
DigitalOcean Virtual Tech Talk & QA Follow-Up Questions
On May 7th, PowerToFly hosted a live webinar with the women tech leaders at DigitalOcean.
We're sorry that we weren't able to address all of your questions during the event (with over 180 attendees asking great questions, it gets tough!), but the DigitalOcean panelists graciously took the time to write responses to all of the questions we couldn't get to.
So if you attended the event and your question wasn't answered, take a look at the Q&A below to find your question and read the panelists' response! Still not seeing the information you're looking for? You can reach out to Limor directly with your question.
What kind of information do you need? Jump to the section you're looking for:
- Career Advice + Panelists' Personal Work Experiences
- Applying to DigitalOcean
- Working at DigitalOcean
- Webinar-Specific Questions & Feedback
- Engineering/Cloud-Computing-Specific Question
Career Advice + Panelists' Personal Work Experiences
1. Early in your career, how did you navigate the technical interview process in terms of preparation?
Jenni: I'm not sure I did much differently then than I do now. Which is to say, find out what you can about the company and what they're looking for. Lookup anything in the job listing you're unfamiliar with, and then be honest during your interview that you did that, but it goes a long way to being able to talk about what they are looking for and your willingness to learn. I never pretend to know things I don't, but I do offer educated guesses.
Sneha: One of the most important things for me is talking to individuals at the company (and those who might be in a similar role). I'd also agree with Jenni in that this is something I still do and something I did earlier in my career as well! I typically reach out to people at the company via Twitter and ask how the interview process is, what I might need to prep, etc. I also like checking Glassdoor
2. How do you build a network in your early career?
Limor: I built my network mainly though LinkedIn. When I moved to the US I had no connections and did not know anybody. I grew my network and improved, and it really paid off, as this is how DigitalOcean found me.
I also recommend attending local meetups, that can help you as well in expanding your network.
Sneha: So for me, I actually rarely use LinkedIn! After graduating, I started going to a lot of tech meetups, conferences, and reaching out to individuals at companies that I found interesting and asking if they'd like to grab coffee. I also leveraged the alumni network at my company. And one other thing is Twitter! Tech twitter - especially in the infrastructure space, can be quite friendly and helpful. I've met people who I pair program with, individuals who've suggested I apply to jobs, and others who've even suggested interesting conferences I attend via the platform.
3. What advice would you give to a new grad who is interested in tech but doesn't have that much experience?
Volunteer, contribute to open source, do your own side projects and put them on Github.
4. If You Have Been In Technology Sales/Account Management But Are Ready To Grow Within Marketing, Product Management, Channel Management. Do You Have Any Recommendations To Better Qualify For Those Positions?
The best way to get into roles such as Product Management, is to start building qualifications related to those roles. As an example, for Product Management, one can start by talking to customers and users, understand how they use the product, understanding where they feel the gaps, and then communicating those with Product decision makers. Another thing to do is to read up on product related topics -- there are a plethora of blogs, articles and books on the subject. And finally, talk to the Product Managers at your organization, and let them know of your intentions, and they will be in the best position to guide you.
5. How do you manage the job search process? In terms of dealing with failure and bouncing back
My advice to you is never take it personally, many times you might have been a good fit, but there was someone slightly better than you. I also recommend trying to get feedback from the recruiter what were the reasons for rejection and if there is anything you can improve on.
6. Being A Recent Boot Camp Full Stack Web Developer Graduate, Do You Recommend Remote Work Or Should I Work On Site First? Thoughts?
In general, we recommend engineers that are at the beginning of their careers to work out of an office that makes it easier to start their career journey. But it is specific to the team and the hiring manager. We try not to have strict rules and leave this up to the individual. (this is a personal thing, do they feel like they need colleagues around? do they feel like they can be productive in their home (or in an non-office environment)? do they feel like they can have the level of social engagement on their own that they may miss outside of an office? And just like a programming language or framework, working remotely is a set of skills you develop and improve over time and DigitalOcean really works hard to support its remote workers.
7. How Did The Individual Panelist Find Their Way To DO? Were They Recruited From Outside Firms? Did They Submit Resumes? Did They Have Contacts From Within DO?
Limor: I was contacted by Digital Ocean
Jenni: I randomly submitted a resume based on seeing a job listing on stackoverflow. I had never heard of DigitalOcean before and had to ask around to make sure it was legit. :-)
Sneha: I had been a long-time customer of DigitalOcean but hadn't thought of applying. An old engineering director/friend of mine suggested I talk to her friend who worked here; she was convinced it would be an environment I'd really enjoy. After speaking to her friend and visiting the office, I was hooked! I then submitted my resume via referral and the rest is history.
8. What Are Pain Points About Working Remotely?
Limor: It is very personal; I love working remotely and do not have any pain points
Jenni: It depends a lot on the person. Given the fact that the majority of people I work with are also remote, the actual ability to be productive and communicate with coworkers is not an issue at all. You're more likely to run into life-work balance things like not turning off work when you should, going stir crazy being in your house too much, or just turning into a hermit. There are lots of ways to counteract these as long as you know yourself.
Sneha: I agree with Jenni. I've found that I'm actually more productive working from home than when I was in the office due to fewer interrupts. I also still do pair program frequently so don't necessarily lose out on anything by working remotely. The bigger concern is the fact that a) it is very easy to turn into a hermit, b) often it is hard to put down work at the end of the day!
9. What are some good questions to ask when interviewing to make sure the culture is a right fit?
At DO we look for people who will add to our culture rather than fit in! Ask questions about a company's values, and what it takes to be successful. Ask your interviewers about what they like most about their jobs and their company.
