Ask HN: What are books/hacks/actions for becoming an influencer at my workplace?

7 points by antonpuz 6 years ago | 6 comments

All ideas are welcome, personal experience is preferred. Shoot.

JMTQp8lwXL 6 years ago |

Whatever specialized skills you excel at -- (1) hone them in at an A-list company. Then, (2) jump ship for a B-list company. It's important in (1) that you surround yourself with people with greater skill than you; these people will provide mentorship. In (2), You'll be the smartest person in the room. With less competition, it'll be easier for you to rise.

antonpuz 6 years ago | |

That sounds like an interesting idea, I assume the move from (1) to (2) involve decrease in salary/prestige and that's also something to consider.

JMTQp8lwXL 6 years ago | | |

Prestige, perhaps. Salary, you'd be surprised. There's many companies that are near-FANGs (but aren't literally FANGs) and will compete on total compensation. It should be noted that (2) can be done without sacrificing compensation.

cmm324 6 years ago |

"How to Win Friends & Influence People" still stands as one of the most prolific books on this topic for decades...

Also, my company has weekly Lunch-N-Learns, I give 1-2 a year on various topics related to writing, testing and deploying software just like I would at a meetup group.

antonpuz 6 years ago | |

Actually heard about it long time ago, and I definetely search for soft skills books. Will read for sure, thx.

liptongreentea 6 years ago |

What is your end goal?