Own Your Tech Career (true)

Understanding compensation packages 227

of the major technologies listed on the job posting, or any major skills—like
leadership or communications—that the job posting highlighted.
 Always arrive with some concise, meaningful questions about the company
itself. You’re about to become a partner with this company, and it’s good to
know who you’re partnering with. Questions about the company vision, their
management philosophy, how they feel about internal promotions and advance-
ment, and similar questions reveal your interest in the company and can com-
municate an intent to make them a long-term partner.
 Pay close attention to body language. If someone looks bored, or leans back as
if they’re not interested, wrap up whatever you’re saying and let them continue
the interview.
 Bring concrete examples, if possible, of your work. That can include code sam-
ples (with previous employer information removed, of course), network dia-
grams, analytics dashboards, and other work products.
 Be prepared to talk about soft skills like communications, teamwork, leader-
ship, and conflict resolution. Know your work style and be prepared to discuss
it. These “soft” elements are often the core of the interview, where the inter-
viewer is trying to see if you’ll “be a fit.” Help them arrive at that answer quickly
and concisely.
 Watch your own body language. Fidgeting, failing to maintain eye contact, and
other “tells” can make it more difficult for the interviewer to build trust and rap-
port. Practice with other people ahead of time. I’ve even gone so far as to head to
a local bar and strike up conversations with willing strangers, just to help practice
maintaining eye contact and not fidgeting (two things I struggle with).
 Think about how you reason through and solve problems—and prepare a con-
cise explanation of that. Problem-solving skills are the most difficult thing to
pull out of someone during an interview, and you can help the interviewer by
doing that work for them, in advance.
 Never say “I don’t know” unless you follow with something like, “but here’s how
I’d find out.” Technology professionals have to be confident self-led learners,
and making that come out in an interview is a great bonus for you.

All of these tips are designed to make you come across as more prepared, more confi-
dent, and more able—so practice them!

21.5 Understanding compensation packages

I once worked for a company that did a great thing: every year, each employee would
receive a custom statement of their compensation package. It included their salary of
course, but it also included the value of things like

 Stock and options grants
 Health insurance and other paid benefits (which for that company included pay-

ments for a gym membership, college tuition reimbursement, and other benefits)

228 CHAPTER 21 Tools for the modern job hunt

 Bonuses paid out
 Matching money paid to my retirement program

I thought that statement was great because it put a total financial figure on some
things that a lot of employees don’t even think about. Having fully-paid health bene-
fits is, in the United States, a pretty standard item when you work for a tech company.
Knowing that my company shelled out some $10,000 on top of my salary for benefits
was an eye-opener! That statement makes it easier to do an “apples to apples” compar-
ison if you start looking at a new job. Will the new job cover my benefits also? Will
there be reimbursement for wellness expenses, like a gym membership? Will the stock
grants be as generous? How will the bonus program work? All of those elements of a
compensation package are important to understand. With that in mind, I want to run
through a few of the more common elements and explain them.

21.5.1 Compensation package elements

Keep in mind that some of these elements don’t exist everywhere in the world, and some
work very differently; I encourage you to use this list merely as an example, from which
you can research and discover more about how things work in your part of the world:

 Base salary—This is an easy one, and it’s the one we all think of first when it
comes to compensation. Be aware that your employer often pays more than the
amount shown. For example, in the United States, your employer pays your
base salary to you. Deducted from your paycheck are federal income taxes, state
income taxes (for states that have them), local income taxes (again, where
applicable), and additional federal taxes for Social Security and Medicare pro-
grams. But your employer is also paying state unemployment insurance taxes
and federal payroll taxes, which can amount to 10-12% of your salary. That’s not
deducted from your paycheck, but it does make you “more expensive” than
your base salary implies.

