Ways I’m available to help

Summary: Need some help? Email me at the contact link in my profile section over there (the envelope icon) —>

Please put “Help request: <topic>” in the subject line of the email so that it triggers my email rules

I’ve been working in the tech industry for over thirty years. I’ve learned a lot, and have had the good fortune to catch some lucky breaks and meet lots of great people who helped me along. I’m a firm believer in “sending the elevator back down” whenever I can, and I’m happy to help aspiring technologists build their careers. Below is a summary of things that I can generally help with. If there is something in the list that would be helpful to you, send me a note and I’ll see what I can do. Fair warning - if you email me trying to sell me something or otherwise trying to take advantage of the opportunity, I won’t hesitate to delete it.

If I’m unable to help you out for whatever reason, I’ll try to reply back to you reasonably quickly to let you know. Keep in mind that I get lots of email and also have a full-time job, so it might take me a bit to respond. Please be patient.

I am sometimes available to take on advisory board roles, though my current employment position limits that to some extent. If you have an interesting startup and could use some outside perspective, feel free to contact me and we can at least discuss it.

Ways I’m available to help anyone

If you email about any of the following things, I’m very likely to be able to help:

Answering concise questions via email about topics within my expertise - If you write me an email with a concise, clear question that I can answer, I’ll try to respond as quickly as I can. Any topic I’ve written about recently is fair game, as is any topic in the realm of my technical experience. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll tell you, though I may share an opinion as well. Don’t expect me to research your problem for you. If I can’t answer quickly I’ll tell you that too.

Intros - I’m happy to make an introduction in cases where I think it appropriate, using a double opt-in approach. Provide me with some background and why you’re looking for an introduction, and I’ll see what I can do to make it happen. I will likely ask you some further questions first to weed out bad actors, so don’t expect a cold pass-along. I have a pretty broad span of connections on LinkedIn. You can check there to see who I might know.

Perspective on potential employers - If you’re looking to work somewhere that I’ve worked or somewhere that someone I know works, I can try to provide some perspective before you commit. As with intros, check my LinkedIn to see where I might have some insight to share. If I don’t have a perspective or experience with the employer, I’ll say so.

Helping underrepresented people in tech

If you’re someone from an underrepresented background – a woman, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, etc. – I’l go out of my way to do more:

Everything above, I’ll especially do for you. If you’re not sure if something’s appropriate – just go ahead and send it! The worst I’ll do is simply not respond; more likely, it’s totally fine and I’ll help to the extent that I can.

Review conference proposals on topics I know something about - If you’re submitting a proposal for a conference talk in a subject area I’m familiar with, send it along and I’ll review it for you. Let me know how you’d like me to help - technical content, structure/pacing/grammar, etc.

Speaking opportunities - I get speaking requests from time to time, and I simply can’t accept most of them. If you send me your information and area of expertise, I’m happy to pass along opportunities that would be a good fit.

Job opportunities - I’m more than happy to share information about openings and opportunities. Send me your resume and provide a summary of the type of role you’re looking for, and I’ll share with my network (anonymously if you’d prefer).

Resume feedback - I see lots of resumes, and have a pretty good sense of what will catch a hiring manager’s eye (and what will make them immediately pass!). If you’re looking for feedback on your resume, send it along and include a link to your LinkedIn profile and I’ll give both a quick review. I’ve found that most resume mistakes are really easy to fix, and can dramatically increase your chances of getting someone’s attention.

Board assistance - As mentioned further above, I can provide advisory board assistance in limited circumstances, and can potentially serve as a full board member if the opportunity meets specific criteria. If you are a founder/CEO from an underrepresented background, and you believe that I could be a useful advisor or board member for your company, let me know and we can discuss.

Thanks to Jacob Kaplan-Moss, who has a similar page and inspired me to do the same. Much of the content above is lightly modified versions from his page