Achieving Your Dreams
Zach Holman
Senior Web Architect at GitHub, Inc.
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IF ONLY
I KNEW THIS SHIT
IN COLLEGE
!
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I WAS A
PARTICULARLY
DUMB STUDENT
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I AM A
PARTICULARLY
DUMB PROFESSIONAL
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BUT I KNOW
SLIGHTLY MORE NOW
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THIS IS THE TALK
I WISH MY DUMB
STUDENT SELF
HAD HEARD
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@holman
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INFORMATION SYSTEMS, CARNEGIE MELLON
2008
DEVELOPER AT PAC (PALO ALTO)
2008
DEVELOPER AT GITHUB (SAN FRANCISCO)
2010
WASTED YOUR TIME ON THIS TERRIBLE TALK
2014
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IF ONLY I KNEW
!
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IF ONLY I KNEW
STARTUPS WERE FOR ME
!
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I LOVE STARTUPS
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I WAS ONE SUCCESSFUL
INTERVIEW AWAY FROM
NEVER BEING AT ONE
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YOUR WORK
HAS IMPACT
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13 EMPLOYEES AT
ACQUISITION
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3500 EMPLOYEES AT
ACQUISITION
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FEW CAN SCARE
THE HELL OUTTA MANY
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YOUR WORK
IS MORE FUN
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MORE OF THIS
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LESS OF THIS
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MORE OF THIS
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LESS OF THIS
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MORE TIME SPENT WORKING
DIRECTLY ON PRODUCT
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YOUR WORK
USES COOL TECHNOLOGY
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WAY EASIER TO USE
PYTHON RUBY NOSQL
BRAINFUCK NODE.JS
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YOU ALSO GET TO
WEAR MANY HATS
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YOU’LL BE FILTHY RICH $
€
$
$
€
€
$
€
$
€
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YOU’LL BE FILTHY RICH
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DO IT FOR LOVE OF PRODUCT
AND THE SOMEWHAT
REASONABLE SALARY
WITH RESPECT TOWARDS
SOCIETY AT LARGE
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13 EMPLOYEES AT
ACQUISITION
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LUCKYGRAM
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IT’S A GREAT INDUSTRY,
EVEN WITHOUT THE MILLIONS
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CONSIDER A STARTUP
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IF ONLY I KNEW
FINDING A COMPANY WAS HARD
!
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FINDING THE ONE IS HARD
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FINDING A GOOD ONE IS HARD TOO
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PAY ATTENTION TO
COMPANIES YOU ADMIRE
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PAY ATTENTION TO
WHO WORKS THERE
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DON’T LET BENEFITS BLIND YOU;
LOOK AT THE CORE UNIT OF WORK
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THE INTERVIEW
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THE INTERVIEW
PAC WAS STRUCTURED, TRADITIONAL
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THE INTERVIEW
MUCH MORE INFLUENCED BY MY BACKGROUND
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THE INTERVIEW
GITHUB GOT ME THROWN OUT OF A BAR
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THE INTERVIEW
MUCH MORE INFLUENCED BY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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THE INTERVIEW
TAILOR ANY INTERVIEW TO THE COMPANY
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THE INTERVIEW WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?
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WE’VE PROBABLY ALREADY SEEN YOUR WORK
WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?
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TASTE AND CULTURE
WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?
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T-SHAPED PEOPLE (DEPTH+BREADTH)
WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR?
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IF ONLY I KNEW
LEAVING A COMPANY WAS HARD
!
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IT’S HARD TO DITCH PLEASANT COMPANIES
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IT’S HARD TO DITCH FRIENDS
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IT’S HARD TO DITCH THE OFFICE
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IT’S HARD TO DITCH THE CITY
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IT’S HARD TO DITCH THE INSURANCE
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IT’S HARD TO DITCH THE SALARY
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IT’S HARD TO DITCH THE PRODUCT
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LONGEVITY IS GREAT
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JUST KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS:
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AM I IMPROVING?
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IS THIS COMPANY IMPROVING?
