Career on Chris Harding

Tips for getting hired as a developer

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 10:34:03 +0000

Given the uptick in people looking for roles right now, I thought I’d share some tips for getting hired as a developer. These tips are things I look for when hiring developers, honed over many years and countless interviews. My aim is to shed some light on what people over the other side of the desk are thinking. Perhaps armed with this perspective, you will think differently about your own approach.

Performance Review 101

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 21:35:03 +0000

The intention of Performance Review 101 is to give engineering managers an understanding of why we have this process, and what’s involved. I’m sure you’ve all been in one of these meetings, and no doubt loathed having to prepare. But you only get out as much as you put in, and they’re a great way to develop your employees. Not convinced? Then read on…

Why do we need a Performance Review?

So first up, what is the point of this meeting and the hours of prep that go in prior? The key reason we have a performance review is to understand and improve your employees performance. This is with respect to both their personal needs and goals, but also the business needs. It’s not to say their performance has to be poor, but rather how can we help take it to the next level? To be clear, this is not an exercise in criticism and demoralisation. If there are performance expectation gaps, the review should aim to bridge them in a constructive manner.

What are the differences between Enterprise and Startups?

Wed, 05 Feb 2020 13:10:03 +0000

Having moved between these two types of company, I wanted to capture my thoughts on the differences between enterprise and startups. Why would you work for one over the other? Is one option the clear winner?

Firstly, when I talk about enterprise and startups, what do I actually mean? For the context of this post, I’m talking about tech-enabled companies rather than tech-led. These are companies whose main source of revenue is not from the sale of tech per se, but is enhanced by it. Think banks or insurance companies rather than FAANG .

Lessons Learned as a Manager

Sun, 01 Apr 2018 15:34:03 +0000

We all know the story. One minute you’re a junior developer learning your first regular expression. A few years and promotions later, you’re put in charge of a team of developers. Simple right? Just keep on cranking out the code, review the teams work and everything should fall into place. Except it doesn’t. It turns out being a manager is a completely different job to be being a developer and most people feel the pain as they make this transition. So having been through this myself, I thought I would share some of my personal lessons learned as a manager.

Hello World

Sat, 10 Feb 2018 19:15:23 +0100

Inspired by my recent trip to NDC London, I have decided to create a foothold on the web in an attempt to build out and control my “personal brand”. Although the software developer in me is scared by this term, the leader and entrepreneur realises it’s an essential marketing tool and chance to show where my passion lies.

This blog will focus on how to use technology to deliver business value, rather than technology for the sake of technology. I will explore new trends and how these can be utilised to deliver faster results and ultimately more value to end users. In the meantime, head over to my about page to discover a little more.