“What are you looking for?”

Originally posted on LinkedIn in April 2023, before I had set up dubinko.consulting. Reposting here because it shares some good thoughts on my outlook.

“What are you looking for?”

To work for a company that gets acquired is a dream for many, but one of the downsides is the potential for staffing cuts–especially for someone who’s only been there a few months. Which is to say: I’m open to work and actively seeking a new role as a software architect.

Several folks have asked me, “What are you looking for?” Not the easiest to answer, so as usual, I turn to writing to figure it out.

In roles where I’ve been most successful and happy, I’ve been more of a generalist than a specialist (every job listing ever, notwithstanding…) So here’s the qualities of an opportunity that would get my attention:

  • Continuous learning above applying existing knowledge
  • Innovation above incremental improvements
  • Collaboration, especially with experts across diverse domains, rather than being a solo “rockstar”
  • Leadership above having direct reports
  • Challenging work above flawless recital
  • Flexibility–even as far as potentially crossing over to hardware/firmware–rather than strict roles and responsibilities

If you’ve seen the Agile Manifesto, the structure of this list will seem familiar. While there is value in the items on the right, there is more value in the items on the left.

Do you have projects like this? Let’s talk.

This article 100% free-range human written.

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