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Tech Career Advice

Your next career move (and a cocktail kit) 🍸

Published 5 months ago • 1 min read

Hey Reader,

Quick check-in before we jump into this week’s tip: if you’ve been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like you are “doing all the right things” but your career is not moving… You are not alone.

Most people do not need more motivation. They need a better game plan.

This week’s career tip: Stop chasing “more learning” and start building proof

A lot of IT pros get trapped in an endless loop:

  • take a course
  • start a cert
  • save a bunch of tabs
  • repeat

It feels productive, but it does not always translate into promotions or interviews.

Instead, try this simple 3-step filter any time you are deciding what to work on next:

1) Will this skill show up in the jobs I actually want?​
If not, it goes to the “later” list.

2) Can I create proof of it in 7 days or less?​
A lab, a write-up, a small project, a LinkedIn post explaining what you learned, a GitHub repo, a diagram, a troubleshooting breakdown. Something real.

3) Can I explain it like I am talking to a teammate?​
If you cannot teach it simply, you probably do not own it yet.

If you do this consistently, you will build momentum fast because you are stacking evidence, not just information.

Hey everybody! Very excited to be clinking glasses with Rippling IT on a great virtual event we’re shaking up in March.

It’s a cocktail class, so let me put this in cocktail ingredient format.

🍾 Two parts mixology class, with a professional on the call to help us run the session.

🍊 Three parts IT career progression chat, where we’ll bring together a bunch of IT pros to talk about how you can grow your skillset. We’re all in this together, so we want this to be a community-forward event that gives room for us to talk about the challenges we face as well as the goals we want to reach.

Shake those two up, and you’ve got…

🍹 a pretty fun time with a like-minded community.

So come join us on Tuesday, March 10th, 6p ET / 3p PT.

First 350 registrants will get a free cocktail kit sent straight to their home so they can follow along with the class, and one attendee will also walk away with an Xbox Series S.

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One small action for you this week

Reply to this email (or just jot it down for yourself) with:
​What role are you aiming for next, and what is one piece of proof you can create this week to move toward it?

Even if it is small, I promise it adds up.

Dakota Snow | The Bearded I.T. Dad

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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Tech Career Advice

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