 Bonuses—This is another common compensation element, and it differs drasti-
cally across organizations. Bonuses can take the form of profit-sharing programs,
discretionary bonuses, bonuses based on personal and/or company perfor-
mance, and many, many other things. Whatever program you’re on, make sure
you thoroughly understand how it works, and what factors impact what you
receive. The promise of a 20% bonus sounds great—until you realize that it’s
based on unrealistic company revenue numbers that can’t ever be achieved.

 Stock grants—A stock grant usually takes the form of a block of stock units,
called shares, that vest to you over a period of time. For example, a grant for
10,000 shares might vest 12.5% of those shares every six months, meaning they
would take 4 years to completely vest. The stock isn’t actually yours until it vests,
so this depends on you thinking you’ll be with the company long enough for
that to happen. Once it vests, you can generally exercise it, meaning you can sell
it for cash at current market rates.

Understanding compensation packages 229

BEWARE OF TAXES! Make sure you ask a tax advisor about the tax implications
of receiving and selling stock in your country. For example, in the United
States, you can be forced to pay income tax on shares that vest to you. When
you sell shares, you can pay additional income tax on any gain you realize,
and that tax rate may depend on how long you’ve owned the shares.

 Stock options—An option is basically the right to purchase a share in the future,
for a predetermined price. For example, suppose you were granted 1,000
options with a strike price of $20. The options might vest over the course of 4
years. When a block of options does vest, you would have to make a choice: do
nothing, or spend $20 per option to purchase the associated shares of stock.
The idea is that the stock will go up in price, meaning you might spend $20 to
buy a $40 share, giving you a net gain of $40 if you were to immediately sell that
share on the market.

 Insurance—Many companies will offer free insurance of various kinds, and
might offer the ability to buy discounted insurance as well, with the fees held
from your paychecks. I’ve seen companies offer life insurance, pet insurance,
legal insurance, disability insurance, and any number of other offerings.
These are often discounted, sometimes significantly so, from what you’d pay
to buy these on your own, but they’re only valid so long as you remain at that
employer.

 Health care—In countries (like the United States) without a broad public health-
care program, most citizens get their health insurance from their employer.
Some employers pay the entire amount, and some may even pay for your entire
family. Others pay a partial amount, and deduct the rest from your paycheck.
Some may pay nothing, and only offer a plan that you pay the full amount for.
Many employers will also offer a variety of plans, with different coverage options
and price points.

 Retirement—In the United States, it’s common for employers to offer a 401(k)
retirement program. This is essentially an investment account, and you’re per-
mitted to contribute up to a certain amount each year, taken from your pay-
check before taxes are withheld. The amount in the program can be invested in
stocks and bonds, enabling the amount to grow over time. Some employers will
“match” a certain part of your contribution (how much varies widely between
employers), boosting your savings.

 Miscellaneous benefits—These can range from reimbursing gym memberships or
college tuition fees, to on-site lunch cafes with reduced prices, to free snacks in
the break rooms, to a variety of other “perks.”

There’s no “right answer” on a compensation package: what’s important to you and
your family will determine what’s “right” for you. But understand that companies look
at the entire package when they’re negotiating a salary for you. You might want $10,000
more, but they’re looking at the $20,000 they may end up putting into your 401(k)

230 CHAPTER 21 Tools for the modern job hunt

and thinking, “No, we don’t want to go any higher, because the other benefits make
up for it.”

Also be aware that, in most jurisdictions, companies are required to provide cer-
tain benefits to all employees. For example, if a company says they’ll match 50% of
your 401(k) contribution, they have to offer that for every employee. You can’t ask
them to not offer that to you in exchange for more base salary; they’re not permitted
to do that.

21.5.2 Negotiating your compensation package

With all of those basic compensation elements defined, how can you negotiate the
best package for yourself when applying for a job? Start by asking how the company
calculates compensation. A few companies these days use a strict market compensation
process, whereby they establish pay ranges for each role, based on what the market in
general is paying for that role. Within that range, a more experienced person will be
paid closer to the top, while a less experienced person is paid closer to the bottom.
With those companies, your ability to negotiate is often limited to your mutual assess-
ment of your experience, and you should focus your negotiation efforts in that direc-
tion. Other companies may take a more subjective approach to compensation, which
potentially widens your room to negotiate, but also makes it really hard to guess what
a good number is.

