How do you convince your manager you have coding strengths in other areas (without sounding big headed) ?

Question

You working on a project developing good, robust front end applications (because you have done this before). The next project your manager decides to use you for the same type of work, but you know you have strengths in other areas, which you really want to utilise them. For example, you’re hot at writing middleware components or core engine type development, or even SQL stuff.

How do you try and get this point across to your team leader\manager? Also other developers are keen on taking the best\challenging\interesting tasks, so what skills do you need to publicise your key strengths, without sounding big-headed ?

Answer 1

Show the opportunity to the team leader/manager to have a swiss-knife collaborator in the team. You should present the idea as if it comes from him and that you can have an added value to the different project you're working on.

If you can demonstrate the skill on success story earlier project you won't be sounding big-headed.

Answer 2

The best thing to show what you can do without sounding big headed, is just to illustrate previous work. Give examples of things you have done, where the experience you gained can be reused effectively.

Stating you have been doing a certain type of software development in someway connected to what is required in current projects, will bring across by itself, that you should have some proficiency in that area, and selection of duties will come accordingly, without you sounding like you are trying to say: "lemme 'ave it"

I think its good to have a competitive type of environment to an extent, but it sounds to me that in your company, you are now having to compete for assignments, you should try to find a way to "work together" with your colleagues, so its not one's skills against the others. Anything else will damage you as a person, and your team because you are not working to the best of your abilities, which is cooperatively.

In my case: I really don't like SQL related assignments and I think I am better utilized doing software development outside that area, but the truth is, I cannot avoid it completely (I wish I could) and often I feel like telling my superiors:

"look, this is not my forte, and we are just wasting everybody's time"

More often than not, I find that the scars I get by fighting with the bits of software development that I don't like, make me a much stronger developer.

My tip to you is: don't avoid the things you are not good at, you are not supposed to be good at everything, but use every opportunity you get, to learn whatever gets thrown at you. If it gets boring or too challenging, then cry for help, but the idea is:

1. work in a team
2. work towards the goal

Not just to show what you can do, but to achieve the result(s) your team is trying to achieve.

Answer 3

Tell you r manager that you want to broaden out your skills and experience and get full exposure to all elements of the architecture and code. S/he probably has a good reason to want to keep you doing what you are clearly already skilled at, not least of which will be quality and reliability and schedule reasons. However it is perfectly reasonable, and in fact quite a good characteristic, for you to want to diversify your contribution.

If your manager is half decent they will try and accommodate your request. You don't have to say "because I am better than the people you have doing that stuff at the moment" because you will sound arrogant. If you come at it from the standpoint of mutual benefit and your own career aims you'll very likely find a listening ear.

Answer 4

Just talk to them.

Any reasonable manager will be keen for you to become a more rounded developer because it helps the company if they can use you to solve more problems.

It won't (or shouldn't!) happen around crunch time but early on in a project ask PMs and leads if there's room to do a little XP style pair-programming. Later in the day when the project needs efficiency, you can still so things like getting a readonly copy of the codebase, learn up on the app itself, and keep an eye on the documentation and emails around that part of the system.

You definitely aren't as good as you think you are in these new areas, just because by definition you haven't got experience in them, so always act with a little humility and accept it can't always happen now, but every good company / PM / and senior programmer will want you to learn. It really makes our lives better for you to be better.

If you genuinely do have strengths this will quickly become apparent, and things should look up. You've got to speak up in the first place though.

Answer 5

Get inside your manager's head a little. Generally a clever manager may hear a given engineer talking (probably repeatedly) about a technology that really excites them, and the manager will keep an eye out to match employee with opportunity. The best managers I've ever had do this. But 90% of managers are not the best managers I've ever had...

For the not-perfect managers out there, I suggest having a private talk with them that includes the following thoughts:

• In a real crisis, moving people around is too difficult. If someone has proven to be spectacular in a given area, and this is 2 weeks before the big release, nothing short of death and destruction will change team assignments. Don't start the discussion at that time.
• Otherwise, there is a significant value to having multiple people able to do multiple things. Saying things like "I'd like to shadow Bob, who does the SQL development. Not only would it be fun for me, but I can take over when Bob is sick..." will lead the manager down the right trail.
• The above bullet goes double for any technology that is likely to expand. If it's clear that a ton of new web services are needed for the next release, then having more than 1 person able do them is probably crtical. Telling your manager "I hear we have a ton of web services coming, I'd really like to be a part of that", will help. It's entirely possible in some companies, that your manager has not seen the growth in some areas of technology, so being first to point it out may give you first-dibs.
• Find a replacement. Sometimes you are stuck to a technology because you are the only person capable of doing it. If you can find (and volunteer to train) someone to do the critical thing that you do, then your manager will be more willing to let you do something new.

Once and a while, I've seen cases where people are more or less locked into their areas. If it isn't a crisis, and just the normal state of affairs - I suggest finding a new group or company. This is a sign of a pretty stagnant group that will have trouble growing and changing.

With no other prevailing factors, if I heard someone say the following, I'd be almost certain to grant the request:

"Hi, I know we have a big new release coming in . I know it will be critical to do to get that working. I'm really excited about that, and I hope you'll keep me in mind to do it. I have X prior experience on the job in it. I'm so excited about it, I've been learning about it in my spare time by doing Y. I know I've been working on Z, but either Z is no longer needing much work, or I have person A who would be perfect to bring a fresh eye to area Z."

At this point, you've basically done the work for the manager. You've found a reason to do the technology, you've fixed potentially two staffing issues (found work that needs doing, and foudn a replacement for work being done). And you've shown serious enthusiasm and skills for the job. And - most important - you just became one of your manager's new favorite people, because you figured all this out and yet left the decision to him.

If you don't get your way at this point, you will instead get a good discussion with your manager on why your clever plan won't work. There may be big picture problems, but hopefully your manager will be able to share that with you. And you've said very directly, that you are looking to try something new. If your manager is decent and values your work, they should be ready to throw opportunities your way when they arise.

Answer 6

I don't think you have the right point that you want to convey. You want exposure to writing other types of applications and wonder if there are any upcoming projects that could use those skills is about what you want to talk to your manager. The key here is to see from the business side what do they want as if the company is too small to have middleware or uses some archaic DB system your skills may not prove to be so useful after all. Ultimatums are likely to be useless here from my view where the key is to let your manager know what kinds of things you'd like to get into and that you are perhaps better in those areas than where you are now.

Communicating that you have a preference for a type of work should be fine and the question is whether or not the company will be doing any of that and if in-house talent will be doing it or will some 3rd party get all the work for it.