👋 Selftaught Accessibility & Frontend Developer
💻 Dev & UX Accessibility Specialist @Atos | CPACC
🙆 Improving the world with accessible web content
✍️ Content creator, Tips on How To Get Into Tech
This opens up a question which I do have for a while now. And hopefully, many others will comment on this as well. But first of all: Congrats to your new position 🥳
I agree with you on all your tasks for lead devs. It some companies it is common to have quarterly talks with each developer on what they want to achieve, where they see themselves, improvements and such. This is for personal grow, but also for the manager to get an overview, if the developer is right in their position, in this particular project, if the developer can grow and also if and how much raise they may get.
I really like that kind of approach, I see positivity for both sides. But I wonder if I should mention stuff I do beside work as well. Depending on which project you are, you may get not the most possible chance to show off what you can. You may "just be" one frontend dev out of many, unseen with other great skills you may have. In my case, I do a lot besides work, at University I am very active, the team leader in almost every lecture, attending hackathons/writeathons (and winning them), writing lots of blog posts, giving talks from time to time, maintaining my own open source projects an such.
I am way more present outside of work that at work. Is it okay to mention that? That actually I can do so much more but the role as a frontend dev does not give the possibility to show all my skills (so I may never be considered as a tech lead)?
Or is it not okay to talk about it, because others are also evaluated by their skills at work, and maybe do nothing besides work and that would be unfair. How do you see it?
Thanks for you comment (maybe I will open a discussion on my own about this topic).
Hi @yuridevat
Absolutely, your outside-of-work achievements and activities sound impressive and showcase a lot of valuable skills. It's entirely okay to bring up these experiences during your quarterly talks, and here's why.
Firstly, these activities demonstrate your initiative, leadership skills, and passion for tech—qualities any company should value. They show you're proactive about learning, growing, and leading in the tech space, which could be useful in your current role or future positions.
Secondly, these activities might reveal skills that your current role doesn't utilize. If your manager is unaware of these skills, they won't be able to put them to use. By sharing, you help them understand your full potential, which could open up opportunities for you to contribute more meaningfully at work.
Lastly, this isn't about being 'fair' or 'unfair' to others. It's about giving your manager a full picture of who you are as a professional. What you do outside of work shapes you as much as what you do at work. It's all part of your unique value proposition.
So go ahead, tell your manager about your hackathon victories, your open source projects, your blog posts, and your leadership roles at university. They'll likely appreciate your drive and might even find ways to leverage your talents at work. After all, the whole point of these talks is to understand you better and help you grow, right? Hope this helps, and best of luck in your journey to becoming a tech lead!
👋 Selftaught Accessibility & Frontend Developer
💻 Dev & UX Accessibility Specialist @Atos | CPACC
🙆 Improving the world with accessible web content
✍️ Content creator, Tips on How To Get Into Tech
Great article @sasidhar_gadepalli .
This opens up a question which I do have for a while now. And hopefully, many others will comment on this as well. But first of all: Congrats to your new position 🥳
I agree with you on all your tasks for lead devs. It some companies it is common to have quarterly talks with each developer on what they want to achieve, where they see themselves, improvements and such. This is for personal grow, but also for the manager to get an overview, if the developer is right in their position, in this particular project, if the developer can grow and also if and how much raise they may get.
I really like that kind of approach, I see positivity for both sides. But I wonder if I should mention stuff I do beside work as well. Depending on which project you are, you may get not the most possible chance to show off what you can. You may "just be" one frontend dev out of many, unseen with other great skills you may have. In my case, I do a lot besides work, at University I am very active, the team leader in almost every lecture, attending hackathons/writeathons (and winning them), writing lots of blog posts, giving talks from time to time, maintaining my own open source projects an such.
I am way more present outside of work that at work. Is it okay to mention that? That actually I can do so much more but the role as a frontend dev does not give the possibility to show all my skills (so I may never be considered as a tech lead)?
Or is it not okay to talk about it, because others are also evaluated by their skills at work, and maybe do nothing besides work and that would be unfair. How do you see it?
Thanks for you comment (maybe I will open a discussion on my own about this topic).
Hi @yuridevat
Absolutely, your outside-of-work achievements and activities sound impressive and showcase a lot of valuable skills. It's entirely okay to bring up these experiences during your quarterly talks, and here's why.
Firstly, these activities demonstrate your initiative, leadership skills, and passion for tech—qualities any company should value. They show you're proactive about learning, growing, and leading in the tech space, which could be useful in your current role or future positions.
Secondly, these activities might reveal skills that your current role doesn't utilize. If your manager is unaware of these skills, they won't be able to put them to use. By sharing, you help them understand your full potential, which could open up opportunities for you to contribute more meaningfully at work.
Lastly, this isn't about being 'fair' or 'unfair' to others. It's about giving your manager a full picture of who you are as a professional. What you do outside of work shapes you as much as what you do at work. It's all part of your unique value proposition.
So go ahead, tell your manager about your hackathon victories, your open source projects, your blog posts, and your leadership roles at university. They'll likely appreciate your drive and might even find ways to leverage your talents at work. After all, the whole point of these talks is to understand you better and help you grow, right? Hope this helps, and best of luck in your journey to becoming a tech lead!
Thank you so much for your answer, @sasidhar_gadepalli 🙏 your are right!