The Framework Through Which To Evaluate Engineering Productivity

When you reflect on your day or week, two spectrums through which to evaluate how your time was spent: 

1. How much of your time was spent **reactively vs proactively**?
2. How much of your time was spent **consuming vs creating**? 

The most productive engineers (and the most senior engineers) are very proactive, and they also lean heavily on the creating end of the spectrum. That means you should spend less time passively attending meetings, and more time breaking down projects, writing code, and setting direction for your team.

It’s much harder to create content compared to consuming content. But the majority of impact as an individual or business comes from creation. As a result, the world rewards the people who are able to create high quality video/code/writing over a long period of time.

- [Reactive vs proactive as a manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/VCSrWjEBu3WCaSWCn2ak/signs-of-a-bad-engineering-manager-reactive-vs-proactive/)
- [A hack to supercharge your learning when you create - the Lego Model](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/9cVK5zsAQstbTCc1wrWx/how-the-best-software-engineers-learn-the-lego-model/)

Connect with Steve: 
- [Taro](https://www.jointaro.com/profile/aZJL3ucq9dQnscO09F4JDRkgPo72/)
- [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@ALifeEngineered)

The Most Important Thing To Do After You Get Laid Off

As a software engineer, you naturally have a lot of leverage as a highly sought after, highly-skilled worker. If you end up getting laid off, take the opportunity to use that leverage and seriously think about bettering your future.

Here are the core points:
- **Take the time to introspect about career direction** - When you're working, it's way too easy to get lost in the hustle and just trudge from project to project. After you're laid off, you now have the mental freedom to really think about where you want to go with your career. This will take at least several days, maybe even weeks. Try to envision what the perfect job looks like to you and make that your goal. Ask yourself where you want to be 5 or 10 years from now.
- **Think about what makes you happy** - This sounds cliched, but it's 100% true. There's no point min-maxing your compensation and level if you're fundamentally unhappy while doing it. The tech industry is such a broad space: There is a right opportunity for everybody where they can grow their career and be happy while doing it. But in order to get that opportunity, you need to discover what genuine passions you have.

Related resources:
- [[Masterclass] How To Choose A Good Company And Team As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/0WEmTNZOMIh8xAdfO3JH/masterclass-how-to-choose-a-good-company-and-team-as-a-software-engineer/)
- [Figuring Out The Best Company To Join As A Software Engineer](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/Nqs0U6rt2qFyXKSZurTh/figuring-out-the-best-company-to-join-as-a-software-engineer/)
- ["How do I know what I'm great at?](https://www.jointaro.com/question/hksE5OSxktWdbnQQFdaT/how-do-i-know-what-im-great-at/)

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/)

This Is How You Become A Layoff-Proof Software Engineer

Some software engineers are better equipped against layoffs than others. They are less likely to get laid off, and if they do get laid off, they bounce back faster than everyone else. This video covers how those engineers do that.

Here are the core points:

- **Focus on building up fundamental skills** - Divorce yourself from specific technologies and product spaces. Always be thinking: *"Can I take my abilities to a completely different team/company and succeed?*"
- **Soft skills are very underrated** - Communication, leadership, and project management are skills that are useful anywhere. They are also skills that are almost always required to reach senior engineering levels, especially at Big Tech companies like FAANG.
- **Learn how to do real system design** - This is how you ascend to the higher level, away from the direct code, allowing you to add more value to engineering organizations. To learn how to do real system design (not the trivia you need to know for interviews), watch our course here: [\[Course\] System Design Masterclass: Shipping Real Features To Production](https://www.jointaro.com/course/frontend-system-design-masterclass-building-playlists/)

Related resources:

- ["What are software engineering fundamentals?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/3VNPK7wol76s89EkgFeW/what-are-software-engineering-fundamentals/)
- ["How to develop soft skills like leadership, stakeholder management, etc.?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/Ivo1RsizAMGoGKXmqg6N/how-to-develop-soft-skills-like-leadership-stakeholder-management-etc/)

How To Find A Tech Company That's Less Likely To Do Layoffs

In a bull market like the one from 2014 - 2021, everyone's a genius. While you could work more or less anywhere before and get a couple solid years of career growth, that's not the case anymore. This video covers how you can choose a company that's less likely to do a mass layoff.

