the-sis (noun): a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Imagine a world\n What if you had the influence to unleash hordes of smart & ambitious talent on a problem. What problem(s) would you get them cookin\u2019 on?<\/p>\n\n \u201cOur mission is to increase the GDP of the internet\u201d<\/em>\n \u201cWe protect people from malaria. We fund nets and ensure they are distributed and used.\u201d<\/em>\n \u201cWe invest in Seed and Series A companies developing drugs for aging and age-related diseases\u201d<\/em>\n \u201cWe invest in visionary yet practical high-growth startups addressing the multi-billion dollar space markets that will both enable and benefit from the space revolution.\u201d<\/em>\n Woah, probably won\u2019t start that<\/em> big<\/p>\n\n \u2026but hey, I don\u2019t know you! You might prefer a quiet life of simplicity where you can tend to your crops & maybe raise an extra child. However, if you tend to always tend to bite off more than you can chew, then this one\u2019s for you<\/p>\n\n Which of the many problems in the world call to you? Where would you most like to see progress? On the margin, where do you already have a head start or even have a \u201cweird\u201d perspective?<\/p>\n\n \u201cHeck\u2026 Didn\u2019t you read the definition?\n \ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n\n okay, just a little bit \ud83e\udd0f<\/em><\/p>\n\n You may not have the money,\n What if you looked at your career\n Crazy idea:\n solving other people\u2019s problems<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n There\u2019s a way to make money\n Take another look\nat your time portfolio<\/p>\n\n Are these time investments\nconsistent with your thesis?<\/p>\n\n Perhaps\n Don\u2019t stress<\/p>\n\n One does not simply \u201cstumble into a thesis\u201d<\/em>, let alone design one from the beginning. It arrises as you study the environment around you. There\u2019s isn\u2019t 1 deterministic answer, but rather an iterative process that you\u2019ll continue to evolve & mature at throughout your lifetime. In fact, it doesn\u2019t matter how cheesy\/childish your first answer is: the sooner you re-evaluate your ideas & come to your own conslusions, the sooner you\u2019ll rethink your investments.<\/p>\n\n Investing consistently via \u201chow you spend your time\u201d & \u201cwho you spend it with\u201d is how you really<\/em> start to \u201cget some skin in the game\u201d & where you start to see return on your biggest invesment: you<\/p>\n\n Work isn\u2019t the only avenue for self-discovery,\nbut it\u2019s one of the most productive<\/p>\n\n Maybe work wasn\u2019t your problem,\n Your turn:\n Be honest:\n *deep inhale*<\/em><\/p>\n\n *deep exhale*<\/em><\/p>\n\n Really sit with that for a second:\n & not what others think of you\n Don\u2019t worry if it doesn\u2019t come naturally<\/a><\/p>\n\n It happens to everyone\n But despite what others tell you,<\/p>\n\n It\u2019s a confidence check,\n It\u2019s not a badge to be earned,<\/a>\n So what does it take to flip that switch?<\/p>\n\n Wha\u2019do\u2019we\u2019do?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n When you\u2019re first learning to code,\n Maybe you just\u2026<\/p>\n\n I chat with so many beginners who \u201cmade a few websites\u201d but think:<\/p>\n\n \u201coh, I\u2019m not good at HTML\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Okay, there\u2019s definitely more to master, but it\u2019s a low barrier-to-entry & I just want to shake some sense into them:<\/p>\n\n Just because you haven\u2019t memorized [insert tool] doesn\u2019t mean you \u201cdon\u2019t know\u201d it<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Give it up:\n Developers are masters of abstraction:\n You can sit there calculating\n Value your ability to find answers\n Sorry, I know it sounds like its from a cheesy self-help seminar<\/p>\n\n Nobody Cares About Complexity<\/a>\n Defensiveness won\u2019t serve you<\/p>\n\n To me, it\u2019s not about your ability to summon an answer on command, nor your ability to dig your way to an answer using resources at hand: the chasm you must cross on your way to becoming a professional developer is largely a confidence in your abilities to figure it out.<\/p>\n\n If you\u2019re committed,\n Don\u2019t get me wrong: this isn\u2019t about inefficiently pounding your head against a wall making no progress, when you can readily research prior work across the internet. There\u2019s a delicate balance where\u2013as soon as a problem is stalling you out\u2013the right thing to do is ask for help! Sometimes the best way to figure something on out your own is to talk it through with someone else. Modern software is immensely collaborative<\/a>, so you should lean into that!