Build on your professional story by thinking about how you're progressing at Turing. Answer the questions below in your own gist to use your StrengthsFinder themes to add to your story:
- Write 1-2 paragraphs about your StrengthsFinder themes: How have you seen yourself using these strengths at Turing? Has your understanding of these strengths changed since you first reflected on them? If so, how?
My top StrengthsFinder theme was responsibility, and I see this playing out in good and bad ways. It's good for staying on track and being motivated to get things done, but it adds a considerable amount of stress to my life. I am not used to accepting that there's sometimes just not enough time to get everything you want done or perfect. Overall I think this has caused more bad than good, because often I get little sleep at night due to the heavy weight of the responsibility I feel to make everything work.
The other theme I can see is being deliberative. I like to take my time and think through things, and in a fast-paced environment this doesn't always work. It's helpful to be able to tell people about this, because I often worry they think I'm not doing anything or contributing, but instead I'm trying to formulate a well thought-out idea before I start saying things.
- Write a story about your Turing experience so far: When have you struggled? How have you dealt with struggle? When have you succeeded at Turing? How did you accomplish those successes?
Realistically I think the successes are very minimalized by the struggles. They're brief and fleeting, while my overall feeling is struggle and worry. I am learning to have a greater acceptance of these realities, and try to keep time and progress in perspective. I think success comes from trying things or finding solutions, even if they're not the perfect solution. Without effort there's no success.
- Answer the question: How does your Turing story end? Create a vision for your future and your career transition into being a junior developer.
My turing story ends as I walk out the door having successfully completed the program. In doing so I have an array of skills to pull from that I can apply to the areas of a career that appeal to me the most. Additionally, I have many new connections of developers I have worked with and respect, and can hopefully work with them going forward. I would like to be in control of my schedule and be the one making decisions, not leaving the direction of my career to others. I can work when and where I want, and have a much more free-flowing world to live in.
- After you practice storytelling in the session, answer this question: What was particularly easy or difficult about telling your story? What are 1-2 steps that you can take to continue to improve your abilities to tell your story, talk about yourself with ease, and examine your strengths?
I think the easy part of the storytelling session was talking about what brought you to this path and your motivation for doing it. I think if you make a leap this big, you have probably spent a good amount of time thinking about it. It was difficult to pull yourself out of the current situation to look toward the future. I think there's so much emphasis on just surviving right now, it becomes hard to look outside that.
While I don't necessarily like to do it a lot, I feel quite confident talking about myself in an interview situation. The one step I would like to take is having a more clear picture about how to apply what I've learned here to a career that would be very fulfilling. I would like to make a list of the qualities I would like a future job to have, and perhaps find some comparable jobs so I know what the keywords and titles to look for are.