10. What are some symptoms you have personally seen or experienced of someone who is poorly handling remote work life?
Typically lack of communication and lack of transparency about what they are working on.
11. What type of experience did you have when you first started engineering?
Jenni: It's been over 15 years, but I went a relatively traditional route. I got a degree in computer engineering from UofIL (so not computer science), but my first jobs were on a test team, then a tier3 support team, a software build team, and finally into development. When I first graduated, the only software development courses I'd had in school were an intro to programming class in java, some c++ from a data structures class, and x86 assembly.
Sneha: I actually didn't study computer science in school. I was an electrical engineering and economics double major...but in my senior year, I did some neural networks projects that required some very basic programming. Upon graduating, however, I realized that a) I was very interested in startups. b) I didn't want to work in silicon fabrication or embedded systems at the time. I ended up discovering a startup that allowed me to apply the math and stats I learned as an EE while writing C++ for casino games. I ended up working for a few more startups as a software engineer and learned a lot more on the job, by working on side projects, studying some traditional compsci textbooks, and finding mentors who pair programmed with me.
Applying to Digital Ocean
1. Are Interviews Also Done Remotely?
Yes, in fact the majority of the interviews are done remotely
2. Are The Posted Positions Super Strict On Requirements?
Depends on the position, we typically do not expect that a candidate will have all of the required skills, it is a wish list and we make compromises.
3. Is It Ok To Apply If I Have A More Varied Background That Reaches Into Different Areas, E.G., A Front-end/Web Dev That Also Has Marketing Experience, As Well As Programming Experience In A Language Other Than The One Required (Rails)?
I will say it is always better to apply than to not apply, worst case, we will tell you you are not a fit for what we are looking for. If you have specific questions, you can feel free to contact me directly at limor@digitalocean.com
4. Are There Any Positions For Recent Graduates?
Look at our careers page for current open positions. We do have summer internship program which is a great way to start at DO, we have hired several of our interns.
5. Are There Opportunities For Technical Writers?
In general yes, look at our careers page for current openings.
6. Are You Looking For UX Designers?
Yes, look at the current job description for a designer.
7. Are There Positions Available With Digital Ocean That Takes Experience Into Consideration Even If You Do Not Have A Typical College Degree?
It is hard to answer that question generally, but I can tell you that we do have some engineers without a college degree
8. Digital Ocean Technologies Are Infrastructure Cloud Storage. How Does Someone With Software Engineering Background Fit In The Organization?
Absolutely! We have multiple software engineering positions. Take a look at our careers page.
9. Do designers also work remotely? We have hired designers to work remotely. Our career page is the best place to look for open roles in Product Design or Web Design.
10. Do You Have Any Opportunities In "Sales" Department?
Look at our careers page for current openings, We do have a current opening of Director, Inside Sales
11. Do You Have Any Part Time-freelance Opportunities In Design/Graphics Or Entry Level Product Manager?
We don't hire part time designers at this time. Look at our careers page for current openings on our Product Team.
12. Do You Have Tech Support Jobs Here Too?
We have several tech support positions at our careers
13. Does DO sponsor work visas for people who are in USA?
If you have applied to a position and need immigration assistance, please discuss with your recruiter. For specific questions about your particular visa needs, email recruiting@digitalocean.com .
14. Does DigitalOcean offer any internships or mentor programs?
We do have summer internships every summer.
15. Does DO recognize and consider employing parents who have been out of job market due to parenting etc.?
Yes absolutely!
16. Does DO Provide Training For Their Open Positions?
I am not sure what training you refer to specifically. Every new hire is going through an on-boarding for their specific team. The team provides all the guidance and information the new hire needs in order to be successful at their job.13.
17. How Much Experience Does One Need To Have In Open Source And Linux Environments To Be A Do Customer Success Manager?
DigitalOcean's Customer Success team has a wide range of technical experience. Generally speaking, our Customer Success Managers are primarily responsible for understanding the ecosystem and being able to pull in the right people across the organization to help customers overcome their challenges. Direct experience working with open source or Linux itself is not necessarily a requirement, but you should be able to work very closely with people who are passionate about both these things, and willing to learn!"
18. I Am Canadian, Planning To Apply For Remote Jobs In The Near Future, Including For Companies Based In The Us. Not Sure Of About The Jurisdiction. I Was Wondering What Are Your Policies Regarding Non-American Workers.
We do have a legal entity in Canada, and our Canadian employees are employed by the Canadian entity.
19. I Am Nearing The End Of My Career, Hoping To Work For Another 6-7 Years Before I Retire. I Have Worked In The Same Industry For 35 Years. My Skills Are Dated But I Am Enthusiastic About Learning Something New And Contributing In Some Fashion. I Have Started Learning Python... Does D.O. Have Positions For Displaced Workers Who Feel They Can Still Contribute?
It is hard for me to answer; we do not have something official for displaced workers. You can contact me directly at limor@digitalocean.com and I will try to help.
20. I Noticed That Most Of The Posted Positions Are Technical. Do You Hire Functional Pms (Pmo)? Those That Generally Work In Concert W/The Technical Pm Doing Resourcing, Earned Value, Scheduling, Budgets/Forecasting, Metrics, Reporting, Etc.?
Not that I am aware of. You can look at our careers page for all open positions.
21. I See A Lot Of Engineer Positions. Do You Have To Know Actual Coding?
Each open position list the set of requirements from a candidate. Typically an engineer position would require to know actual coding.
22. I'm Making A Career Shift From A Very Different Industry, But Have Transferable Skills. Is DO Looking More At The Specific Skills Vs. The Industry?
It is hard for me to answer that genetically because that is depending on the specific team and what the hiring manager think his/her team needs.
You can contact me directly at limor@digitalocean.com and I can try to help.