<\/p>\n\n The innocuous barrier to becoming a professional developer is largely a challenge of just not giving up on it altogether, much like becoming proficient in any spoken language. That\u2019s it! Think about becoming a \u201creal\u201d developer the way you would think about your ability to maneuver around a foreign country with a great translation guide. Are you at least good enough to pull that off? That\u2019s when you\u2019re ready. Those \u201cI\u2019m good enough\u201d mountains are always further in the distance until you actually reach them!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n You don\u2019t need to be cut from a different cloth, but you do need to be genuinely interested to make it through those occasional moments of teeth pulling. In other words, you\u2019re welcome to call yourself Real developer as soon as you decide you aren\u2019t going to give up on your abilities to figure it out.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If anyone gives you a hard time over my \u201csofter\u201d definition, then I\u2019ll personally put my reputation on the line for you. Anyone giving you a hard time over this \u201creal developer\u201d non-sense is commenting less on how little you know, but desperately justifying how much they know. Their insecurity is entirely unjustified either because our field isn\u2019t \u201cprofessionalized\u201d like most 20th century professions<\/a>, so don\u2019t take their concern personally: these are friction points as the world re-orients itself around knowledge work.<\/p>\n\n The world needs more developers & that includes you. Many don\u2019t see it yet, but the very notion of what a \u201cdeveloper\u201d is continues to diverge & diversify into an expanding web of motivations & professions. Even today, the common developers who can \u201ckeep up\u201d between embedded systems engineering & web development is evaporating. How you \u201clearn to code\u201d no longer looks like it used to or even similar to how someone else might right alongside you today. Tomorrow\u2019s developers won\u2019t look like today\u2019s developers:<\/p>\n\n & we\u2019re better as a world for it\n Thank you for your contribution\n You can start today<\/a><\/p>","author":{"name":"steven"},"summary":"Be honest: are you a Real Developer\u2122?"},{"title":"Search Like An Executive","link":{"@attributes":{"href":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/like-an-executive","rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","title":"Search Like An Executive"}},"published":"2021-01-28T16:00:00+00:00","updated":"2021-01-28T16:00:00+00:00","id":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/like-an-executive","content":" Serious question:\n Did they send in a good resume<\/a>?\n Don\u2019t they promote from within?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n See that\u2019s what I thought!<\/p>\n\n \u201cOf the 198 replacements Challenger tracked in January [2020], 107 of them came from outside the company, while 91 were internal candidates.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Wow\n Did the 3 Teslas give that away?<\/p>\n\n So ask yourself: WWCD\n Expectation: 9 - 18+ months<\/strong><\/p>\n\n First things first, they\u2019 dont rush:\n They\u2019re not thinking:\n The only on their mind is:<\/p>\n\n \u201cAm I willing to invest in this company?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n We\u2019re not talking money<\/a> either,\n \u201cif I go through with this\n *6 months later*<\/em>\n \u201cNot today, but keep me in the loop<\/a>!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cLet me know how I can be helpful!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n They may\u2019ve walked away from a verbal offer,\n Aha! They\u2019ve found a serious opportunity!<\/p>\n\n Were they scanning job boards<\/a>?\n If the team didn\u2019t already recognize them<\/a>,\n Often a quick google search says enough<\/a><\/p>\n\n They\u2019re not trying to find work convenient for them<\/em>, but convenient for the company<\/strong> (or even the broader market). \u201cWhere can I get a job?\u201d isn\u2019t as important as \u201cwhat does this company need right now?<\/a> If not now, is something likely to change in the next 6 months<\/a> to justify my help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n Don\u2019t search like a student<\/a>\n Recruiters tell everyone<\/em> to apply\n Too many aspirational LinkedIn posts\n \u201cWOAH, haven\u2019t I seen that number before?