their current roles, the advice suggests looking for opportunities in startups that foster a collaborative and passionate work culture. Startups often provide a less hierarchical environment where individual contributions are more visible and valued, promoting a stronger bond among team members. The discussion also addresses the challenges faced when trying to transition within large companies, noting that often the same problematic culture persists across departments. Exploring new companies and industries may offer a fresh perspective and a healthier work atmosphere.
Resume and Skill Representation
Engineers often wrestle with how to accurately represent their technical skills on their resumes, especially in a competitive market. The dialogue suggests highlighting practical experience and project accomplishments instead of merely listing skills, as this provides a clearer picture of competency. Candidates should focus on storytelling and evidence of their capabilities rather than relying on buzzwords or generic terms. This approach is urged to help differentiate applicants in a landscape saturated with similar qualifications.
In this episode, Dave and Jamison answer these questions:
After a decade as a Senior front-end engineer in companies stuck in legacy ways of working—paying lip service to true agility while clinging to control-heavy, waterfall practices—I’m frustrated and exhausted by meetings and largely apathetic, outsourced teams who don’t match my enthusiasm for product-thinking or improving things. It seems allowed and normalised everywhere I go.
How can I escape this cycle of big tech, unfulfilled as an engineer, and find a team with a strong product engineering culture where I can do high-impact work with similarly empowered teams?
Thank you, and sorry if this is a bit verbose! Thanks guys.
Martin
How do you judge your competency in a technical skill and when should you include it on your resume? Should you include a skills that you haven’t used in a while, skills you’ve only used in personal projects, or skills that you feel you only have a basic understanding of?
I’m a frontend developer and I’ve seen some job descriptions include requirements (not nice-to-haves) like backend experience, Java, CI/CD, and UI/UX design using tools like Figma and Photoshop. I could make designs or write the backend code for a basic CRUD app, but it would take me some time, especially if I’m building things from scratch. I’ve seen some resumes where the writer lists a bunch of programming languages and technical skills, and I often wonder if they truly are competent in all of those skills.
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