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Gergely Orosz

@GergelyOrosz

27 Sep

@SubstackInc

A month into a paid newsletter for eng managers/engineers, it's taking off faster than I ever hoped:

~ 500 paid subscribers (thank you!)
~ 15,000 free subscribers
~ $62K ARR
- A top 10 @SubstackInc technology newsletter

Here's what I learned and advice on writing/newsletters 👇

@bloggingfordevs

1. Start writing. I started The Pragmatic Engineer blog years ago. At first, no one noticed. 70 essays later, a lot of people do.

If I started today, I'd join a community for feedback/encouragement like @bloggingfordevs by @monicalent (a community I'm a paying member of).

2. Write what *you* want to read. I always liked articles that shared observations on where tech is heading or explained important things with plain language.

So I wrote about this. Like equity in tech blog.pragmaticengineer.com/equity-for-sof… or product-minded engineers blog.pragmaticengineer.com/the-product-mi…

Read 15 tweets

Gergely Orosz

@GergelyOrosz

26 Sep

When you ask "Why did Company build 7 of the same products that all failed?", it always starts with the current solution struggling. This is an opportunity. Not to fix - which doesn't get you promoted - but to start anew.

An all too real story about Promotion Driven Development:

1. Opportunity.

The PM identifies the opportunity as Company's current product(s) are struggling. The root cause? Incorrect positioning/not understanding new market dynamics.

Opportunity: build a new product that addresses all these issues (and can get the PM promoted)

2. Proposal.

The PM makes a business case and an investment ask. "If we fund a team of 10 engineers, 2 data scientists, 1 designer, and 1 PM, we can ship a new product in 12 months, and an MVP in 6. This will result in this many users/revenue/market share: 📈"

Read 17 tweets

Gergely Orosz

@GergelyOrosz

25 Sep

My wife - transitioned to software engineering via a bootcamp - used to always be the only female in the engineering teams she worked at.

For the first time ever she now works on an all-women dev team and she says it is the best part of her job, finally not being the only one.

I’m gonna say it: from what I gather from her and talking with other women engineers, it sucks being the only one. Kept getting hit by biases, (micro)aggressions and having no one to talk it through with.

One minority on the team is a step forward, but it’s not yet diversity.

Some of the most diverse engineering teams are at small companies, that have very friendly interview processes.

Much of Big Tech is a place that scares anyone miles away with a heavyweight and stressful interview process where eg women rarely see another women on the panel.

Read 4 tweets

Gergely Orosz

@GergelyOrosz

25 Sep

“Is it easier to get into Big Tech / FANG as a senior engineer or as an engineering manager? It’s my goal to work there, but my startup has an opportunity for me to become a manager.”

It’s a lot harder as a manager. Here’s why:

My answer on Reddit: reddit.com/r/ExperiencedD…

The thread with good takes from others: reddit.com/r/ExperiencedD…

My personal experience was the same with Uber.

I was a tech lead - managing a small team - at Skyscanner. Getting a senior engineer position at Uber was straightforward. I had management experience and asked if I could be considered for EM positions. The answer was no.

Read 4 tweets

Gergely Orosz

@GergelyOrosz

24 Sep

After writing about how most of Big Tech does not use Scrum (does not mandate it/hire consultants) of course I get an influx of messages from Scrum and Agile / Agile 2 consultants offering how they could help.

I get that it’s business. But if it ain’t a problem… don’t fix it?

This was the article: blog.pragmaticengineer.com/project-manage…

And I’m literally getting pages long messages on how I misunderstand Scrum (I’m a certified Scrum master lol) and how “Scrum can help you get the same results.”

From people who make a living charging for Scrum, of course.

I get it: it sucks if teams do just fine by themselves, without having to hire a coach for $X,XXX/ day to tell them what to do and how.

The future is increasingly not needing Cerified Project People to run a tech company.

If you’re not there yet: they can help… for a while.

Read 4 tweets

Gergely Orosz

@GergelyOrosz

24 Sep

@AlaRecruiter

ATSes rejecting resumes is the most persistent lie that well-meaning people echo.

This FUD made up by paid resume services you should not pay for.

I say this as a hiring manager familiar with most ATSes. They dont’t reject anyone. Ask any HM or recruiter like @AlaRecruiter

https://twitter.com/dthompsondev/status/1433049597350498306

https://twitter.com/hrtact/status/1313109469124063232

Here’s an in-depth version on why all this is false: thetechresume.com/samples/ats-my…

All this “ATSes reject people” have no quoted source beyond an article written by a content writer at a company selling ATS-proof resumes.

An investigation by a recruiter you should read:

https://twitter.com/hrtact/status/1313109469124063232

Now the advice to tailor your resume to the job description is great advice.

There is no “robot” filtering resumes, but if a position gets 500 applicants, the recruiter reviewing these will consider ones that *clearly* show you’re a match for the position. Make it easy for them!

Read 4 tweets

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