\u201d<\/em> Had the planets aligned for a moment?\n Seriously though,\n 5.4\n \ud83d\ude34<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n I don\u2019t need sleep<\/p>\n\n \ud83d\udc4f I\n \u201cOn average, a vacancy receives between 118 and 250 responses or resumes. On average, employers want to interview only 5.4 candidates.<\/strong> Getting that stack of 118 to 250 down to 5.4 is the employer\u2019s first preoccupation.\u201d<\/em>\n This is why we ended up\n Teams today see much larger numbers,\n Now how<\/em> they filter often snowballs from a chaotic process that is sensitive to the flapping of a butterfly\u2019s wings in Australia. Often it\u2019s as simple as an over-worked, under-paid recruiter on a tight deadline. Last Monday, somewhere in a big city near you, a recruiting contractor slid out of bed, gulped down their coffee of choice, & avoided their boss for an hour while they chaotically scrolled through a spreadsheet, ignoring the dozens\/hundreds of emails+DMs piling up.<\/p>\n\n Recruiters are on the clock\n Getting that stack down\n Don\u2019t worry, there are ways around this<\/p>\n\n Recruiters operate You may have seen videos of people running across the surface of this \u201cliquid\u201d. It\u2019s behavior is super unintuitive: if you strike it quickly, this fluid bounces off like a solid. If you rest against it, you will slowly sink into it like quicksand. In much the same way, recruiters unintentionally bounce out anyone who quickly flies by with a resume, while those who stay close for a long time (or give that appearance) start to feel more familiar in a world of neverending change. Those are the candidates they sense are serious about their company & up for the task.<\/p>\n\n Once they toss those candidates over the fence, the team can now justify the time investment of spending time with each candidate. Despite all the faces, at the end of the process you\u2019re likely being compared to only ~4.4 others (& that\u2019s assuming they only hire 1, which probably isn\u2019t the case the larger the company).<\/p>\n\n I like those odds!<\/p>\n\n \u201cIn a survey of over 3,000 stakeholders involved in a typical B2B purchase, we found that customers themselves report an average of 5.4 different people formally involved in a typical purchase decision.<\/strong>\u201c<\/em>\n Okay, 5.4 people \u201cformally involved\u201d\n First, that\u2019s 5.4 chances to say \u201cNo\u201d<\/p>\n\n Your job (pun intended) isn\u2019t to patiently make your case for \u201cwhy me\u201d to 5.4 people, but to expand the scope of your case to suit 5.4 different motivations<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Different motivations<\/a>? You may ask\n Not only should you consider personality differences, but incentive differences as well. Most of us aren\u2019t parallelizing anymore: we aren\u2019t hammering nails together. Each company is a spaceship where different people monitor different stations.<\/p>\n\n What pays for one doesn\u2019t pay for another<\/strong>\n They might have \u201caligned incentives\u201d,\n \u201cTHIS PERSON GETS IT!\n out of more<\/em> than 1 person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Okay, I made this one up If at first you don\u2019t succeed,\n I couldn\u2019t farbricate a fradulent statistic here even if I wanted to, but this strategy is severely underrated. If you\u2019ve found a company that you feel is worth the effort, never underestimate the life-changing magic of following-up<\/a>. You don\u2019t always have to walk in the front-door.<\/p>\n\n P.S.\n Do you ever feel just plain unseen?\n You must\u2019ve sent 100+ applications<\/a>\n \u201cIf only they took the time\u2026\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Ever show someone your favorite movie\n What the heck is wrong with th\u2013\n The job search isn\u2019t a test of skill\n That burden of communication,\n If you\u2019re hunting for jobs right now, you probably can\u2019t afford the luxury of aggressively upskilling. The harsh truth is that you can\u2019t cram the night before the exam (unless you really like living life on the edge: Livin\u2019 La Vida Loca<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n If you need<\/em> the money soon,\n But what if you\u2019ve got some time on your hands?<\/p>\n\n \u201cEverybody has a plan until they get punched in the face\u201d<\/em> No plan survives first contact with reality<\/p>\n\n I\u2019ve seen too many people sink literal months<\/em> into optimizing projects only for their first users to click all<\/em> the wrong buttons. You\u2019re not \u201cpreparing for the job search\u201d for your own amusement. You\u2019re here to communicate<\/em> to the right people that \u201cI am the professional you want on your team\u201d. Their<\/em> perspective is much more meaningful in this context than yours. Feedback is your most powerful tool.<\/strong> Use it at every opportunity.<\/p>\n\n The more feedback, the better<\/p>\n\n Take all the time you want to draft something up, but you better run it by people first. Ideally, you should scale to people increasingly unfamiliar with you: give them only a brief amount of time (e.g. 10-60 seconds) to form an opinion about you based solely on your information online<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n First your friends & family, then your \u201cweak ties\u201d or \u201csomewhat friends\u201d, then anonymous online communities. The less familiar they are with you, the better. The less incentive they have to make you feel better, the better. We want to keep stacking on layers of feedback like a delicious cake.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
in which your decisions\n
affect not only your career, but others\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n
\u2013Stripe<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013Against Malaria Foundation<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013Longevity Fund<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n
\u2013Space Fund<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\nWhat\u2019s in a thesis?<\/h2>\n\n
\n
what even is a thesis?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
I spelled it out in the intro!\n
It\u2019s okay: I won\u2019t judge<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\nYou\u2019re rich [in time]<\/h2>\n\n
but you have the time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
not just as a financial necessity,\n
but an opportunity to enact change?<\/p>\n\n
Hear me out:\n
what\u2019s the most predictable money-maker?<\/p>\n\n\n
& feel good about it<\/em><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
it\u2019s time to \u201cre-allocate\u201d your time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
but rather your definition OF it<\/p>\n\n
what\u2019s your<\/em> definition of work?\n
What\u2019s your<\/em> investment thesis?<\/p>","author":{"name":"steven"},"summary":"What would You-The-Billionaire\u2122 do?"},{"title":"How Much Is Good Enough?","link":{"@attributes":{"href":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/good-enough","rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","title":"How Much Is Good Enough?"}},"published":"2021-03-05T16:00:00+00:00","updated":"2021-03-05T16:00:00+00:00","id":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/good-enough","content":"
are you a Real Developer\u2122?<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
are you there yet? good enough<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n
but what do you<\/em> think of you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
on their learning journey<\/a>\n
(which never ends by the way, until you say so)<\/p>\n\n\n
not a competency check<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
but an approach\n
a state of mind\n
a perspective<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n#1 Recognize, Don\u2019t Memorize<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
everything is new & exciting<\/p>\n\n\n
(with many twists & turns)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
\n
<\/p>\n\n
proficiency isn\u2019t all-or-nothing<\/p>\n\n
your work is less like molding clay\n
& more like stacking lego bricks<\/p>\n\n
& stress over rebuilding the wheel\n
or stand on the shoulders of giants<\/p>\n\n
over your ability to recall them<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n#2 \u201cCan Do\u201d Attitude<\/h2>\n\n
so don\u2019t worry about impressing others<\/p>\n\n
If you\u2019re in this for the long game\n
it absolutely can<\/em> be just that simple<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\nLast note on the haters<\/h3>\n\n
\n
(mixed reality is as intuitive as it sounds)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
so I say thank you<\/p>\n\n
& welcome to the future<\/p>\n\n
how do CEOs get jobs?<\/p>\n\n
To who? The Head of HR?<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
<\/p>\n\nExecutives play by different rules<\/h2>\n\n
Color me shocked\n
