How To Negotiate A Raise At Your Current Job

Sometimes the goal isn’t to leave a job, but simply to be paid more for the work being done. Negotiating a raise internally is possible, but the dynamics are more complex due to limited leverage.

- **Internal raises are harder without leverage**: Simply asking for a raise based on merit often fails because the company knows most employees won’t go through the pain of interviewing and switching jobs.
- **Competing offers create leverage**: The most effective strategy is to secure a higher offer elsewhere and use it to negotiate a raise. This shows initiative and forces the employer to evaluate retention costs.
- **Company policy plays a role**: Some companies, like Facebook, may have policies against matching outside offers. Others, like Google, are more flexible and may respond aggressively to retain top talent, especially when the competing offer comes from a company perceived as a talent threat.
- **Raises typically come in equity**: When a raise is granted in response to a competing offer, the increase often comes in the form of additional stock (RSUs), rather than base salary.
- **This approach is a calculated risk**: Bringing a competing offer can trigger a raise, but it can also signal that an employee is willing to leave, which may affect internal perception. It should be done carefully and with genuine intent.

Become A Debugging Master [Part 5] - Prioritization

Once you find a bunch of bugs, the next critical skill is knowing how to prioritize them. Here are the core points from the lesson:

- Use a framework of frequency vs. severity to quickly assess whether a bug is urgent, trivial, or somewhere in between
- For ambiguous cases, combine metrics (how many users impacted, company priorities) and your own judgment to make a strong recommendation
- Proactively get input from teammates with more context, and be prepared to justify why you’re working on a bug—or why it’s not worth fixing
- Developing this prioritization skill is key to advancing into senior and staff engineering roles, where you guide not just your own work but the team’s direction

[Part 2] Software Engineer Onboarding: Learn the Workflow

To make the hard work easier, learn the workflow and process first.

**A big mistake new engineers make**: they dive in directly to a project and start landing code/landing impact. You goal is be curious about the testing and deployment procedures, along with the workflows and processes. One way to do this is to deliberately pick the simplest possible bugs and code changes to make, so you can exercise the workflow. 

- [Use Code Review Feedback For Hypergrowth](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/aBRgdYpUfnUpoyWG4qZC/use-code-review-feedback-for-hypergrowth-meta-prodigy-engineer-story/)
- [How To Write Better Code Faster As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/iYpRj8XfyzCSaTYnce3y/how-to-write-better-code-faster-as-a-software-engineer-11192022/)

This is part 2 of a 4 part series from Daniel about how to **most efficiently** and **most effectively** onboard into a new team or company. What should you spend your time doing in the first few months of joining, and how should that change based on your level? 

This masterclass covers this topic from the perspective of Daniel Tomko, a 20 year Big Tech veteran. Daniel spent 11 years at Microsoft and 8 years at Meta in various senior IC and management positions. 

- [Go to part 3 of the masterclass here](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/7l4Nr4hQf8Pv8zfGZwh4/part-3-software-engineer-onboarding-understand-tactical-decisions/)
- [Go back to part 1 of the masterclass here.](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/IYZRmwp33E3TBeFQFr9c/part-1-software-engineer-onboarding-embrace-your-lack-of-knowledge/)

Did You Just Get Laid Off? This Is How You Should Think About It

Getting laid off is rough and a huge blow to your mental state. This video covers how to have the proper mentality if you are laid off, so you can bounce back.

Here are the core points:
- **Being laid off is not a reflection of who you are** - Who gets cuts in a mass layoff is effectively random, and incredible software engineers will get hit by them all the time. *There is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you get laid off.* Don't let some out-of-touch tech executive's bad decision determine your self-worth.
- **You *will* recover** - This is especially true in the tech industry where severance packages tend to be quite competitive, even generous. Use the time to really process what happened, find peace, and figure out your next move. The silver lining of being laid off is that the door has started opening to your next opportunity: You just need to walk through it.

Related resources:
- ["Aftermath of layoffs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/7Gav09HFuLlGDlM749UY/aftermath-of-layoffs/)
- ["How open should we be to recruiters about employment status?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/Lo8W7fMRFbcwUQ9WyTVF/how-open-should-we-be-to-recruiters-about-employment-status/)

Ship & Grow 500k+ User Side Projects [Part 4] - Planning Your Initial Launch: API Example

You have now figured out what should go into your side project MVP (minimum viable product). How do you bring it to life? This lesson teaches you:

- The exact steps to follow to ship your MVP
- What good decomposition looks like, explained with an in-depth example

You can go deeper into the mechanics of software decomposition here: <https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/break-it-down/>

15 SWE Years In 1.5 Hours [Part 8] - Finding A Job

Finding a job as a software engineer sucks, especially when it comes to your first one. This lesson teaches you:

- How to differentiate yourself from the massive pool of other applicants
- Why most engineers have the wrong mentality going into interviews and how you should flip it to be much healthier
- How to structure your job search (and why you shouldn't just start off grinding LeetCode into oblivion)

To dive deeper into the full mechanics behind landing any tech job (FAANG, startups, etc), take our course here: [Ace Your Tech Interview And Get A Job As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/ace-your-tech-interview-and-get-a-job-as-a-software-engineer/)

Claiming Full Credit For Your Projects On Performance Review

- What is the project: Which features did it compose of? How does it work?
- Context behind the project:
  - Why was this project hard/interesting: Complexity of projects is especially important for more senior engineers.
  - What was the business impact: Did it lead to more revenue directly? Did it improve user experience? Was a core KPI increased?
- Role you played in the project: What value did you specifically add to the project, especially that of the deeper kind? For Big Tech companies, this is very important as projects can easily have 15+ people working on them.

