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When my teammates think of me, I want them to see someone respected/important. How can I do that?

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Senior BI Engineer at Amazon2 years ago

I'm new to the team, and I want to make an impact quickly. How can I quickly gain respect of people on the team? Are there certain things I should do as I act/react to other people?

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(2 comments)
  • 7
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    Eng Manager at Meta, Principal Eng at Microsoft
    2 years ago

    Adding few more things you can do:

    • Volunteer to solve problems
    • Ask your manager
    • what is 1 thing that I can do to help you or the team in upcoming weeks?

    Ask your team members:

    • What are the things that slow you down? It can be inefficient oncall or writing same boilerplate code etc.

    Once you know these

    • go and fix these problems and communicate back to the team, this is one of the best ways to add value and gain respect.
    • "Taking initiatives" to make things better is one of the best ways to earn respect.
  • 4
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    Tech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
    2 years ago

    For me, there's 2 core things when it comes to quickly gaining respect as a senior engineer:

    Showing Your Depth

    • As a senior engineer, you should perceive the world differently from junior/mid-level engineers. This can be looking out for more edges cases when building things. It can be from more refined non-technical behaviors like project management and leadership.
    • What are you proud of when it comes to your ability to do good work? Figure that out and then show that behavior as much as possible.

    Be Kind

    • Just because you're new doesn't mean you aren't in the position to help others
    • You are naturally in a good position to help junior/mid-level engineers
    • Another way to help is to improve onboarding materials for the overall team

    Related resources: