IT Career Energizer

GUEST BIO:

Chris is the author of the award-winning Wahl Network Blog and host of the Datanauts podcast. Chris focuses on creating content that revolves around virtualization, automation, infrastructure and evangelizing products and services that benefit the technology community. He is also co-author of “Networking for VMware Administrators”, has published hundreds of articles and a conference speaker.

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:

The guest on today’s show is Chris Wahl who has been working in the IT industry for over two decades. He is the host of the Datanauts podcast and the author of the Wahl Network Blog, both of which have won awards. His focus is on using his experience to give others the expertise they need to create the data centres of the future. Chris specializes in workflow automation and building operational excellence and the successful adoption and integration of new technology.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

­­­(1.07) – So Chris, can you expand on that brief introduction and tell us a little bit more about yourself? Chris said that he spent most of his career rising through the ranks. Three years ago, he set up Rubrik, which is already a market leader in Cloud Data Management. He now runs a fairly large team. The change from individual contributor to a full-time kind of manager has been a blast.

(1.45) – Did you make the decision to change in terms of moving more into a management role? Chris said, yes, kind of. But, he tends to gravitate towards new things that push him to learn. For him, it is an effective way of managing the “imposter syndrome” that most of us experience. He also realized that if he continued to work as an individual how much he could achieve would be limited. On your own you can only get so much done. With a team you can build in more capacity to get things done, move the technology forwards and complete large projects. Chris has found that creating a team has enabled him to pursue some passion projects.

(2.34) – Phil asks Chris for a unique IT career tip. Chris explains that it is important to push yourself out of your comfort zone. It ensures you continue to learn to keep up with the fast pace of technology. Chris has what he calls a “fear compass”. When he finds something that makes him go wow and take a step back initially, he usually dives in instead of backing away. You cannot afford to become stagnant or stale.

(4.18) – Chris is asked to share his worst career moment. For Chris that happened early on. He was working for an IT shop that had a call centre type of operation to assist customers and keep the business running. One day Chris did an update and rolled it out without thoroughly testing it. Unfortunately, he had accidentally put a wild card in the script which nuked everyone’s system 32 folders. Leading to the operating system failing. On that day, 200 terminals went down. Chris could have tried to sweep his mistake under the carpet. But, he didn’t. Instead he was transparent, which enabled him and his team to get things back up and running as normal, very quickly. He felt really guilty about it. But, since then he has never broken the “test first” rule, which has helped him to deliver excellent solutions and propel his career forwards.

(7.95) – Phil asks Chris what his best career moment was. Chris says that moment goes in tandem with his worst IT experience. On another job, a client asks him to do an upgrade at 11 am on a Wednesday. One of the busiest times of the week, so he warns them this is not a good idea and documents the fact. Yet, they insist he does it and everything goes down. Immediately, Chris was surrounded by the whole team, very upset and all panicking. Despite the pressure Chris was able to remain cool and quickly solve the problem. His worst career moment had helped him to understand the importance of remaining calm at moments of crisis and give him the chance to practice that skill. So, he was ready and able to deliver his best career moment.

(9.26) – Phil wants to know what excites Chris about the future of the IT industry. Chris says the fact that the way we deal with IT is changing to a more collaborative way of working is exciting and important. Chris calls it the DevOps blend. He also likes the fact that everything is becoming more workflow and process driven. It is also good to see automation being utilized more.

(11.19) – Phil asks Chris what drew you to a career in IT. Chris was only about 3 or 4 when he started playing computer games. He was programming by the time he was 8. He said that IT chose him rather than him choosing it.

(12.18) – What is the best career advice you have been given? Surround yourself with the right people and success will follow. Positive people who challenge you and are great to work with will always drive you forwards.

(13.04) – Phil asks Chris if he has ever been involved in Masterminds. Chris says not exactly. But, whether he is...

Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Austin Belcak. He teaches people how to land jobs they love in today’s market without traditional ‘experience’ and without applying online.

His strategies have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc., Fast Company, and USA Today. His clients have landed job offers at Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook to name but a few.

In this episode, Phil and Austin Belcak discuss how to land an IT job with a major company even if you do not have traditional experience or qualifications. He explains how to establish a connection, build relationships, and leverage them. They talk about how to demonstrate to your target firm that you have something that they need.

They also discuss how not to fall into the trap of simply following the crowd. As well as looking at how the CoVid crisis is changing the way everyone works and lives.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

(29.32) TOP CAREER TIP

If you see everybody else recommending something, take a step back and ask if that is truly the best way to do things. Ask yourself why people are doing it that way. Are they getting results? If not, in all likelihood you will be able to come up with a better approach.

Often, being different is a good thing. It can help you to get noticed.

(31.47) WORST CAREER MOMENT

For Austin realizing that graduating from university was not enough to get him a decent job was a bad moment. He ended up in an awful job that paid poorly. Worse, he had a bad boss. Yet, even after applying for hundreds of jobs online, he could not get out of the situation.