Nail Your Promotion As A Software Engineer [Part 22] - The Project Credit Formula

You have been given your projects for the performance review cycle, and they're okay but not amazing. How can you make the most of this opportunity and cobble together a case for promotion? This lesson teaches you:

- The definition of scope, another tech term that is commonly thrown around but horribly misunderstood
- The overall formula to determine how much credit you get for a project
- How to be creative and get the most credit from every project you work on
- How projects of a certain scope can either by increased by 1 level or decreased by 1 level

15 SWE Years In 1.5 Hours [Part 16] - Working With Your Manager

The single most important person in your professional life as a software developer is your engineering manager. This lesson teaches you:

- How most engineers perceive the engineer &lt;-&gt; engineering manager relationship incorrectly
- The importance of recurring 1 on 1 meetings between you and your manager
- How to get the most value from your manager 1 on 1s

To dive deeper into building a better relationship with your manager, take our course here: [Managing Up: Build Effective Relationships With Your Boss](https://www.jointaro.com/course/managing-up-build-effective-relationships-with-your-boss/)

15 SWE Years In 1.5 Hours [Part 9] - Writing A Good Resume

Every successful job search starts off with a polished, well-written resume. However, there's so much online misinformation about what makes a good one. This lesson teaches you:

- Why it's best to keep your resume simple
- The optimal length for a software engineer resume
- How to think about summary sections on resumes

To dive deeper into writing a better resume, take our course here: [Get More Interviews: Write A Stellar Resume As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/get-more-interviews-write-a-stellar-resume-as-a-software-engineer/)

Negotiation Course: Determine Compensation Benchmarks

The key inputs to determine compensation are level, role/title, industry, geography

Use tools like [levels.fyi](http://levels.fyi) and glassdoor to understand what the typical market rate for the job is.

- **Level**: Offers are formulaic based on level, so you can obviously expect. Don’t reveal this to the recruiter.
- **Industry**: if your job as a SWE is a supportive role for the main product of the company, you’ll typically be paid less (e.g. engineer in healthcare compared to engineer in FAANG)
- **Geography**: California and New York are more expensive than other parts of the US and certainly more expensive than most of the world.

One pro tip here: use <https://h1bdata.info/> to see salary data that companies are legally required to report to the government

However, these sources can be out of date or show an incomplete picture, so the best source is talking to friends or people in the community, like in Taro.

In Rahul’s case, he had a pretty good idea that Snap gave out a lot of equity, Meta gave out huge signing bonuses, etc.

15 SWE Years In 1.5 Hours [Part 15] - Onboarding

You have started a fancy new job at a company you really like. How do you hit the ground running and impress people fast? This lesson teaches you:

- Why being new is actually a superpower, not a weakness like many engineers think
- Why you need to be aggressive and extremely deliberate when onboarding, especially at the very beginning
- What you can do to *add value* while onboarding instead of merely absorbing value

To dive deeper into onboarding, take our course here: [The Complete Onboarding Guide For Software Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/the-complete-onboarding-guide-for-software-engineers-succeeding-when-youre-new/)

Negotiation Course: When Should You Negotiate? And When Should You Not?

Negotiation makes the most sense for "high-leverage jobs" like software engineering or most other jobs in tech. An example of a low-leverage job would be to stock shelves in a grocery store or drive a taxi in NYC. The difference between the best and average worker in those fields is not that large. But in engineering, the difference in output for the best vs the average can easily be 10x or 100x.

Within the high-leverage category, there are jobs that have many comparable data points (e.g., junior or mid-level engineer) and those that are bespoke because they're rare/senior at the company, e.g., executive level or senior engineering leads.

Negotiation makes less sense for jobs that are purely stepping stones, or those that are time-bound. The classic example here is for internships. A good litmus test is if you know anyone who has ever negotiated that offer, e.g. no one at Stanford ever negotiated the summer research pay.

Finally, negotiation does not make sense if you already accepted the offer at a lower number.

Become An Open Source Master [Part 10] - How To Evaluate A Project’s Health

We can evaluate potential open-source projects by examining their issues and community interactions:

- **Analyze the Issues tab**: Look for a healthy ratio of solved to open issues, evidence of tagging and triage, and positive community engagement. Check for responsiveness to older issues.
- **Observe conversations around issues and pull requests:** Get a sense of the community's dynamics, code quality standards, and how welcoming they are to new contributors.
- **Check the Discussions tab (if available):** See how the community debates future changes and get a feel for the project's overall vibe.
- **Utilize the Insights tab:** Look at statistics like open and closed pull requests, active issues, and contributors to gauge the project's activity level.

