3 Mistakes Too Many Software Engineers Make (from a Director at Airbnb) [Storytime Saturdays]
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Long-term readers know that I’m a huge fan of Rahul Pandey and his YouTube channel. He is one of the few tech career tips guys that shares useful information regularly, and we have referenced his communication and career tips in the past. Recently, I was watching his interview, “3 Mistakes Too Many Software Engineers Make (from a Director at Airbnb)“, where Rachel from Airbnb shares 3 major mistakes she’s seen developers make in the past-
The first mistake is to work too hard all the time. Rachel brings up the 80/20 rule and suggests carving out some of time to reflect. This is because if you are constantly working without time to reflect, you will not be able to grow your skills and knowledge.
The second mistake is telling your manager that “you feel like you are not learning enough”. You’re better off taking charge of your own learning and creating a learning agenda for yourself. You can then tell your manager about your learning goals and ask for their support. This works for 2 reasons. Firstly, you’re not there to learn, you’re there to make your company money. Framing your situation as you not learning enough puts learning and your productivity in an adversarial dynamic, increasing the likelihood of rejection. Secondly, by providing a concrete learning plan, you take the cognitive load off the manager. This makes approval more likely. In general, taking ownership of your career is a game-changer (and has been the mentality that has helped me the most).
The third mistake is to focus too much on titles and promotions and not enough on the work itself. The speaker says that your job title does not mean the same thing as growth. You should focus on doing meaningful work that you find fulfilling. If you do this, the promotions and recognition will likely follow. This is one where I have some mixed feelings. While this is generally sound advice, I think Rachel severely underestimates the impact of titles and prestige points on your career. As one who built his career with no respectable credentials and through non-traditional roles, this is something I can speak to personally. Rockstars like Rahul and Rachel, who both have had very impressive placements from the get-go, probably have not seen the other side. For proof, look no further than the fact that Rachel’s introduction included her impressive university and very important job titles, and no information on any actual accomplishments. Like it or not, social proof is probably the most common proxy out there. Ignoring it will only handicap you. That being said, Rachel’s point of titles being used to hook employees into unfavorable working conditions is spot on. As with many things, it’s about balancing tradeoffs.
For this article, we will be discussing these 3 mistakes and how you can avoid them in more detail. Let me know what you think of these mistakes, and how you’ve seen them play out in your career or the careers of your acquaintances.
The Importance of Rest for Productivity
Here’s a cool thing a coach taught me when I was competing in cage fights: you don’t get better between reps. You get better between sleeps. What does this mean and what does this have to do w/ your software engineering? Let’s talk about how you actually learn a new skill/refine an existing one.
Think of your brain like a muscle. Just as muscles need rest to repair and grow stronger after a workout, your brain needs downtime to process and integrate new information. Without adequate rest, your brain becomes fatigued, making it harder to focus, learn new things, and solve complex problems.
Research has shown that rest and sleep are crucial for memory consolidation, the process by which short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories. During rest, your brain replays and reinforces the neural patterns associated with what you've learned, making the information more accessible and easier to recall later.
Furthermore, taking breaks and engaging in activities that are different from your work can spark creativity and lead to new insights. When you step away from a problem, your subconscious mind continues to work on it, often leading to "aha" moments when you return.
“Secret to brain success: Intelligent cognitive rest”, Harvard Health
Incorporating regular breaks, reflection time, and diverse activities into your routine isn't just about avoiding burnout. It's a strategic approach to maximizing your learning potential, improving your problem-solving skills, and achieving sustainable career growth. But won’t this impede your productivity? This is where the 80/20 rule is a good friend. There are 2 ways to apply it-
Spend 80% of your time working, 20% of your time reflecting. This gives you time to both stir the pot and to strategize.
Cut down on the number of things you do. Remember, only 20% of the actions you take are useful. Focus on them.
Resting regularly allows you to avoid burnout, which is key to progressing your career. As the saying goes, “time in the market beats timing the market.” Don’t push yourself harder than you have to. Hard work is important, but it’s not a badge of honor. If you find yourself consistently working hard- take a consider whether you’re actually accomplishing something or if you’re just dressing up your own inefficiency behind pretty words. You should also consider delegating tasks to others, to free your own space. This framework by
is brilliant-
One of the best ways to make sure you work on high-impact projects and avoid burnout is to pick your battles. This is the number 1 thing that has helped me in my career (right up there with just doing things). Let’s talk about it.
Take ownership of your career
Here’s a fun fact about me- I’ve spent most of my career telling my boss what I will do. It’s worked out great. You might think that my bosses didn’t like this, but they’ve all admired my initiative and ability to work independently. They get things delivered. I get to work on what I want without micro-management. Win-win.
The key is to assert yourself while respecting your boss’s competence and experiences. Here’s how I do it.
When proposing a new solution, I tell the boss two things-
What I will be doing (+ any hows, anticipated challenges, and logistics).
Why I will be doing what I will be doing.
The why is very important, b/c that’s where the bosses can add a lot of insight. A lot of my supervisors have been too busy to worry with every little detail, but they do understand the overall space well. The why opens up space for their inputs. The rest is simple- listen, integrate their feedback, and figure out what to do after synthesizing all the information.
Rachel frames the lack of ownership through the example of people who expect a career to have a clear career/learning path laid out to them. This is expecting the world to give things to you on a platter. This is the number one way to be forced into work by others. Be a person, not a jellyfish. Don’t be afraid to assert yourself. You know your inclinations and strengths better than anyone else. Tell others what you will do, and let the magic happen.
Once you start this, your career progression is around the corner. Let’s talk about one of the biggest challenges with that.
The Siren Song of Prestige
Once people start recognizing your brilliance, there’s a good chance they’ll try to get you to work harder. And instead of paying you/offering you benefits, they will try to lure you in with nice titles or the prestige of working with a cutting edge company (many big tech companies are notorious for downleveling new employees who are just happy to work at FAANG). A fancy title doesn't always equal personal growth or even job satisfaction.
Don’t let that be you.
However, titles and prestige points are very important. It’s why Rachel’s video is advertised as Director of Airbnb, why Rahul generally includes Meta in his thumbnails etc. People are too busy to evaluate your abilities, so they rely on simple proxies like titles or number of people that report to you as a short-hand for your importance to the world.
This caused me a lot of trouble early on. I didn’t have a university degree, and most of my work experience related to building AI/Mobile apps for random small businesses. This led to auto-rejections from job applications. No interviews, no chances for me to prove myself (this was actually my reason to get into writing). Things only started changing when two things happened-
I got some gigs with more respectable names that seemed like “real work.”
And things really exploded when I became “Head of AI” for Clientell (a RevOps startup I cofounded). After that, I got heaps of interest in senior management roles.
If you’re struggling to break in, consider alternative paths to get your prestige points. Find small businesses for which you can call yourself a “lead developer”, build a startup, or get your foot in the door to a company with the intention of pivoting. Anything to get started, to get your first recognized W. Don’t underestimate the power of titles and appearances. Anyone who tells you that they don’t matter is either a liar, a fool, or already immensely successful.
Does all this square with your experiences? Would love to hear it.
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