234: Why Effective Onboarding and Having Exciting Work to do Matter so Much with James Turnbull

<p>Phil’s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer is James Turnbull. He is VP of Engineering at Glitch.  James was previously a founder and CTO at Empatico, CTO at Kickstarter, VP of Services at Docker and a CTO in residence at Microsoft to name but a few.  He is also the author of several books, including “Monitoring with Prometheus” and “The Docker Book”.</p> <p> </p> <p>He is originally from Melbourne, Australia, but now resides in Brooklyn, New York.</p> <p> </p> <p>In this episode, Phil and James Turnbull discuss the need to find work that truly excites you. They talk through how to deal with the inevitable mistakes you make in a positive way.</p> <p> </p> <p>James also speaks about how adaptive technology is transforming the lives of those with disabilities. He also shares why you need to ask about onboarding at the interview. In particular, during the early stages of your career.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>KEY TAKEAWAYS:</strong></p> <p><strong>(02.35) TOP CAREER TIP</strong></p> <p>Don't assume you're going to be doing the same job forever. You are going to evolve, and the IT industry moves fast. So, it should be easy to find work that excites you. There is no need to just settle.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>(3.35) WORST CAREER MOMENT</strong></p> <p>Early in his career, James managed a major Casino’s computer. Naturally, he scheduled maintenance to take place at the quietest time. Unfortunately, one day, he fat fingered it and shut everything down for an hour during a very busy time.</p> <p> </p> <p>He immediately told the CTO what he had done, what the impact would be and the steps that could be taken to mitigate the situation. James expected to be sacked. But the fact he had admitted his error and done all he could to solve the issue saved his job. It taught him that mistakes happen. What really matters is that you deal with them properly.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>(6.35) CAREER HIGHLIGHT</strong></p> <p>James is most proud of the teams he has built and the fact that he has had a positive impact on the