Arique#2005BEE-Professional-Development

# Turing Career Development - Mod 0 Capstone
## Developing Mindsets to Succeed
_Our **mission** is to unlock human potential by training a diverse, inclusive student body to succeed in high-fulfillment technical careers._

When you're transitioning careers, often many other aspects of your approach to work and life undergo a transition as well. Turing aims to be a place where you can work through these transitions successfully. While enrolled at Turing and during your subsequent job search, you'll be provided with tools and strategies to develop the professional skills necessary to enter a new career as a software developer. 

The pre-work for career development is focused on introducing you to a set of mindsets that we at Turing believe will make you a successful programmer. These mindsets are:

* Agency: Taking initiative and ownership over your learning and work
* Empathy: Understanding and sharing others' emotions in order to relate to them 
* Engagement: Active participation in community
* Grit: A combination of perseverance and passion
* Growth: A belief that your abilities can be developed through dedication, hard work, and resiliency

Your Gear Up pre-work is focused on Empathy, so that is not a focus of this pre-work while the other four mindsets will be introduced to you here. Your objectives in this pre-work are to:

* Understand the non-coding aspects that go into being a successful programmer
* Reflect on your current mindsets and build an understanding of new or differing mindsets 
* Understand a strengths-based approach to development
* Begin analyzing how your strengths apply to your development at Turing

### Introduction to Strengths-based Development
One tool we'll be using for your professional development at Turing is the [Pairin Survey](https://www.pairin.com/). This survey measures over 100 coachable and changeable skills. This activity invites you to begin building an understanding of how learning about and developing your strengths applies to your success in your new career. We will discuss the results of this survey more in-depth in your first professional development session at Turing. Follow the steps below to fulfill this part of the prework:

Step 1: Take the survey using [this link](https://survey.pairin.com/signup/15960/student). It will prompt you to create an account when you take it. There are 2 sections for this survey:
   * First section: Choose adjectives to answer _how you currently are_
   * Second section: Choose adjectives to answer _how you would like to be_. The second section is marked as "optional," but it is highly recommended that you fill out this section in order to provide more data for you on how you'd like to grow. 

  The survey should take you about 15-20 minutes. 

Step 2: Read this post and watch this video to start building an understanding of your Pairin results (5 minutes total):

   * [Understanding Your Pairin Results](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXe3i_KjaSI) (2 minutes)
   * [Pairin Qualities Overview](https://github.com/turingschool/career-development-curriculum/blob/master/files/Pairin%20Top%20Qualities%20Overview.pdf) (2.5 minute read)
      
Step 3: Please respond to the following questions in a reflection (4-6 sentences):
   * What is your greatest strength and how do you know?
   
> My biggest strength is I am very empathetic to other people.  My ability to connect with people and be responsive and supportive...it gives me so much energy.
   
   * How do you work best?
   
> I work my best when I'm in a space that is my own.  I enjoy being part of a team and holding myself to a standard where I complete what I am assigned.

   * What is your greatest area of improvement?
   
> There are some self-management aspects that I want to address for myself.  Making sure that I take the time to recognize what I am feeling and how to navigate and negotiate for myself.  
   
   * How do you hope to maximize your strengths for your new career in software development?

> I plan on being a team manager for a prominent software company and leading the most diverse, successful, and creative team in the company.

   * How might knowing about your strengths and working preferences benefit you as a software developer? 

> It can help me identify working cultures that would value me and my experience.  It can help me be clear about what I need to negotiate when it comes to salary, benefits, and working conditions so that I can maximize my growth and progress.
   
 Step 4: Read Ta-Nehisi Coates' article, ["Getting Better at Difficult Things"](http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/a-quick-note-on-getting-better-at-difficult-things/387133/) and watch Kathy Sierra's keynote from [Fluent Conf 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKTxC9pl-WM)

[ ] Ta-Nehisi Coates' article
[ ] Kathy Sierra's keynote

 Step 5: Please respond to the following questions in a reflection (4-6 sentences):
  * What efforts do you make to manage your learning process? Are these efforts successful? What challenges have inhibited your ability to manage your learning process effectively?

> My answer.

  * How do Sierra's and Coate's material relate to your current process for learning?

> My answer.

  * What role does your emotional state of mind play in your learning? How do your successes and failures at learning affect your emotional state?
  
> My answer. 

  * How will you prepare yourself to be at your best with your learning process while at Turing?

> My answer.
 
## **Capstone submission directions:**
In a gist, please:
1. Include a screenshot of your Pairin top 4 results by following [these directions](https://gist.github.com/kannankumar/4c613cac6d9db896062a16e1cc57d3e5)
2. Include your responses to the questions in Step 3.
3. Include your responses to the questions in Step 5.

Submit your gist in the survey **[here](https://sites.google.com/casimircreative.com/enrollment/mod-0-capstone-fka-pre-work?authuser=0)**
 
Optional further reading:
   * [How the Pairin Survey compares to other assessments](https://github.com/turingschool/career-development-curriculum/blob/master/files/Survey%20Comparisons.pdf)
   * [How to Hire Like Google & Facebook](https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2014/04/15/how-to-hire-like-google-and-facebook-evaluating-candidates-beyond-their-technical-ability/#64c08fc513bf): (5 minute read)
   * [Four Essentials of Strengths-Based Leadership](http://www.forbes.com/sites/ekaterinawalter/2013/08/27/four-essentials-of-strength-based-leadership/#76b62a91fa21): (6 minute read)