Here are the core points:
- **Prioritize profitable companies** - If the company is publicly traded, this is shared in every earnings reports and is easily Googled (i.e. "Is company X profitable?"). A good business needs more money coming in than going out, and companies with fundamentals like these will always be rewarded.
- **Make sure the company is hiring carefully** - The easiest way for a tech company to take on too many costs is by hiring people it doesn't need. If the interview process is too easy or the company is trying to 10x its headcount every year, that's generally a bad sign.
- **Leverage your network** - We all have people who are much smarter than we are within our network, and this is very prevalent in the tech industry. If the best and brightest in your network (i.e. those who really do their homework before accepting an offer) are going to specific companies, there's a good chance those companies have real legs.

Related resources:
- ["Insensitive to talk about applying to a company which has suffered from layoffs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/LH6CCgWMUAVEAHKDDUWc/insensitive-to-talk-about-applying-to-a-company-which-has-suffered-from-layoffs/)
- ["Staying motivated among lay-offs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/EEMkoCSNPzdRToTHjuSb/staying-motivated-among-lay-offs/)

Having The Proper Mentality To Minimize Your Chances Of Getting Laid Off

It's way too easy to start panicking and living in an anxiety-ridden world in this current layoff-rich tech economy. However, this is a very counterproductive mentality to have as a software engineer - This video covers the mindset shift you should make to actually set yourself for success against layoffs.

Here are the core points:
- **Stop freaking out** - It is not healthy to be constantly checking the news for layoffs and having it always take up prime real estate within your mind. *This will ironically make you more likely to get laid off as your performance will suffer.*
- **Your behavior shouldn't change** - The optimal things to do to insulate yourself against layoffs are things you should always be doing anyways. [Building relationships](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/masterclass-how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech/), [optimizing your performance review](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/b0B8uqIAUnBLE10jJHJG/masterclass-how-to-navigate-your-performance-review-in-tech/), and [working on a high-impact team](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/9OwPRwFFSMvEoVj6Zt5Q/how-to-figure-out-if-a-team-is-important-to-a-company/) are all necessary for fast career growth in general.
- **Focus on what you can control** - It sucks, but if you're already working a job that you like, it's simply not possible for you to directly control your destiny when it comes to layoffs. Just do your best as you normally should be and hope for the best. Continue treating those around you with kindness, shipping great projects, and improving your skills.

Related resources:
- ["Staying motivated among lay-offs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/EEMkoCSNPzdRToTHjuSb/staying-motivated-among-lay-offs/)
- ["How to survive potential layoffs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/ydZFpJz0x8wKUIfd8E1r/how-to-survive-potential-layoffs/)

Who Gets Cut In A Mass Tech Company Layoff?

After a layoff, some will be cut and the rest will survive. This begs the question: Who gets cut? There is a lot of misinformation about how these decisions are made, so this video goes over how this extremely painful process actually works.

Here are the core points:
- **Layoffs vary heavily based on company** - There is no standard when it comes to layoffs, and different companies value different things. *There is no such silver bullet that will protect you 100% from layoffs.*
- Potential layoff factors (remember, there are exceptions to all of these):
  - **Performance** - High-performers will be preserved over low-performers
  - **Org priority** - Higher revenue orgs will be preserved over loss makers
  - **Seniority** - Senior engineers will be preserved over more junior engineers
  - **Tenure** - Engineers with deep domain expertise will be preserved over newbies who are still learning the ropes
- **For most people, layoffs are effectively random** - At the end of the day, layoffs are almost always made by executives with very incomplete information. You can be a consistent high-performing software engineer who is a 10-year company veteran and still get cut. Do your best and keep your expectations realistic.

Related resources:
- ["How to survive potential layoffs?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/ydZFpJz0x8wKUIfd8E1r/how-to-survive-potential-layoffs/)
- ["Are layoffs random or can I do something to prevent getting laid off?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/TIX9Mox7KAPJg6ZUujpg/are-layoffs-random-or-can-i-do-something-to-prevent-getting-laid-off/)

How To Tell If A Layoff Is Coming At Your Company

Layoffs are scary and are often a complete surprise. This video covers some of the warnings signs you can use to predict if a layoff is coming and start preparing for interviews accordingly.