Start by making sure you understand the entire compensation package, and the
true value of it. Some employers offer extremely generous packages, and may throw in
“lifestyle” elements—like the ability to work from home, or a promise to limit the
amount of business travel you’ll be required to do—that make a particular base salary
less critical.

Once you understand the entire package, do not lowball yourself. Make sure you
know the salary range for your position in your field in your area. To find out this
information, do some up-front research, using sites like Glassdoor.com or by perform-
ing internet searches for terms like “senior front end web developer salary tulsa, ok.”
Remember that salaries do vary by geography, so make sure you’re looking at data
that’s appropriate for where you live. Other places for “salary intelligence” include

 Payscale.com
 Salary.com
 Indeed.com
 Salary reports issued by various tech job search firms (which you’ll have to

search for)

Most job applicants will try to ask for a little bit more than they think they’ll get, and
that’s a good negotiating tactic since it leaves the employer room to negotiate you
down. So long as you have a data-based expectation of what “reasonable” is, it’s fine to
ask for 5-10% more and see what happens. Don’t accept less than that “reasonable”
amount unless you understand specifically why (which means being comfortable ask-
ing that question of your prospective employer).

Action items 231

KEEP YOUR PREVIOUS OR CURRENT SALARY OFF THE TABLE Some employers will
ask you about your previous salaries, or current salary, in an attempt to use
that as a starting point for your new salary. I personally regard that tactic as
distasteful, and it is illegal in some jurisdictions—do some research to dis-
cover if it’s legal where you live. I advise answering that question with, “My
previous compensation is confidential, and I don’t see it having any bearing
on our current conversation.”

You should typically have a data-based salary number in mind when you go into the
negotiation, and you should feel free to state that number up front. Make it clear that
you’re happy to communicate your market value and how that justifies your salary
(and make sure you’re prepared to do so, based on your research).

21.6 Further reading

 Ladders Resume Guide, Marc Cenedella (Ladders Press, 2019)
 Mastering a Winning Resume: The Ultimate Guide to Beat the ATS, Impress the Recruiter,

and Land the Interview Fast!, Dan Reed (independently published, 2019)
 “8 Salary Negotiation Tips from Recruiters in Tech,” Deborah Tennen (https://

zapier.com/blog/how-to-negotiate-salary)

21.7 Action items

For this chapter, I’d like you to embrace the “it’s never too early to start the job hunt”
ethos, and complete a few tasks to get your job-hunt toolbox started:

 Head over to LinkedIn and spend some time thoroughly updating your profile.
If you’re not a LinkedIn user, glance at what a typical LinkedIn profile looks
like (mine is at https://linkedin.com/in/concentrateddon if you want to use
that one), and construct something similar in a word processing document.
Commit to updating this quarterly.

 As a practice, conduct a pre-job-hunt review of your brand, particularly your
social media footprint. Perhaps look at it with a colleague, focusing on the
aspects that could be accessed by someone you don’t know. Is there anything
there you wouldn’t want a potential employer to see? If so, what can you do to
remedy that?



