Lessons learned: how to leverage your “non-technical” experience by Nicole Tibaldi from Oh the Humanity!
Abstract
Think about the best engineer you’ve worked with. Did they have a computer science degree? Was all of their professional work experience in tech? Were their technical skills the most important of their abilities? It’s likely your answer to some – or all – of those questions is “no.” It’s also highly likely that the talented engineer you thought of learned some of their most valuable skills and lessons through other means: advanced studies in another discipline, work experience in a different field, or outside mentorship and coaching.
Nicole Tibaldi has dedicated her career to making tech organizations more inclusive and collaborative. Her passions include developing fair and equitable hiring processes, championing remote work, and building strong cross-functional partnerships. She is currently a Senior Engineering Manager at The New York Times.
Summary
This talk is about career changing and how to get best out of your other skills in that.
“The average person has 5 to 7 careers in their lifetime” - that sounds a lot even to me.
Anyone has transferrable skills.
When she asked people in Twitter who were the best engineer they worked with. Some highlights from answers:
- Communication
- Kindness
- Doesn’t make you feel dumb when asking questions
- Intent of lifting others
- Pragmatic
- Make others better (glue work)
- Prioritizing inclusive environment
We communicate a lot in our job and it’s an important skills.
Leadership isn’t a role, it’s an attitude and approach to working in team.
The ability to learn can be achieved through any thing and is highly transferrable.
Strategies for individuals
- Reflect on your skills
- What are you good at? Think of the things listed above
- Have a career conversation with your manager
- Create alignment with skills you have, how they can help your team and that your manager agrees that they are skills they need
- Don’t downplay your non-technical experience
Strategies for teams
- Craft job descriptions thoughtfully
- Is computer science degree #1 priority and soft skills the last down the line?
- Make interpersonal skills promotable
- Make interview processes comprehensible
- Ask about non-technical skills that team values
Encourage others