infamouskeyduster/watterson_career_journal.md

## watterson_career_journal.md

      
    Raw
  

              watterson_career_journal.md
            
          
    Intermission Week:

1. Please describe the current vision you have for your career. What are the values that will drive your job search? What are your goals for your job search? What kind of role do you see yourself pursuing in your job search?


My current vision for a career involves getting people involved in the outdoors. I'm especially interested in empowering people of color, who have historically been underrepresented in outdoor recreation, to feel safe and supported in venturing outdoors.

2. Based on what you wrote above, please write a refined summary statement for your professional story:


The career I desire is one that inspires people (especially under-represented communities) and gives them security and confidence through technology to develop and pursue a love of the outdoors.

3. Please list the top 3-5 industries and companies you'll pursue in your job search as of right now.


Outdoor Recreation
GIS / GPS / Mapping Tech
SAS (Software as a Service) Companies
Ballistics / Propulasion Science
Cyber Security

4. Why did you pick the industries/companies that you listed above? How do they relate to the values and goals you have for yourself in your job search?


I chose the industriues above because they adequately represent all of my interests, and stimulations. All of these industries interest me because I am directly/indirectly involved in all of them through the various hobbies and interests that I cultivate. I engage in these hobbies in my free time, because they help keep me motivated to continuously learn and develop my skills and abilities to become a competent human at as many different things as I possibly can.

5. How does your LinkedIn currently reflect your goals and industry interests? What changes will you need to make to your LinkedIn to better reflect these?


It poorly represents my current interests and avenues for future employment. I built my linkedIn based on myprevious career as a professional brewer and zymologist… I need to reinvent my LinkedIn to accurately represent who I am NOW as a pwerson, and not the person I wanted to be a decade ago.

6. How can you capitalize on the outreach and networking plan you made this module to create new contacts in the industry and/or gain information to help you refine your job search strategy?


This for me will be challenging, because I do not know anyone currently working in the potential fields that I have chosen. I will need to do some research, and outreach to known resources who have contacts in the perspective fields that I am considering. This will include reaching out to connected industry professionals, like reaching out to the MeatEater team, to see if they can offer connections or points of contact…


Mod 3 Week 1: Job Search Strategies

Add to your vision that you wrote about above:


Workview: summarize what good, worthwhile work means to you
Hint: this is NOT about what work you want to do but about why work matters to you)

Worthwhile work is work that is difficult, but also mentally stimulating. Worthwhile work is not all-consuming; it is regenerative and fullfilling.
Meaningful work is work that enriches other peoples' lives, not just my own. So work that provides people confidence or life-long skills.


Lifeview: summarize what you value in life; what matters to you?
What I value in life is having enough time, and financial resources and energy to pursue my hobbies and learning. I value a stable income, that provides for my family, so that they too may have an enjoyable life.

Where do your views on work and life complement each other?

both my work and life views go hand-in-hand.


Where do they clash?
Does one drive the other? How?
I believe that one does drive the other. In my previous work experience, I was not able to strike this balance. The only way that I was able to find work fullfilling previously was receiving external praise, and winning as many competitions as possible. But at the end of the day, this external praise and recognition did nothing to impact my employers. So, looking for a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, I leaned into my hobbies to gain comfort and accomplishment through learning as much as posiible.


Reflect on how you’ve spent your time in the previous 2 mods to gauge your engagement and energy:


When have you been excited, focused, and enjoyed your work?


I have been the most excited and engaged when things have been the most difficult. When I have what seems like an unmountable task in front of me, and I am the only one who can work myself out of a problem or through a project, this is when I shine.


When have you felt bored, restless, or unhappy?


When I feel like I am not learning, or like I have already mastered a subject. (This is what happened in my previous career). If you stop learning, you start dying.


When do you feel energized in your work?


When I put enough time and work and energy into a product that I can be proud of. This sense of accomplishment gives me energy.


When is your energy drained?


When I feel like I am chasing my tail, or that I will never master a subject.

Setting up habits and routines to make time for the job search this module:


Block out time on your calendar this week to work on your job search. When will you make this happen? How will you hold yourself accountable to this?


I will block out times on Tues / Thurs.


What activities will you focus on during this time this week?


Researching the company that I have my eyes on, and learnign as much about them and their products, so that when the time comes to apply, they will know that I have done work to understand their motivations.


What outcomes do you hope to reach by the end of this week because of these activities?


Pin pointing a point of contact at the company that I intend on applying to.

Applying wayfinding to using job search resources

Go through the resources listed here in the Finding Job Opportunities section and explore 2-3 tools. List what you looked at here:
Apply wayfinding: of what you looked at, what did you discover that aligns with your vision? If it didn't align with your vision, what will you try next?
Find a job posting that aligns with your vision. What's the posting? How does it align with what you're looking for? Add it to your Huntr.
What next steps will you take to explore that opportunity and find contacts? Add that information to your Huntr card.

Mod 4 / Intermission & Week 1:

How many people did you reach out to this week?


I have reached out to a handful of folks this week, and there are still 2 people that I need to reach out to in regards to a FE React job posting at Hotel Engine.