Here are the core points:
- *For public companies, the most obvious sign is a struggling stock price*
- In general, stagnant growth is bad
- Mass hiring freezes are a common precursor to big layoffs
- Trimmed perks and a more somber, frugal mood among leadership are other signs
- You can also listen through the "grapevine" but be careful
  - Blind in particular is quite flaky. Blind correctly predicted the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 layoffs, but *it also incorrectly predicted 18 other layoffs*
  - In general, treat online rumors with a massive grain of salt, and it's probably best to just stay away from them. There's no need to add a bunch of unnecessary stress to your life

Related resources:
- [[Masterclass] How To Survive Tech Industry Layoffs](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/axnVXYox5QeOneqcoyuH/masterclass-how-to-survive-tech-industry-layoffs/) - The full video where this clip was taken from
- ["What are the signs of an impending layoff in an organisation that can help an employee prepare themselves better?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/tNOO9FtALQIRrUXSqzV1/what-are-the-signs-of-an-impending-layoff-in-an-organisation-that-can-help-an-employee-prepare-themselves-better/)
- ["How to handle stress at work especially after a company layoff?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/mOjMnHL2Zhke2rSrtVdD/how-to-handle-stress-at-work-especially-after-a-company-layoff/)

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome - You Have So Much More Value Than You Realize

One of the biggest factors holding software engineers back is a simple one: They don't believe in themselves. This is very common in the tech industry where being surrounded by talented peers makes it very easy to end up with a case of imposter syndrome. This video explains why every single person in tech is wrong when they believe they can't add value.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **You can't be alive for 20+ years and not have something to share** - 2 decades is a long time. A lot of people don't believe they can share value when they're early in career, which completely discards all their years prior to their career. It's not like you only started generating value in the world after you embarked on your tech career journey. It is mathematically impossible to have been on planet Earth for so long and not have something cool you can share with others.
- **Believe in yourself** - You are limited by what you think of yourself: If you don't believe that you can offer value, then you won't offer value. The absolute first step to successful networking is recognizing your own potential and feeling empowered to help others.
- **Accessible ways that *anyone* can add value**
  - Interesting experiences
  - Odd talents
  - Learnings from failure
  - Being a friendly face

Related resources:
- ["How can I bridge my confidence gap to put myself out there more and ask for help more aggressively?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/mLKUkNXpLcCxQMfWopqU/how-can-i-bridge-my-confidence-gap-to-put-myself-out-there-more-and-ask-for-help-more-aggressively/)
- ["I've felt imposter syndrome from seeing super talented peers - How do I deal with this?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/MPUkGXFDaBixmxfjOg9i/ive-felt-imposter-syndrome-from-seeing-super-talented-peers-how-do-i-deal-with-this/)

Does Your Job Performance Matter For Building A Startup?

In college, the common wisdom these days for Computer Science students is “your grades don’t matter, just focus on your network and building cool stuff.” 

**Does the same logic apply for aspiring entrepreneurs who are working in Big Tech?**

If you know you want to leave to start a startup, how much should you focus on getting the highest ratings and quickest promotions on the job, vs just doing enough to get by?

In Eric's case, he was was content with doing just enough to get by -- his time and energy was better spent preparing for his startup. Eric was barely getting a Meets All (MA) rating at Meta, and in fact, he was about to be put on a PIP before he left!

Instead of focusing on your ratings on the job, you should instead focus on having positive relationships with the people you work with. You want them to vouch for you as someone who is trustworthy, hard-working, and easy to work with. 

**Your network is your biggest asset as a founder.** Your job is not to be the expert who knows everything. Instead, your job is to have a deep network of people (advisors, friends, employees) who you can leverage to arrive at the best decision. 

---------
Connect with [Eric on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbahn/)

FAANG Is Too Cushy? How Big Tech Engineer Founders Often Fail

Eric Bahn, a VC from Hustle Fund, talks about the common failure modes of founders who previously worked in Big Tech.

Some of the questions we discuss:
- Does success in a Big Tech job translate to founder success? Seeing how things are done "properly" in a FAANG (or equivalent) company is very valuable. However, the skills needed to start from scratch are very different.
- How Rahul thought about leaving Meta after 4.5 years to start Taro: **when you start a new product or company, no one cares about you**. It is very, very hard to get people to care about you, to even give you the time of day. That's why having distribution networks are so important.
- How long is *too* long in a Big Tech company? If you've been at a FAANG company for 6+ years, is that a negative signal for your ability to start a company? Obviously this depends on the situation, but it's important to be aware of the perception.
- What are the most common failure modes of ex-FAANG founders?

------

- Connect with [Eric on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbahn/)
- This is a re-post from [Rahul's YouTube channel](https://youtu.be/63b6A8A3kAU)

Supercharge Your Professional Networking By Leading With Kindness

When people go into the professional world, they usually go in with a very cynical and cloistered mentality. This is very true among software engineers, but this mentality often holds them back when it comes to professional networking.