Never saw that coming<\/p>\n\n
What would CEO do?<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
patience is a virtue<\/p>\n\n
\u201cwho pays most?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
but their attention: time & energy<\/a>\n
\u2026also their reputation<\/p>\n\n\n
\u2013invest my next 5-10 years here\u2013\n
& everything falls apart in the end,\n
will it still be worth it?<\/strong>\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
This is how they end most chats:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n
but things are getting serious\u2026<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
\u2026with their world-class resume<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n
their reputation preceded them<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
Search like an executive<\/p>\n\n","author":{"name":"steven"},"summary":"Serious question: how do CEOs get jobs?"},{"title":"5.4? You\u2019re Hired!","link":{"@attributes":{"href":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/5.4","rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","title":"5.4? You\u2019re Hired!"}},"published":"2021-01-21T16:00:00+00:00","updated":"2021-01-21T16:00:00+00:00","id":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/5.4","content":"
but what are your realistic chances?<\/p>\n\n
Not enough data<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n![\"Mental](\"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/assets\/img\/calculating.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
\u2013 me, skimming multiple PDFs at 3am<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Save it for your horoscope<\/p>\n\n
look through my microscope<\/p>\n\n
5.4\n
Can you guess?<\/p>\n\n
\ud83d\udc4f NEED\n
\ud83d\udc4f ANSWERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
<\/p>\n\n5.4 Candidates<\/h1>\n\n
\n
\u2013 What Color Is Your Parachute?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
with The HR-Industrial Complex\u2122<\/p>\n\n
but that just means more steps\n
& more filters along the way<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
& every minute counts<\/strong>\n
[if they want to clock out before 5pm]<\/p>\n\n
\u201cis the employer\u2019s<\/em> first preoccupation\u201d\n
\u2026which means, for many employees,\n
it\u2019s their entire occupation<\/em><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
like a thick, non-newtonian fluid<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n![\"Non-newtonian](\"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/assets\/img\/fluid-run.gif\")
<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n5.4 Stakeholders<\/h1>\n\n
\n
\u2013 The Challenger Customer<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
so what does that tell us?<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
Heck yeah, different motivations<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n
(& some don\u2019t even care about pay as much)<\/p>\n\n
but how do you get this gut reaction<\/p>\n\n\n
I WANT THEM ON [MY] TEAM\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n5.4 seconds<\/h1>\n\n
\u2026& I\u2019m not the only one<\/a><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n(BONUS) 5.4 attempts<\/h1>\n\n
try\n
try again<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
Don\u2019t get lost in the numbers<\/a><\/p>","author":{"name":"steven"},"summary":"Recruiters tell everyone to apply but what are your realistic chances?"},{"title":"But What Do They See?","link":{"@attributes":{"href":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/what-they-see","rel":"alternate","type":"text\/html","title":"But What Do They See?"}},"published":"2020-12-07T16:00:00+00:00","updated":"2020-12-07T16:00:00+00:00","id":"https:\/\/creatorswhocode.com\/blog\/what-they-see","content":"
like nobody really gets<\/em> you?\n
I get it<\/p>\n\n
You\u2019re starting to question your entire worth<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n
only for them to hate it?<\/p>\n\n
\u2026those weirdos anyways?<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
It\u2019s a test of communication<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
the burden of proof is on you<\/p>\n\n
Don\u2019t improve your hire-ability\n
Find companies ready for you today<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n\nGet a better mirror<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\u2013Mike Tyson<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Duck-Rabbit](\"\/assets\/img\/duck-rabbit-illusion.webp\")
<\/p>\n\n