index

A contributing to success definition 20
further reading 19
abstract concepts 185 professionalism 18–19
accrual basis 197 reach of 17–18
achievements 222–223 reviewing 210–213
active voice 117
agree (in RAPID framework) 164 feedback 212–213
alternatives, as lever 99 professional brand 210
ambiguous language 118 public footprint 211–212
analogies 183 sabotaging 19
appearance, physical 25–26 social media and 15–17
architecture, business 203–207 what is says 20
arguing 136 Bruner, Jerome 183
arithmetic average 200 bullet points 214
arrogance, confidence vs. 110 business 147–162
assertiveness 126–127 action items 162
ATSs (Applicant Tracking Systems) 213 architecture 203–207
audience 12–15 further reading 162
authenticity 210 making money 153–155
autocorrect 111 math and terminology for 195–208
averages 200–201 action items 207–208
averages 200–201
B calculating self value 195–197
further reading 207
base salary 228 OpEx and CapEx 201–203
benefits 229 P&L (profit & loss) statements
billing 197
blaming others 92 197–201
blogging 25, 33, 116 relationships 147–152
Bloomfieild, Matt 31
Blue Sky mode 54–55 changes in 152
body language 26 customers and employees 149
bonuses 228 one-sided 149–151
brand 12–20 overview 148–149
risk and reward 159–162
action items 20 sold, recognizing what is 156–159
audience 12–15 details of business 159
examples 156–159
business cards 27

233

234 INDEX

C relying on data 135–136
resolving 77
calendar 73 returning to first principles 134–135
capabilities 203 seeking context 131–134
CapEx (capital expenses) 201–203 winning vs. outcome 137
connection 115
driving business decisions 202–203 constructionism 183
overview 201–202 constructivism 183
career 3–11 contexts
action items 11 in conflicts 131–134
creating career plans 9–11 leadership and 88–91
job, success, and self 3–4 contributing to technology communities 32–34
life definition 4–7 conversations, in-person networking 26–27
success 7–9 core competencies 221
technology communities value to 30–32 corporation, origin of term 147
career objective, stating 213 correlation vs. causation 174
career-safe skills 38 Covey, Stephen 166
Carey, Benedict 180 CPRW (Certified Professional Résumé
cash basis 197
cash burn 202 Writer) 226
cash on hand 189–190 credit 189–190
causation vs. correlation 175 critical thinking 139–144
cautions or warnings, when to bring up 185 customers 149
Certified Professional Résumé Writer CV (curriculum vitae) 213

(CPRW) 226 D
character 56
Cirillo, Francesco 61 daily
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) 156, 199 building muscles for 44–45
commitment, group 77 tips for 46–47
communications
danger-zone skills 38
verbal 120–129 data
action items 128–129
assertiveness 126–127 beware of 145–146
defeaters 123–126 relying on 135–136
fear of speaking 121–122 database administrator 43
persuasion and art of listening 127–128 data-driven thinkers 138–146
respectful 77 action items 146
stepping up to 120–121 beware of data 145–146
critical thinking 139–144
written 104–119 decision-making 173–175
action items 118–119 further reading 146
defeaters 117–118 overview 144–145
fear of communicating 108–112 decide (in RAPID framework) 164
practicing 116 decision-making 163–177
storytelling 104–108, 113–116 action items 177
being data-driven 173–175
community work 222–223 frameworks 136, 163–166
compensation packages 227–231 further reading 177
models 166–169
elements of 228–230
negotiating 230–231 Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) 167–168
compromise 167 priorities 168–169
conferences 23, 34 rocks and pebbles 166–167
confidence 110 negotiating 175–177
confident networkers 28–29 OpEx and CapEx 202–203
conflicts 130–137 opportunity cost 169–170
action items 137 providing options 170–173
decision-making frameworks 136
deliberate 131