The two folks that I still need to reach out to are:


Daniel Vogelsang (Turing Alum)
Stephen Malek (Turing Alum)


The others that I have reached out to are folks that are in my network from previous education or work experiences. They are:

Darryl Grant / Product Design Manager at Facebook
Taylor Rogers / Full Stack Software Engineer at Emsi
Gabe Walford / Engineering Manager at Uplight
Ian Knox / Software Engineer at Doximity


Ho many new leads or contacts did you get?


I have many leads from the above contacts. Darryl Grant told me that he would be happy to refer me for a job at Facebook. Taylor Rogers also said the same, that he would be willing to refer me to a job at Emsi (although I would have to relocate to ID). I have a meeting planned with Gabe Walford of Uplight for this coming week 8-24-2020.


Outreach to Darryl Grant:


Outreach to Gabe Walford:


Outreach to Taylor Rogers was done in person.


How may jobs did you apply to?


I have (1) job application on my to do list that I will be submitting ASAP. This position is for Javascript Developer w/ REACT @ Hotel Engine.

How many interviews did you have?


None yet…

How many hours did it take you to do all of this?


Including the updating of LinkedIn profile, this took me at least 6 hours.

What will success look like for Mod 4 PD?


Success will look like building and fortiying my network that I can lean on to land a job. It will also look like exploring all of my personal motivations for why software development is important to me, and what type of developer I want to become.

What are two (2) things from the guest speaker(s) that you will implement this week?


I will listen to the Gary Vee Experience as recommended by Chris Hough.
I will ask future employers the important question of 'What do you do to support diversity, equity and inclusion?' as recommended by July Tran.


Mod 4 / Week 2:

How many people did you reach out to this week?


I reached back out to Gabe Walford (Engineering Mananger at Uplight) and  got a response from Ian Knox (Software Engineer at Doximity). We had meetings scheduled for Friday at 5P that had to be rescheduled on their end becasue something came up. I have rescheduled with Gabe for Monday August 31 @ 5P. My meeting with Ian has been rescheduled to Sept 4 @ 5P.


Ho many new leads or contacts did you get?


I still need to reach out to our alumns at Hotel Engine. I got in contact with Robyn and got all of their information, so I will be doing that outreach this coming week!

How may jobs did you apply to?


None. But as soon as I make contact with our alumns at Hotel Engine I will put in a application for their open React developer role.

How many interviews did you have?


None, but hopefully that will chnage after meeting and talking to Gabe Walford and Ian Knox this week!

How many hours did it take you to do all of this?


This week I was only able to dedicate 4 hours to outreach / prepping (for the meetings with Gabe & Ian that were rescheduled).


Mod 4 / Week 3:

Sign up for Jobscan: https://www.jobscan.co/register
How tailored is your resume to the jobs you are applying for?


I need to update my resume with specific 'keywords' for each job that I am applying to. Overall I think it catered pretty well to FE development roles. But just like my LinkedIn profile, I need to include all the new skills learned from this final capstone project.

Screenshot or write in your journal your match rate score for a role you are interested in. (If your match rate score is lower than  80%- make the necessary changes and keyword suggestions. Share your new match rate score.)


I am not going to continue with JobScan optiization at this time, because LinkedIn optimization is not a free offerring from JobScan. I am not willing to pay for an account at the given time.

Scan your LinkedIn profile using Jobscan. Is your profile telling recruiters and hiring managers that you have the right skills for the job? Share in your journal one step you will take to improve your profile.


I believe that my LinkedIn is doing what is mentioned above. I need to add new skills gleaned from the most recent capstone project to my profile.


Mod 4 / Week 4:

What is one takeaway or tip you will use from this session on working with recruiters (meeting with Mary Blackburn)?


I may actually consider working with a recruiter now after this meeting with Mary Blackburn. Before, it was not somthing that I had considered… But hearing that it really is in the best interest of the recruiter to find me as a developer a job that best suites me was heartening to hear. If my job search is not fruitful on my own (let's say within 45 - 60 days) I will reach out to Mary or another recruiter for further assistance.

How is your networking plan going? Have you had a coffee meeting thus far in Mod 4? If so, how did it go? If you have not, please share your progress and challenges in this area.


My networking plan is going well (according to plan). It has been really fruitful to lean on my network for previous job (because my IT network has really advanced in their roles over the last decade). It is also nice to reach out to these folks who I have previously worked with, becasue they know how I operate professionally, and it seems like there is genuine interest in working together again!

Networking


Not enough new networking was done this week, due to the overwhelming workload of the final capstone project.

Mod 4 / Week 5:


My gearup presentation went better than I expected! This was in part becasue of the wonderful coaching that I received from Alex Robinson, and also becasue I am passionate about the topic. It is very difficult to get up in front of a group and start a difficult conversation around race. I feel like I did this with dignity (for those marginalized) and grace!

Networking


Not enough new networking was done this week, due to the overwhelming workload of the final capstone project & the final Gear Up presentation. I spent around 4 - 5 hours working on reconstructing my Gear Up presentation based on coaching feedback that I received. I am glad that I spent this time, because I learned more about my topic, and also about the contributions of people of color to the outdoors (none of which is currently taught in any history text that I have ever come across which is utter bullshit).

Jobs


I did however find the next job that I will be applying to. I feel like I may be over qualified for this job, or my qualifications may be too specific for this job. This job seems like it is more geared for a genrealized IT role with some coding support (which is not exactly what I am looking for). BUT, the organiztion is one that I deeply admire, and I would be beyond stoked to work for them in any capacity. See screenshot below: