How Grit and Growth Mindset Propel Techies to Success: An Interview.

How Grit and Growth Mindset Propel Techies to Success: An Interview.

Interview with Two Senior Techies!

What is Grit and a Growth Mindset?

Grit and a growth mindset are key attributes that can lead to success in any field, particularly in the tech industry. Grit is the ability to persist through challenges and maintain a strong work ethic, even in the face of obstacles. A growth mindset is a belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. Together, grit and a growth mindset can assist individuals in overcoming obstacles and reaching their goals.

In the tech industry, grit and a growth mindset are particularly important because the field is constantly evolving. Individuals who possess these qualities are more likely to adapt to new technologies and continue to learn and grow throughout their careers.

To gain a deeper understanding of the significance of grit and a growth mindset in the tech industry, I interviewed two senior professionals in the tech field. They will share their perspectives and experiences on how grit and a growth mindset contributed to their success in the tech industry. This will be an inspiration for those who are looking to build a career in the tech industry. Stay tuned for the interview!

To protect the privacy of the individuals involved, the names of the interviewees have been kept anonymous.

The Interview

What do you do and what are your day-to-day work activities like?

A: I'm a Technical writer with a specialization in documentation engineering. My day-to-day activities include:

  • Checking in with engineers and product managers for updates to the product and new features that may have been released and drafting out how it affects the documentation and updating it as regards the new changes.

B: I'm a senior security engineer with specialization in

  • Core competencies.

  • Offensive security.

  • Vulnerability and penetration testing.

  • Cloud security.

  • Cyber threat intelligence.

    My day-to-day activities include:

  • Security assessment for my clients and customers to find potential risks and threats in their environment and based on my findings, I implement security controls and provide recommendations for them.

How long have you been in your various fields?

A: I've been into technical writing for 5+ years.

B: I've been into security for more than 7 years.

What got you to this point in your careers?

A: Developing myself and money.

B: My growth mindset.

What is a growth mindset to you?

A: The ability to develop oneself and continue to improve.

B: It is adapting to the flexibility of whatever it is I'm doing, learning from my mistakes by analysing the situation, what I could have done differently, picking my lessons learnt from there and applying them to my future endeavours.

What evidence(s) is there in your careers that you've applied a growth mindset?

A: I started from volunteering for projects and earning less than $100 per gig and now I earn up to six figures in dollars per year.

B: I've worked for top financial institutions in Nigeria and I've gone through the interview stages for all the "FAANG" companies and passed beautifully.

What is the most common misunderstanding about a growth mindset?

A: Everyone can "make" it.

B: People think that anyone can achieve success by just working hard. You have to develop yourself, learn and unlearn. There will be a time when obstacles will come and omo, sometimes try dey give up, if it's not working, it's not working.

Why would the word "yet" be so powerful for a growth mindset?

A: Yet means you're taking actionable steps but you haven't gotten to your destination or achieved your set goals.

B: Yet to me is having a goal in mind and a destination to reach. It gives you the zeal and motivation to want to achieve that set goal.

Is Intelligence fixed? Explain.

A: Yes. When you read, what you gain is knowledge and not intelligence. You can increase knowledge, wisdom and experience but not intelligence.

B: No. Intelligence is a combination of environmental and genetic factors.

What is grit?

A: It means courage, resolve and strength.

B: Grit is the perseverance and passion to achieve a goal.

Give an example of grit from your own lives.

A: Putting myself out there and applying for opportunities even if I receive rejections.

B: Putting in a lot of effort to learn to surf.

What do you understand about mindset now that you didn't understand before?

A: If you put your mind towards something, you can achieve it.

B: Intelligence can be developed if you put in work, determination and strong commitment.

What do you think is more important: effort or intelligence?

A: Both of them work hand in hand. Though, there are cases where with one of them, you can do a lot of crazy things.

B: I'm on the fence because both effort and intelligence are important because when combined they can help us achieve our goals. However, someone with a high level of intelligence and strong work ethic is more likely to achieve success in what they do than someone with high efforts that lacks intelligence.

What motivates you personally to develop a greater growth mindset?

A: When sapa be my opp, omo why I no go dey motivated?

B: Whenever I think of the big salary increase, omo, I am motivated.

Describe a time when you failed at something. What feelings did you have at the time? When you look back on that time, how do you feel now? What did the failure teach you?

A: When my investment account went from $15k to $4k. I felt sad, said "we move" and went about my life. I still feel sad, that $11k could have done a lot for me. The loss taught me how to do proper diligence before investing in things.

B: This would be when I failed my first Amazon interview. The problem with security engineering is that it's very broad, I wasn't prepared enough and I was nervous. I had "half-ideas" of the answers and on the spot, I knew I wasn't going to get the job. The HR gave me a 30 days cooldown period instead of the usual 6 months because he could see that I knew what I was doing but didn't know how to deliver it. I was determined to never make that mistake again and passed it when I re-did it. The failure taught me the importance of preparation and self awareness. It helped me identify my weaknesses and I learnt effective communication.

Give at least 2 of your own personal "yet" sentences. (For example, "I'm not a technical writer yet.")

A: I've not made a million dollars yet. I've not bought a Lamborghini Urus yet.

B: I'm not a sugar daddy yet. I have not made impulsive purchases without considering the consequences yet.

What advice would you give to junior techies on how to practice a growth mindset?

A: Keep on trying new things.

B: Embrace challenges, reflect on your progress, compare your growth (where you were 3 months ago, a year ago to where you are at the moment), always seek feedback, embrace failure and mistakes - do not let it set you back, pick your lessons and apply them in your other endeavours and always stay curious.

Conclusion

In conclusion, grit and growth mindset are crucial qualities in the tech industry. Through our interview with the two senior techies, we learned how these traits have helped them persevere and adapt in the ever-evolving tech field. It's evident that possessing grit and growth mindset can lead to success in the tech industry.