Here are the core points from the video:
- **Kindness is 10x more valuable when it's unexpected** - Because everyone has that more cynical mentality in the workplace, proactively being very kind to people that don't expect it builds up an immense amount of trust extremely quickly. By taking a chance on someone like this, you are short-circuiting the normally long and laborious process of earning trust.
- **You can "target" kindness tactically** - You don't need to waste a bunch of time being overwhelmingly kind to everyone around you. You should do it for people who are important to your workflow, those who you have observed being kind to others, and [those who would be valuable to your professional network in general](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/K1GyJ83GCVj7bfxytYrM/how-to-find-the-best-people-for-your-professional-network/).
- **Alex's and Rahul's Unexpected Kindness Story**
  - Rahul started at Portal a couple months after Alex did.
  - Portal was a very young org at this time with almost 0 onboarding infrastructure.
  - When Rahul joined, Alex still didn't really know what he was doing, but he knew more than Rahul did as he was brand new. Alex went out of his way to onboard Rahul smoothly, using his past struggles to make sure Rahul didn't hit the same pitfalls. This included a private doc Alex had been building up of the "tricks" he had learned while onboarding at Portal.
  - This unexpected act of kindness was the foundation for the relationship between Alex and Rahul, which has led them to cofound Taro!

Related resources:
- ["How do you network effectively within a company?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/DwT9GtdYK9nwFV3a7jrU/how-do-you-network-effectively-within-a-company/)
- [Don't Waste Your 1 on 1s. Build The Relationship](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/wcFrGc53iHzbWh0Ssw1j/dont-waste-your-1-on-1s-build-the-relationship/)

The Crucial First Step To Building Relationships That Everyone Misses

Many people in tech are bad at professional networking, and the reason is simple: They're being too selfish. If you want to build a professional network that is truly useful to you, you must strive to put yourself in the other person's shoes.

Here's the core points from the video:
- **Understand their incentives** - Everyone in the professional world is looking out for something: Nobody works purely for the sake of working. When you're working within a company environment, *this is usually what they're rewarded for in their performance review*. When you're asking for something, it's easy to get caught up in what *you're* looking for and how this other person can help *you*. The key to effective interpersonal communication is to flip that mentality and use your empathy to figure out *how you can help them instead*.
- **Alex's Instagram Misalignment Story**
  - Back in 2018, Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger parted ways with Instagram and Facebook overall. This left a power vacuum with no clear "wing" of the company to drive the overall direction.
  - During this time, Alex was working on Instagram Ads. After the cofounders left, his team tried to ship a project to make the main action button on ads much bigger. Their A/B test showed that the new variant earned far more revenue.
  - The new CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, shot the idea down, citing that it was too tacky. He then declared a design lockdown across all of Instagram stating that all new Instagram features needed to meet Instagram's user design standards.
  - This changed the incentives between designers and engineers at Instagram. Designers were now more focused on upholding the aesthetic integrity of Instagram and less so on shipping projects. On the other hand, engineers were still laser-focused on shipping.
  - *The engineers who best succeeded during this transitory period were those who worked together with the designers and championed their goals.* These engineers were willing to incorporate design polish and didn't immediately dismiss it as a threat to their timelines.

Related resources:
- [[Masterclass] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech-12172022/) - The full video where this clip was taken from
- [9-Part Effective Communication Master Series](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/hVdLQQzfslaYarLSCmmy/)
- ["How do I ask XFN partner for help to make progress in the project?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/OCUrjUM8axEIOJkSKhZp/how-do-i-ask-xfn-partner-for-help-to-make-progress-in-the-project/)

Stop Getting Ghosted With Your Reachouts - How To Write A Great Cold Message

If you're a software engineer, you are likely going to do a cold reach out at some point in your career. This is almost always true when you're a junior engineer and don't have too deep a network yet. However, most software engineers go about this aspect of professional networking in the wrong way, especially when it comes to job searching and interviewing.