23. I Have Only One Year Programming Experience And That Was Over 3 Years Ago As I Did Not Work Because I Was Raising My Kids. I Am Looking For Remote Job. What Advice Or Tips Can You Give On How To Land A Job Digital Ocean. Overall I Have 9 Years Of Experience In It.
Depending on which specific area you are interested in.
Volunteer, contribute to open source, do your own side projects and put them on Github.
24. Interested In Hearing About What DO Is Looking For In Terms Of Coming In With Experience In Their Specific Tools Vs Training
Typically we do not look for knowledge in specific tools or a specific programming language we are using and we expect a learning curve.
25. My Experience Is Mis, Finance, And Project Management. I Do Not Currently Hold An Engineering Degree, However, I Am Interested In Several Other Positions, Such As The Associate Customer Success Account Manager Position.
I recommend you apply directly. If you need any help or advice, email recruiting@digitalocean.com and a recruiter will respond to you!
26. What types of side projects would DO be interested in seeing by potential candidates?
It very much depends on the team.
27. What key qualities does DO look for in employees?
"We want people to have opinions and to express them, however we are looking for humility, ability to listen to others and consider that you might not always be right." - Limor
"I look for someone who is passionate about what they work on and get excited about new technical challenges." - Alexis
Working at Digital Ocean
1. Are all of the positions at DigitalOcean remote?
No, not of our jobs are remote. If you look at our careers page you will see location information listed under each job title. While the majority of our positions are open to remote applicants, some are specific to a particular office location. DigitalOcean headquarters is located in NYC in the heart of Soho. We also have offices in Cambridge, MA and Palo Alto, CA.
2. What are the typical/expected working hours at Digital Ocean? Do you need to be available at certain times/in a particular timezone? How Do You Handle Balance Between Work And Life, Especially For People Who Have Children?
We are pretty flexible, we do not have a specific time frame in a day you have to be working, however we do want to make sure every team member gets face time with the team on a daily basis, so as long as there is daily overlap we are good.
We do have a lot of flexibility with the working hours. Therefore, if I need to pick up my kids from school, take them to the dr. or anything else that pops up, I make sure to either block my calendar or notify my teammates.
3. What Support Do You Receive From Digital Ocean To Make Sure You Are Able To Work Remotely In A Successful Manner?
We each get a workstation sent to our home that includes a monitor, mouse and keyboard.
We have the right tools we need to get the job done and keep the communication channel, some of the tools we use extensively are slack and google suite. In our offices each meeting room is equipped with a TV and a chrome box so you can connect to the google meet from the office as well.
4. Are There Any DigitalOcean Employees Who Work Remotely Outside Of The Us?
Yes, we have employees around the world, mostly in the US and Canada, but also in Europe and India.
5. Does The Company Have A "Slack Code Of Conduct"? Haha For Example: Only Use @Channel If Something Is On Fire.
We do not have a Slack Code Of Conduct. Best practices are using @channel for emergencies.
6. How About Career Tracks? Do You Have An Engineer Track That Takes You To Staff Or One For Managers?
We do have Individual Contributor vs Management career tracks. Also we do allow a move from one career track to another.
7. How Are New Remote Employees Trained? Describe Your On-boarding Process. What Kind Of Mentorship Does DO Provide? ....What does the on-boarding, training, and integration of new people look like?
New hire on-boarding sessions are held every Tuesdays at our HQ in NYC. New hires spend their first week in NY learning about how to navigate DigitalOcean. After general on-boarding, new hires begin team specific on-boarding. Checkout my article on DO's employee experience.
Each team has their own on-boarding process, we have a lot of documentation for each team to make it easier for a new hire to get up to speed. In addition to that each team will make sure the new hire is paired by someone from the team to help him/her getting up to speed quickly.
8. How Do Engineers Work Together Remotely? Do They Pair Program Or Mostly Work Independently?
It depends on the team. We do use slack quite intensively for daily communications. Teams meets via google meet on a daily or weekly basis depending on the team. And there are ad-hoc google meet depending on the need.
9. How Does Digital Ocean Determine If A Position Should Be Remote Or Not? I See A Data Scientist Position Listed As Not Remote But A Data Engineering As Remote. Is That Team Specific Or Does Any Listing Have The Opportunity To Be Remote?
It depends on the team and their needs. It is a decision the hiring manager makes.
10. How Does Engineering Work With Creatives, Product Designers?
For each project we have a designer assigned and the designer is working closely with the engineering team as well as with the product team.
11. How Does The Friday Chat accommodate Different Time Zones?
The Friday chat we have in Compute is mostly accommodating US time zone, as it is happening typically Friday afternoons.
12. How many employees does DigitalOcean have?
We have just reached 500!
13. Is it harder to assimilate into a company when working 100% remotely? What are some tips you have for someone going into a remote role for the first time?
I personally do not think so. You can read an article I wrote where I provide tips for working remotely.
14. Is remote work an option for early career <5 years for engineering? Or do you prefer experienced people for remote work?
Absolutely possible. If you do not have any experience at all, it will be easier for you to start working from an office than starting to work remotely.
15. Is Digital Ocean remote worldwide or just US based?
We hire remotely in the United States and Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.
16. Many Companies That Are All Remote Or Have A Significant Number Of Remote Positions Have An Annual Retreat For Everyone To Get Together In Person. Does Do Have Anything Like That?
Yes, we do have an annual all company event called "Shark Week" when the entire company meets for a week. We also have team offsite meetings from time to time where teams meet up in NY or other locations to collaborate, plan and create.
17. Specifically how does everyone set-up times that work for everyone to work together at specific hours? Or do you work by yourself most of the time?
