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/)

How To REALLY Say Thank You To Coworkers

Most software engineers struggle with building relationships and professional networking overall. One of the ways to get better at this is improving an often-neglected skill: Giving thanks. This video covers one of the most powerful ways to give thanks in the workplace.

Here are the core points:
- **Reward good work through their manager** - As an authority figure, praise coming from your manager is especially meaningful and it's a great experience when it happens. Spend effort adding weight to your feedback when you tell their manager by writing a heartfelt paragraph or telling them in person (this is really easy when you share the same manager as the peer, which is often the case). Thanking the helper directly yourself first is the first step: This manager reinforcement step is what really makes them realize, *"Wow, this person **really** wants to make sure I get rewarded for my efforts."*
- **Boost your peers' performance reviews** - At a higher level, you really earn your way into coworkers' hearts when they attribute you to a boost in their own performance rating. This is especially true at top companies like FAANG which have such a high-bar for engineer performance and good ratings are connected to very meaningful raises and promotions. If someone is helping you on a recurring basis, you can even explicitly tell their manager that you really hope they get rewarded on their performance review for uplifting you and really multiplying your impact. *Fight for the credit you ardently believe they deserve.*

Related resources:
- [Effective Communication Guide - Building Relationships](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/488EjOLzU707WhdqMOK4/effective-communication-guide-part-3-building-relationships/)
- ["How do you network effectively within a company?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/DwT9GtdYK9nwFV3a7jrU/how-do-you-network-effectively-within-a-company/)

[Masterclass] How To Survive Tech Industry Layoffs

Layoffs: They will always be a part of the tech industry. 2022 was the first year of massive tech layoffs in the post-covid economy, and 2023 is sure to bear several more. Not even FAANG is safe with Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon all having layoffs in 2022.

There were a ton of important points from this masterclass, so here's our Top 5 (in no particular order):
- **Layoffs are effectively random for almost everyone** - Individual contributors (ICs) and more front-line managers are generally not privy to what happens behind the scenes with cut decisions. You can be a well-connected high-performer in a healthy revenue-generating org and still be laid off. It's crucial to recognize this reality and be at peace with it.
- **Stop freaking out** - Ironically, the worst way to deal with layoffs is to worry constantly and drastically alter your behavior to optimize for them. It's not healthy to go to places like Blind regularly to stay "up-to-date" with layoffs. The best way to deal with layoffs is to continue living your life as normal and double down on responsible software engineer behaviors. For more context on what those behaviors our, read this discussion: ["What are software engineering fundamentals?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/3VNPK7wol76s89EkgFeW/what-are-software-engineering-fundamentals/)
- **Be deliberate with your performance review** - So many software engineers, junior ones in particular, assume that if they do good work and don't see any red flags, they'll get a good performance rating. This is very much not the case, especially at high-performance tech companies like FAANG. Maintain a transparent dialog about your performance with your manager and create a concrete growth plan. Here's our masterclass to help with that: [[Masterclass] How To Navigate Your Performance Review In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/b0B8uqIAUnBLE10jJHJG/masterclass-how-to-navigate-your-performance-review-in-tech/)
- **Build a stellar, wide professional network** - It is more important than ever to build meaningful, high-quality relationships in the workplace. Tech is an inherently collaborative space: You need a multitude of connections to help you grow, vouch for you in performance review, and provide warm referrals for your next opportunity if you are laid off. If you want to deepen your network, watch this: [[Masterclass] How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/masterclass-how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech/)
- **Getting laid off isn't the end of the world** - There's nothing wrong with you if you're cut during a layoff. Don't dwell on how you messed up or what you could have better to avoid the layoff: Focus on your next step. The silver lining is that getting laid off opens the door to your next opportunity and likely comes with some time in the form of a severance package to allow you to seriously think about your future. To optimize your next move, check out: [[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/)

Related resources:
- ["How to survive potential layoffs?"](https://link.jointaro.com/zGwioWXPLe8xhuA89)
- ["What are the signs of an impending layoff in an organisation that can help an employee prepare themselves better?"](https://link.jointaro.com/tkUnst8KKBdktPQq5)
- ["Staying motivated among lay-offs?"](https://link.jointaro.com/g9462CQrqy1KGtqR8)
- [Presentation Slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Uyf04xDGTweN0ija_Z3nr9NZ_WsoDikh_54LR5AfZjU/)

[Part 4] Software Engineer Onboarding: Understand Strategic Decisions

Learn the business to make good strategic decisions.

By the time you're a month or more into your job, you should start execution on your projects, but you should continue gathering context about your team and company. You should document key decision points in your work, and reflect on who is involved, how long various steps take, and the level of detail various stakeholders ask for.

------

This is part 4 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 back to part 1 of the masterclass here](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/IYZRmwp33E3TBeFQFr9c/part-1-software-engineer-onboarding-embrace-your-lack-of-knowledge/)
- Connect with Daniel Tomko on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieltomko/)
- Check out the [Formation.dev discount](https://www.jointaro.com/perks/) for Taro Premium members
- [How To Figure Out If A Team Is Important To A Company](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/9OwPRwFFSMvEoVj6Zt5Q/how-to-figure-out-if-a-team-is-important-to-a-company/)
- [How To Find A Good Team With Career Growth Opportunities](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/UGIUC9zaGccK0tOarBri/how-to-find-a-good-team-with-career-growth-opportunities/)
- [This Is How You Get Feedback - Making The Process Smooth](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/aGuxjGbFjYb34ofhRxjs/this-is-how-you-get-feedback-making-the-process-smooth/)

[Part 3] Software Engineer Onboarding: Understand Tactical Decisions

Learn the product to make good tactical decisions.

Within the first few weeks of your onboarding, you should have have fixed a few bugs and . Now it's time to slow down a bit and do some reflection on the decision-making process and priorities of the team.

