Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 12] - System Design

System design is a topic engineers are becoming more and more familiar with, largely due to their emerging prevalence in interviews. It's also critical for the mid-level to senior promotion. This lesson teaches you:

- Why system design is the most important technical skill that mid-level engineers need to develop to grow to senior
- The ingredients of a high-quality system design document
- How to get feedback on your system design document
- Tactics to run an effective technical review meeting

Here's the system design course: [\[Course\] Frontend System Design Masterclass - Building Playlists](https://www.jointaro.com/course/frontend-system-design-masterclass-building-playlists/)

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 21] - Record Yourself

Behavioral interviews are inherently difficult as they're very open-ended and there's no such thing as a 100% "right" answer. Luckily for you, behavioral interview questions are incredibly easy to simulate. This lesson teaches you:

- How to properly record yourself for behavioral interviews
- What kinds of questions you should be asking yourself in behavioral interview recordings
- Creative ways to make behavioral interview recordings more realistic
- How to analyze the quality of your behavioral interview response recordings

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 9] - The Interviewer Isn’t You

One of the biggest mistakes software engineers make during behavioral interviews is not having empathy. This lesson teaches you:

- A crucial way to understand the goal of a behavioral interview
- How a lack of empathy leads to immediate tactical failure in behavioral interviews
- How you can use empathy to take in a non-confusing way

Negotiation Course: Don’t Overshare (Level, Passion, Timeline)

Understanding your emotional attachment to the offer is even more important than the data. Ideally, you want low emotional attachment and high data (as explained in [this Taro blog post](https://www.jointaro.com/blog/the-5-lies-that-too-many-people-believe-about-negotiating-a-job-offer/) by Rora).

For example, don't reveal that you're only talking to a single company, or that you're talking to 30 (either extreme can hurt you). Sample dialog: 

> If anything changes on my end, I’ll let you know, but for now I’m eager to learn more about your company

(There's a whole section dedicated to helpful phrases later on.)

You can share information with the recruiter, but be mindful of what and when you share. How much PTO or signing bonus you want are topics that should come up before (if it's a blocker) and after the interview, not during.

**If in doubt, don’t share it**. Just be positive and non-committal to pretty much everything the recruiter says. Answer questions with vague responses and be confident.

Negotiation Course: How This Course Works

Your ability to negotiate is undeniably one of the highest-leverage skills you can learn. But tech workers are notoriously bad at negotiation. Based on discussions with 100s of tech workers, there are 2 common reasons for this: 

1. They choose not to negotiate. They somehow view negotiation as a perverse 'badge of honor' that they simply accept the first offer they receive and they don't want/need to ask for any adjustment. 
2. They try to negotiate but are ineffective. They don't have leverage or cannot defend why they're asking for certain things. 

This course is designed for tech employees who are exploring job opportunities and will receive a job offer in tech (and ideally multiple!). My goal is for you to feel confident and strong in discussions you have with recruiters and hiring managers.

This course is broken down into 3 major parts: 

1. **Principles** - How does negotiation work and why is it worthwhile?
2. **Planning** - What should you do (and not do) before and offer you receive an offer?
3. **Tactics** - What is the best course of action for various scenarios?

If you get more than a $10K increase in your compensation by following the tactics outlined in this course, send me an email at [rahul@jointaro.com](mailto:rahul@jointaro.com) -- we will celebrate together!

Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer [Part 15] - It's Not Just About Impact

*"I'm not getting promoted because my manager isn't giving me the proper projects"* is one of the classic excuses of software engineers who want to get promoted but are definitely not functioning at the next level. This lesson teaches you:

- Why impact has devolved into a near meaningless buzzword
- The right mentality to have when it comes to picking projects and thinking about impact
- The 6 axes that determine how much you get rewarded for working on a project (only 1 of them is impact)

To learn more about identifying the best projects and prioritizing properly, go through this discussion: ["How to figure out what the most important projects are?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/CgCPA60bDDHoOteN7Lmb/how-to-figure-out-what-the-most-important-projects-are/)

Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer [Part 14] - Observe Other Engineers

Don't know what you need to do as a software engineer to get promoted? Observe engineers who are better than you! However, this is a surprisingly difficult skill to develop. This lesson teaches you:

