personal improvement

Tester in a business suit giving a thumbs-up Career Options for Testers in the Age of Agile and DevOps

Software testing expertise is still a critical need. But as we enter the age of agile and DevOps, the industry is changing. If you’re in a software quality or testing role now as a direct contributor or leader, how should you prepare? What’s your next career step? Here's how you should equip yourself for the future.

Michael Sowers's picture
Michael Sowers
A stack of books and pens on a desk The 3 Kinds of Learning That Influence Your Work

The degree of confidence in your knowledge may vary, often due to the process you went through to learn the concept. An understanding of how different learning techniques affect the depth of your knowledge can help you with how you process information you already have and how to approach learning new things.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Business people communicating using soft skills Why We Need to Stop Calling Them Soft Skills

People often focus on hard skills for career development, but soft skills are just as important—if not more. Soft skills require practice and they are crucial for professional success, so we should stop referring to interpersonal skills as soft. They’re hard, human skills, and they can set you apart in your job.

Owen Gotimer's picture
Owen Gotimer
Person sending their resume in a paper airplane How Creative Would You Get to Land a Job Interview?

In order to be invited for a job interview, some people have done things like sending a lottery ticket, doing a back flip into the room, and writing a resume on a bar of chocolate! But before you go the creative route, it's important to tailor your approach to the prospective employer. You don't want to be gimmicky.

Naomi Karten's picture
Naomi Karten
Agile servant leader nurturing three small plants To Be a Good Leader, Become a Better Servant

Wanting to serve others—not wanting them to serve you—is one of the best signs of an effective leader. Being a leader is also not about doing more of the work or being the most technical person on your team. Rather, it's actually about giving up some of your work to help others grow. Here's what else good leaders do.

Owen Gotimer's picture
Owen Gotimer
Cute dog wearing a disguise with a fake nose and glasses Beware Confidence Masquerading as Competence

Self-confidence is essential to tackling difficult problems. Where we need to be careful is not being falsely overconfident. What’s behind that overconfidence can either help or hinder your solving issues and achieving a good result. Here's how to make sure that confidence is backed up by competence in your team.

Steve Berczuk's picture
Steve Berczuk
Sign saying "You got this" next to a laptop Brain Hacks to Engineer an Agile Transformation

When we are presented with a decision, the subconscious determines what we’re most emotionally comfortable with, then fills in the gaps to justify choosing it. In other words: Our brains lie to us. Then how can we ever get out of our comfort zone? Believe in change and take an agile approach to incremental adoption.

Chris Murman's picture
Chris Murman
Smiling woman attending a software conference 4 Tips for Convincing Your Boss to Send You to a Conference

You’ve found the industry conference you want to attend. You know the content at the event is going to help you grow your skills, and in your mind, the capital and time expenditure is clearly justified. So why is it not that easy to get your boss to agree? Here are four tips for convincing your boss to send you.

Stasi Richmond's picture
Stasi Richmond