20 Years Of Fighting Procrastination [Part 14] - Reflect

Reflecting regularly is a powerful habit that can dramatically improve your productivity and self-awareness. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- Daily micro-reflections and bi-weekly deep dives help you identify patterns in when and why you're productive or struggling
- Documenting reflections as written artifacts (e.g. notes or voice memos) forces clarity and gives you useful data over time
- Review both the nature of your work and the relationships that support or hinder your progress—productivity often depends on collaboration
- You can keep reflections private, share them with a manager, or even make them public to foster accountability and gain feedback from others

20 Years Of Fighting Procrastination [Part 6] - The #1 Way To Create Accountability

When motivation fades, there's a simple yet powerful way to regain momentum—build accountability into your workflow. Here are the key ideas from the lesson:

- Social pressure is more powerful than self-discipline alone, making accountability partners or group settings highly effective for staying on track

- Benefits of accountability include learning from others, drawing inspiration, and getting called out when you're making excuses or losing focus

- Tactics include going into the office, joining virtual co-working platforms, setting review checkpoints, or scheduling deadlines—even artificial ones—to create external motivation and structure

Come Up With 500k+ User Project Ideas [Part 5] - Tech Stack Rankings

Machine learning, web, back-end, DevOps, mobile - There are so many different tech stacks software engineers can specialize in. So how does the type of engineer you are affect your side project potential? This lesson teaches you:

- The rankings for tech stacks when it comes to side projects, starting from which one is the best suited and which ones are the worst suited
- Why mobile engineers in particular are extremely well-positioned to build impressive side projects
- The unfair advantage front-end engineers have when it comes to building side projects and getting credit
- Ideas for non-front-end engineers to build great side projects
- The pros and cons of every tech stack when it comes to side projects

DSA Crash Course [Part 5] - Is Prime Walkthrough

In this lesson, Alvin walks through the python implementation for the *is_prime* problem.

Code along and test your work in the following editor workspace: <https://structy.net/problems/is-prime?language=py>

If you need additional support taking these DSA skills and actually applying them, take [Alvin's](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/) *complete* data structures and algorithms course on [Structy](https://structy.net/?utm_source=taro). You can try out the concepts yourself in their interactive code editor and learn advanced DSA patterns like stack exhaustive recursion.

Use [this link to get 20% off](https://structy.net/purchase?promo_code=taro20) the entire Structy DSA learning experience.

Follow Alvin on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/>

Break Into Tech And Become A Software Engineer [Part 5] - Know Your Fundamentals & Frameworks

In this lesson, Brian highlights the balance between knowing your technical fundamentals and understanding modern frameworks to build effective software applications.

This lesson covers:

- The importance of having both foundational knowledge and framework expertise to speak the same technical language as co-workers, especially those with computer science degrees
- How understanding design patterns, software development lifecycles, and common best practices prevents you from reinventing the wheel and helps you navigate technical discussions
- Key resources like *Clean Code*, *You Don’t Know JavaScript*, and *The Phoenix Project* that deepen your knowledge of coding fundamentals and software development processes

If you need extra help breaking into tech, join Brian's exclusive, cohort-based bootcamp (just 10 students per batch). Use this special link for $800 off: <https://www.parsity.io/taro>

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjenney/>

Grow From Junior To Mid-Level Engineer [Part 17] - High-Level Roadmap

There's a bunch of different skills you need to develop as a junior engineer to grow to a mid-level engineer. To make things trickier, the order in which you develop them matters *a lot*. This lesson teaches you:

- The 4-phases high-level roadmap to grow from junior engineer to mid-level
- How long it takes to go from phase to phase on the mid-level engineer growth trajectory
- The necessary components you need to have to establish a strong presence on your team, strong enough to merit a mid-level engineer promotion

Top System Design Interview Mistakes [Part 7] - Document As You Go

In system design interviews, it's essential to use multiple forms of communication—verbal, written, and visual. A common mistake is relying only on verbal communication, which can lead to confusion and missed opportunities to iterate on your design.

- Not writing anything down makes it difficult to follow your logic, especially when discussing complex systems. Without written or visual references, both you and the interviewer may struggle to keep track of the design.
- Documenting as you go—whether through diagrams, lists, or notes—makes it easier to iterate on and debug your design. It also frees up your mental resources to focus on solving new problems instead of remembering all the details.
- Finally, well-documented designs provide a useful reference for interviewers when they review your performance after the interview.

If you need extra help with your system design interview, [Formation.dev](https://formation.dev/partners/taro) can provide you hands-on, personalized support. Join us here: <https://formation.dev/partners/taro>

Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer [Part 2] - Why Is The Staff Promotion So Hard?

Countless senior engineers hit a wall as they push for staff. This lesson teaches you:

- How the Staff Engineer role in and of itself is special by being a relatively new career invention
- The easiest way to tell if a Senior Engineer isn't ready to become a Staff Engineer
- Why the Staff Engineer promotion is fundamentally different from prior promotions
- Why many teams can't support an additional Staff Engineer promotion
- How you can be performing as a Staff Engineer and still not get the promotion

Asking Great Questions [Part 26] - Go Deeper: Follow Through

Asking great questions is a skill that takes months, if not years, to develop. So let's take the knowledge from this course and apply it! You get better by doing, not just consuming.

Take the related courses:

- [\[Course\] Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)
- [\[Course\] Effective Communication For Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/effective-communication-for-engineers/)

[Become A Go-To Person 14/18] Give Presentations To Become An Expert

A course by [Jordan Cutler](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancutler1/), Senior Software Engineer at Pinterest and Author of the [High Growth Engineer Newsletter](https://read.highgrowthengineer.com/)

Tech Lead Blueprint 3/17 - Why do TLs exist?

