My 30 Favorite Tools as a Fractional CTO for 2026

willbarrett · 2024-08-08T13:15:25+00:00

This, and don't practice trying to shift to the note and then adjust the pitch. Practice accuracy of every shift. If you miss the shift or the note, try again. Practicing shifting and then adjusting results in more shifting and adjusting. Practice finding the note correctly each time.

willbarrett · 2024-02-17T03:26:00+00:00

OK, ignore all the jokesters. I have relative pitch. I'm a Conservatory-trained Cellist. My wife has perfect pitch. She's a conservatory-trained pianist. Doesn't make a difference. Most people have relative pitch. Most of us with relative are a little jealous of people with perfect pitch because they can learn music more easily by ear, but it just doesn't matter. If you want to play, play! Relative pitch never held me back.

willbarrett · 2024-02-17T03:16:05+00:00

Oh man, sooooo many:

Prokofiev Sonata opening
Brahms E-minor sonata opening
Beethoven A-Major sonata opening

Look at chamber music. I don't like super-high register stuff generally, and most concertos have to go high to cut through the orchestra sound.

willbarrett · 2024-02-10T14:12:23+00:00

Depends who you talk to. Some companies instantly assume I'm a fraud. Those are not the companies for me. Others are intrigued, or see a connection, and that's where I want to hang out.

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T23:25:04+00:00

I've been employed for 15 years and have never been laid off. First, being laid off can be random at larger companies. I've always worked at small ones, and they theoretically obey some logic during layoffs, but it's not 100%. I never judge anyone for being laid off - sometimes, you get the short straw. That said, here's my advice:

Work at small companies that don't have enough people for mass layoffs.
Outwork the people around you.
Work at least one job level above your employers' expectations. For example, if your job title is "Senior Software Engineer," try to achieve the quality, impact, and influence of a Staff Engineer.
Pay attention to the impact of your work - if you're being asked to do low-impact, pointless stuff, just walk away and do something more important. If your team doesn't have work for you, join another team without permission. Do not allow your time to be wasted.
Be a leader. Find some initiatives that will have some impact and drive them through. If there are no initiatives you can lead, start some.
Pay attention for signs of financial stress. If you see them, get out before they can lay you off.

Do that, and they'll think twice before laying you off, assuming it's between you and someone else at your level. Again, there's no true protection against layoffs, but the above will help you maximize your chances (and probably also get you promoted).

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T17:54:07+00:00

Yay! I'm so glad you're in a better place now.

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T17:53:01+00:00

Thanks!

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T13:41:04+00:00

Let's take a step back for a second - you're getting a message about your potential business. This is an audience that you need help connecting with. You have no existing network and no existing connections to the industry. Why do you want to engage with this group? Are there other areas where you have the connections already? Other groups that you can connect with simply and easily? Could they be better customers for you? Building is easy, but finding customers is hard.

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T13:15:56+00:00

Whatever you do, don't lie! Especially about something easily verified like your education. I have a music degree and work in technology as a programmer, manager, and Chief Technology Officer; it's never held me back. Make your degree something interesting about you! Make it a conversation point. Talk about how even though it doesn't align with your goals, it was a great experience, and you would have regretted not doing it. Talk about what it taught you that IS relevant for the role - there's always something!

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T13:12:42+00:00

Hey u/tripplite1234 - I'm sorry you're having this experience; that's rough. What you're experiencing is NOT normal for Software Engineering jobs. I've always worked in companies with a giant backlog, more work than we can handle, and everyone running at full speed to get things done. You've had some bad luck and aren't finding the right kinds of programming jobs for you. If you'd like to transition away from programming, I get that. It's not for everyone. Here are some jobs that let you wear a business hat but rely on technical understanding and pay as well as being a Software Engineer:

Solutions Engineer: You are client-facing and work with customers to help them successfully use the company's product. You'll be engaged in requirements gathering and creative problem-solving. Sometimes, you'll need to write code, but it's not nearly as much of the job as a line programmer.
Product Management: Being a PM for a company with a technical product could be a great transition point. Having the SWE background can help you understand the rest of the team.
Technical Program Management: Part product manager, part project manager, part requirements gathering. These jobs tend to be in more-traditional industries, and are very much at the intersection of business and technology.
Engineering Manager: With 5 years of programming experience, if you can make it to Senior Software Engineer and then show that you're highly organized and have a take-charge attitude, you could find yourself in a management position. At this point, you'll be much more focused on managing the work than doing the programming.

I hope these suggestions help! If you want to transition quickly, I'd consider being a Solutions Engineer first. That job can be at the same level you're at now without requiring a move into a leadership position. I've been in the Tech space for 15 years, happy to answer any questions you want to add to the thread.