We trust our people to manage their time, we do not micromanage working hours. The only thing that is important for us is that there will overlap with the team.
The question about working by yourself most of the time depends on the position.
Someone at a leadership role will have more interactions than an individual contributor. Although we do have a lot of engagement between team members and no one works completely by themselves.
18. The current company I work for (remotely) 200-250 hours a month, what is a typical amount of work time a month?
Generally speaking, we don't have a typical amount of work time per month but most of my colleagues work around 45 - 50 hours per week.
19. What about training programs or courses? Are there learning resources available? What about tuition reimbursement?
We do support learning and career growth. We do have an education budget for training, conferences and higher education.
20. What do you love best about the company products and vision of the company since you've been there for +3yrs?
I love our engagement with the developer community and the passion about helping developers and shipping products which make their life simpler.
21. What is the male/female ratio...roles wise? Equal distribution on the teams...with the same roles? 50\50 engineers on a team?
We wish we had 50% representation in terms of gender diversity in engineering and across the company! We are still very much a work in progress when it comes to increasing representation from all under-represented groups.
22. What is the ratio of remote workers to office workers for DO as a whole?
Almost 50% of our employees are remote.
23. What is the turnover rate at DO?
We don't publicly disclose our attrition rate but it's consistent with other tech companies of our size and age!
24. What kind of clients do you have?
Our customers vary from single developers, such as students, hobbyists, indie developers, to startups and SMBs, and development teams in larger enterprises and Fortune 500 companies.
25. What resources do you get for setting up your home work environment?
We have a workstation program which includes a monitor, keyboard and mouse of your choice sent to your home, we also have a headphone program, you can purchase headphones of your choice and expense up to $100
Webinar-Specific Questions & Responses to Feedback
1. Are All Of The Panelists From Strictly Engineering/Programming Backgrounds?
Specifically, for this webinar all the panelists were from engineering background
2. Will Any Follow Ups Be Made to Invite Webinar Attendees to Apply or Interview for Roles?
We received the list of webinar attendees from PowerToFly and our recruiting team will look at the list and contact any attendees they find relevant to our open positions. In addition to that, feel free to contact us directly. You can reach out to me also at limor@digitalocean.com
3. Can YouShow An Example Of What The Client Side Sees As A Product Of Ui Ux, Or How We Deal With The Client Side Protocols As Far As Product Base And What It Particularly Does?
I am not sure I understand the question. Feel free to reach out to me directly at limor@digitalocean.com and I will try to help
4. Do.Co/Candidates Has Lots Of Resources For How We Evaluate Candidates, How To Prepare For Interviews At Do, And More. Not Tech Specific But A Good Resource Nonetheless!
I am not sure exactly what you are looking for, feel free to reach out to me directly at limor@digitalocean.com
5. Does Digital Ocean Have A Returning Mom Program? I Was an IT Manager For A Trading Firm And Took A Break For Some Time And Thinking Of Returning Back To Work. There Are Lot Of Companies That Have This Program, But Looking For Something Remote.
We do not currently have a specific program for returning mom, you can look at our careers page and if there is any open position that you feel like can be a fit for you, please reach out to us. Feel free to email me directly at limor@digitalocean.com
6. Excellent And Impressive Information, Overview, Panelists. What Are The Top 3 Open Remote Non-tech/Non-engineering Positions At DigitalOcean?
Look at our careers page for details on all of our open positions.
7. Good Morning Beautiful Sisters ~ Great Information! What About Project Management Positions?
Look at our careers page for details on all of our open positions.
8. Hearing From These Ladies Have Sparked My Interest In The Company. I Appreciate Their Time And Candor.
Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate your participation at the webinar.
9. Hi! I'm A Quantitative Researcher And Analyst Who Is Looking To Transition From A More Academic Context To A Business Context. I See That DO Says They Hire For Potential And Raw Talent. How Are Things Like Career Transitions Or Shifts From Academia Handled At Do?
It is hard for me to answer without specific information about you, feel free to reach out to me directly at limor@digitalocean.com and I will try to help you.
10. How Did You Know The Abuse Blacklist That Was Faulty Handle The Client That Was Not Really Abusive And Blacklisted
I am not sure I understand what's being asked here. Feel free to reach out to me directly at limor@digitalocean.com and I will try to get your questions answered by our security team.
Sneha: Was this in reference to the tech-talk?
11. I Can Imagine How Big The Blessing Is If You Have Infant And You Can Work Remote
Absolutely!
12. I Have Worked Remotely For 2 Years At A Non-remote Friendly Company. Hearing This Is Refreshing.
We are happy to hear that!
13. Is the reason the tech talk was about monitoring, is this the type of roles do is currently looking for?
There was no specific reason, we felt it is an interesting topic that the audience will be interested in hearing about.
Sneha: Yep! I thought this is simply an interesting topic given the sheer volume of services we have powering the cloud.
Engineering/Cloud Computing Specific Questions
1. Does DigitalOcean's Observability Team Offer A Federated Logging Product? (For Example, If A Company Is Sitting On DigitalOcean Products For Infrastructure, Is There A Place To Access A Global Log That Contains Everyone's Logging Across All Applications And Apis? :) If Not, Do You Think You Will See Such A Product In The Pipeline?
We do not offer a logging product.
2. Does The Load Balancer Consider Types Of Users Or It Is User Agnostic?
Load Balancer is user agnostic.
3. How Do Your Products Differ From AWS Offerings?
AWS offerings dozens of IaaS and PaaS offerings, and DigitalOcean offers a subset of those, primarily - Droplets (VMs) and related storage, networking offerings, Spaces (object storage), DBaaS PostgreSQL, Kubernetes, etc. The primary differentiator DigitalOcean provides is the simplicity of its packaging and pricing, ease of use (both UI and APIs), supported by a strong community of tutorials, articles and excellent support.
