I have been trying to write my resume recently. I have been in IT (working in service based currently) for 5 years now and I am planning to switch to something new. Through out my 5 years I have worked as Service Support analyst, Developer and as DBA but now I kinda of conflicted on what should I try for next.
How do I figure out what I am good at ?
Every time I watch people on linkedin and think about it I feel like I haven't had expertise in anything throughout these 5 years, I have always adapted to the role which was presented to me. But now that I have to present what I have done so far and what I need to aim for next I feel very hesitant, confused, conflicted.
Would appreciate any advice.
Top comments (8)
Hi, I cannot offer a specific answer to your question but I doubt anyone can. I will, however, offer some questions to ask yourself, which might help you discover the answer.
I hope this helps and best of luck.
Not much I can add to Tracy’s excellent reply above. What I can say is that I’ve been working in web development for almost 25 years now, and couldn’t have predicted the many twists and turns and shifts of focus my career has taken over the years.
I’ve always just followed my interests, wherever they take me, and focussed on doing the best quality work I can. Being a reliable, conscientious and supportive part of the team will always open doors and opportunities for you, often in the most unexpected ways. He generous with your expertise, respect and learn from the expertise of others, and fully embrace any opportunity to learn something new or hone your skills.
Good luck, and have fun!
Actually, a couple of more concrete things I can add:
LinkedIn is 90% bullshit and posturing. 🙂
Honestly, it's wall-to-wall self promoting, with everybody presenting their most carefully crafted, curated professional persona they can. Comparing your career achievements and professional skills to what people post on Linkedin in is like comparing your day-to-day life with the photos posted by wellness bloggers on Instagram.
Showing examples of previous work is always a challenge for developers. Most of the time, our work is part of a larger team effort and pointing to individual lines of code can be impossible, meaningless or both. Confidentiality and security can also prevent us from showing and sharing large portions of our work.
And, of course, nothing lasts forever... especially on the web. As a front-end developer who works mainly on short-term projects, only the tiniest fraction of my work remains online and unchanged for more than a year or two.
Interviewers for technical roles understand this. Having some samples of work to show is always advantageous, of course, but it doesn't need to be a vast catalogue of applications and websites in current production. It's much easier, and generally quicker, to assess a candidate's technical skills in a conversation than by reading through samples of project code out of context.
My advice for your CV and online profile, focus on your skills, experience and interests. Talk about the specific roles and responsibilities you have held in your most recent jobs and explain how you contribute to the success of your team and your employer.
What people put on LinkedIn is a bunch of self flatering lies.
Don’t compare your back-of-stage to everyone else’s front-of-stage
I recommend watching the movie Jiro Dreams of Sushi. It's not the greatest movie in the world but its main message is not easily forgettable either.
There's an old adage, "Jack of all trades, master of none." The true masters of their craft acknowledge that even they don't know everything about their craft and yet aim to hone it to perfection despite knowing that it is impossible to do so. That said, it's always a good idea to branch out every few years and try something new to get a fresh perspective.
It sounds like you are filling out an annual review (or resume/CV). Figuring out what you've done in the last year or several years is easy: Look through version control (e.g. GitHub issues) and your sent email messages for the highlight reel. You'll probably come up with 50 or so line items worthy of attention that you can either rank or order chronologically or some mix of both. As to what to aim for or do next, that's up to you. I keep a project list of several hundred projects I want to work on. As I get new ideas, they go on the list.
99% of the time, naturally, you're good at what you love to do. You don't have to be good at it initially, but if you truly enjoy doing it, you'll eventually become an expert.
You can start by trying out new things or revisiting old things you've done in the past that you enjoyed. If you find something you like, even if you know next to nothing about it, stick to it, and one day you'll be an expert. Good luck! 🚀
My two cents:
A popular way to reflect on oneself in regards to career and professional aspirations is "The Flower" exercise created by Richard N. Bolles.
The idea is what we enjoy in a job doesn't just boil down to what we are good at, but also things like:
However, not all of the petals (or sections) always hold equal weight to the individual filling them in. Some people care more about their values than salary for example, or how they work i.e. remote over in office. So not only complete the petals but also prioritise them in the order that best fits you and your needs.
Moreover, the author also recommends in his famous career book "What Color Is Your Parachute?", not to think in terms of "Who am I?" or "What am I good at?" but rather "I am a person who..." This allows you to be declarative rather than speculative. For example, try and list some points for each of these statements:
I hope this helps.