Expansion Week at Rocketseat

Introduction

From September 7th to 11th, 2020, Rocketseat ran the second edition of Expansion Week, an exclusive event for Bootcamp students (technical programming training), with more than 10 hours of great content, conversations and fantastic insights!

But not everything is code, and code is the means, not the end. Inside a career, beyond hard skills (technical abilities in a programming language, framework, tools, etc.), soft skills (emotional, behavioral, communication and personal marketing skills) are extremely important — both individually and collectively.

There's a saying: "Programmers are hired for their hard skills and fired for their soft skills."

Rocketseat masterfully delivered another edition of this event, which I'm a big fan of. There are many lessons we take for life, and the exchange of experiences is fantastic.

So, before diving into each topic, congratulations to Rocket♥️ Seat! The whole team, every host was excellent, the guests were sensational! Thanks for everything!

Oh, before I forget: Lasanha, stop reading this post and go to sleep!

Learning how to learn

In the event opening, Rocketseat's CEO Robson Marques, CTO Diego Fernandes, and Dev Rel Thaíssa Candella had a conversation about how to learn, sharing several cool insights:

Learning is continuous, we'll always be learning;
Content used to be scarce — the problem was finding it, you had to physically move to libraries, go to newsstands to buy magazines, etc.;
Today the problem is the excess of content, we have to filter the content;
Have mentors who recommend content, since they've already invested time searching, filtering and studying. They know what's good and what's bad. So go to someone and say: "Hey mentor, what content do you recommend for me to build a people-management app that works on iOS and Android, given that I only have basic notions of HTML, CSS and JavaScript?"
Google is an amazing search tool, but it returns millions of results and we need to filter them;
A mentor isn't someone who knows everything, they help you on a specific point, in their skill area, and they can refer you to other people for help;
Avoid mentors who dictate rules — you need people who respect you, inspire you and make you think. A good mentor will actually ask you many questions! For every question you ask, expect two back from your mentor! And with that your head will start bubbling ;)
Value your story, it's unique, it's your journey. If you don't value it, no one else will;
Ask the right people — there's no point asking about a freelance career to someone who's only ever been a company employee. Today YouTube and Instagram are full of influencers in specific niches, try to start conversations with them;
A 15-year-old can be a mentor: they play FIFA, LoL, CS better than a 60-year-old. To be a mentor you don't need age, you need experience in a subject;
A taxi driver with 30 years of experience can't be a Formula 1 driver. The matter of focus is important. Both drive cars, but with different focus! One transports people and has a GPS in their head, the other goes at high speed and takes phenomenal curves. Focus matters.
Copy-pasting code to learn is normal — an artist doesn't paint the Mona Lisa on their first try, they copy several inspiring paintings and, after some experience, they can create their own Mona Lisa. Reading and copying code is important, but try to understand what you're copying and pasting.
Google a problem, open several tabs with different answers, consolidate them and form your own opinion.
Process: learn, find the solution, apply the solution, and the cycle repeats;
What a mentor says isn't law, it's experience — know how to filter what they tell you;
Seek the next level. If you don't, it will swallow you, because it exists;
Look for a mentor who provokes you to think and reflect, not one who dictates rules;
Beware of the comfort zone — technology changes, things change.
Once you're in the market, you can study on demand instead of trying to learn everything — you probably won't do everything at your job;
Don't try to know how everything works under the hood if you're not employed yet;
Time is necessary — respect the time. You studied today, your brain digests it, then you apply it and learn from it — it's a process;
FOCUS is important — it gives you speed. Imagine you have to run 100 KM: you have a paved road, which would be an intensive training with material already prepared by several mentors with the best tech in the market; the other path is the same 100 KM through a dense forest, like Google, YouTube, Udemy, etc. You'll get there, but it will take longer!
In experience, time isn't an isolated constant — it requires the sum of projects developed. To become a good programmer, you need time + developed projects, hands-on practice!
Reading sheet music doesn't make you a guitarist, but sheet music + guitar makes you a musician = fluency. Just studying isn't enough — you have to study and get your hands dirty! Hands-on Dev!
Generate value with what you already know, and keep studying;
A company puts whatever title YOU want on your role — it puts a title compatible with the salary; don't let the company label or define you. If they pay 10k to a Senior Dev, and you asked for 10k, then you'll be a Senior Dev! If they pay 5k to a Mid-Level Dev, and they think it's fair for you to earn 5k, then you're a Mid-Level Dev! But what are you, in fact, to yourself? How do YOU define yourself?
When you're learning something, you need to digest it — and that takes time. Learn now, apply tomorrow, study again and apply more!
It's never too late to start.