Connect with Lalit on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitkundu/>

Tech Lead Blueprint 1/17 - What's The Deal With Tech Leads?

Engineer A claims "*I am the Tech Lead for Engineer B*", while Engineer B claims "*I am the Tech Lead for Engineer A*" 🤔🤔

Lalit has seen several variants of this from his experience as a peer reviewer for Google engineers during performance reviews. Lalit discusses the common desire for the tech lead role, the lack of explicit definitions in tech companies, and the implicit nature of becoming a tech lead.

Connect with Lalit on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalitkundu/>

Maximize Your Productivity As A Software Engineer [Part 20] - Just Jump In

If there's one thing software engineers love to do, it's prepare. They'll read and watch and listen to countless resources in order to get "ready" to tackle their meaty technical challenges. This lesson teaches you:

- Why "preparing" to do a task is basically the same as doing nothing
- The right mentality you must have to tackle any software engineering task efficiently, going away from the mindset that got you through school
- How to effectively dive into a task and get it done fast

[Timeless Career Advice] IC vs Manager

This video discusses how much the software industry pays in the US in terms of total compensation. 

In addition, we discuss the decision to be an individual contributor vs engineering manager.

Connect with Louie:

- SmallBets community: [**https://smallbets.com/?utm_source=taro**](https://smallbets.com/?utm_source=taro)
- Twitter: [**https://twitter.com/LBacaj**](https://twitter.com/LBacaj)
- LinkedIn: [**https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiebacaj/**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiebacaj/)
- Newsletter: [**https://newsletter.memesmotivations.com/**](https://newsletter.memesmotivations.com/)

Write A Stellar Resume As A Software Engineer [Part 20] - Do Not Lie

The tech job market is incredibly brutal for software engineers, and this can make less ethical approaches far more appealing, including with your resume. This lesson teaches you:

- Why lying on your resume ultimately hurts you far more than it helps you
- What to do instead of lying when your resume is struggling

Write A Stellar Resume As A Software Engineer [Part 8] - Intro Summaries

It's common practice for engineers (and almost everyone else) to include a paragraph at the very top of their resume summarizing their overall experience and explaining why they're great. This lesson teaches you:

- Why those intro summaries actually hurt you, especially in tech
- What to do instead of having an intro summary

Grow From Mid-Level To Senior Engineer [Part 14] - Work Towards The Team Goal

Software engineers aren't paid to write code; they're paid to solve problems. However, this mindset often takes years for engineers to truly internalize, often at the senior level. This lesson teaches you:

- How mid-level engineers and senior engineers react different when given a project
- The questions every senior engineer needs to ask when given a project
- What needs to be done in order to understand the true impact of a project

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 14] - Junior Engineer

Every software engineer starts off as a junior engineer. Junior engineers can't really do anything, but they still need to do pass interviews. This lesson teaches you:

- The expectations from a junior engineer overall and how that reflects in behavioral interviews
- The kinds of stories junior engineers tell in behavioral interviews

Master The Behavioral Interview [Part 10] - When You Don’t Have An Answer

If you're an earlier-in-career software engineer, there is a very high chance that you will get a behavioral interview question where you don't have an answer. This lesson teaches you:

- How to gracefully and immediately react when you get a behavioral interview question asking for a scenario that you have never been in before
- Backup options that you can present to the interviewer to still answer the question despite not having an answer that 100% fits

From Multiple Rejections to Landing Six Offers and Negotiating A $100K Raise

*Unlock all events and courses with Taro Premium. Join at a discount with Yogi's link: [**https://www.jointaro.com/r/yogi-sharma/**](https://www.jointaro.com/r/yogi-sharma/)*

In 2017, amidst the bustling innovation and relentless pace of Facebook, I encountered a pivotal moment in my career. The sting of receiving not one, not two, but three job rejections in as many weeks (and *first round rejections* at that) set the stage for a profound professional transformation. This period, marked by deep introspection and resilience, was not just about coping with disappointment; it became a launchpad for unprecedented growth and success.

But all that came after an initial period of dejection.

The journey from those initial rejections to eventually landing six coveted job offers, with negotiations exceeding $100k, is a testament to the power of strategic habit shifts and mindset realignment. The experience, while daunting, unfolded the essential principles of leveraging one’s time and energy efficiently, ensuring readiness for job transitions *without compromising current job performance*.

In this talk, I aim to demystify the path from setback to success. I will unveil the practical strategies and mental adjustments that not only helped me navigate the turbulent waters of job searching but also equipped me with the tools to excel beyond expectation, which I have used in my work with over 400 professionals in my coaching practice. This narrative is more than a personal victory; it's a blueprint for anyone facing the disheartenment of rejection, providing actionable insights to transform challenges into opportunities for substantial growth and achievement.

Join me as I dissect the critical principles, mindset shifts, and habit changes that can empower us all to turn job search woes into wins, illustrating that with the right approach, navigating the job market can be a journey of triumph even though tribulation are inevitable at times.

Negotiation content on Taro:

- [**\[Taro Top 10\] Pay Negotiation**](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/uyWSc5q79zFw2Ei7w59d/)
- [**\[Masterclass\] Understanding And Optimizing Your Pay In Tech**](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/gk408yBIV2fa5RjVR213/masterclass-understanding-and-optimizing-your-pay-in-tech/)

Yogi's next event about going from the PIP danger zone to a top performer: [**https://www.jointaro.com/event/behind-the-scene-from-meets-most-greatly-exceeds-in-3-months-at-facebook/**](https://www.jointaro.com/event/behind-the-scene-from-meets-most-greatly-exceeds-in-3-months-at-facebook/)

Yogi on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/yogi1/>

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.