INDEX 235

defeaters feedback 212–213
verbal 123–126 fillers, verbal 123
practice staying on track 125–126 filtering 51
using voice as instrument 123–125 first principles 134–135
verbal fillers 123 following others 78
written 117–118 Ford, Neal 41
ambiguous and pretentious language formatting résumés 224–226
118 frameworks, decision-making 136,
passive voice 117–118
163–166
deliberate conflicts 131 fresh tech skills 37–39
deliverables, as lever 99 fully loaded salaries 196
depreciation 202 functional problems 151
details 51–53 functions 203
digital communications problems 22–23 furniture 69
dirty work 78
disability insurance 192 G
discipline 58–59
dishonesty 92 GAAP (Generally Acceptable Accounting
Driscoll, Adam 30 Practices) 199
drop-shipping 157
genuineness 210
E goals, preparedness 189
grammar 111
education 179 gross profit margin 199
81 Fresh & Fun Critical-Thinking Activities
H
(Rozakis) 146
email 116 hashtags on social media 25
empathy 106 health care 229
employees 149 Helmick, Jason 30
entities, businesses as 147 help, asking for 77–78
entitlement 150 helping others 178–187
etiquette
action items 187
for networking 25–28 analogies 183
in person 25–27 further reading 187
on LinkedIn 27–28 hands-on involvement 182
how humans learn 180–181
for technology communities 34–35 qualifying to help 179–180
in open source projects 35
on Q&A websites 35 toxic relationships 179
worthy of 179–180
events, conference-style 23 reasons for 178–179
expenses 199–200 repetition 181–182
rest time 186
F sequencing 185–186
Socratic method 183–185
factual statements 139 Hicks, Jeffery 30
failure, supporting 77 hiring résumé writers 226
family experiences 157 How to Lie with Statistics (Huff) 201
family, remote work and 70–71 How We Learn (Carey) 180
fear Huff, Darrell 201

of communicating 108–112 I
addressing causes of 110–111
analyzing causes of 109–110 icebreakers, in-person networking 26–27
conquering 111–112 ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) roundup 34
ideas, stifling 92
of speaking 121–122
being judged 122
not having all answers 121–122

236 INDEX

inclusive workplaces 80–82 L
helping 80–81
offering respect and support language
81–82 ambiguous and pretentious 118
passive voice 117–118
income 197
incompetence, level of 94–95 laziness 58–59
in-person networking 25–27 leadership 84–96

body language 26 action items 96
business cards 27 further reading 96
icebreakers/ start conversation getting into different contexts

26–27 88–91
physical appearance 25–26 management vs. 85–86
input (in RAPID framework) 164 mistakes 92
instant messages 116 positive 91–92
insurance 191–192 reasons for not moving into 94–96
interviews 226–227
learning leadership 95
J level of incompetence 94–95
measuring success 95–96
Januszko, Missy 30 taking care of team 93–94
JIT (just-in-time) stocking 156 vision of 86–88
job hunt tools 192–193, 209–231 learning 180
about diverse topics 47
action items 231 daily
compensation packages 227–231 building muscles for 44–45
tips for 46–47
elements of 228–230 how humans learn 180–181
negotiating 230–231 leadership 95
further reading 231 media 45
interviews 226–227 scheduling 47
résumés 213–226 leasing 202
analyzing job postings 216–220 LeMaire, Chrissy 30
being unique 215 level of incompetence 94–95
formatting 224–226 levers 99–100
hiring writers 226 life definition 4
rules 213–214 life insurance 192
starting 214–215 LinkedIn 27–28
writing 220–223 listening 78, 127–128
reviewing brand 210–213 local user groups 23
feedback from others 212–213 loss of income 189
professional brand 210
public footprint 211–212 M
tasks to do now 209–210
job postings 216–220 management, leadership vs. 85–86
hard requirements 217 market compensation 230
keywords 219–220 market valuation 155
preferences 218–219 Marquette, Kevin 31
job, career vs. 3–4 math 195–208
job-safe skills 38
just-in-time (JIT) stocking 156 action items 207–208
averages 200–201
K business architecture 203–207
calculating self value 195–197
Kanakos, Mike 30 further reading 207
Key Results 168 OpEx and CapEx 201–203
KRs (Key Results) 167
driving business decisions 202–203
overview 201–202