Here's how to write a cold message that actually has a chance of getting a response:

- **Mention your own background** - If you have any credibility, use it. What accomplishments do you have? What makes you special compared to everyone else and deserving of a response from this person?
- **Have a specific request** - The more pinpointed your ask is, the less effort it takes for the other person to figure out how to help you. Don't just ask for help with things like "career guidance" or "helping you find a job" - These categories are far too broad. Ask for tips on clearer areas like how to resolve disagreements in cross-team meetings or how you can pass behavioral interviews with &lt;50 person startups. For more advice here, check this out: [Asking Effective Questions That Get Great Answers Quickly](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/HV8sq75WxM9VhK0dhUun/asking-effective-questions-that-get-great-answers-quickly/)
- **Find commonality** - Having common ground is one of the most important factors with a successful relationship. Whether it's working on the same tech stack, coming from the same school, or playing the same video game, share that commonality to make yourself feel more familiar.
- **Build them up** - At the end of the day, everyone enjoys being praised. Put them on a pedestal and explain why *their* input in particular is valuable to you. Show that you didn't send the exact same message to 100+ different people.
- **Make up follow-up items clear** - Don't just ask for "guidance" or "mentorship": Make it clear what's the exact form of help you want? Is it a link to a useful blog post or video? Is it a 30 minute 1-on-1 meeting?

Related resources:

- [\[Course\] Effective Communication For Engineers](https://www.jointaro.com/course/effective-communication-for-engineers/)
- ["How to get referrals?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/FQIi8us9uoTDIYdzMhvg/how-to-get-referrals/)

How To Prepare To Leave Big Tech For A Startup

If you’re like [Rahul](https://www.jointaro.com/profile/tTjEXHcTZEYDGh8oUFU2Dy5VFVG2/), you were intent on leaving the bubble of Big Tech to pursue the startup life for a long time. If you have 6 months or 1 year left working in an established company, what can you do in anticipation of your startup journey?

One of the best things you can do is validate the idea of your startup with a side hustle. **Be careful that you’re not using company time or resources or you may later get sued.**

Generally, there are 3 types of projects an engineer can work on: 
1. A project purely for learning, to try out some technology or framework that may have come out recently. 
2. A small business. Also known as an indie business, a micro-Saas, or even something as simple as selling a digital product like an eBook. 
3. A VC scale startup. **This should be reserved for very few companies.** When you take venture capital money, they are looking for a massive return on investment, something like 50x or 100x. That means you’ll be accountable for strenuous growth targets.

Whichever path you choose, go in with your eyes wide open about what your motivations are and whether you’d be happy signing up for the likely outcome. 

An input into the decision about *when* to leave the Big Tech life is to look for some indication of commitment for the customers you’re serving. Are your customers offering you their time, money, or reputation for your product? That’s a promising sign. 

Another reason to leave is that you feel that there’s a narrow period of time when your idea could succeed, e.g. new regulation or a groundbreaking technology.

------

Connect with [Eric on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbahn/)

Are Big Tech Incubation Labs Good Preparation For Being A Startup Founder?

Many companies will have a skunkworks or incubation division. Meta has **New Product Experimentation (NPE)**, Google has **Area 120**, and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, and others all have toy projects. 

Despite being branded as a “startup within a big company”, there are some important differences to keep in mind between these roles and real entrepreneurship: 
- Apps launched within larger companies have a huge unfair advantage in being able to leverage the parent company’s distribution channels. 
- There’s not as much urgency or risk in these divisions since, even if the app fails, the staff will just get reallocated to other parts of the company.
- Most of these projects eventually get killed by the parent company since they’re looking for multi-billion dollar market opportunities.

Connect with [Eric](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericbahn/)

How To Find The Best People For Your Professional Network

Many software engineers are introverts who have a hard time connecting with others - We've been there too! This can make it really daunting when trying to build your professional network: How do you identify those who you'll get along with? This video covers how you can find those people who would be great to bring into your professional network.

Here are the core points:
- **It's not too different from making friends** - The most basic barometer for a relationship's success is how much you two have in common. Having mutual interests and similar backgrounds maximizes the chance that you're able to interact and understand one another.
- **The most successfully relationships are bidirectional** - The most successful professional relationships are those where each person is able to provide a lot of value to the other. The split should be as close to 50/50 as possible - If there is one party providing an overwhelming majority of the value, this relationship is not meant to last. *When you're evaluating whether someone would be a great addition to your network, don't only think about how they can help you, think about how **you** can help them as well.*
- **Identify those who actively add value to others** - If someone is kind in a general setting and always happy to help others, it is likely they would be a great person to know in a more personal 1 on 1 way. When you strive to add value to these people, they will almost certainly return the favor, and at its core, this is what a healthy relationship looks like.

