What is the most common trait of the best ICs?

Entry-Level Software Engineer [SDE 1] at Amazon2 months ago

For senior folk on Taro, what’s the most reliable signal you’ve seen that consistently predicts strong IC performance (EE/GE-level)?

Assuming you had access to all the metrics of a person and you had to predict based on that who is most likely to be successful, what trait or signal would most strongly correlate with high performance? Examples include:

How fast could they ship code, create POCs and get signal quickly?
Do they just write a lot of code in general?
How many high-quality questions did they ask?
How often did they take on work outside of their core responsibilities?

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Discussion

(3 comments)

2
anamazonsde
•SDE @ Amazon
a month ago
I think all the items you mentioned are very important, but they are missing one crucial trait: Communications, you can be the best in deliveries, and impact, yet if you don't possess great communication skills, at one point you will stop your promo journey.
1
agafonovslava
•Staff @ Airbnb
a month ago
Alignment with the manager
0
Alex Chiou
•Tech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
a month ago
I 100% believe the most important trait is communication, which I cover in-depth here: "What's the core insight behind quick growth?"

How fast could they ship code, create POCs and get signal quickly?

Very fast with the definition of "fast" depending based on company. Back at Instagram, the most talented engineer I ever worked with (E3 -> E8 in ~5 years) did a great job just hacking together prototypes in iOS and then just sharing them with everybody. He didn't ask for permission to build them.

Do they just write a lot of code in general?

If they're code machine archetype, yes. Otherwise no.

How many high-quality questions did they ask?

A ton. They're fearless in meetings and are always starving for knowledge. They network masterfully and treat people well so they're incentivized to give high-quality answers in return.

How often did they take on work outside of their core responsibilities?

All the time. Even getting to senior at top companies usually requires this as I talk about here: https://www.jointaro.com/course/grow-from-mid-level-to-senior-senior-l4-to-l5/the-goggles/