Productivity, time management and focus

Thaíssa chatted with Zeno Rocha, author of 14 Habits of Highly Productive Developers.

Productivity is related to spending energy on things we can control;
Absorb content that takes us to the next level;
It's no use wasting time on things we can't control: you live in the south, someone you don't know had an accident in the north, you can't do anything to help them. Is it worth watching this kind of news on TV?
It's no use getting involved in something that drains emotional and physical energy if you can't control it;
The purpose of engineering is to control complexity, not create it;
Being busy and being productive are different things;
Ask yourself: why am I doing what I'm doing?
We need to learn what's relevant — what we know today about technology may be irrelevant in five years. So, what do I need to learn today that won't be irrelevant in five years?
Which skills do you know today that will be relevant in 5 or 10 years?
Habits are things we choose: you choose what to do with your time. Cultivate good habits, practice good habits so bad habits get pushed off the agenda — habits aren't lost, they're replaced.
Don't count on motivation, count on discipline;
Motivation isn't sustainable, discipline is. Reframe discipline — maybe you think it's bad because of some past experience with parents or something military-related. Discipline is something good and useful for life.
Discipline helps maintain routine;
Watch out for burnout, overworking;
Watch out for FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) — excess content, WhatsApp groups, events;
You don't need to read all the documentation of a technology to start using it — learn on demand. You don't and won't know everything;
Start with the technology's get started and progress as needed;
Even after 10 years of career you won't know everything;
One YES is many NOs. If you said yes to React Native, you said no to Flutter, Swift, Kotlin, PhoneGap, Xamarin, etc.

Profile variety and career planning

Luiza Costa chatted with Marissol Alves (HR Manager at Microsoft) along with Simara Alves (Tech Recruiter) — they shared a lot of great stuff!

Hard skills are important to open the door, to get into the company, but to stay in the company you need soft skills;
A Lead Dev influences people — people who help others develop are well regarded!
Each company has its own maturity level — you can't compare a family business with a multinational;
Set a career plan for yourself — don't let life carry you;
You need to play the protagonist role and make your own decisions — don't outsource your career or your decisions;
A career plan can't be too rigid, it needs some flexibility — new careers emerge every year: Customer Success, wellbeing management, Flutter Developer, React Native Developer, GraphQL Developer prove it;
Time at the company no longer makes sense for promotion;
There are models to plan your career — the GROW Model was mentioned (link is mine).
Flexible mid- and long-term goals?!
Reality check: what do I know today to reach my goal (find a mentor to help answer that);
If you don't manage your career, someone else will;
Follow the 80/20 rule in networking — work 80% of the time and then 20% to share learning, write a relevant LinkedIn post, for example;
Reverse Mentoring — if you're a Back-End Dev, mentor the Front-End Dev and vice versa;
Tech Leads are rare — they know the application from start to finish and mentor other devs;
Devs are usually only worried about coding, not managing other devs;
A generalist career is a Dev who knows the tech but is willing to train others;
A Tech Lead understands the purpose of the software, is curious, has good behavioral skills, understands deadlines and costs;
A Tech Lead has a holistic view of the area;
A Dev must absorb the team's knowledge;
For a Dev to start having influence, they need to be visible — those who aren't seen aren't remembered. It's interesting to have a communication channel: LinkedIn, Blog, YouTube, etc.;
A Senior asks a lot, lives a process of time plus practice and thus has years of dedication;
English boosts the Dev's career and is well regarded!
How am I being seen by the market?
What have I shown to the market?

FIRST JOB TIP:

How do I get experience without experience?

Volunteer (do extra on a project) — work for free at the beginning;
Do extra hours on side area B to gain experience;
Document what you're learning;
Participate in open source projects;
Companies want to see active people;
Active social networks;
Networking;
Seek knowledge and apply it;

If you're switching careers to become a Dev, your previous experiences are great for showcasing your soft skills.