Related resources:
- [[Masterclass] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech-12172022/) - The full video where this clip was taken from
- [Effective Communication Guide - Building Relationships](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/488EjOLzU707WhdqMOK4/effective-communication-guide-part-3-building-relationships/)
- ["How to get referrals?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/FQIi8us9uoTDIYdzMhvg/how-to-get-referrals/)

[Case Study] How to Quit Your Job The Right Way (w/ ex-Netflix TL Michael Lin)

[Michael](https://www.jointaro.com/profile/Ab2xedZA7RhROW0wo9wBHIJbAsX2/) famously [quit his $450,000 job at Netflix](https://www.jointaro.com/blog/why-i-quit-a-450k-engineering-job-at-netflix/), and asked for (and received) a severance package in the process! If you're thinking about quitting your job, consider these points **before** leaving: 

### Timing is important
- It’s better to leave on the 1st of the month than the 31st because employee benefits renew on a monthly basis.
- If you leave on the 1st, it’s like getting a full extra month of benefits. 
- But if you leave on the 31st, your benefits may end the next day.

### Quitting is a trade-off
- You’re weighing that the negatives of staying outweigh the negatives of losing out on income.
- If you have to cut vacations, move away from loved ones, and say no to social events, then those negatives may outweigh the negatives of your job.

### Act with urgency
- If your career is not going the right way, take action quickly.
- If you stay an extra two years at a job you wanted to leave and did this over five jobs in your lifetime, that’s ten years of your life spent doing work you never wanted to do.

---------
- Connect with Michael on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-lin-tech/)
- Subscribe to [Michael's newsletter](https://michaellin.substack.com/)

Related questions: 
- ["Should I request a voluntary layoff to my manager?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/FnInc1bJ3AUJBz0grFyj/should-i-request-a-voluntary-layoff-to-my-manager/)
- ["Should I quit to prep for interviews?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/Cno3oaZkvUu7BPLhHB7g/should-i-quit-to-prep-for-interviews/) from a Data Engineer

Here's Why You're Doing Interview Prep WRONG

Most people do very shallow interview prep that doesn't actually help them learn. Lists like Blind 75 and Leetcode 75 are not enough to truly master the technical interview for Big Tech companies. 

In this video, Daniel proposes the "proper" way to master the coding / DSA interview so that you can walk into interviews and feel more confident. There are no shortcuts and no memorization -- instead, it's about going beyond the solution for a problem, and then understanding the nuances and process to get the right answer.

- Connect with Daniel on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieltomko/)
- Checkout Formation as part of [Taro Perks](https://www.jointaro.com/perks/)

Relevant Taro content: 
- [Effectively Learning Data Structures And Algorithms (DSA)](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/XwpMMY3ss97zOrXJQ7Xr/effectively-learning-data-structures-and-algorithms-dsa/)
- [Struggling With DSA? Don't Worry, That's Healthy!](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/SPWYdMAu5XQX8ds9MxXc/struggling-with-dsa-dont-worry-thats-healthy/)
- [Masterclass on DSA interviews](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/V4sTACzfOh22nMVcUV3w/how-to-ace-your-big-tech-interview-data-structures-and-algorithms-7172021/)

Don't Be Naive When Networking - Understand That You'll Get Burned

One of the main ways to grow your tech career is by building relationships. However, a lot of software engineers struggle immensely with this, dismissing the entire craft as "playing politics". This video explains why that mentality is toxic and how you should set up your mindset instead.

Here are the core points:
- **Every company will have politics** - What separates the good companies from the bad ones is that the good ones have a moderate amount of politics while the bad ones have an overwhelming amount of politics. If you're going to any decently sized company, you will have to do understand how to interact with people and get them to like you. It is near impossible to get to senior levels without being able to do this.
- **Professional networking is just like "real life"** - There isn't a huge difference between building work relationships and making personal friends and dating. The core principles behind establishing relationships and earning trust are the same both inside and outside of work.
- **Not every relationship will work out** - Similar to personal relationships, you will often times invest into people who won't return the favor. *Don't let that turn you off from the idea of networking as a whole.* Growing as a software engineer is a marathon filled with ups and downs. Don't let a few toxic coworkers or poor synergy partnerships tear you down.

Related resources:
- [[Masterclass] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech-12172022/) - The full video where this clip was taken from
- [Effective Communication Guide - Building Relationships](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/488EjOLzU707WhdqMOK4/effective-communication-guide-part-3-building-relationships/)
- ["How do I achieve my goals for this half when XFN is not communicating effectively?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/Z1MwZ4GOA4XxxZd9ff5n/how-do-i-achieve-my-goals-for-this-half-when-xfn-is-not-communicating-effectively/)

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.