
Coding Chats
On Coding Chats, John Crickett interviews software engineers of all levels from junior to CTO. He encourages the guests to share the stories of the challenges they have faced in their role and the strategies and tactics they have used to overcome those challenges providing actionable insights other software engineers can use to accelerate their careers.
Latest episodes

Mar 6, 2025 • 55min
Learn how to grow beyond Senior Software Engineer and thrive in an engineering leadership role
Coding Chats episode 19 - John talks to Gregor Ojstersek about how software engineers can become great engineering leaders. Topics covered include:- How to build credibility in the engineering industry- How to let your manager know about your goals and aspirations- How to keep a brag list of all the wins that you achieve- How to become the go-to person or considered an expert in a certain engineering domain- How to manage up as an engineer- How to become a team player and a great engineer to work with- How to become business and product-minded engineer- Real world examples on how Gregor and others have grew from engineers to lead rolesLinks:Gregor's Twitter: https://x.com/gregorojstersekGregor's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorojstersek/Gregor's newsletter: https://newsletter.eng-leadership.com/Gregor's course: https://maven.com/gregor-ojstersek/senior-engineer-to-leadJohn's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickettJohn's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickettJohn's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.socialCheck out John's software engineering related newsletters: Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Feb 27, 2025 • 1h 9min
How to prepare for and ace behavioural interviews with Austen McDonald
Coding Chats episode 18 - John talks to Austen McDonald about behavioural interviews with actionable tips for software engineers to apply in a job interview both at FAANG and other organisations. Links:Austen's newsletter: https://thebehavioral.substack.com/Austen's behavioral interview sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wSAVK3926jRLd8aWMIx_nadqdm9Yy9ecu93kBdty2Fw/edit?gid=0#gid=0Austen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austenmc/John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickettJohn's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickettJohn's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.socialCheck out John's software engineering related newsletters: Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Feb 20, 2025 • 1h 8min
Cloud servers, personal branding and soft skills for software engineers with Pedro Gil Carvalho
Coding Chats Episode 17 - John talks to Pedro Gil Carvalho about cloud servers, personal branding and soft skills for software engineers. Links:Pedro's links:https://pedrogilcarvalho.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/pedrogilcarvalhoJohn's LinkedIn: / johncrickett John’s YouTube: / @johncrickett John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickettJohn's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett...Check out John's software engineering related newsletters: Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Feb 13, 2025 • 59min
Extreme Programming, Test Driven Development and Social Programming with Fabio D'Amico
Coding Chats Episode 16 - John talks to Fabio D'Amico about Extreme Programming, Social Programming and Test Driven Development for software engineers.Links:Fabio's Linkshttps://calendly.com/fabiodamico/coffe-and-chathttps://fabiodamico.xyzThe article on tech debt that Fabio mentions: https://medium.com/@ziobrando/from-technical-debt-to-design-integrity-48e7056b6776John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickettJohn's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickettJohn's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.socialCheck out John's software engineering related newsletters: Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Feb 6, 2025 • 1h 2min
Refactoring your brain as a software engineer to improve communication, collaboration and get promoted
Coding Chats Episode 15 - John talks to Dagna Bieda about refactoring your brain as a software engineer to improve your soft skills (such as communication and collaboration) and market yourself and your achievements to get promoted.
Links:
Dagna's LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dagnabieda/
Dagna's Substack: https://themindfuldev.substack.com/
Brain Refactor: https://amazon.com/dp/B0DB6C82ZN
John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/
John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickett
John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickett
John's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social
Check out John's software engineering related newsletters:
Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.
Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Jan 30, 2025 • 32min
Keep Calm and Code on - Alex Lau tells John Crickett
Coding Chats Episode 14 - John talks to Alex Lau about his book Keep Calm and Code On.
Links:
Alex's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mralexlau/
Alex's book: https://keepcalmandcodeon.com/
John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/
John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickett
John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickett
John's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social
Check out John's software engineering related newsletters:
Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.
Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Jan 23, 2025 • 40min
Public speaking, soft skills and coding with Alex Lau
Coding Chats Episode 13 - John talks to Alex Lau about toastmasters, public speaking, soft skills and his book 'Keep Calm and Code on.'
Links:
Alex's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mralexlau/
Alex's book: https://keepcalmandcodeon.com/
John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/
John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickett
John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickett
John's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social
Check out John's software engineering related newsletters:
Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.
Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Jan 16, 2025 • 44min
Soft skills in tech, roles in software engineering and charging for your time with Jade Wilson
Coding Chats Episode 12 - John talks to Jade Wilson about soft skills in tech, diversity in tech, roles in software engineering and charging for your time.
Jade's Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jade-codes
https://youtube.com/@Jade-Codes
https://jadecodes.substack.com/
https://linktr.ee/jade.codes
John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/
John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickett
John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickett
John's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social
Check out John's software engineering related newsletters:
Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.
Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Jan 9, 2025 • 44min
Talking about diversity in tech, software engineering, mentoring and interviews with Shalini Goyal
Coding Chats Episode 11 - John talks to Shalini Goyal about diversity in tech, software engineering, mentoring and interviews.
Shalini's System Design, Behavioural and DSA Interviews guide: https://topmate.io/goyalshalini/1303274
John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/
John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickett
John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickett
John's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social
Check out John's software engineering related newsletters:
Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.
Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.

Dec 12, 2024 • 51min
Talking about coaching, coding, mentoring and Arnie with Taha Hussain
Coding Chats Episode 10 - John talks to Taha Hussain about coaching, coding, mentoring, career change and lessons from Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Links:
Taha's Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tahahussain/
John's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johncrickett/
John’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johncrickett
John's Twitter: https://x.com/johncrickett
John's Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/johncrickett.bsky.social
Check out John's software engineering related newsletters:
Coding Challenges: https://codingchallenges.substack.com/ which shares real-world project ideas that you can use to level up your coding skills.
Developing Skills: https://read.developingskills.fyi/ covering everything from system design to soft skills, helping them progress their career from junior to staff+ or for those that want onto a management track.