How To Write An Effective Progress Report
- Anna Schmunk tl;dr: Well-crafted progress report "helps build trust by actively letting everyone know how things are going, what may have changed, and where you may need support." The article outlines the key elements that should be included in a progress report: Activity Summary, Progress Update, Challenges and Obstacles, and Next Steps and Action Items. Templates are recommended for creating quick and easy-to-read reports and Anna includes tips e.g. outlining sections and using tables for metrics. The article also discusses how to handle negative and positive feedback from stakeholders.featured in #445
Bjarne Stroustrup Shares Life Advice
- Bjarne Stroustrup tl;dr: Creator of C++, Bjarne Stroustrup emphasizes the dangers of overspecialization and importance of flexibility in one's career. Stroustrup warns against young individuals becoming too engrossed in a specific niche, leading to burnout and missing out on broader experiences. He observes that many in tech field mistakenly believe that specific expertise is all that matters. However, Stroustrup stresses the significance of communication - "if you don't communicate your ideas, you can just as well do Sudoku." He highlights the need for a balanced life, enriched by diverse education and experiences drawing from his own journey, where he mistakenly chose CS over applied mathematics.featured in #443
Everything You Wish You Could Ask Your Manager
- Jordan Cutler tl;dr: Insights from about topics like salary negotiation, promotions, 1-on-1s, and more for engineers. Takeaways include the importance of respectful and collaborative negotiation, aligning personal goals with company objectives, focusing on relationships and soft skills for promotions, and ensuring engineers control the agenda in 1-on-1 meetings. The article also touches on the challenges of middle management, and preferences for remote work and startup environments.featured in #441
The Next Next Job, A Framework For Making Big Career Decisions
- Andrew Chen tl;dr: A framework for evaluating career moves by focusing on the "next next job." Instead of considering only the immediate next position, this approach encourages thinking about long-term goals and working backward to identify the steps needed to reach them. By understanding gaps in skills and potential superpowers, individuals can make more strategic career decisions. The key is to align current opportunities with future aspirations, rather than making choices based solely on immediate needs.featured in #440
A Senior Engineer / EM Job Search Story
- Gergely Orosz tl;dr: The job search experience of Davidson Fellipe, a lead software engineer with over 15 years of experience. The article highlights the challenges and strategies of job searching in the current market, with insights into interview processes and time management. Fellipe embarked on a three-month search, focusing on engineering manager roles. He utilized tools like spreadsheets, Teal application tracker, Simplify, and Notion to stay organized. Fellipe also emphasized the importance of referrals and crafting tailored resumes. He eventually received one engineering manager offer and two individual contributor offers, accepting a senior engineer position.featured in #439
Enabling Good Work Habits Through Reflective Goal-Setting
- Abi Noda tl;dr: Abi highlights a study on developers' productivity, revealing that reflective goal-setting leads to improvements. 84% of participants identified concrete goals through reflection, 80% saw positive behavior change, and 92% planned to maintain new habits. The key takeaway is that reflective goal-setting not only enhances awareness and productivity but also encourages lasting behavioral changes, empowering developers to gain control over their work.featured in #438
Some Tactics For Writing In Public
- Julia Evans tl;dr: Julia discusses various strategies and tactics to engage with comments and feedback on her writing, especially in the context of technical blogging. Key points include: (1) Talk about facts leads to fact-based comments and discussions. (2) Sharing personal stories encourages good discussions and helps in understanding the context and different perspectives. (3) Ask technical questions or mentioning uncertainties invites answers and makes the comments section more valuable. And more.featured in #438
featured in #437
Manage Your Priorities And Energy
- Will Larson tl;dr: Will reflect on his shift from a 'company, team, self' framework to an eventual ‘quid pro quo' approach during his management tenure at Uber. His ‘quid pro quo' approach is: (1) Generally, prioritize company and team priorities over your own. (2) If you are getting de-energized, artificially prioritize some energizing work. Increase the quantity until equilibrium is restored. (3) If the long-term balance between energy and proper priorities can’t be balanced for more than a year, stop everything else and work on solving this issue e.g. change your role or quit. Will emphasizes the importance of remaining flexible and curious.featured in #436
featured in #436