Everyone has potential!

Bootcamp > college degree for the IT market.

Knowledge changes very fast — we have to learn what's happening now!

Keep a good relationship with recruiters!

LinkedIn visibility strategy

Luiza Costa chatted with Rafael Pimenta and Andreza Maia, who also brought great career insights about how to keep a nice LinkedIn.

When you buy something online without reviews about the item, it's bad, right?

The same applies when hiring someone without knowing who they are!

Employer branding;
Companies are exposing themselves on the internet as the cool, interesting place to work, and this makes the Dev want to work there! The professional also has to sell an image so the company wants them;
Don't care about criticism when doing your personal marketing, or sharing an achievement for having learned something you think is cool!
How to deal with criticism of "always doing the same thing"?

By doing it differently! If everyone is doing the same thing, try to change something for the better — but don't stop doing it because of criticism.

My insight is: LinkedIn is full of recruiters, so the Dev needs to position themselves to please that audience. When posting something, don't think only about the other devs in your network you want to impact — think about a recruiter looking at your post, so post for the recruiter! Use resources recruiters like, even if it sometimes feels different to you, like using gifs, emojis, more human things — humanities people enjoy that more. In the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, there's an example of a letter the company writes to the customer, but the company doesn't think about itself, it thinks about the customer's wellbeing. That has a big impact! So a Dev has to think not only about themselves but also about the recruiter who'll be watching their behavior on the network (of course, this tip is very useful when you want a job — it's a matter of strategy and timing).

Doing employer branding from a recruiter's view is something good and nice, so do it. They enjoy it, use their language — The 5 Love Languages (great book);
Make a difference where you are, don't be just one more, don't be just a number, be a brand!
Set a FOCUS, position yourself on that and showcase yourself well;
Try to post once a week on LinkedIn, keep your network alive;
Why should the README be well-written? Because a Dev reads code and a recruiter reads the README at most!
You need to stay updated, and keep your LinkedIn updated;
Be a Person! In the bio (self description) of LinkedIn don't write in the third person, e.g.: "Thiago has been a programmer for 10 years, he has mastery in Java, React, SQL. Thiago participated in the RSXP event (Rocketseat) in 2019". This is very weird — be more informal, more fun, the world has changed, companies are changing;
Read a Tech Recruiter's resume for inspiration;
Read the resume of a dev who works at the company you aspire to;
In your job title, put what you do or what you aspire to do: Java Developer | React Developer; or JavaScript | Front-End Developer — help LinkedIn help you, it's an algorithm and needs good inputs to produce a better result;
Use vagas.com.br (Career Maps) to find good keywords, example:

https://www.vagas.com.br/mapa-de-carreiras/cargos/programador-java/0

Whoever is seen is remembered; whoever is seen with a differential is remembered as a differential;
If someone asked you to deliver x, deliver 2x. Oh, but they're delivering 2x, so deliver 3x — the idea is always to do your best!
Brand exposure is sharing what you have;
Don't try to be everything, or you'll end up being nothing;
Have empathy with recruiters too — try to understand their side;
Liking company posts on LinkedIn is good, it shows interest and some companies use this interaction to filter candidates — I didn't know that one;
According to the Tech Recruiters, gifs are cool on LinkedIn — use in moderation lol

Tip to build a good LinkedIn?

If you copy-paste code from StackOverflow, why not copy the LinkedIn of someone who inspires you? Visit the LinkedIn of people who give LinkedIn tips and grab what makes sense for you and your career. In the Expansion Week, four people talked about this — see what their LinkedIn looks like and try to build a similar one. Notice the language style (Portuguese or English) they use. After all, they're the ones who'll read your resume and create a good connection (feeling) — only then will you talk to a Dev about the technical part.

Personal brand development

In this live, Thaíssa talked with Loiane and Lucas Santos.

In my opinion, Loiane is a FOCUS example — working with Java for a long time, she achieved many cool things with that language/platform, but she also has lots of Angular experience!

Lucas Santos has sensational posts spread across Medium and dev.to, and now on his personal site.

