Clear Communication For SWEs [Part 8] - The STAR Method 🌟

In this video, I explain the STAR method, breaking down its components - Situation, Task, Action, and Result. I highlight the benefits of using this structured approach in job interviews, performance reviews, and presentations.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: <https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-wiens/>

Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer [Part 21] - Plot Your Growth Journey

It can be overwhelming looking at all the skills you need to build to grow from senior to staff as both the breadth and depth of the skill development you need to do are massive. This lesson teaches you:

- How to tactically grow 1 step at a time from senior to staff and long-term
- What skills you should develop first to start (or continue) going down your senior to staff journey

Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer [Part 20] - Generalist

An easy way to understand what a great staff engineer looks like is that they're a "Jack of all trades, master of all". This lesson teaches you:

- What the generalist staff "archetype" is
- The different types of skills staff generalists need to be good at
- When it makes sense to become a generalist
- How generalist staff engineers grow long-term

Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer [Part 19] - Code Machine

As a software engineer, one of your most powerful tools to land more impact is to write more code. While many engineers write less code as they grow to staff, there is 1 large exception. This lesson teaches you:

- What the code machine staff engineer archetype is
- Why the code machine archetype is quite rare and usually not supported
- How to become a code machine

As this lesson talks about, code machines have both a stunning degree of velocity and quality. Level up your code quality here: [\[Course\] Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)

Asking Great Questions [Part 19] - Give Them An Out

Most engineering favors don't get fulfilled. If you're cognizant of that and incorporate it into your question, you can counterintuitively *increase* your chances of getting the favor. This lesson teaches you:

- Why making it easy for your favor to be turned down increases your standing with the person you're asking for a favor from
- What it means to give the helper an out with your question, explained with an in-depth example

Asking Great Questions [Part 15] - RFC Pull Requests

As a software engineer, you're inevitably going to have to ask a lot of questions about your code. This lesson teaches you:

- A natural tactic you can use to share code context with engineers you want to help you
- What a quality RFC pull request looks like, shown with an in-depth GitHub example
- Why pull requests are so powerful and organic when it comes to attaching technical context 

Level up your code quality here: [\[Course\] Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/course/level-up-your-code-quality-as-a-software-engineer/)

Asking Great Questions [Part 11] - Avoid Question Ping Pong

If you want better answers faster on your question, the goal is simple: *Make it dead simple to answer your question*. But how do we do that? This lesson teaches you:

- A simple mental framework you can apply to your question to understand if it's good
- What a bad question looks like when it violates that mental framework
- How to use that mental framework to determine the quality of a question

Tech Lead Blueprint 16/17 - Chaos And Tech Debt

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

Tech Lead Blueprint 15/17 - Low Performers

Tech Lead Blueprint 14/17 - Scaling Yourself

Tech Lead Blueprint 13/17 - Team Culture

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 15] - Unite The Non-Engineers (XFN)

One of the most common traps engineers fall into is only caring about other engineers and engineering work. You cannot make this mistake as a tech lead. This lesson teaches you:

- The core non-engineering relationship you need to maintain in order to effectively lead projects
- Other examples of non-engineering (XFN, cross-functional) relationships to maintain
- Why earning trust across several organizational functions is so important for your role as a tech lead

How To Be An Effective Tech Lead [Part 13] - Leverage The Power Of Feedback

Feedback is the main fuel you need to improve as a software engineer. It's especially important for tech leads as they are responsible for the well-being and productivity of many other people. This lesson teaches you:

- The proper mentality to have when it comes to feedback
- The right medium to deliver feedback based on its contents
- How to deliver feedback in a healthy way that doesn't hurt people
- What to do after receiving/delivering feedback to guarantee that it actually creates value

To dive deeper into how feedback is a gift, read through our excellent explainer here: ["Can someone elaborate on "always treating feedback as a gift"?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/4DoEnMIq2ISadfAJuwp9/can-someone-elaborate-on-always-treating-feedback-as-a-gift/)

The Mistake Engineers Make During The Reverse Interview

Too many engineers don't think critcally about the impact of the last 5-10 minutes of an interview.

Maximizing a Severance Package 5/9 - Preparing Your Case

Let's talk about how to prepare your case to maximize your severance package.

- Connect with [Ethan on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanevansvp/)
- Taro members get a discount to join [**Ethan's Level Up community**](https://levelupwithethanevans.substack.com/taro25)

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.