- Which engineers you should observe and how to find them
- What you should be looking for when observing other engineers
- What "silent hero" work is and how very senior engineers do a lot of it
- The concrete avenues you should look at when trying to figure out why a higher-level engineer is superior to you
- Why getting jealous of engineers above you is a colossal waste of time, even if you are truly better than them

Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer [Part 13] - Create An Expectations Plan

Don't leave your promotion to chance - Getting promoted as a software engineer should be as close to a contract as possible. This lesson teaches you:

- Why you need an expectations plan to get promoted efficiently
- The right mentality to have when it comes to crafting an expectations plan
- How to organize your expectations plan, particularly at bigger tech companies
- What a top-tier expectations plan looks like with a real, in-depth example from Meta

If you're interested in the growth plan mentioned in the video, here it is: [Meta E4 -&gt; E5 Growth Plan](https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/tech-career-growth.appspot.com/o/articles%2Fmeta_e4_to_e5_growth_plan.pdf?alt=media&token=e13d88fd-9356-4c20-a229-cf0cad78a9af)

Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer [Part 12] - Talk To Your Manager

In order to get promoted, you almost certainly need your engineering manager on your side. However, this is much said than done, and many engineers mess this up. This lesson teaches you:

- The importance of being deliberate about promotion
- Why your engineering manager is so important to your promotion case
- The fundamental principal to remember when it comes to asking for promotion
- What to do and what *not* to do when having that promotion conversation with your manager
- How to react gracefully and effectively if your manager doesn't believe you are ready to start really thinking about promotion

Onboarding With A Probation Period

Because labor laws outside the US can make it difficult to fire someone, many companies will add more barriers before you are a full-time employee at the company with benefits. They will make employees work during a probation period before deciding to offer full-time employment. Contract-to-hire is another common way that this manifests ("try before you buy").

Here are some tips if you're working on this model:

- Chat with your manager early (ideally even before you join) so you can hit the ground running and make a good first impression.
- Information access may be limited, so call out when this happens. You don't want something outside your control to reflect poorly on you.
- Understand the criteria you’re being judged on, e.g. code commits, code reviews, design docs, etc. Track these metrics diligently, and you can even report on them regularly.

Relevant discussion: [I’m starting at Apple with a 3 month probation as a new grad. How should I think about the probation period?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/JtFLSdc1ShdaqiIyFcqe/im-starting-at-apple-with-a-3-month-probation-as-a-new-grad-how-should-i-think-about-the-probation-period/)

Failure Mode: Excessive Handholding

A common failure mode of onboarding is that, even 6 months into the job, the engineer still needs support to make code changes. Either with their workflow or a technical question about the code.

The sign of progress as you ramp up is if your questions and code reviews are evolving over time. The types and depth of interaction you have with coworkers should change.

The key to doing this is to reflect:

- Look at earlier code comments you received
- Write down questions you’ve had
- Don’t make the same mistake twice
- Ask your onboarding buddy to look for patterns

Reference question: [What does it mean to not require handholding anymore?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/5vEWajcZlSi7nlohTGtJ/what-does-it-mean-to-not-require-handholding-anymore/)

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 21] - Recruiter Screen

Having a recruiter talk to you is one of the most common ways tech companies start the interview process for software engineers. Here's the thing: These recruiter screen ones can be surprisingly tricky for many software engineers. This lesson teaches you:

- When recruiter screens happen
- How difficult recruiter screens can be, how often software engineers fail them, and why many software engineers are terrible at them (when they really shouldn't be)
- What to expect in a recruiter screen so you can pass it with ease

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 13] - Cold Messages

You're applying to tons of software engineer jobs, and it's not working out. In your desperation, you come up with a genius idea: You'll reach out to company employees directly with a cold message. That'll work right? Guess again. This lesson teaches you:

- Why cold messaging isn't as effective as software engineers think
- How a reliance on cold messages often mask a deeper personal problem for the engineer
- The necessary conditions for a cold message to have a high likelihood of working
- Why cold messages are far more effective with startups and near useless for Big Tech
- How to write an excellent cold message, demonstrated by a thorough example of a bad cold message vs. a good cold message

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 10] - Order Matters

We all want to speed run our way into FAANG. The bad news is that this is almost never pans out for software engineers, and aggressively pursuing this strategy can easily lead to your downfall. This lesson teaches you:

- The true way to actually get better at interviewing and why it can't be avoided (no matter how painful it is)
- How to properly structure your job search when Big Tech is one of your goals
- The general approach you should take when it comes to applying to jobs and sequencing your interviews

Ace Your Tech Interview As A Software Engineer [Part 9] - Polish Your Resume

Your resume is the most important professional document in your life. However, a lot of software engineers are severely lacking in this department. This lesson teaches you:

- The perspective of the often underappreciated tech recruiter and why they automatically reject the overwhelming majority of resumes, especially if they work for a top company like Big Tech
- How to write a resume that recruiters won't hate and instantly throw in the trash, leveraging that empathetic mentality from before
- The steep, underestimated cost of basic resume mistakes, which are incredibly common among immigrant engineers where English isn't their first language
- Why you should make just 1 focused resume instead of several, especially if you're earlier-in-career
- How recruiters hyper-efficiently read resumes (spoilers: they often don't read the entire thing)

13 minutes isn't nearly enough to fully understand all the mechanics of a good resume, so you should dive deeper here: [\[Masterclass\] How To Write A Stellar Tech Resume That Gets You More Job Opportunities](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/OnQV2V3J8DYVBBuGbZx6/masterclass-how-to-write-a-stellar-tech-resume-that-gets-you-more-job-opportunities/?playlistId=PJqfgn35DG82NSm3QyfT)

Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer [Part 24] - Infinite Layers Of Nesting

Nesting is great for birds, but terrible for code. Having too much nesting is one of the easiest ways to make code terrible. This lesson will teach you:

- Why deeply nested code is literally hard to read
- The early-return pattern to unfurl nested code
- How to compress conditionals properly (this includes how not to mess them up)

Lessons From The Top: Managing And Growing 800 People (Ethan Evans)

[**Ethan Evans**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/) is a retired Amazon VP who now teaches managers how to break into executive levels. He was at Amazon for 15 years, and he became a VP in 2013 until he left in 2020. This wide-ranging interview covers many topics:

- Ethan's career trajectory, and how he entered the management path startlingly early.
- How do you know if an IC will be a good manager or not?
- What are the common reasons why managers fail to get promoted?
- Why do re-orgs happen, and why is there so much corporate speak?
- What should you look for in a leader?
- How are the senior-most engineers evaluated?
- Why did Ethan leave Amazon to become a full-time teacher?

Ethan shares valuable insights for anyone interested in management or career development.

**Key insights:**

- **Why did Ethan choose management so early?** He was drawn to it because that was the need from his team and his managers supported his decision.
- **What skills helped Ethan ascend quickly in startups?** High-growth environments provided opportunities, but Ethan capitalized on them by actively seeking problems to solve and proposing solutions. He took initiative and wasn't afraid to ask for more responsibility.
- **What advice does Ethan have for others?** Be proactive, identify problems, and offer solutions. Don't be afraid to step up and make the ask to your leadership team. "*Do good work and hope*" is not an effective strategy.
- **Careers are long**. Ethan was a "fake" startup VP before going getting downleveled as a manager at Amazon, and it took years for him to return to a true VP role, managing a team of 800 people.

**Helpful links:**

- [\[Masterclass\] How To Work Better With Your Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/2PbJb2fuqF3iMHy57eEg/masterclass-how-to-work-better-with-your-engineering-manager/)
- [Overcome Career Stagnation (5 Common Scenarios)](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/UvGdGyBfHn4oNCfE77KV/overcome-career-stagnation-5-common-scenarios/)
- [Asking 7 Levels Of Engineers The Most Important Skill](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/J9Io5lDGaYUpI8vGrUyI/)
- [**How do I figure out whether I should stay as an IC engineer or explore management as an EM?**](https://www.jointaro.com/question/Y6qIop9wpOlCYUL0nGs0/how-do-i-figure-out-whether-i-should-stay-as-an-ic-engineer-or-explore-management-as-an-em/)
- [**\[Masterclass\] What Software Engineers Should Look For In Their Engineering Manager**](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/oeY7ncZhzJ5NO6dij5e7/masterclass-what-software-engineers-should-look-for-in-their-engineering-manager/)

How Does FAANG Hire? What Big Tech Recruiters Look For

[**Nikita Gupta**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/guptanikita16/) worked as a Senior Technical Recruiter at Uber and Amazon with 3+ years of recruiting and hiring experience. She extensively used applicant tracking systems (ATS) to search for the right candidates and hire them.