INDEX 237

math (continued) OpEx (operational expenses)
P&L (profit & loss) statements 197–201 driving business decisions 202–203
expenses 199–200 overview 201–202
revenue 197–199
opinion, use of term 139
Maurer, Doug 31 opportunity cost 154, 169–170
Medd, Jonathan 31 options, offering 171
media, learning 45 ordinary income 198
medical insurance 192 outcomes
memories 180
mentors 95 focusing on 223
miscellaneous benefits 229 winning vs. 137
mistakes 93 owners of businesses, risk and 160
mode, in sample set 201
models, decision-making 166 P
money
P&L (profit & loss) statements 197–201
as lever 99 expenses 199–200
businesses making 153–155 revenue 197–199
Month of Lunches book series (Manning
passive voice 117–118
Publications) 186 perception 158
mortgage insurance 192 perform (in RAPID framework) 164
multitasking 63–64 permanent remote work 74
personal life, sharing 77
N persuasion 127–128
Peter Principle, The (Peter) 94
names, personal 28 Peter, Laurence J. 94
negotiating Petty, James 30
physical appearance 25–26
decision-making 175–177 Platinum Rule 79
solutions 100–102 podcasts 34
network engineers 43 pomodoro technique 61–63
networking 21–29 positive leadership 91–92
action items 29 positiveness 78
confident networker, becoming 28–29 postings, job 216–220
digital communications problems 22–23
etiquette for 25–28 hard requirements 217
keywords 219–220
in person 25–27 preferences 218–219
on LinkedIn 27–28 practicing communication 116, 125–126
in person 23 preparedness 188–194
online 24–25 action items 193–194
reasons for 21–22 cash on hand and credit 189–190
remote work 73 goals 189
neurons 180 insurance 191–192
note-taking 121 job hunt tools 192–193
possible problems 188
O social safety nets 190–191
pretentious language 118
Obama, Barak 123 priorities 168–169
objective data 136 problem-solving 97–103
objective preferences 218 action items 102–103
objectives 168 clearly stating problem 97–98
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) 168 identifying levers 99–100
one-sided relationships 149–151 negotiating solutions 100–102
online networking 24–25 troubleshooting vs. 97
OOP (object-oriented programming) 183 procrastination 58–59
open source books 34 professional brand 178, 210
open source projects 24, 34–35

238 INDEX

professionalism 49–57 creating space
action items 57 overview 67–68
Blue Sky mode 54–55 suggestions for 68–70
brand and 18–19
drawing yellow lines 55–57 explicitly defining culture 72–73
focusing on details 51–53 networking 73
quit, knowing when to 53–54 permanent or temporary 74
rules for 49–51 working with family 70–71
being easy to work with 50–51 renting space 69
delivering on promises 50 repetition 181–182
saying no 49–50 respect 81–82
rest time 186
proficient tech skills 40–43 résumés 213–226
promises being unique 215
formatting 224–226
delivering on 50 hiring writers 226
saying no 49–50 job postings 216–220
proof, to back up statements 140
properties 183 hard requirements 217
public footprint 211–212 keywords 219–220
preferences 218–219
Q rules 213–214
starting 214–215
Q&A (question-and-answers) websites 24, writing 220–223
35 community work and achievements 222–223
core competencies 221
qualifications summary 220–221 focusing on outcomes 223
questions qualifications summary 220–221
work experience 221–222
anticipating 122 retirement 229
asking 28, 171 revenue 197–199
quitting 53–54 reward 159–162
Richards, Mark 41
R Ring, Jan Egil 30
risk 159–162
RAPID (Recommend, Agree, Perform, Robbins, Mike 31
Input, Decide) 164 rocks and pebbles model 166–167
role models 179
rationing time 61–63 routine 71–72
reach, brand 17–18 Rozakis, Laurie 146
recommend (in RAPID framework) rules
professionalism 49–51
164 being easy to work with 50–51
references, offering 214 delivering on promises 50
relationships 147–152 saying no 49–50
résumés 213–214
as lever 99 storytelling 105
changes in 152
customers and employees 149 S
one-sided 149–151
overview 148–149 sabotaging brand 19
toxic 179 self
relevant tech skills 40–44
assessing 46 calculating value 195–197
focus of learning 43–44 career vs. 3–4
fresh vs. 37–39 selling 156–159
proficient 40–43 details of business 159
reliable sources 141 examples 156–159
remote work 66–74
action items 74
adopting routine 71–72
challenges of 66–67

