Syed's Blog

8 posts · terminal version · RSS · all tags

Mentors, Sponsors and the People Who Open Doors

· career

A mentor gives you advice. A sponsor says your name in rooms you're not in. Why you need both, and how to find them without awkward "will you be my mentor?" emails.

LinkedIn Posts, Decoded

· career

"I'm humbled and honoured to announce" means "look at me." A translation guide for the most professional social network on Earth.

Job Hunting in Layoff Season

· career

When the market is crowded and responses are slow, volume alone won't save you. A practical plan for searching smarter, staying sane and using the network you forgot you had.

Salary Negotiation for People Who Hate Negotiating

· career

A script-based approach for the conflict-averse: research your range, let them name a number first when you can, ask calmly and remember the offer is rarely their final one.

Imposter Syndrome: Everyone Is Googling Things

· career

The senior engineer you admire searched "how to exit vim" more recently than you think. A practical, kind guide to feeling like a fraud and doing great work anyway.

How to Write a Resume That Survives the ATS Robot

· career

Applicant tracking systems, keywords, bullet points that show impact, and the formatting choices that quietly get resumes ignored.

The Tech Interview: LeetCode Hard, Job Easy

· career

Interviews ask you to invert a binary tree on a whiteboard; the job asks you to fix a CSS bug and attend meetings. How to prepare for the interview you'll actually get.

Will AI Take My Job? A Calm, Mildly Sarcastic Analysis

· ai

AI replaces tasks before it replaces jobs. Here's a practical way to look at your own work and decide what to learn next.