🐤 Day 10: How do you productize yourself?

🙋 Questions
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At TestBash @parwalrahul spoke about productizing yourself.

Amongst many things covered, it meant things like getting yourself out there, seizing opportunities, being the leader of you and having a learning mindset.

One quote that he mentioned that I loved was:

Who knows you is more important than who you know. - James Clear

Here’s some notes by @lhughes on the talk.

This is a handwritten mind map-style poster created for a presentation by Rahul Parwar at TestBash 2024, with input from Lynda Hughes. The central theme focuses on building a professional portfolio as a tester and how to productize yourself. Key Sections: Top Left Quote: "Who knows you is more important than who you know." – James Clear Social Media: Posts on LinkedIn Join communities, be active in them "Top work – if you can, mentor others" Office: Talk to people outside your project Conferences/Meetups: Meet top people, those who are really passionate Need a group to support you Microgroups: Support each other Learning: "Don't stop at learning" Implement learning Develop apps Participate in contests Study notes Central Question: "What to be a leader? Lead yourself." Topics Related to Leading Yourself: Self-learning Differentiation Health Branding Growth Influence Finances Bottom Right Notes: "Make visually available what you offer" "Just start, then focus on iterations" – Lynda Hughes Top-Centered Note: "Never too late to start" Starting channels with code, blogs, articles, etc.
This is a handwritten mind map-style poster created for a presentation by Rahul Parwar at TestBash 2024, with input from Lynda Hughes. The central theme focuses on building a professional portfolio as a tester and how to productize yourself. Key Sections: Top Left Quote: "Who knows you is more important than who you know." – James Clear Social Media: Posts on LinkedIn Join communities, be active in them "Top work – if you can, mentor others" Office: Talk to people outside your project Conferences/Meetups: Meet top people, those who are really passionate Need a group to support you Microgroups: Support each other Learning: "Don't stop at learning" Implement learning Develop apps Participate in contests Study notes Central Question: "What to be a leader? Lead yourself." Topics Related to Leading Yourself: Self-learning Differentiation Health Branding Growth Influence Finances Bottom Right Notes: "Make visually available what you offer" "Just start, then focus on iterations" – Lynda Hughes Top-Centered Note: "Never too late to start" Starting channels with code, blogs, articles, etc.1920×1440 237 KB

This personally speaks to my heart as this mindset is crucial to help advance, not just as individuals, but also as a community and an industry.

In today’s challenge consider:

  • sharing what you are doing to productive yourself
  • what can or have you done to support others in their journey
  • try creating or sharing something and dropping a link here
  • what has or hasn’t worked for you in the past
  • share what is the thing you’d love to be known for over the next 12-24 months
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Introduce yourself. So Im joining a new project/delivery and I noticed the Director for the area at the coffee machine. So obviously I introduced myself, and next project meeting he said Thank you :blush:

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I think I’ve productised myself pretty well.

  • I have a clear brand so that people can say “oh Callum said that”.
  • I talk about practical testing concepts and clearly show organisations how I can help them.
  • I focus on being a generalist and not limiting myself to one area of testing.

I’ve helped others on this journey by making a LinkedIn post showing people how to use their social media posts to really show organisations how you can help them. Plus I’m always down for a chat to testers to help give advice on how to widen their portfolio / visibility to show how awesome and hireable they are! :slight_smile:

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I’m working to make a meaningful impact in the QA community by integrating my broad IT experience with my commitment to quality and reliability. Some key contributions include:

  • Started QA Blogging: Created a blog focusing on Cypress to address common issues and ineffective practices that I frequently see in “too many” Pull Requests.
  • Developed Open-Source Plugins: Created plugins for Cypress to streamline the QA process (and make the QA professional’s daily work easier), enhance web accessibility, and address gaps in the Cypress ecosystem.
  • Active Forum Participation: Provide guidance on various QA forums.

By adding a unique and authentic spin to my work (some people might even say quirky, as myself), I aim to ensure my contributions stand out in the QA community.

These are my Blogs:

And these are my Plugins:

  • wick-a11y
  • cypress-ajv-schema-validator
  • how-to-create-a-cypress-plugin
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I’ve been riding the meetup wave and plotting world domination via conference talks (okay, maybe just sharing my passion for AI and testing, but same thing, right?).

Speaking of epic adventures, I recently stormed TestBash with my Playwright and AI talk. But the real showstopper? Our Epic Test Quest booth! We conjured up some scavenger hunts that would make Indiana Jones jealous. :trophy:

Now, about networking - turns out, it’s not just about knowing people, it’s about them knowing you’re awesome (thanks, Rahul). My secret sauce? A dash of event-hopping, a sprinkle of article-writing, and a generous helping of engaging in comments. Oh, and let’s not forget the cherry on top - the Ministry of Testing community.

Looking ahead, I’m on a mission to become the Gandalf of AI and test management with my startup. Our goal? To show you all that AI is here to augment your superpowers, not steal your lunch money. We’re all about making your work more efficient, enjoyable, and dare I say it… EPIC! :rocket:

So, here’s to the next 12-24 months of learning, sharing, and growing together. May your tests be green, your bugs be obvious, and your coffee be strong!

P.S. If you need me, I’ll be teaching AI the importance of good grammar and why “it works on my machine” is not a valid test result.