INDEX 239

sequencing 185–186 further reading 47
services 203 learning media 45
Seven Habits of Highly-Effective People, The relevant 40–44

(Covey) 166 assessing 46
shares 228 focus of learning 43–44
Shell of an Idea: the Untold History of PowerShell fresh vs. 37–39
proficient 40–43
(Jones) 21 tech-lead positions 95
skills 39, 46 technology communities 30–36
social media 15–17 action items 36
social safety nets 190–191 contributing to 32–34
Socratic method 183–185 etiquette for participating 34–35
software developer 43 in open source projects 35
solutions 100–102, 114 on Q&A websites 35
space, for remote work value to career 30–32
temporary remote work 74
overview 67–68 term life insurance 192
suggestions for 68–70 theories 139–140
stock grants 228 time management 58–65
stock options 229 action items 65
storytelling 104–108 discipline, procrastination, and laziness
applying structure to 113–116
applying to business communication 58–59
multitasking 63–64
106–107 pomodoro technique 61–63
everyday communication 107–108 time catalog 63
rules of 105 TimeFlip technique 59–61
study groups 47 tools, understanding 78
subjective preferences 218 toxic relationships 179
subscription income 199 translation 33
subscription service 156 troubleshooting, problem-solving vs. 97
success 7–9
career vs. 3–4 U
measuring 95–96
supervisors 85 unbiased sources 141
support, inclusive workplaces 81–82 user groups 33
survival 181
synaptic networks 180 V
systems administrator 43
verbal communications 120–129
T action items 128–129
assertiveness 126–127
talking too much 93 defeaters 123–126
teaching 178 practice staying on track 125–126
teamwork 75–83 using voice as instrument 123–125
verbal fillers 123
action items 83 fear of speaking 121–122
advantages and disadvantages of 75–76 being judged 122
being better team player 76–79 not having all answers 121–122
contributing to inclusive workplace 80–82 persuasion and art of listening 127–128
stepping up to 120–121
helping 80–81
offering respect and support 81–82 videos 33
dealing with less-effective teammates 79–80 vision, leadership 86–88
further reading 82–83 voice
tech skills 37–48
action items 47–48 as instrument 123–125
daily learning passive 117–118
building muscles for 44–45
tips for 46–47

240 INDEX

W résumés 220–223
community work and achievements 222–223
Weltner, Tobias 30 core competencies 221
whole life insurance 192 focusing on outcomes 223
winning, outcome vs. 137 qualifications summary 220–221
work experience 221–222 work experience 221–222
written communications 104–119
storytelling 104–108
action items 118–119 applying structure to 113–116
defeaters 117–118 applying to business communication
106–107
ambiguous and pretentious language 118 everyday communication 107–108
passive voice 117–118 rules of 105
fear of 108–112
addressing causes of 110–111 Y
analyzing causes of 109–110
conquering 111–112 yellow lines 55–57
practicing 116

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Ed Lo, Uber Technologies
WHAT’S INSIDE
• Personal branding and career maintenance “I recommend the book to
• Barriers that derail progress everyone!.”
• The rules of the business world
• Market analysis to keep tech skills fresh Markus Braasch, Credit Karma

For tech professionals who want to take control of their career.

Microsoft MVP Don Jones brings his years of experience as a success-
ful IT trainer to this engaging guide.

Register this print book to get free access to all ebook formats. ISBN: 978-1-61729-907-0
Visit https://www.manning.com/freebook

MANNING US $49.99 | Can $65.99