This live was really cool, they gave several tips on creating a blog, answered whether it's worth having a blog or not, among other topics. Here are some insights:

Personal branding is an intentional way to work on your reputation;
Many people don't start intentionally, they do it because they enjoy it, but later they improve the image and personal brand aspect;
Many start producing content without much organization — they just create and that's it, no organization, no nice design — only later they start doing that;
The advantage of having a blog or producing content on other channels about a specific product is that you generate a connection with the company, the team, and can be invited to cool things with that company/product;
There's a right time to publish — it's nice to use a tool to manage posting schedules on social media;

https://rockcontent.com/br/blog/horario-de-postagem/

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/#tw-times

https://www.mlabs.com.br/

https://dev.to/iriskatastic/writing-technical-articles-tips-for-programmers-29gp#naming

On Twitter, Friday is the best day to post content, between 9 and 10 a.m. — in your local time; and on weekdays 10 a.m. to noon. Worst day: Saturday.

https://medium.com/@khaosdoctor/como-e-por-que-todo-dev-deveria-escrever-artigos-1f8b9ba74d4

https://dev.to/devteam/the-7-most-popular-dev-posts-from-the-past-week-a8o

Creativity

In this live, Mayk Brito chatted with Tiago Luchtenberg (UI Designer at Rocketseat) and Calebe Asafe (Designer and Advertiser).

Creativity is related to being inspired by something that already exists;
Discover your own process to get creativity;
Cultural baggage and life experiences help creativity — "who did you eat oranges with?"
The incubation process of an idea isn't rational! It's synapses I have no control over when they happen;
It's normal to have "the Aha moment 💡" when we're not working on the project;
You can't schedule creativity — like sitting for 4 hours and producing creativity to get the Aha moment — it doesn't work like that;
Walking, having tea, taking a pause, relaxing, walking the dog — they all help bring illumination ahaaa 💡

What is a creative person?

1 - Solves a problem in a different way;

2 - Does something different from what already exists;

3 - Does better than yesterday, does better than what already exists;

A creative process doesn't mean lack of responsibility;
Ideas on paper aren't worth R$ 1;
The creative process is doing, not just staying in the realm of ideas;
Being creative is training and practice!!! Relaxation, being chill, and you can develop a method;

How to improve creativity:

Train, test, develop, absorb content, random things — you need a problem to solve;
Creativity needs a limit, needs a problem;
Creativity is who breaks or reaches the limit;
Anyone can be creative! Creativity develops;

We're trained NOT to be creative in the traditional education system:

Because it rewards the right answer and punishes the wrong one; it doesn't allow room for creativity.
Creativity is testing, it's making mistakes;
Crazy Idea x Creative Idea?

In the beginning everything is crazy, then it becomes creative through the process! You can't exclude one from the other.

Creativity has no limits!
Should a dev study design?

Good to know how to talk and understand a designer's mind!

It's good because a front-end dev may not have much design sense and may fail!

The dev doesn't have to create the layout, but can give an opinion…

FIGMA is an excellent tool for designers and front-end developers.

About creativity, there's a great Steve Jobs talk on how he connected the dots from the past and created Apple:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45xrq0wpqv4&ab_channel=i3onlinebr

Be a Rocket

In this live, Diego Fernandes chatted with Rodrigo Branas — a great live. Branas recently brought Uncle Bob (author of Clean Code) to his channel and they had a great conversation!

We're the average of the people we relate with;
Ask for help, "bother" until you learn;
If you can't grow where you are, you need to change something;
You learn a lot by reading books;
Reading a book is like mentoring;
70% of people don't have a computer but do have a smartphone — a sign that mobile is a good path;
Those who have PCs, big screens and laptops are Devs (and financial market analysts);
Today there are more Devs, but many more opportunities;
Today it's becoming common to work 4h for one company and 4h for another (PJ);
Don't let others drive your destiny;
You have to follow your plan;
Plan your career also thinking about how much you're worth in the market;
The market is global, the trend of R$ values may globalize too;
A job interview is a trust relationship;
Do excellent work where you are. Networking, meeting people!
The world spins, don't do mediocre work;
Attend meetups;
Your basic is someone else's advanced;
Share relevant content;
English is the key to many closed doors!
Remote work is the present, not the future;
Companies are scattered — they're everywhere! (remote work);
Try to interact more with people even when remote!
Don't let yourself be carried by demotivated people — observe people excited about their career and follow them!
Listen to TOP people, map those people;
Filter the best each has to offer;