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IS THE COMPANY GOING TO BURN
IN A CASHLESS FIRE MERE MONTHS
FROM NOW?
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DO I DREAD THE WORK?
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SPEND TIME ASSESSING THIS
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MOVING UP SOMETIMES
MEANS MOVING OUT
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IF ONLY I KNEW
HOW TO DEAL WITH HATERS
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A SWEARING STORY
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THIS MADE ALL THE WHOLESOME
MICROSOFT PEOPLE ANGRY
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NOVEMBER 3, 2011
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NOVEMBER 8, 2011
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NOVEMBER 8, 2011
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NOVEMBER 9, 2011
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NOVEMBER 14, 2011
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Mr. Holman has a lot
of growing up to do
- JSAVIMBI, HACKER NEWS
“
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I watched his video the
other day and the first
phrase that came to mind
to describe him was,
"smug little prick"
- GEORGIEPORGIE, HACKER NEWS
“
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Yeah, I just wrote it for
the page views.
- ONE OF THE BLOGGERS, TO ME, A YEAR LATER
“
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ONCE YOU DO SOMETHING PUBLICLY,
IT’S NO LONGER YOURS
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PEOPLE WILL DISCUSS IT, REMIX IT,
MISINTERPRET IT, IMPROVE IT
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IF YOU REALLY CARE, THEN
IGNORE THE HATERS
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IF YOUR VALUE COMES FROM WHAT PEOPLE
ON THE INTERNET THINK, THEN
YOU ARE FUCKED
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SHIPPING THINGS IS GRATIFYING
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HELPING PEOPLE IS DEEPLY GRATIFYING
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SO, CREATE.
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POST SCRIPT: THIS HOT DRAMA WAS
THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME
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IF ONLY I KNEW
NOT TO JUMP INTO AN UNKNOWN BODY OF WATER WITHOUT FIRST
PLANNING A SAFE AND EXPEDIENT EXIT STRATEGY
!
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IF ONLY I KNEW
NOT TO BE AN ASSHOLE
!
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- STEVE JOBS
“BEING A DICK IS OKAY”
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JUST BECAUSE CODE IS LOGIC
DOESN’T MEAN PROBLEMS ARE LOGICAL
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COMPUTERS DON’T CREATE PROBLEMS;
PEOPLE DO
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YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A DICK TO BUILD
GREAT PRODUCT
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DON’T GIVE FEEDBACK IMMEDIATELY;
COOL DOWN FIRST
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WHINY RANTS ARE INVERSELY
PROPORTIONAL TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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YOU WON’T REGRET POSITIVE FEEDBACK
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IF ONLY I KNEW
HOW TO IMPROVE MYSELF
!
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DON’T RELY ON WORK FOR GROWTH
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BUILD RIDICULOUS SIDE PROJECTS
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YOU’LL MEET PEOPLE
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PEOPLE WILL MEET YOU
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BECOME SMART PATTERNS
DUMB EXPERIMENTS
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IF ONLY I KNEW
EVERYONE IS PRETTY AVERAGE
!
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EVERYONE IS A BIT
INTIMIDATING
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THE BEST TAKEAWAY IS THAT
MOST HUMANS ARE AVERAGE
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EVEN THE “BEST” AND “COOLEST”
ARE PRETTY DUMB
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“EVERYTHING AROUND YOU WAS
MADE BY PEOPLE THAT WERE
NO SMARTER THAN YOU”
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THIS MAKES ME FEEL
SO MUCH BETTER
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IF ONLY I KNEW
HOW THE INDUSTRY WORKED
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THE TECH INDUSTRY IS WONDERFUL
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THE TECH INDUSTRY IS HORRIBLE
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THE TECH INDUSTRY IS SMALL AS FUCK
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SOMETIMES IT IS ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW
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PUBLICIZE YOURSELF
TWITTER BLOG OPEN SOURCE TALKS
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QUIT CARING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY
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DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE
STUCK AT A COMPANY YOU DON’T LIKE
WHO JUMPS INTO DEEP RIPTIDES
WITHOUT LOOKING