4. I Know The Company Is Still Relatively Young, But Have Any Of Your Teams Experienced An Aging Tech Stack? How Have You Seen The Organization Respond To How Quickly Tech Changes. (I.E. New Front End Frameworks Every Few Years)
As in any company, we do have technical debt which we are constantly working on improving. We do have some "legacy" code in production that has served us for many years. In recent years we have made a pretty aggressive transition from ruby/rails monolith to a Golang microservice approach. And now we're also looking at our frontend tech stack and evaluating what our next steps will be to modernize how we deliver client experiences. As we already have such an established (and large) product we are not planning a big rewrite but will continue to extract and update functionality where it makes sense and deliver our new product experiences using modern tools and tech. I think the key is to create architectures that enable us to bring along the "legacy" as we move forward with the new.
5. Internally Does The Company Itself Use Its Own Observability Products?
Internal observability is not handed by customer facing products. We have four main internal observability systems that cover metrics, logging, distributed tracing and error management. Three of these services (metrics, logging, and error management) are a combination of open source software and internally developed software. Distributed tracing is a combination of in house developed software and a third-party service (Lightstep).
6. Is agile methodology followed in the software development process at DigitalOcean?
Yes, Agile is the primary development methodology used at DigitalOcean, although there is variance from team to team as to the maturity of the implementation/usage.
7. What's the advantage/difference of DigitalOcean Droplet & Virtual Machine if any?
DigitalOcean Droplets have multiple advantages over competing IaaS providers. DigitalOcean is well known for its ease of use, with a simple UI and easy to understand pricing and packaging of its offerings, excellent documentation and an extremely large supporting set of tutorials and community articles. Additionally, DigitalOcean Droplets all comes with SSD storage as standard, and in various 3rd party benchmark testing, they achieve industry leading price-performance in many categories (CPU-Memory performance, read speeds, etc.)
Clyde’s Joseph Arquillo on the 6 Things Leaders Need to Do to Build Inclusive Spaces
Joseph Arquillo doesn’t work in Human Resources — he works in People Operations. And the distinction matters.
“It was named ‘human resources’ because it saw humans as resources, utilized for certain tasks or behaviors. But that’s not really what it’s about,” says Joseph, who is a Senior Manager of People Ops at Clyde.
“Calling it ‘people ops’ adds back what you lose with ‘HR.’ My philosophy is that I am there to support you. I am there to work with you, empower you, and enable you so you can be your best self.”
For Joseph, a key element of helping employees become their best selves is making sure that the workplace, whether in-person or virtual, is an inclusive space for all. That doesn’t happen by accident — it requires a dedicated DEIB strategy and leaders who are committed to asking hard questions of themselves and others.
We sat down with Joseph to hear more about his professional journey, and the practices of leaders who create environments where everyone feels included.
More Than Just a Number
As a college freshman, Joseph planned on sticking with liberal arts when it came to choosing a major. But then he took a class in Boston College’s School of Education, and loved its holistic approach to applied psychology.
This inspired him to switch his major to psychology and human development, and select minors in political science, and management and leadership, where he enjoyed learning about organizational psychology.
After graduation, he explored the consulting space to put theory into practice, but found out during an internship at a multinational consulting firm that finance or accounting weren’t the places he wanted to build his career.
“Since Big Four companies have 250,000 employees, you become just a number,” he says of the experience. “It wasn’t my cup of tea. Too corporatized.”
That kicked off Joseph’s interest in startups.
“It’s always fun to get in the weeds! One thing that’s very interesting to me is a challenge,” he says. “When you’re helping a company like Clyde grow and scale, joining when they’re at a Series B and helping them get to the next level, you really get to focus on the interaction between people, process, and product,” explains Joseph. “You need to hire the right people to work towards increasing efficiencies in all areas, but also make sure that we’re enabling them to create a strong product.”
6 Keys To Building Inclusive Spaces as a Leader
Across the different industries and companies that Joseph has worked in, he’s identified the behaviors that create truly inclusive environments — as well as those that discourage them.
Here’s what he’s seen:
- First, recognize your own privilege. “If you’re a man, you have privilege, even if you’re a gay male. If you are a white woman, you have racial privilege. It’s really important that you’re cognizant while you interact with somebody how they might interpret the interaction based on your identity.”
- Leaders should always speak last. This is important always, but especially in in-person spaces, where it might seem even more nerve-wracking to speak up in a crowd, says Joseph. “You want to make sure you’re creating that space for employees who aren’t as senior to feel comfortable voicing their thoughts.”
- And, leaders should use check-ins liberally. “You need to ask yourself how you’re supporting your employees. Are you checking in on them as people before you ask about certain tasks? You want to foster a workplace where employees from all walks of life can feel supported,” he says.
- DEIB isn’t just about adding new initiatives — sometimes it’s about removing barriers. “You need to remove unnecessary bias,” explains Joseph. “That can mean making sure you have appropriate policies and practices that don’t hinder people depending on who they are or where they live.”
- Maximizing participation requires planning with a diversity lens. Joseph has helped the Clyde team gather together and bond as a group. Along the way, he’s been careful to consider physical and psychological safety for everyone involved. “For instance, if you’re doing an event, do you have someone who’s not drinking? Have you set up the environment for people who might have a physical disability, or carefully planned the flow of activities for people who might be neurodivergent?”
- Saying you want to be better isn’t enough — articulate actions you will take. “Pride is a great example,” explains Joseph. “Yes, June is a time to celebrate. But it’s also a time to march. And beyond that, how do you show up and celebrate with the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the year?”