How to get there

In this live, Thaíssa chatted with Mayk Brito and Dorly — it was super fun, I laughed a lot with Maykão, but beyond humor there was lots of relevant content:

Avoid distractions;
Ask for help;
Work focused;
Work a few hours a day avoiding distractions as much as possible;
Even at home, remote, with no one watching, no internet blocked — that's a risk and an invitation to distractions; keep your phone away from you for a while;
Have a ritual to go to work even when at home: take a shower, put on clothes, get ready — make your brain associate this with going to work;
The brain works by association;
Create triggers in your brain to say "now it's rest mode, now it's work mode!" Internalize this for yourself — program your brain;
Take breaks to try to relax, and maybe have a cool insight;
You need balance, organization — eat, drink water, go to the bathroom;
Remove phone notifications;
Distract yourself productively, letting the brain work unconsciously while doing something else — but it must be unrelated to work (on a virtual screen). Examples: walk the dog, do the dishes, have tea…
Workday over and still things to do? Write it down and leave it for another day;
Commitment to yourself with a date and time!
A Berkeley neuroscientist warns that a phone present near you disrupts the brain's cognitive function — here Maykão and Dorly threw the phones in the trash hahaha;
Do a weekly planning with yourself!

HOW TO ASK FOR HELP

Knowing how to ask for help is a very effective way to achieve cool things for yourself!

1 - Try to solve the problem first

2 - What logic do you want to implement

3 - Write what you're trying to do

When searching, use keywords!

Wrong: How to add an image to my blog

Right: How to add an image in WordPress CMS

How to do a loop in JavaScript (Documentation):

Type in Google: mdn array map

The rubber duck tactic to try to solve the problem alone — talk to yourself or have a rubber duck to talk to.

When asking someone for help:
Ask one question at a time! (Help me help you!)
Try to break the problem into parts!

Don't ask this: What's the best JavaScript framework for making games? — too generic, hard to answer objectively

Ask this instead: I'm a JS beginner, I need to create 2D games — be more specific

Communication = making common — what's only in your head, you need to make common for everyone!!!

HOW TO FIND MENTORS

How do I identify a mentor in my life?
A mentor isn't someone you choose — it's a relationship you build with the person!
Does this person look like something I'd like to be?
Do I feel comfortable talking with them, can you open up to this person?
After talking to them, does your head keep bubbling?
Does this person have time and availability to mentor you?
The person you need to reach out to more frequently needs time;

WHERE TO FIND THEM?

Books are a good place for mentoring with the author, seeing their points of view;
Reverse Mentoring — helping someone in something and the person helping me in something else;
Mentoring is making the other see further, not forcing you to do something and charging you for it!
It doesn't have to be formal;
Someone who respects you and your opinion — if the person dictates rules, puts you in a box, get away from that person, they're toxic;
Seniority in one area but not in others! Always humility!
Eagle eyes, leave your bubble;

How to get people to help?

Ask people who already have a mentor to intermediate a conversation through reference or QI;
Talk to experienced people!
Talk to people at events!
Community: comunidade.tech
There are no demi-gods, a dev is a human being with lots of dedication!!
Everyone has potential!!! You just need to develop it!!!
Recognizing someone is very important!

Books:

Why We Sleep
Deep Work
How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie

The bootcamp is over, what now?

In this live, Diego chatted with Mayk Brito, Luiza Costa and Laura Beatris (Bootcamp Alumni).

I really liked this live because Laura answered in the first question that something that helped her develop inside the Bootcamp and outside was: Discipline!

It might sound trivial, but applying this word day to day helps a lot!

That's why she has stood out, become a mentor at Rocketseat's Spacequad, and achieved cool things early in her career.

Something that also stood out was that she created a YouTube channel and exposed herself sharing programming topics in English, even though it wasn't perfect according to her! She was learning in public, developing herself, taking risks and going for it to achieve her goals!

It was a very inspiring live!

Conclusion

A week full of insights and knowledge that will surely take the crew to a next level!

If you want to hop on this rocket, sign up at the Rocketseat platform, it's free and you'll definitely enjoy it ;)

how to build a successful onboarding process?
— Thiago Marinho (@tgmarinho) July 20, 2021