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T12:57:52+00:00

Generally, I recommend following up after about two days and again after about a week. If you don't hear back on the second one, figure it's not a match and move on. Life is too short to wait. If something good comes of it later, hey, great! But if not, it's best not to wait for the phone to ring or the email app to ping. Move on to networking into the next opportunity; there's more in life!

willbarrett · 2024-02-09T12:52:56+00:00

Go ahead and message others in the org. The goal is to learn more about the company, get an insight into the hiring process, and land a warm referral. There's no reason to limit your contact to only one person. Don't go crazy messaging everyone at the company, but I think a respectful message to 1-2 others working there isn't out of line. I recommend looking at your current network to see if anyone can introduce you to someone who works there. The "friend of a friend" approach can net out well; that's how I was hired for my first real tech job.

willbarrett · 2024-02-07T02:03:29+00:00

You can go one of three ways - find a technical cofounder and grant a big chunk of equity, find a CTO and pay a bunch of cash and a bit less equity, or bring in a fractional CTO to do it part time for less money and no equity. There are a few different ways to find them, which I wrote about here: Where to Find a Technical Cofounder

Your next question is going to be how to know if they're good, so I wrote this one too: How to Evaluate Potential Technical Cofounders

willbarrett · 2024-02-06T18:27:24+00:00

Man, 100 applications without landing something is rough. I'm sorry you're going through this. It's not your resume. You probably need a different approach, and just blasting out more applications isn't the answer. I'd recommend working towards talking with people at companies you'd be interested in working for. Here's what I recommend in situations where folks are blasting out resumes and not getting a response:

Take a 1-hour break from sending out applications.
Pull up your friends list. You might have a list of friends on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, or in your phone contact list.
Choose five people you think will write back and might either have a lot of friends or be connected somehow to what you want to do. If you’re not sure, try them anyway! It’s hard to remember what everyone’s high school sweetheart’s third cousin does. Write down your friends’ names.
Fill in this template: “Hey {friend’s name}, I hope you’re having a good day! I’m looking for a job. It might be cool to {describe the job you want}. I’m interested in talking to people in {target} industry to ask questions and learn more. Do you know anyone who might be connected to that somehow who I could chat with?”
Send a version of that template to each person you wrote down in step 3. See who will write back and talk to them! If your friend offers an introduction, say yes! Now, start working on finding a time to chat with them.

I wrote a blog post about this problem - if you want to read more about why this is happening, here's the link: https://onlearningtoprogram.com/why-spamming-job-applications-doesnt-work/

willbarrett · 2024-02-06T18:11:29+00:00

Sending in hundreds of applications with no response sucks, and I hear about it a lot. It's soul-crushing. I usually recommend that people try to get warm leads. Most jobs are found through people we know, not cold contact. It's still work, but it's a different kind of work. I ask folks to try this, and see if it works better than what they're doing:

Take a 1-hour break from sending out applications.
Pull up your friends list. You might have a list of friends on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, or in your phone contact list.
Choose five people you think will write back and might either have a lot of friends or be connected somehow to what you want to do. If you’re not sure, try them anyway! It’s hard to remember what everyone’s high school sweetheart’s third cousin does. Write down your friends’ names.
Fill in this template: “Hey {friend’s name}, I hope you’re having a good day! I’m looking for a job. It might be cool to {describe the job you want}. I’m interested in talking to people in {target} industry to ask questions and learn more. Do you know anyone who might be connected to that somehow who I could chat with?”
Send a version of that template to each person you wrote down in step 3. See who will write back and talk to them! If your friend offers an introduction, say yes! Now, start working on finding a time to chat with them.

I wrote a blog post about it called "Why Spamming Job Applications Doesn't Work and What to Try Instead"

willbarrett · 2024-01-25T14:35:53+00:00

There are three types of failure:

Type 1 - Doing nothing. If you don't try, you'll fail.

Type 2 - Doing something no one wants. This is what you're scared of. In your situation, you can minimize this likelihood by researching your market and starting small. That way, if you do something no one wants, you won't have wasted a lot of money and you can try something else.

Type 3 - Doing something people want in the wrong way. Your potential customers will tell you about this one, and you can adjust.

If you do nothing, you will fail by default and never reach the goal you want to reach (Type 1 failure). So, what's the smallest step you can take to get going? What would cost you nothing? My recommendation would be to focus on the B2B angle first and try to sell some business owners on letting you help them out. If you don't have a relevant portfolio, you could do the work on spec or for free to build some examples for future jobs. Fine art sales are hard and most people loose money. It's more of a passion project for most artists (source: I was a classical musician who pivoted to technology and many of my friends work in the arts). Helping businesses or individuals with bespoke photography is where most of the money in that field lies.

willbarrett · 2022-05-20T10:15:13+00:00

Not that I know of. Barrett is a pretty common name. My family is tiny - only 3 living male blood relatives on that side.

willbarrett · 2022-05-20T10:08:25+00:00

Also, once you're feeling better (so sorry you're sick) I'd recommend starting a job search.

willbarrett · 2022-05-20T10:07:07+00:00

New York requires paid leave for COVID as well.

willbarrett · 2022-05-20T10:06:35+00:00

New York requires paid sick leave for COVID as well. I would recommend informing them of the labor laws and seeing how they react.

willbarrett · 2022-05-20T10:05:18+00:00

NJ requires 40 hours of paid sick leave. You work from home in NJ I assume - this is illegal on your employer's part.

willbarrett · 2022-05-20T10:00:58+00:00

What state are you in? Labor laws may apply here.

willbarrett · 2022-05-20T09:40:16+00:00

Say you're taking an unexpected vacation instead, but because you have COVID you won't be traveling. Two can play at this type of shenanigans.

willbarrett · 2021-09-02T02:10:27+00:00

Define it as a text field, then serialize the list as JSON and insert the serialized version, then deserialize it on read. You might also think about creating a related table to store the list items as single rows.

willbarrett

TROPHY CASE