- [How To Build Deep Relationships Quickly In Tech](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/tyaPFMXPoz2pmzB7OVzt/how-to-build-deep-relationships-quickly-in-tech-12172022/)
- [The Crucial First Step To Building Relationships That Everyone Misses](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/YPniDFNQqoHEpYHC9JEq/the-crucial-first-step-to-building-relationships-that-everyone-misses/)

This is part 3 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 4 of the masterclass here](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/JFvfEoKshdPWuiCuy3GY/part-4-software-engineer-onboarding-understand-strategic-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/)

[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/)

[Part 1] Software Engineer Onboarding: Embrace Your Lack of Knowledge

Don't be afraid to NOT know something. Ask questions.

When you first join a team, there's a lot that you don't know, and that's ok!! No one expects you to know the codebase, the context, and the structure within your new role. Your goal is to gain context through your questions. 

- [Asking Questions Is NOT A Sign Of Weakness](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/YIL3iK8fmSwhWP0PASqe/asking-questions-is-not-a-sign-of-weakness/)
- [Overcoming Imposter Syndrome - You Have Much More Value Than You Realize](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/dTSdd4ozp298jH3glvnx/overcoming-imposter-syndrome-you-have-much-more-value-than-you-realize/)
- [How To Find A Good Team With Career Growth Opportunities](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/UGIUC9zaGccK0tOarBri/how-to-find-a-good-team-with-career-growth-opportunities/)
- [Alex's Guide to Effective Communication](https://www.jointaro.com/playlist/hVdLQQzfslaYarLSCmmy/)

This is part 1 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 2 of the masterclass here](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/jr0iHuUCGW5lCdBndEpO/part-2-software-engineer-onboarding-learn-the-workflow/)
- Connect with Daniel Tomko on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieltomko/)
- Check out the [Formation.dev discount](https://www.jointaro.com/perks/) for Taro Premium members

[Case Study] How To Become A Data Guru As An Engineer (w/ Senior Director of DS Mo Shahangian)

Mo has had a successful career at the intersection of data science and engineering at companies like Pinterest, Meta, and Epic Games.

Mo talked about the biggest data mistakes and how the job changes as you navigate seniority levels. He also shared his contrarian approach to promotion that has worked so well in his career. 

## Data knowledge for engineers:
- Data science is an overloaded term. The high-level goal for anyone working with data is to surface insights that will inform decisions. 
- Being insightful isn’t enough -- you need to surface **actionable** and **causal** relationships.

Everyone needs a reminder correlation != causation. Have some tools to remind yourself.
- Which way does the causal arrow go?
- Remember [Goodhart’s Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law)

## Career growth
- At the most senior levels, leaders are business owners/product leaders, not functional leaders.
- At more junior levels, it’s the opposite, there needs to be order and a separation of responsibility. The best people learn how to work, not only within their lane, but across.

Career success comes from being deliberate:
- A career is a series of decisions
- These decisions come with tradeoffs
- Those best at navigating tradeoffs emerge as leaders
- "Deliberate" means that you are both intentional and calculated

Mo started out building data systems at UCLA, joined Pinterest during hypergrowth, and eventually became a Senior Director of Data Science at Meta, and recently joined Epic Games at the leadership level. Connect with Mo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammad-shahangian-b040188/

[Connect with Mo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohammad-shahangian-b040188/)

More resources: 
- Another Taro Premium Session about [junior --> senior eng promos at Meta](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/EX9563YnxcJb62cCmetg/session-5-mentoring-junior-swes-e3-to-senior-e5-in-just-25-years-at-meta/)
- [Why chasing promo could hurt you](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/qj2kX94TfFPgBLlQZBtb/why-chasing-promotion-could-hurt-you/)

Every Senior+ Engineer Must Decide: IC vs Management Track

There is one good motivation to become an engineering people manager: to help people. If that's not the priority, you should not become an EM (and you should avoid working with those types of managers).

Daniel toggled between individual contributor (IC) and manager several times in his career. His most fruitful experience was as a very senior IC engineer at Meta -- he had the influence + context of a manager, but none of the headache associated with the job. 

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

Related content: 
- [Questions You Can Ask To Evaluate An Engineering Manager](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/VOQc7vIzQ4STtw7UrB29/questions-you-can-ask-to-evaluate-an-engineering-manager/)
- [How Do Effective Engineering Leaders Help Their Teams Achieve More?](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/xGJDCG7VL4hcZaq5XL92/how-do-effective-engineering-leaders-help-their-teams-achieve-more/)

Why Chasing Promotion Could Hurt You

Daniel has never gunned for a promotion when choosing teams or projects. In fact, he's actively turned down promotions he was offered at Microsoft and Meta (Philip Su famously down-leveled himself at Meta so he was no longer a Director). 

Here's why chasing a promotion could end up causing more stress and end up hurting your career in the long run. 

- Connect with Daniel Tomko on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieltomko/)
- Videos from [Philip Su](https://www.jointaro.com/tagname/Philip%20Su/)

Related video: 
- [Taro Premium Session: Mentoring Meta Engineers From E3 -> E5](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/EX9563YnxcJb62cCmetg/session-5-mentoring-junior-swes-e3-to-senior-e5-in-just-25-years-at-meta/)
- [Rockstar Software Engineer Story: SW2 -> Principal In Just 4 Years](https://www.jointaro.com/lesson/Lvf1TDKt1R4ZJSCr9BVv/rockstar-software-engineer-story-sw2-greater-principal-in-just-4-years/)
- ["Is there something as growing too quickly?"](https://www.jointaro.com/question/o9oyCcIjWT4Xa6w1Eau5/is-there-something-as-growing-too-quickly/)

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.