Random late night thoughts on career.

  1. Some people have a belief that the world is against them and that XYZ external factors are blocking their growth path. The reality is that many of these people aren’t even doing the bare minimum at work. They lack the work ethic and energy to succeed. You can blame external factors, your manager, optics, the market conditions, the politics for your lack of growth, but first you have to give your 100%. Most people don’t.
  2. LinkedIn bios are a joke to me. I have worked with so many people who are absolutely terrible and have been pushed out of their jobs, but if you look at their Linkedin you would think they were a star performer. If you are a hiring manager, do multiple background checks.
  3. Before, I took feedback on companies and hiring managers from everybody. Of course, if you know someone you would ask them about the leadership of their company. Then I realised I have worked with people who were absolutely stealing a living. Even they have friends. I wonder what their reflection regarding their stint was like. What was their opinion of their manager or their company? So now the only feedback that I take seriously is from people that I know and trust to be good at what they do.
  4. Post covid appraisals have been pretty bad. Companies have been trying to control costs. They have tried a mix of redundancies, pay cuts and small pay increases. I think the right thing to do is to make big cuts and reward the people who are still there and are actually making a contribution.
  5. I had a conversation with a founder friend of mine who confessed that most of the people who are on the product side of his company are essentially doing the job of a PgM. This is true. Most Product Managers don’t have the experience or insight to make product decisions. And they work as program managers. Many of them are never going to get paid what they got paid during ZIRP.
  6. You need to be honest with yourself about the value that you are delivering to your organisation. What your replacement cost is. Many people provide -ve value. They are shit at their jobs and they bring the energy level down. They have a replacement cost of 0.
  7. A lot of people seem to be entitled. ZIRP is over. Nobody is going to pay them 50LPA again. But because they are used to doing the bare minimum and getting big rises, they are upset about small rises, lack of promo every 2 years. They have not got the memo as yet.
  8. You either bring the energy of the room up or you bring it down. Even if you are not that great at what you do, by showing up on a consistent basis and bringing a high level of energy, you will be a valuable asset. Abilities anyone can learn if they want to. Energy and attitude can’t be forced down your throat.
  9. AI will take a lot of jobs, but not people who give a shit about their craft. A lot of experienced senior PM’s are going to be replaced by people who are as hungry. Entitled people who have only been able to keep their jobs because of ZIRP and the number of PM vacancies will find it hard to justify their salaries.
  10. Career spans decades. Some people have been lucky. There are people who are in positions that they don’t deserve. But in my 11 years in technology, I have not seen people, who have the energy and willingness to learn, fail. Eventually they get their due.