Connect with James: 

- GitHub: <https://github.com/jamesgpearce>
- Twitter (X): <https://twitter.com/jamespearce>

Not Getting Stuff Done? Find Someone To Call You Out

Why are accountability partners so helpful when it comes to productivity?

True or false: A good accountability partner is willing to shame you a bit sometimes.

How do good accountability partners help with excuses?

- Finding an accountability partner is one of the most powerful ways you can shore up your productivity.
  - You can understand your own potential when you see what your peers can do
  - They can offer help when you're feeling low or stuck
- Humans inherently don't like letting other people down: We're a social species. Just having someone who's expecting or even counting on you to make decent progress regularly makes you far more motivated to actually get stuff done out of fear of disappointing them.

Related resources:
- ["How do you network effectively within a company?"](https://link.jointaro.com/Hr1nr53D7sfQAEv3A)
- ["How can I better network with other software engineers in the Bay Area?"](https://link.jointaro.com/42JLsbppRMwAJAPUA)

How Software Engineers Are Measured For Promotion

What does additive value look like for a software engineer?

What's the main metric used to evaluate engineers for promotion and their overall seniority?

What kind of value is the following: Creating a team-wide initiative to write more unit tests, organizing regular hackathons to write hundreds of tests at once alongside creating a dashboard to measure which tests catch the most bugs

What kind of value is the following: Helping the company's ambitious hiring goal for web engineers by interviewing dozens of React developers in just a few weeks

What kind of value is the following: Taking an incredibly vague product idea and refining it into a well-defined product spec by bringing together dozens of engineers, product managers, data scientists, and designers and getting alignment on what the value proposition is and how that manifests as a product experience

What kind of value is the following: Building out the iOS portion of adding Twitter login to onboarding flow for your company's core app after getting high-quality mocks and requirements for it

Master The DSA Interview [Part 23] - Don't Just Surrender

When preparing data structures and algorithms, you will almost certainly get frustrated at many points in the process. How you react to those moments will dictate how well you do in those interviews:

- What to do when you're stuck on a data structures and algorithms problem in prep so you can actually learn the problem and its concepts
- How to unblock yourself on a data structures and algorithms problem properly in prep, shown with an in-depth example

Amazon Behavioral Interview [Part 6] - Stakeholder Management (Evaluation)

This video provides feedback on an individual's response to a stakeholder management interview question.

- **Strengths:**

  - The interviewee demonstrated strong stakeholder management skills by describing a real-world scenario involving cross-functional collaboration (sales, engineering, finance).
  - They effectively communicated their ability to navigate conflicting priorities and build consensus among different stakeholders.
  - They highlighted their experience working with senior leaders and understanding organizational goals (OKRs).
  - They acknowledged the potential trade-offs and the importance of balancing the needs of different customer segments.

- **Areas for Improvement:**

  - **Quantify Impact:** The interviewee could have further strengthened their response by quantifying the impact of their actions. For example, they could have mentioned specific data points such as increased customer retention rates or improved customer satisfaction scores.
  - **Highlight Unexpected Benefits:** The interviewee could have mentioned potential unexpected benefits of the new prioritization system, such as an increase in premium service subscriptions.
  - **Address Potential Concerns:** The interviewee could have proactively addressed potential concerns, such as the impact on customer churn for smaller businesses, and explained how these concerns were mitigated.

Overall, the interviewee provided a solid response that effectively demonstrated their stakeholder management skills. By incorporating the suggested improvements, they can further enhance their response and make it even more impactful.

Learn more about Alan's job search program, Kadima Careers, using this [discount link](https://signup.kadimacareers.com/mQBsDvu).

DSA Crash Course [Part 73] - Minimum Change Approach

In this lesson, Alvin explores the strategy to solving the following interview problem:

> Write a function *min_change* that takes in an amount and a list of coins. The function should return the minimum number of coins required to create the amount. You may use each coin as many times as necessary.
>
> If it is not possible to create the amount, then return -1.

```
min_change(8, [1, 5, 4, 12]) # -> 2, because 4+4 is the minimum coins possible
```

```
min_change(13, [1, 9, 5, 14, 30]) # -> 5
```

```
min_change(23, [2, 5, 7]) # -> 4
```

```
min_change(102, [1, 5, 10, 25]) # -> 6
```

```
min_change(200, [1, 5, 10, 25]) # -> 8
```

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/**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alvin-zablan-b73a92117/)

Manager 1 on 1s Are A Litmus Test For Seniority

True or false: In tech, operating at senior levels means that you are driving more, if not most, of the conversation in your manager 1 on 1s.

Why do senior employees tend to drive more of the conversation in manager 1 on 1 meetings?

Your 1:1 meetings with your manager can demonstrate whether you are becoming a senior engineer.

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.