Embracing the Unknown
If you visit Joseph’s LinkedIn profile, you’ll see his personal motto: “Without challenge, change, and a bunch of unknowns, it’s no fun.”
That belief has led him to study what he’s passionate about, to take on new and exciting roles at growing startups, and now, at Clyde, to help formalize what world-class people operations looks like at a fast-growing company.
“I view myself as a connector that really empowers people, challenges teams, and helps drive us towards what I consider to be an improved future,” he says. “I feel like it’s my responsibility to be the chief advocate for each of our employees, and remove any barriers in the way of their growth.”
Want to learn more about what opportunities Clyde offers? Check out their open roles!
Careers in Web Development: Which One's For You?
We all have our favorite websites– the ones we frequent, bookmark, and recommend to others. You might even enjoy some website features so much that you’ve found yourself wondering why they aren’t more popular. Or maybe you’ve experienced times where you were frustrated with a website and wished you could add features or even design your own!
If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued at the prospect of designing and developing your own websites, then a career as a web developer might be just for you!
As a web developer you would be responsible for coding, designing, optimizing, and maintaining websites. Today, there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world and, in turn, the demand for web developers is on the rise. In order to figure out what kind of web development work best suits you let’s start with an introduction to the three main roles in web development that you can choose from.
The Three Types of Web Development Jobs
Front-End Web Development: The Creative Side
Think of front-end development as the décor of a house. The color scheme, furniture, manicured lawns, and overall aesthetic. In terms of a website, front-end development is laser-focused on the appearance of a website and its presentation on different devices. If you’re considering a role in front-end development, it’s important to learn programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages go hand-in-hand. HTML allows you to create user interface elements, CSS helps you with stylistic elements, and JavaScript allows you to incorporate online tools and connect your website to back-end functions.
In addition to programming skills, front-end developers need to be detail oriented, creative, willing to keep up with the latest trends in web development, cyber security conscious, and geared toward user-friendly designs. The median salary for a front-end developer can reach well into the $90,000 to $100,000 range.
Back-End Web Development: The Logical Counterpart
While a house can be beautifully decorated, it’s incomplete without a solid foundation and efficient infrastructure. Similarly, a well-designed website depends on logical and functional code to power the features of that website. Back-end web development is code-heavy and focused on the specifics of how a website works. If you enjoy the analytical challenge of creating the behind-the-scenes code that powers a website, then back-end development is for you.
Since this role is more code-heavy, it’s important that you learn numerous programming languages and understand algorithms and data structures. Some languages that are essential to back-end development are Ruby, Python, SQL, and JavaScript. Back-end developers also ensure that users can successfully retrieve and access data. This requires creating and using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which act as messengers that relay data related requests. Additionally, developing the code for the inner workings of a website also requires back-end developers to be conscious of the user interface features designed by front-end developers and to internally mitigate potential security risks. Due to the increased technical aspect of this position, back-end developers normally earn higher salaries than front-end developers. The average median salary for this role is around $118,000 per year.
Full-Stack Web Development: A Little Bit of Everything
A full-stack developer is essentially the Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades in web development. Full-stack developers need to be knowledgeable about both front-end and back-end roles. This does not necessarily imply that you would need to be an expert in both roles, but you should fully understand the different applications and synergies they each imply. In order to work in this position, you will need to know the programming languages used by front-end and back-end developers. In addition to these languages, full-stack developers also specialize in databases, storage, HTTP, REST, and web architecture.
Full-stack developers are often required to act as liaisons between front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack developers need to be both problem solvers and great communicators. The end goal for a full-stack developer is to ensure that the user’s experience is seamless, both on the front-end and on the back-end. In return, you can expect to earn a median salary of $100,000 – $115,000 a year for this role.
Taking the Next Step
Web development is both in-demand and lucrative! All three roles described above contribute to specific aspects of web development and the scope of each one can be customized to the industries and positions you feel best suit you. Regardless of which role you choose, all of them need a foundation in programming.
To gain the programming skills needed in each role, you can enroll in courses or learn independently. Coding bootcamps are a great way to boost your skillset quickly and efficiently.
Click here for some of our highly rated programming bootcamp options! Make sure to check out the discounts available to PowerToFly members.
Navigating Mid-Career Pivots and Finding a Company Where You Can Show Up Authentically
Insight from SoftwareONE’s Jeff Cannon and Chris Lecosia
SoftwareONE’s Jeff Cannon Business Development Executive US) and Christopher Lecosia (Senior Consultant) share a similar adventurous and brave spirit, which has led to a long trajectory of creative experiences for both of them. From taking care of two new puppies to backpacking across Europe — neither of them back down from a challenge.
As members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Jeff and Chris spent a large portion of their careers fighting for inclusive workplaces where they feel a sense of belonging, and opportunities to use their experiences to serve people, no matter what career stage they’re in. And they’ve both recently found that in the global provider of end-to-end software and cloud technology solutions SoftwareONE.
We sat down with Jeff and Chris to hear their stories on how they navigated mid and late career changes and their journey to finding a company where they felt valued. Keep reading to the end for four major tips on how to successfully pivot careers.
The Journey to SoftwareONE
Jeff Cannon was born in Tacoma, Washington, but considers both Texas and Georgeia his home. After graduating from college with a bachelor's degree in English and History, “I wanted to go to graduate school for history,” he explains. But upon arrival, he realized graduate school was not the right path for him, so he packed his backpack and set out for a trip through Europe instead.
This adventurous spirit led him back home to pursue exciting challenges, such as opening a hotel in Austin, working as a flight attendant in New York and Hawaii, and eventually pursuing a sales career at Dell. “I was an account executive for large university systems and large K-12 systems providing information technology to students to be able to further their education. It really fit in with my mantra around how important education is in society,” Jeff explains.”It's kind of my thing.” But after nearly 20 years at the company, he decided to look for new opportunities. “I was tired of doing the same thing all the time.” Enter SoftwareONE.
