holladayian/Mod 2 Week 5 Career Journal

## Mod 2 Week 5 Career Journal
Mod 2 Week 5: Outreach & Networking I
(remember to reflect on what you have control over, what you want to try differently this week, and what habits you can utilize to get back on track):

Review your habit tracker: how did you monitor your habit(s)? What does this tell you about your overall progress becoming the person you want to be? In general, how satisfied are you with how you spent your time this module? What could be improved next module?
This last week was rough. We had a retro where we were asked to share things that I did not feel comfortable sharing. Thankfully, my project team is awesome and our project was completed early and with ease. Becuase of these (and other) wild swings in my emotional state, it has been harder for my to put time into my PD goals. Unfortunately, this week leads up to finals and solo projects, and I will have even less emotional capacity to invest in this. I have set myself a couple of dates, after the last Friday of this inning, to come back and review some of the PD things I think I might have missed, or would like to take a closer look at.

Mind Maps:

i. Engagement. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you're engaged in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most (e.g., "Talking through a problem with a partner," "The moment when I solve a problem that I previously didn't know how to do," "Setting up a successful project management process for my team") and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

I find myself most engaged when I am learning something new, and I can understand it's importance. I think one of the reasons mod 1 was so hard for me was because I didn't really understand how the things we were learning were implemented (outside of localStorage). We're even told in mod 2 that most of the concepts from mod 1 are outdated (ES5 v ES6). I understand that they were the foundation to mod 2, and I'm glad we learned them, it was just harder to feel engaged about a few of them.

ii. Energy. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you feel most energized in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

I feel the most energy when I can see the path I want to take. Even if I don't end up taking that path, or follow it partially, as a guideline, I still feel that energy. Which, now that I type it, feels a lot like flow as well.

iii. Flow. When have you had an experience recently in which you were in a state of flow? You can also think about this as "joy" or "play." Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

Flow is the smoothest for me when I have spent the time to preread/understand a concept before starting that specific piece. This is also true when I implement pseudo-coding. Going into a project with this armada of knowledge helps greately with the confidence and flow.

Prototype your mind maps: what do these mind maps tell you about what's important to you as a software developer? What questions do they bring up about what you still want to learn about this career?

Knowing why something is important is valuable to programming, just as much as knowing how to use it. Knowing/taking the time to learn these things makes programming easier and more fun all around.

Prototype your outreach: (Be prepared to share this in your small group discussion)

Who comes to mind as a person you can reach out to? Why that person? What questions would you ask them? Come up with 2-3 people here to serve as prototypes
My best friend, Ben. He went through the Turing program, and has been my mentor while I complete this as well.
Brigette, from my class. She and I are at pretty similar knowledge/emotional levels, and we both repeated mod 1 together. It has been good to have her as someone to talk to in these times.
How would this outreach help you further your job search strategy?
Ben is already in the professional world. I often ask him about jobs, what his is like, what his values are when he chooses a job, etc.
I think because Brigette and I are in the same boat for most of this, it will be easy to bounce ideas off each other.

Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach:
We didn't quite get to the outreach portion of the PD this week

Who is the right person for you to reach out to?
I want to reach out to the HR department of nerdwallet (one of my prospective jobs)
How will you find them? How do you know they’re the right person?
This will be a cold outreach, so I am assuming this will be done through their website. I'm not actually sure they are the right person, but I think if they aren't that is the the best person to point me in the right direction.
How will you reach out?
As mentioned above, coldcalling. I presume emailing a short message stating who I am an what I am looking for.
What questions do you need to ask them?
I would like to ask them, "Based on where I am now, what would I need to improve in order to be a candidate for this job?"
How will you use this information to further your solution?
Well, I mean, if I got a good enough answer back to that question, it would pretty much be a straight line towards applying there.
How will you follow up?
Upon completing some of the "things" they mention, I will reach out to them again (establish rapport) I will update them with what I've done, and the propper next steps to take to apply.
Execute your plan:

I changed my plan a little. I instead reached out to Nikki Holland-Plum, a Turing alum, and repeater. She currently works at Pandora, and had mentioned reaching out to her with questions about applying. She had told me that I should double down on my coding challenges. She also encouraged me to reach out and apply at Pandora and to use her as a reference. I would really like to apply at Pandora, but right now I have a lot on my plate with finals, so I am going to side bar this until next Wednesday. I have set an appointment on my calendar to apply after finals are over!

Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. What happened? What other next steps should you take? If this is a person connected to a company you're interested in, be sure to add it to your Huntr card.
	Mod 2 Week 5: Outreach & Networking I
	(remember to reflect on what you have control over, what you want to try differently this week, and what habits you can utilize to get back on track):

	Review your habit tracker: how did you monitor your habit(s)? What does this tell you about your overall progress becoming the person you want to be? In general, how satisfied are you with how you spent your time this module? What could be improved next module?
	This last week was rough. We had a retro where we were asked to share things that I did not feel comfortable sharing. Thankfully, my project team is awesome and our project was completed early and with ease. Becuase of these (and other) wild swings in my emotional state, it has been harder for my to put time into my PD goals. Unfortunately, this week leads up to finals and solo projects, and I will have even less emotional capacity to invest in this. I have set myself a couple of dates, after the last Friday of this inning, to come back and review some of the PD things I think I might have missed, or would like to take a closer look at.

	Mind Maps:

	i. Engagement. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you're engaged in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most (e.g., "Talking through a problem with a partner," "The moment when I solve a problem that I previously didn't know how to do," "Setting up a successful project management process for my team") and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

	I find myself most engaged when I am learning something new, and I can understand it's importance. I think one of the reasons mod 1 was so hard for me was because I didn't really understand how the things we were learning were implemented (outside of localStorage). We're even told in mod 2 that most of the concepts from mod 1 are outdated (ES5 v ES6). I understand that they were the foundation to mod 2, and I'm glad we learned them, it was just harder to feel engaged about a few of them.

	ii. Energy. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you feel most energized in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

	I feel the most energy when I can see the path I want to take. Even if I don't end up taking that path, or follow it partially, as a guideline, I still feel that energy. Which, now that I type it, feels a lot like flow as well.

	iii. Flow. When have you had an experience recently in which you were in a state of flow? You can also think about this as "joy" or "play." Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).

	Flow is the smoothest for me when I have spent the time to preread/understand a concept before starting that specific piece. This is also true when I implement pseudo-coding. Going into a project with this armada of knowledge helps greately with the confidence and flow.

	Prototype your mind maps: what do these mind maps tell you about what's important to you as a software developer? What questions do they bring up about what you still want to learn about this career?

	Knowing why something is important is valuable to programming, just as much as knowing how to use it. Knowing/taking the time to learn these things makes programming easier and more fun all around.

	Prototype your outreach: (Be prepared to share this in your small group discussion)

	Who comes to mind as a person you can reach out to? Why that person? What questions would you ask them? Come up with 2-3 people here to serve as prototypes
	My best friend, Ben. He went through the Turing program, and has been my mentor while I complete this as well.
	Brigette, from my class. She and I are at pretty similar knowledge/emotional levels, and we both repeated mod 1 together. It has been good to have her as someone to talk to in these times.
	How would this outreach help you further your job search strategy?
	Ben is already in the professional world. I often ask him about jobs, what his is like, what his values are when he chooses a job, etc.
	I think because Brigette and I are in the same boat for most of this, it will be easy to bounce ideas off each other.

	Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach:
	We didn't quite get to the outreach portion of the PD this week

	Who is the right person for you to reach out to?
	I want to reach out to the HR department of nerdwallet (one of my prospective jobs)
	How will you find them? How do you know they’re the right person?
	This will be a cold outreach, so I am assuming this will be done through their website. I'm not actually sure they are the right person, but I think if they aren't that is the the best person to point me in the right direction.
	How will you reach out?
	As mentioned above, coldcalling. I presume emailing a short message stating who I am an what I am looking for.
	What questions do you need to ask them?
	I would like to ask them, "Based on where I am now, what would I need to improve in order to be a candidate for this job?"
	How will you use this information to further your solution?
	Well, I mean, if I got a good enough answer back to that question, it would pretty much be a straight line towards applying there.
	How will you follow up?
	Upon completing some of the "things" they mention, I will reach out to them again (establish rapport) I will update them with what I've done, and the propper next steps to take to apply.
	Execute your plan:

	I changed my plan a little. I instead reached out to Nikki Holland-Plum, a Turing alum, and repeater. She currently works at Pandora, and had mentioned reaching out to her with questions about applying. She had told me that I should double down on my coding challenges. She also encouraged me to reach out and apply at Pandora and to use her as a reference. I would really like to apply at Pandora, but right now I have a lot on my plate with finals, so I am going to side bar this until next Wednesday. I have set an appointment on my calendar to apply after finals are over!

	Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. What happened? What other next steps should you take? If this is a person connected to a company you're interested in, be sure to add it to your Huntr card.