The Software Developer’s Guide to Career Ownership

Why should you start working on a career development plan?

Do you ever feel like your career is going nowhere, or that it has even drawn to a complete standstill? You’ve been constantly learning and building up your skillset, but it doesn’t seem to matter much because you are still dealing with the tiniest of salary raises, failing at job interviews, even though you’ve delivered on numerous long-term and comprehensive projects. 

It’s hard not to feel bitter about it, but what else can you do when you feel that the quality of your work and the amount of effort you put in does not seem to get the results and recognition you desire or even expect?

Take Ownership of Your Career

The only thing you can do is to take ownership of your career.

Before we discuss how you could go about doing that, let’s explain what we mean by “take ownership of your career”. 

It makes you fully realize that your career is organic, and you can help it to grow by nurturing and nourishing it, or you could damage it and even ruin it.

As with a garden, where you need to make a conscious effort to pick the right seeds to sow in the right places at the right time and how to nurture them and help them to grow, you need to put the effort in with your career. 

If you are under the illusion that simply “doing your job well” will result in being promoted, getting a raise, or that dream position because you are an actively competitive asset on the job market, you will get nowhere.

This is where career development and reputation management come into the picture. 

So, Doing Good Work Doesn’t Mean You Get Recognition?

Not really. Management is overloaded with a variety of tasks and juggling internal HR conflicts, personal issues, and overdue projects to name a few things. Doing the job, you are paid to do to well, is not really going to make you stand out to them. They will appreciate your work and you may never face appraisals or disciplinaries, but you are not going to make them think you are the greatest employee ever, either. 

More than anything, you need to make sure you stand out. Whatever situation you find yourself in – whether you are looking to stand out in the greater developer community, stand out among the other resumes out there, or within your own company if you want to progress with your career, you need to make yourself and your skills stand out. 

The Role Reputation Plays In Helping You Stand Out

What is Reputation Management?

Reputation basically means your overall competence professionally, combined with “by how much you stand out”.

Think of the best of the best of your programming heroes. They are very competent and skilled, yes. However, they are not resting on their laurels, as they continue to put themselves in the public eye promoting themselves, sharing their successes, thoughts, and anything else of note.

Keeping that in mind, answer this question – do you really think they have any difficulty getting new jobs?

No, they don’t.

Does that really mean you need to become a legendary hero when it comes to programming to make yourself stand out and get that great new job? Not really. 

The point we are making is that getting involved in the wider community, helping others, self-promoting, networking with professionals, and build long-lasting partnerships, is all part and parcel of building a reputation. 

For instance, if you are always doing what you can to help and assist your manager, talking about your wins and successes, and questioning how much your work has had an impact on the company, you’ll make sure you are at the top of their mind. 

The majority of software developers don’t seem to talk about their work and its impact on the company with their managers. 

Bonus Tip – Make an extra effort to show real interest in your team leader and manager. You can make their job as easy as possible by always doing great work. One-on-one meetings are a great thing to request. 

Importance of What Others Ask About You

All the people you work with and work for will form an opinion on you based on the type of person you are, your skillset and skill level, and lots more. 

If you want to have a good idea of what others think about you, consider the following questions and how they might answer if asked about you:

• Are you a kind, and helpful person?
• Are you known for your good work?
• Do you always produce good results?
• Are you a fast learner?
• Are you good at teaching and mentoring other colleagues?
• It’s important to make sure the answer is “yes” to all those questions. 

If you are known for your bad attitude and complaining spirit, your colleagues and contemporaries probably do not see you in the best light. 

Likewise, if you are not growing sufficiently or willing to learn anything new, your peers are likely to see you as a drag on the team. 

How to Take Things to the Next Level

So, what can you do to improve things for your career prospect? That’s what we’re going to look at in the last section. 

• Get Involved in High-Visibility Projects
• Take on the Hard Stuff
• Keep A Record of Your Achievements
• Get Involved in the Community 
• Find a Mentor
• Learn and Grow in Knowledge

What You Should Expect

You need to have realistic expectations when it comes to growing your career. It takes a lot of time and work. But if you are serious about progressing in your career, you need to put the effort in. Don’t let yourself fall by the wayside, don’t just think that your big break is going to come along. You need to make yourself really stand out, show you are a team player and that you really have something valuable to bring to the table.