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dinhphu

I’m 6 months into a new job that uses a technology I’ve had no experience in (but am trying really hard to learn). Often I get tasks that I have real difficulty with. I flag this: I say ...

  1. Your boss probably knows that this is new tech for you, and that your results take longer and are less robust. As you say in your comment, the real experts are just too busy – you’re all he’s got. Thus, don’t assume that you are performing below expectations, because you’re not expected to have mastRead more

    Your boss probably knows that this is new tech for you, and that your results take longer and are less robust. As you say in your comment, the real experts are just too busy – you’re all he’s got. Thus, don’t assume that you are performing below expectations, because you’re not expected to have mastered the technology.

    Your boss might also think that the best way for you to master the technology is to dive head-first into it. A lot of people don’t realize that other people think differently, and learn differently! It’s up to you to let your boss know that you think a different way would be more effective.

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dinhphu

I manage a small team and recently hired for a new position. In the job posting it clearly stated that the work hours are from 8:00-4:30. No concerns about these hours were mentioned during the interview process at ...

  1. This is not a problem with the employee. This is a problem between you and your superior. As a middle-level manager, I would be aghast if my boss allowed someone to go around me and get their acceptance on such a request without even first letting me know about it. I’d immediately request a one-on-oRead more

    This is not a problem with the employee. This is a problem between you and your superior.

    As a middle-level manager, I would be aghast if my boss allowed someone to go around me and get their acceptance on such a request without even first letting me know about it.

    I’d immediately request a one-on-one meeting with my boss and discy what my role was, what my authority was, and why this end-around happened.

    Hopefully I would hear that this was all a mistake or misunderstanding. But if I found that I actually had no real authority and that this sort of thing would continue to happen, I’d re-evaluate my role and decide if it was still a role that I wanted to fill or not.

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dinhphu

A friend of mine is the CEO of his own small business. We’re not very close friends, but we know each other well enough to have visited each other’s houses for dinner and drinks a few times. His business ...

  1. Some good answers here, let me add: I would definitely NOT apply and then try to avoid having your friend see you when you show up for the interview, like trying to schedule an interview when he’s out of town. Surely if you get the job, he’s going to find out sooner or later, and at that point it wiRead more

    Some good answers here, let me add:

    I would definitely NOT apply and then try to avoid having your friend see you when you show up for the interview, like trying to schedule an interview when he’s out of town. Surely if you get the job, he’s going to find out sooner or later, and at that point it will be far more awkward than it would be if you told him up front.

    I’ve had two times I’ve gotten involved in new business start-ups by friends, and both times it ended badly. Not horrible, we were screaming at each other, friendship ruined forever badly, but things didn’t work out, I wanted out of this deal but now it’s awkward badly. Any time something like this comes up, I find myself thinking, If this doesn’t work out for whatever reason, is it going to ruin our friendship? And do I value the job or whatever the deal is more than I value the friendship?

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dinhphu

I’ve worked in Software Development teams my entire career and I’ve come to realize the spectrum of skill-sets is utterly staggering. Over the years I’ve managed to adapt my in-office behavior to handle utterly incompetent and lazy people. The ...

  1. The way I’m managing this at my current job is by turning my anger into satisfaction. Every time I place my hands on bad code, I try to leave it into a better shape, or at least leave a few TODOs and comments with tips and tricks for those that will come after me. Will they keep writing bad code andRead more

    The way I’m managing this at my current job is by turning my anger into satisfaction.

    Every time I place my hands on bad code, I try to leave it into a better shape, or at least leave a few TODOs and comments with tips and tricks for those that will come after me.

    Will they keep writing bad code and ask dumb things? Probably.
    Will I keep fixing things as much as I can? Sure.

    After a couple of years you will look at your codebase and feel great at how much it improved with your efforts.

    Don’t wait for change, be the change.

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dinhphu

I am trying to find/change my career trajectory. Its a good cozy job, but I want something that I get excited to work on in the morning. Career change is hard, for a lot of reasons. So I ...

  1. First of all, build a list of career coaches available in your area. Try to rank them according to critics, comments, availability … Then, meet some of them, for a first interview, to discy what you are looking for and how you can be helped. You should look for people who have a high availability, aRead more

    First of all, build a list of career coaches available in your area. Try to rank them according to critics, comments, availability … Then, meet some of them, for a first interview, to discy what you are looking for and how you can be helped.

    You should look for people who have a high availability, and for experimented professionals. Ask them for references on similar coaching missions. Take the time to meet several of them – as you would do for any job interview.

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dinhphu

Just this week I started working for a new company. I’ve been developing code and going through the database the past couple of days on my machine. Everything is working fine, I set up a new account and ...

  1. Unless your company explicitly has a BYOD policy (Bring Your Own Device), do not in any circumstances use your own machine for company usage. I’m in a similar situation as yours, except I’ve a display larger than 11″. The Visual Studio 2010 (with some extensions) took around 10 minutes to be usable,Read more

    Unless your company explicitly has a BYOD policy (Bring Your Own Device), do not in any circumstances use your own machine for company usage.

    I’m in a similar situation as yours, except I’ve a display larger than 11″. The Visual Studio 2010 (with some extensions) took around 10 minutes to be usable, and some time I can sit back and watch my codes appear letter by letter.

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dinhphu

Starting with javascript is important, it shows you the basics of object oriented programming and how a DOM can interact with HTML to edit the frontend. This principle is necessary in Django, however by using python, there is ...

  1. If your interests indeed lie in front-end development, JavaScript would be a better option for you since, well, it is the language of the front-end of the web, so to speak. Django (which is a framework, not a language) would be something to learn in order to create a back-end. So, you could even comRead more

    If your interests indeed lie in front-end development, JavaScript would be a better option for you since, well, it is the language of the front-end of the web, so to speak.

    Django (which is a framework, not a language) would be something to learn in order to create a back-end. So, you could even combine the two, building some application powered by a Django back-end and a JavaScript(-heavy) front end.

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