Weeknotes 2024W33

Cleaned up my résumé and LinkedIn profile

I got an official date for when I will be end my Peace Corps service and go home. Early November! Just a couple of short months away.

As part of this transition, I need to find a job. I spent this week trying to figure out what I want to do in the near future, freshening up my LinkedIn profile, writing up a new résumé, and sending out said résumé for review by my inner circle.¹

I’m marketing myself as someone with a unique combination of skills. There are lots of really good engineers out there but they most likely don’t have any real cross-cultural experience, language skills, human-centered design skills, or any of the other soft skills I’ve learned in the last two years. These are important skills that are often neglected in the STEM fields. That is my value proposition and what I will be pushing when people ask why they should hire me.

I did some research on engineering companies and jobs in the Pacific Northwest and found some people I’d like to reach out to for informational interviews. I need more information on how, specifically, I can apply my skills and experiences to create a positive social impact through working.

Started learning geography

Last week, I was with some friends and we pulled out one of those quick country flag quizzes. While doing it, we started talking about where different countries were in the world.

I’ve always known that I was bad at geography. In school, it was just pure memorization that I would quickly brain dump. Whenever I come up on a geography crossword clue, I automatically skip it. But I can change this!

I downloaded an Anki deck and have been slowly making progress. I’m learning all the countries and their capitals, relative locations, and flags. Hong Kong has the most beautiful flag that I’ve come across so far.

Is this a “useful” skill to learn? Not really. Will I finally be able to correctly identify a flag in the wild? I hope so.

Bits and Bobs

• I finished reading How to Handle a Crowd by Anika Gupta. Since launching heyjohn, I’ve been interested in developing online communities and this book gives some cool stories about moderation and the various places online communities live.
• Started reading Transitions by William Bridges. Peace Corps training staff used some parts of this model to describe the transition that happens after PC ends. It resonated with me so I picked up the book to dive deeper and have really been enjoying it so far.
• After a long hiatus, the old DnD group got back together for a session this week.

Links

• Everybody Reads by PJ Onori. Good little read about how important written communication is. (ht Adrián Perales)

  I’m not a great writer. But I am astoundingly better than I was ten years ago. There’s no magic trick behind the improvement, it boils down to respecting the reader.
  If you respect the reader, then you’re going to work at getting better at writing. Because you know that someone has to read what you’re writing. And if you respect the reader, you want that to be as enjoyable as possible. At the very least, you want to avoid it being unenjoyable.
  The better I write, the better the readers’ experience. That could be a friend, a team member or a complete stranger. It could be an idea I’m bouncing off of someone or a feature’s call to action. Words remain the straightest line towards communicating ideas. Ignore them at your own peril. Because as much as we’re told otherwise, everybody reads.

• I’ve been listening to Jarabe De Palo after a friend sent it to me this week.
• How big is a billion? This website shows you just how big a billion is. Just keep scrolling.
• I Hate Networking Too, But… by Robin Waldun. Part of the upcoming job search is definitely going to include networking. It’s always felt fake to me. This article plus one by everything changes have helped me come up with ways to make it more meaningful and authentic.
• Recipes for Wellbeing. They’ve got a nice framework and library of actionable activities to increase personal and community wellbeing.
• Plato Games. My friends and I have been having a blast playing Table Soccer together.

Created: 2024-08-18

Last modified: 2024-08-18