In the podcast, he explains, in quite some depth, how he managed to break this negative cycle and find success.

(35.24) CAREER HIGHLIGHT

Landing his current job with Microsoft is Austin ́s career highlight. For him, it has been life changing. During this section, he explains why that has been the case and what steps he has taken to ensure that he gets the most out of being in that position.

(39.04) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T

The emergence of more flexibility in the workplace is exciting. It opens up all kinds of opportunities. Working from home has many potential benefits for the planet as well as for individuals and companies.

Austin and Phil also talk about how easy it now is to start something on your own.

(42.14) THE REVEAL

What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – The fact that working online and in IT offers the best lifestyle.

What’s the best career advice you received? – Only take advice from people who already have what you want.

What’s the worst career advice you received? – Go through the traditional job application process.

What would you do if you started your career now? – Austin would prioritize working on his storytelling and copywriting skills, so he could be a more effective communicator and marketer.

What are your current career objectives? – Doing well at Microsoft and helping as many job seekers as possible.

What’s your number one non-technical skill? – Being a good copywriter, in particular, being able to write a persuasive resume or email.

How do you keep your own career energized? – Austin works on projects and hobbies outside of his work life.

What do you do away from technology? – Austin and his wife make their own hot source and are home brewers too.

(50.00) FINAL CAREER TIP

You need to be clear about what you want to do. It is important to choose one of the things you are interested in and focus on mastering that.

Speak to other people who work in those fields and roles to help you to narrow down your options. Then try Austin’s 30-day pilot method, which he talks about in the podcast.

BEST MOMENTS

(3.40) – Austin - “Step outside of traditional boundaries, get creative, demonstrate what you can do and the value you have to offer.”

(31.30) – Austin - “Consider zigging while everybody else is zagging. Often, it is a better way to get results.”

(0.00) – Austin - “Identify people who are doing the things you want to do and follow them. They have not got to be far ahead of you.”

(42.53) – Austin - “Only take advice from people who already have what you want.”

(50.00) – Austin - “The first step in anything is getting clear about where you want to go. You need to focus on one thing at a time.”

(52.43) – Austin - “Dip into something for 30 days. Take some courses, do a project. If you don ́t like it, just move on.”

ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS

Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organizations to design, develop, and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people...

Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Nyari Samushonga. Nyari is the Chief Executive Officer of WeThinkCode_ where her primary responsibility is to gear the organization up for growth. She also co-founded FoldLeft, a digital consultancy that uses hypothesis-driven models to design and deliver impactful software solutions.

Her expertise lies in bridging the divide between business executives and tech innovators to maximize the value of software.

In this episode, Phil and Nyari Samushonga discuss the best way to make complex decisions, especially those that relate to your career. They also talk about how to successfully handle the politics that exists in most workplaces.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

(4.55) TOP CAREER TIP

Get good at making decisions. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the many different things that could happen as a result of your decision. You need to learn how to understand and make sense of all of that complexity. During the podcast, Nyari shares 4 important questions you need to ask yourself when making decisions that will help you to do that.

(5.53) WORST CAREER MOMENT

Some time ago Nyari found herself working on a project that had big issues. She realized there was no way what had been promised to the client could be delivered. So, she spoke up. When she did, everything she was doing was called into question and she was frozen out.

For her, it was an awful time. In the podcast, she explains what she did about the situation and how she managed to come out the other side of it.

(11.23) CAREER HIGHLIGHT

Finding effective ways to enable someone who has been struggling to learn how to code to breakthrough and finally succeed has been a career highlight for Nyari.

(13.25) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T

It no longer matters what business you are in, you need IT. A fact that makes this a great time to be working in the industry. The opportunities are endless.

It also means you can find work in any industry that interests you. Whether you enjoy finance, architecture, teaching, or agriculture you can work on transformative IT projects that are relevant to that field. Better still it does not matter where in the world you are based.

(15.22) THE REVEAL

What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Nyari wanted to create things and make a real difference in the world.

What’s the best career advice you received? – Learn to let go. Stop worrying about how the world perceives you and just try things. If you fail, let go and move onto the next thing.

What’s the worst career advice you received? – Don’t be so argumentative. Nyari thinks it is important to be authentic and open, which sometimes ruffles feathers.

What would you do if you started your career now? – Nyari would have started coding at an earlier stage in her career.

What are your current career objectives? – Right now, Nyari is focusing on scaling WeThinkCode and ensuring gender parity within the company.

What’s your number one non-technical skill? – Her accounting skills. They have enabled her to drill down and look at the bottom line to make sure there is a good reason behind everything her company does.

How do you keep your own career energized? – Nyari finds that constantly reinventing herself keeps her career energized.

What do you do away from technology? – Nyari enjoys road cycling, especially when she does a 100k ride and really pushes herself.

