Self-Employed back to Permanent Employment

The eagle-eyed among you have noticed I’ve not published an issue of The Modern Software Developer in a while…

It started when I was preparing for my talk and workshop in Amsterdam in mid-June.

I had written down this goal a few years earlier, and it was a big deal for me to tick it off.

It took more out of me than I expected.

I happily extended that break for a few more weeks.

I needed time to recharge and to reflect…

Background

For background, just over three years ago, I quit my permanent job as a software architect to become a full-time mindset coach for software engineers and software engineering leaders.

🟢 I've had the pleasure of coaching many software engineers and software engineering leaders and working with some great companies...

🟢 I've built a following on LinkedIn of over 26,000 people...

🟢 I've made guest appearances on many podcasts...

🟢 I've created this newsletter with close to 20,000 subscribers across LinkedIn and Substack... (Thank you!)

🟢 I've hosted hundreds of mental health chats for software engineers and leaders...

🟢 I've created a wellbeing hub with tools for software engineers and leaders...

🟢 I've spoken at an international tech conference about mental health and mindset in our industry...

🟢 I've met sooooooo many amazing people, which is amazing, in and of itself, given how much I used to hate meeting strangers.

🟢 The best bit - I've spent more time with my 18-month-old daughter since birth than I ever could have imagined.

🔴 There are so many things I intended to do which I just didn’t manage...

Reflection

After delivering my workshop and talk in Amsterdam, it was time for some reflection.

These past 3 years have been tough.

I haven’t made a big enough dent in my mission to improve mental health and wellbeing in the software development industry (and make a living…).

And given the current state of the software engineering market, spending money on mindset coaching isn’t a top priority for engineers or their employers…

This, combined with various other factors, led me to the realisation that it was time to find a permanent job once more…

When I first quit my job, I told myself that reverting back to a permanent role would be a failure.

So, was this 3-year adventure just one giant failure?

Just one giant failure?

If you know anything about me, you’ll know I am all about mindset.

So, you won’t be surprised to hear that I don’t see it that way.

I’m supremely proud of what I’ve achieved during this time!

The biggest achievement of this journey is the fact that I’m a completely different person from the guy who quit his job 3 years ago.

It’s almost unrecognisable.

Not to mention, the work I’ve done over the last 3 years has opened so many doors.

It has undoubtedly contributed to me securing my new role.

And without this 3 year period, I doubt I could even do my new role effectively.

So, no, I don’t see it as one giant failure.

With that said, I might feel differently depending on the job I end up in…

So what kind of job do I actually want…?

What kind of job do I want?

I don’t want just any job or to work for just any company.

That might sound self entitled, but I’m not prepared to compromise on my values at this stage of my life/career.

The company I work for must have compatible values to my own and be working towards a significant mission of their own.

The job must allow me to contribute to my mission of improving mental health and wellbeing in the software engineering industry.

I’m not just looking for a tech lead role. I want to utilise my coaching skills with those I manage and with my peers, too.

I want to build my profile and personal brand so that I can have a bigger influence in our industry moving forward.

I’ve spent a good amount of time trying to convince others of the importance of wellbeing and mental health to the performance of themselves and their teams.

My new role should allow me to put my ideas about how software engineering teams can run and perform into practice.

My job search

And so, I began my job search.

I’ve spoken to so many people regarding job searches through my mental health chats.

What I have to say is often met with surprise and intrigue, and those people rarely have heard a perspective like mine.

Of course, I follow my own advice…

I’ll go into more detail about my job search in a future issue, but in a nutshell:

I spent some time:

🟢 Doing DSA (Not too much though) - I’d never completed a single leetcode before…

🟢 Researching system design interviews - I’d never had a system design interview in my 24-year career…

🟢 Crafting my own candidate narrative - more on this in a future issue…

🔴 I didn’t mass apply…

I applied for two roles… and interviewed with both companies.

🟢 I interviewed twice with the first company.

This was a speculative application, although I did have a LinkedIn connection who worked there, and I reached out to them before applying.

It didn’t work out, and to be honest, I wasn’t super impressed with the interviewing.

🟢 I interviewed 4 times with the second company.

This was a very targeted approach on my part and involved direct outreach to someone in my network who was aware of the work I’ve been doing over the last 3 years.

There wasn’t even a role being advertised when I initially reached out.

The interviews focused on system design and behavioural / leadership.

Offer accepted

I accepted the offer from the second company and will start my new role on August 12th.

Moving forward

Moving forward, there will obviously be a settling-in period, so the frequency of my newsletter might be a little erratic.

I’ll try to maintain at least once a month, but I might manage more depending on what pops up.

I’ll maintain my LinkedIn presence the best I can and try to showcase some of what I’m doing in my new role, too.

Once settled, I will be working with a maximum of 3 coaching clients.

I will also make time to deliver my workshop - “5 steps to develop better mental health”, several times a year to other businesses in the software engineering industry.

In my next issue, I’ll reveal what my new role will be, who I’ll be working for, and why this was the right move for me at this time…