Career Growth
How to think about levels at companies
Understanding what promotions and levels mean at your company is fundamental to career advancement.
David Anderson
Newsletter
A Few Hundred Thousand Words Later, Here Are Some Quotes
Some of my favorite ideas, distilled into a few quotes.
Career Growth
Why Performance Management Works the Way It Does - Stack Ranking, PIPs, Ratings, and a FAQ
Most employees only learn about how performance management works at their company when it's too late. Here's what happens behind the scenes.
Mid Career
The Behaviors That Turn Engineers Into Senior Engineers
The gap between mid-level and senior engineers usually isn’t technical skill. It’s behavior, judgment, communication, and the ability to make everyone around them better.
Career Growth
If You’re Never Wrong at Work, You’re Probably Not Leading
The people who create the most value are usually the ones willing to make uncomfortable decisions before the right answer is apparent.
Early Career
The Ten Commandments of Maintaining Legacy Code
Writing new software is fun but a minor part of the software engineering job. Let's talk about the real meat of the job. Legacy code.
Career Growth
22 Somewhat Random Bits of (Mostly Tech Career) Advice From Dave
Not in any order, or theme, just 22 thoughts from Dave.
Mid Career
Three Mistakes That Changed How I Lead (More Than Any Training Ever Did)
You can sit through training for years. One mistake you care about will teach you more in a day.
Organizations
My Experience at an Amazon Recruiting Trip
From scheduling chaos to final offers, a firsthand account of high-volume hiring at Amazon.
Organizations
The Cheese Pizza Problem: Consensus Is Killing Your Best Decisions
When everyone has a voice, the outcome gets safer, slower, and more boring. This is exactly the opposite of what great companies need.
Late Career
Diversity Metrics Are Easy to Fix. Real Diversity Means Hiring People You Disagree With.
Diversity isn't about checking the box on hiring people who look different. It's about having true differences of opinions on teams.
Career Growth
Relying on Your Manager Isn’t a Career Plan
The steps to take to grow your skills and career without your manager helping.