(23.59) FINAL CAREER TIP

Focus on being impactful. You want everything you do to count and make a difference. To succeed at doing that you need to be clear about what you are trying to achieve and only opt to work on those projects where you can have a positive impact.

BEST MOMENTS

(5.29) – Nyari - “Don ́t take decisions for granted. Make sure you are aware of what you are giving up and what you are gaining,”

(9.19) – Nyari - “Even when you strongly disagree with something, display empathy. It helps to keep the communication channels open.”

(14.11) – Nyari - “Take advantage of the fact that working in tech means that you can reinvent yourself more times than Madonna.”

(16.46) – Nyari - “If you fail, let go of that moment, then reach out and start something new.”

(26.03) – Nyari - “Focus on being impactful. Think about what you want to achieve, then work out how to succeed at making that change.”

ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS

Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organizations to design, develop, and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that ...

Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Bret Fisher. Bret is a freelance DevOps and Docker consultant, Udemy Instructor, trainer, speaker, and Open Source volunteer. He teaches courses on Docker and Container technology and often does live training workshops.

He’s also a volunteer Docker Captain and has been blogging about tech for more than 15 years.

In this episode, Phil and Bret Fisher discuss the importance of holding strong opinions on things that are fact-based. While still listening, with an open mind, to what others have to say on the matter and not being afraid to change your view when appropriate.

They also discuss how to effectively use even short online courses to greatly improve your career prospects. Bret also shares why employers now want to employ people who are willing and able to help others.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

(4.43) TOP CAREER TIP

Here Bret talks about the importance of having “strong opinions that are weakly held”. It is important to know why you hold the opinions you do, but you also have to be prepared to discuss other possibilities. Even change your opinions should someone make a strong argument that proves you need to do so.

This approach ensures you become a decisive person who is also able to move with the time and use other people ́s ideas to improve things

(9.36) WORST CAREER MOMENT

Bret ́s worst moment happened when, for a blog he was working on, he forgot to tick the AWS auto-scale box. So, when one of their posts went viral and was number one on the Reddit homepage, the site went down. As a result, they missed out on a ton of traffic. It was fixed within an hour, but it was an awful mistake to make.

In the podcast, Bret explained how he changed the way he works to make sure it could not happen again.

(13.32) CAREER HIGHLIGHT

Bret describes what he is doing now as being his career highlight. In particular, being able to reach and help a huge audience through his courses and how that has helped to turn him into a popular public speaker.

In this section, Bret explains how he keeps everything fresh. As well as how he keeps up with the changing needs of his audience.

(17.21) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T

Bret and Phil discuss how the implementation of tech automation is changing the job market. As well as how people who work in the IT field can take advantage of this by seeking out and learning new stuff.

Bret also discusses how you can use low-cost training to change direction and boost your career. Sometimes you only have to spend the equivalent of a few days taking a course and implementing what you learn to equip yourself to land a fantastic new job.

(23.26) THE REVEAL

What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? – Bret always liked computers, so it was a great fit for him.

What’s the best career advice you received? – Share everything you can. Be a fountain of knowledge for your colleagues.

What’s the worst career advice you received? – Go get a college degree to get your promotion.

What would you do if you started your career now? – Bret would still bootstrap and learn everything from the ground up.

What are your current career objectives? – Currently, Bret is focusing on how to use automation, metrics, and infrastructure as code as an effective way to manage change.

What’s your number one non-technical skill? – Being comfortable standing up in front of a group of people and talking about something.

How do you keep your own career energized? – Helping others is what keeps Bret ́s career energized.

What do you do away from technology? – Bret enjoys spending time with his wife cycling, going to the beach, and exploring local eateries.

(28.51) FINAL CAREER TIP

Regardless of where you are on your career path, stop and think about what skills you are going to need. Then address any deficit you find.

Also, do everything you can to help others and share what you know. The people who are willing and able to do this are now seen as important assets by most employers.

BEST MOMENTS

(6.57) – Bret - “Hold strong, fact-based, opinions. But also listen to what others think and be prepared to change your stance, when appropriate.”

(13.19) – Bret - “Learn how to use Q&A processes to prevent human errors from causing problems and improve workflow.”

(17.40) – Bret - “Seek out new stuff. When you do you will always be able to find new opportunities.”

(19.20) – Bret - “Take advantage of training online. It is cheap. Yet, provided you follow through, it can change your career.”

(23.46) – Bret - “Share everything you can. Be a fountain of knowledge for your colleagues.”

(29.51) – Bret - “Your value is now directly tied to how much you can share and help others.”

ABOUT THE HOST – PHIL BURGESS

Phil Burgess is a...

Josh Doody is a salary negotiation coach who helps Software Developers get more high-quality job offers and negotiate higher salaries using the strategies and tactics he writes about on the Fearless Salary Negotiation website.

Top 3 Career Tips

1. Build financial flexibility before taking big leaps.

2. Experiment early and often.

3. Make flexible plans and be ready to pivot.

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