“This was an opportunity to do something completely different and take the information that I learned and use it to help build a practice that can accomplish some of the same things,” Jeff explains. He joined the company as a Business Development Executive Executive where he works to build the company’s education practice within the public sector in the United States.
SoftwareONE is a company where Jeff can thrive professionally and personally. He specifically cites the company to be people-first, which his coworker Christopher Lecosia agrees with. “SoftwareONE is a place where you can thrive as an employee, and where your creativity can flourish,” says Chris.
SoftwareONE is a leading global provider of end-to-end software and cloud technology solutions, with headquarters in Switzerland. The company itself prioritizes people as their “greatest asset” and advocates for life-work harmony. Their company’s core values are Employee Satisfaction, Customer Focused, Speed, Passionate, Integrity, Humble and Discipline, to name a few, and they ensure that they have “a welcoming – and constantly evolving – work environment for all”, no matter the racial, ethnic, religious, sexual or other preferences.
Christopher works as Senior Consultant for SoftwareONE. He entered the field of IT in 1974. “Back then it was called data processing,” he jokes. “But I kind of fell into IT consulting.” He enrolled in college as an accounting major, but quickly realized that was not the path for him. “I drove into the parking lot of this college for the first day and I got very scared,” explains Chris. “I turned around and went home and I found a job.” And he was able to pursue jobs that allowed him room to change and grow with the market. He began as a systems programer and, progressively, he scaled to managerial data processing roles at multiple software companies, including IBM. He played a key role in leading and growing software asset management programs, directing support for configuration and asset management, and serving as a senior project manager for multiple teams in his previous companies.
His successful 40+ year-long career led to the start of a well-deserved retirement. “I turned 65 last October, and I thought, ‘okay, I think I’ve had enough,’ and I decided to retire in full.” But his retirement was short-lived. “A few months before I retired, [my company] had put out an RFP to the street, which SoftwareONE responded to, and I'll never forget,” says Chris. “I was hearing them respond to me and I thought, ‘Wow, these people know what they're talking about. They're really sharp and I really believed in the value that they could bring.’” So when he was offered a position as a Senior Consultant, he didn’t think twice about coming out of retirement. “In November, a recruiter from SoftwareONE called, and I started in January of 2022.”
All-Around Authenticity
Changing jobs after working for a company long-term can be risky, especially later in your career. But both Jeff and Chris agree that the benefits of working at a company like SoftwareONE are well worth the risk. And for the first time, they’ve felt like they can show up as their full, authentic selves at work.
Jeff recalls past workplaces that, when push came to shove, “had an undercurrent of non-acceptance.” This undercurrent brought many challenges, but he credits them for his confidence today. “I have no issues whatsoever showing up originally as myself. And at SoftwareONE, everybody's been really lovely.” Even remotely, he finds ways to connect with his coworkers, and he feels like he can do so authentically.
Chris reiterates this in his own trajectory at SoftwareONE. “When I started, my Regional VP asked me for a bio. In my bio, I talked about my husband and my two dogs and how long we've been together. That got sent out to everybody in the organization. So when I onboarded, everybody already knew,” he explains. “It was the first time in 65 years that, right from the get go, there was no pretense at all as to being something different than I am. And that's how I came out at SoftwareONE. It was good to do that. I feel truly authentic.”
Advice for Mid-Career Pivoters
Both Jeff and Chris have successfully pivoted roles and companies later in their careers. They offer four tips to consider before making the jump to a new role or joining a new company.
1. Find a place that values service to the client. “Have the mindset of service,” says Chris. “ I'm a service oriented person and part of being of service is to share my experience, strengths, and hope with other people. Whether that's on a, social, spiritual, mental level, or on a professional technical level, this helps bring growth to you, and to the company you’ll work for.” Jeff shares that, “with this mindset, we see the challenges that customers face, so we're able to better articulate to customers what our value proposition is. We can help clients achieve their goals, and everything comes a lot more easily and naturally.”
2. Believe in what you have to offer. Chris and Jeff share that aligning with the company’s mission is another key aspect to consider before changing companies. “I never thought that anybody would want to hire me at 65 years old,” Chris shares. “I had been in my former job where I saw many opportunities that I thought I was perfect for, in terms of advancement, but I wasn't given those opportunities because of my age. I started to feel dried up a little bit. When I got the offer at SoftwareONE, I felt I really wanted to come back, be of service, keep my brain sharp, and do something. I do believe I have something to offer to many clients, as well as colleagues. And that's what made me make the move.”
3. Think of the experiences you bring to the table. Jeff shares how he transferred his knowledge to his new role. “I was able to take everything that I had learned about building an organization and bring it over to a company that needed that expertise specific to the United States. Being able to have the opportunity to do some of that background work and build on alliances has been, and continues to be, a great opportunity.”
4. Find a workplace that prioritizes diversity. “Each one of us brings a certain set of characteristics with us that sit well with our clients,” explains Chris. “The diversity we bring to the company — whether it be age, gender, color, educational background, intellectual capacity — all of that color makes us more relatable to our clients and our customers.” This leads to the company’s overall success.
SoftwareONE is constantly looking for dynamic employees like Chris and Jeff. Check out their company page to find out more about their roles!
How to Professionally Decline a Job Offer (with Email Templates)
So you’ve spent some time job searching, found the perfect role, aced the interview, and finally got your dream job.
Congratulations!
But what happens if accepting a job offer means having to decline another one?