Nikita is an expert in helping candidates create better resumes and LinkedIn profiles in order to land more job opportunities. Her company [CareerFlow.ai](https://www.careerflow.ai/?via=taro) does exactly this.

As a full-cycle recruiter with experience in Big Tech and startups, Nikita will talk about how FAANG companies hire, and what misconceptions engineers often have when applying to jobs. She'll cover:

- Does "keyword stuffing" in resumes increase the chance of getting an interview?
- What are the top 3 things a recruiter looks for when opening a resume?
- How much does the recruiter screen matter in the overall interview process?
- How much does your LinkedIn matter in the job search?

Discounts for CareerFlow.ai's resume review service are available from the [perks page](https://www.jointaro.com/perks/). Use code `TARO` on [CareerFlow](https://www.careerflow.ai/resume-review?via=taro). 

Additional resources:

- [**\[Taro Top 10\] Effective Interview Prep**](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/HLBYxJI7D1j8STolrwum/)
- [**\[Masterclass\] How To Write A Stellar Tech Resume That Gets You More Job Opportunities**](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/OnQV2V3J8DYVBBuGbZx6/masterclass-how-to-write-a-stellar-tech-resume-that-gets-you-more-job-opportunities/)
- [**\[Masterclass\] How To Ace Your Big Tech Interview - Data Structures And Algorithms**](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/V4sTACzfOh22nMVcUV3w/masterclass-how-to-ace-your-big-tech-interview-data-structures-and-algorithms/)

How To Make Sure Your Engineering Manager Gives You The Proper Credit

So many software engineers are frustrated with the amount of credit their manager gives them, especially during performance review. Watch this video to ensure that this never happens again.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **Assume that your manager doesn't know what you're doing** - Engineering managers are *extremely* busy, and they are unfortunately more busy the higher quality they are (i.e. more people will want to book meetings with them if they are good). A lot of the time, they simply won't have the time to proactively scan what you're doing - They aren't unaware of your impact/problems due to bad intent.
- **Alert your manager of important events**
  - cc them on communications (Slack/Teams message, emails) and documents
  - Put them as optional on meetings (they may even want to join if it's an important meeting)
  - Share in 1:1 meetings (this is the most powerful medium)

Related resources:
- [[Taro Top 10] Software Engineer To Engineering Manager (IC -> M Track)](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/oz0mnJvHHgM8NfVF7rgp/)
- [[Masterclass] What Software Engineers Should Look For In Their Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/oeY7ncZhzJ5NO6dij5e7/masterclass-what-software-engineers-should-look-for-in-their-engineering-manager/)

The First Step Of Debugging - Reproducing The Issue

The first thing you need to do when you get a bug is to see it happen with your very own eyes. From there, you can execute the steps necessary to identify the root cause and fix the bug. However, a lot of engineers aren't diligent enough when they try to get the repro.

This video is a clip from our debugging masterclass. You can watch it here: [[Masterclass] How To Become A Debugging Master And Fix Issues Faster](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/ioR6WzamAIUTpySLAr7o/masterclass-how-to-become-a-debugging-master-and-fix-issues-faster/)

Related resources:
- [[Case Study] Revamping Oncall For 20 Instagram Engineers - Senior to Staff Project](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/esVxIGXYC5BdgxXUkO6H/case-study-revamping-oncall-for-20-instagram-engineers-senior-to-staff-project/)
- [[Case Study] Solving A Multi-Million $$ Instagram Bug](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/WYk4J05iBqOuPtD0CYKX/case-study-solving-a-multi-million-dollardollar-instagram-bug/)
- ["How can I become more independent and better at unblocking myself with tricky technical issues?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/QhqQQGrDgFjZbqohpKe0/how-can-i-become-more-independent-and-better-at-unblocking-myself-with-tricky-technical-issues/)

Tech Career Growth Videos

Our instructional videos provide software engineers with insights needed for career growth. Masterclasses go incredibly in-depth on a specific tech topic while case studies are real examples from established engineering leaders.