7 Lessons in Adulting from the First Adulting.Dev Conference

This past Saturday, I attended the first Adulting.Dev conference at the Microsoft office in Times Square. It was organized by Shy Ruparel and Tierney Cyren and inspired by the annual You Got This conference hosted in the UK. This one-day conference was small but powerful, and it was focused more on developers as humans than as code monkeys. The speakers inspired me to make a hype document, get more involved on Twitter; apparently, you can get jobs in tech that way, who knew?; and write this blog post to share the lessons I learned with those who unfortunately did not attend this fantastic conference.

By the way, the first thing I noticed when I walked into the room was that this conference had just about a 50–50 gender ratio! Wait, how do you split gender ratios when there are non-binary people in the room? My point is that the room was not 80% men, and that is an accomplishment for a developer conference!

I received a free ticket to this conference (which was already very affordable) through Adulting.Dev’s inclusion program for under-represented groups in tech. I’m happy that I went, and without further ado, here are the seven lessons I learned at the Adulting.Dev conference!

1: Your limiting beliefs are not reality, and you can change them

Workshop: Visualizing Your Way to Success: Overcoming Limiting Beliefs, Goal Setting & Your Game Plan by Danielle James & Dipabali Chowdhury

Danielle and Dipabali set the stage for the day by leading the group in a breathing exercise. They talked about limiting beliefs that we hold and how they are holding us back. We were then paired up to talk through our beliefs and how they may not align with reality.

A limiting belief is a view that you have that is holding you back from doing something that you want to do. These beliefs may be based on things that have happened that have led you to make assumptions and hold opinions that don’t necessarily align with reality. Talking through these beliefs with others, differentiating your emotions and reactions from the facts, can help you to see what is real and what isn’t.

Other strategies included creating a vision board to help envision your accomplishments, writing a letter to yourself, and asking someone to hold you accountable to your goals.

2: Knowing and communicating your business value will keep you employed

The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers: Tautology and Business Value by Heidi Waterhouse

Heidi told us some hard truths about employers and employees. Including the fact that your company does not pay you for what you’re good at or what you enjoy doing. You are paid for the business value you provide to the company. To stay employed at that company, or easily gain a job at another, you alone are responsible for figuring out:

How your company makes money,

• How your role contributes to that, and
• How you can communicate your value to others.

She emphasized the importance of communicating your value to the company all the time, even when things are going well, and you are comfortable in your position. To find out your worth, you must do your research, ask questions, and stay curious. You should see where your company’s income is coming from by looking at their financial statements. Ask yourself and others how your role contributes to the bottom line. Keep a list of things you do daily that provide value for your company by saving money, making money, or growing the business. This list is what you can reference to communicate your value to your employer and ensure your job security.

3: If you don’t ask for it, you may never get a promotion/raise

How to negotiate (internally) for more benefits, salary, and that next promotion by Jeanine Mendez

Jeanine gave us practical strategies for negotiation, asking for feedback, and getting the raise or promotion that you want. If you’re talking to your boss about your performance and contributions for the first time at your 6-month evaluation, it’s too late to ask for what you want. Decisions have already been made about your raise, bonus, and job title.

Your promotions and compensation are based on a combination of your job level, performance, and manager discretion. To get the promotion or raise you want, you should know your job level and the pay bands (minimum and maximum) at that level. You should know what and how you are being measured; you may think it’s one metric and find out it’s an entirely different one. ASK for feedback, promotions, and raises.

If you don’t tell someone what you want, no one will know that you want it. Don’t assume that it’s apparent that you want a raise, a promotion, or more benefits. It’s up to you to tell your boss that you want a promotion. Ask what skills you are missing right now. Ask for feedback on your performance, and communicate what you are doing to gain those skills and improve your performance.

4: Don’t restrict information you receive to the context in which it was given

Guided Reflections by Richard Murby

There were a few “guided reflection” sessions throughout the day provided by Richard Murby. He encouraged us to think about the information we are receiving throughout the day and apply it to our own lives in whatever way it is most applicable. Think about the choices that you need to make in your life, whether they be personal or career-related, and apply these lessons to those choices. A piece of advice related to salary negotiation could help you solve a conflict you are facing with your roommates. Don’t restrict the information you receive to the context in which it is given — you could find that it’s more valuable in other areas of your life.

5: Follow your fear to move past it

Punch Fear in the Face and Just Ask by Lisa Pertoso

Lisa talked about how the lessons she learned in studying improv comedy helped her to overcome her fears in her life and career. I liked the lesson of “following your fear.” The example she gave was if you were afraid of the audience, walk toward them. She told us to think about what we are most fearful of when asking for what we need at work. Lisa encouraged us to do the thing we are scared of, follow our fear, acknowledge it, and own it. That is the only way to move past it.

6: Invest in your career while things are going well

Temporarily Unbroken - Learning about failure before it happens by Mike Sullivan

I liked this advice because it’s not something I’ve thought about much before. Invest in your career while things are going well. My career in tech is just starting. I have recently graduated from a coding bootcamp, and I’m looking for a job in software engineering (or product research or management, I’m keeping an open mind). I have been attending meetups, conferences, and career fairs; keeping up with blog posts, working on my portfolio and projects; and starting to use social media more for career-related things. I have not thought about whether or not I will continue all of these activities after I get a job. But after this conference, I realize that that’s what I need to do to keep the momentum going. I need to keep myself engaged in the community and ensure I will have opportunities if the job doesn’t work out. I need to invest in my career while things are going well. If I don’t, I’m sure I will be scrambling to get back on track when something in my career inevitably fails.

7: Keep track of your accomplishments

Frameworks on Feedback by Allee Clark

This was one of my favorite takeaways from this conference, and Allee is not the only one who brought it up. Heidi Waterhouse also mentioned the importance of keeping track of your accomplishments. Allee called it his hype document, and he shared examples on Twitter. I was immediately inspired and started a hype document of my own the next day. I am using this to keep track of my goals, to-do list, and the things I’ve done. I am a list-maker, but I haven’t been keeping track of the small things I do daily that are contributing to my goals. I am hoping that keeping this kind of list will help me to feel good about what I’m doing, feel like I am on track, and inspire me to stay on track and keep adding to the list.

The other speakers at the event were wonderful as well, and I hope that this conference comes back to NY next year and has an even higher attendance. I met some great people at the event and learned a lot of valuable lessons to help me in my life and career. Now I have something to share on my new Twitter account for tech-related news, connections, and events!

Thanks to all of the speakers and the organizers of Adulting.Dev!