We’re living in a candidate’s market, and that means it’s becoming more and more common for job seekers to receive multiple offers. The good news is that this gives the candidate the opportunity to choose their perfect position. The bad news is that the candidate will probably have to turn down an offer or two when choosing the best role.
But how do you turn down an offer, without severing ties and keeping things cordial and polite?
Keep reading for our top tips on how to professionally decline a job offer — and keep your network strong for future career opportunities!
How to Professionally Decline a Job Offer
When turning down a job offer, it’s important to maintain a healthy relationship with the hiring manager and company you interviewed with. After all, you never know where your career may lead you next, and just because you decline one position with a company doesn’t mean they won’t have a place for you in the future!
Not prioritizing relationships in your job search can be detrimental, so here are some important points to keep in mind when you decline an offer.
1. Make your decision carefully.
This may seem obvious, but, before you give your final decision, make sure that it’s the move you truly want to make.
Ask yourself: Why do you want to decline it? Why isn’t it a good fit? Weigh out the pros and cons and examine how they could affect your career in the long run. Even though they’re important, don’t just focus on immediate benefits, like salary and flexibility. Consider how this career move could affect your mental health, whether or not it will help you advance professionally in the long run, and if you would be a good fit with the company.
This is a big decision, so make sure that when you do say no, you mean it.
2. Don’t wait to give your answer.
If you’re sure the position just isn’t right for you, it’s wise to contact the recruiter or hiring manager as soon as possible. This is the most considerate and professional approach you could take when turning down a position, because the sooner they know, the sooner they can find someone else to fill the position.
Waiting too long to give your answer could push the hiring process back to the beginning. A hiring manager will appreciate an efficient answer so they can move on to the next candidate and keep the process moving forward without too much delay.
The best way to do this is to try and give them a specific day that you will contact them with your answer, or keep them apprised during your decision-making process. As soon as you’ve made your decision, it’s important to let them know. As difficult as saying no can be, the sooner you do it, the better for everyone.
3. Call before you send an email.
Most of us would probably prefer to give our answer in an email, and that’s understandable! But calling to verbally decline the offer first shows an extra bit of care. This will demonstrate that you care about the time and energy invested in you during the hiring process and are grateful that you were chosen for the position.
It’s also a great way to maintain a good relationship with the employer, because it demonstrates your professionalism and maturity, and will give you an opportunity to be specific about why you are declining. If you are unsure of what to say, write your response down before you call.
You can follow up with an email that reiterates what you said on the phone so that the recruiter or hiring manager has written proof of your response.
4. Be appreciative and humble.
The hiring process isn’t simple. It requires a lot of time and energy from multiple stakeholders, so it’s important to show your gratitude before you decline the job offer. Thank everyone who was involved and acknowledge the investment they made in interviewing you. Let them know you are honored to have been chosen and that, while you carefully considered the offer, the position just isn’t right for you.
5. Explain why you’re declining.
While getting into specifics isn’t always necessary, and you should only share as much information as you feel comfortable, letting the hiring manager or recruiter know why the position isn’t right for you can help keep the communication portal open.
Maybe you received another offer that better aligned with what you were looking for in terms of pay, or perhaps you need more flexibility than the one you are declining can offer you. This feedback can be helpful to share, and sometimes the company might even respond with a counter offer to better suit your needs!
Perhaps the reason you are turning the offer down is due to more personal reasons that you don’t feel comfortable sharing. That’s okay too! Either way, it can be helpful to be transparent about why you are declining.
6. Utilize the opportunity to network for future career moves.
So the position isn’t right for you — that’s okay. But maybe your values aligned with the organization’s, or perhaps you felt that you connected during the hiring process and you’d like to keep the door open to other positions in the future. Just because the role now isn’t right for you now doesn’t mean that the organization won’t have a place for you down the road.
Networking is key for career growth. If you really like the company, don’t be afraid to let them know that you would be interested in other positions in the future. Giving them the means to contact you, like your email and your LinkedIn, will give them the ability to reach out if any other positions open up.
If you find that the company itself just doesn’t fit you, keep in mind that networking and maintaining a good relationship is still important. You don’t have to plan to work there in the future, but you never know who is connected to who, and how that good relationship may pay off in time!
Email Templates for Declining a Job Offer
Turning down a job offer is a delicate task, but it is becoming increasingly necessary in this competitive candidate’s market. If you’re unsure of where to begin or how to write your email, we have included some examples with links to help you get started.
Example for when the position isn’t a good fit
Subject line: Job offer – [Your name]
Hi [insert last name of hiring manager],
Thank you very much for offering me the role of [insert name of position]. However, I have decided that this is not the right fit for my career goals at this time.
I sincerely enjoyed our dialog as well as discussions with your team, and I very much appreciate your taking time to share information about the role and vision of [insert company name].
Again, thank you for your time and consideration; best wishes in your continued success.
Sincerely,
Example for when you’ve accepted another offer
Subject line: Job offer – [Your name]
Hi [insert last name of hiring manager],
Thank you very much for offering me the role of [insert name of position] with [insert company name]. Though it was a difficult decision, I have accepted a position with another company.
I sincerely enjoyed our conversations and very much appreciate your taking time to interview me over the course of the past few weeks.
Again, thank you for your time and consideration; best wishes in your continued success, and I hope our paths cross again in the future.
Best wishes,
Example for when you’ve already accepted the offer
Hi [Interviewer],
Thanks so much for offering me the position of [Job Title] at [Company]. It was a pleasure meeting you.
Unfortunately, after a great deal of thought, I have decided to turn down this gracious job opportunity. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience this decision may cause and hope it will not affect any future relationships with your company.
I wish you continued success and hope to hear from you in the future.
Kind Regards,
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