Road to Destination 2 - Moving up to the next Levels of Profession – is there really a shortcut?

Moving up to the next Levels of Profession – is there really a shortcut?

This is a follow up to my recent post about Road to Destination - How to move quickly on the career path of software development. The road which I presented on that article is quite straightforward. However, there are still other roads to the destination of your dreaming profession, some of them could be shortcuts.

1.       Introduction

Throughout this article, I’ll tell you the real stories of my connections. One very interesting point is that while some of the stories are anonymous (in grey background) some others are onymous (in light yellow background). The onymous are the real success stories of real leaders whom most of people in the industry may be aware of. It would be great if experienced people could also give their observation which makes this article become more attractive.

Basically, I see the below roads:

·         Straightforward. This is exactly the same with what I presented on the Road to Destination.

·         Supported by Big Bosses. Your big bosses see you have a special ability which helps him to grow his business.

·         The Return of Viet Kieu. You work abroad for years, you understand and manage client expectation very well and you take part in growing the business. As the result, you stay on top of local team.

·         The Assistant. You work as an Assistant for Project Managers, Directors etc. One day you know everything about what your boss is doing and you take the chance.

·         Taking Adventure. Not waiting for the opportunity too long, you just look for it outside.

·         The Crisis. The leaving of key resources creates opportunity for others.

2.       Straightforward:

Let’s take a look at the senior management team of some leading companies in Software Development Industry, you will see some managers who have been with their companies more than 10 years. Initially, they worked as developer, tester or so and they just moved quite smoothly on their profession. These people are deserved to be treated with a lot of respects from upper management and subordinates for their loyalty and credibility.

An Cao Dai VP at Global Cybersoft         When talking about Global Cybersoft, there is one person who has gained a lot of respect from all staffs. That is An Cao Dai, a Vice President.         He started as a developer just like the others. The difference is that with smart working ability, strong communication skill and passion, he has contributed a lot to the company. While many people looked around and left, he has stayed with the company, even when it’s up or down. As the result he has moved steadily on his profession.

3.       Supported by Big bosses:

After graduating, Tu worked as a developer for 3 years. One of the projects which Tu worked on was special and required the attention of the chairman. Tu had resolved the obstacles in not only technical domain but also in business requirement very well. Especially, with the good education background and excellent English communication, he had built a very good image to the chairman. One day, the company opened a new business unit working on Mobile and Embedded Application which was the new technology to most of people in the company. Tu was remembered first and assigned to be the leader of this unit. He now becomes a Vice President at the age of 31 and is leading a unit of a hundred people. The name of the character has been changed

  

Nhat Do Hoang, PMP Software Development Director at TRG-Enclave         Nhat worked as a developer for 3 years before joining a leading software outsourcing company as a member of a team called “Process and Training Improvement”. Luckily, this team was led by a member of BOD who was also Nhat’s direct boss, a big boss. Nhat worked very professionally in supporting his boss and as the result he had built the trust to the boss. Two years later, the boss ran his own business and Nhat was his right hand. Nhat was offered to be the Development Director of the new company.

 

With the support from big bosses like the two above stories, people moves very fast on their profession. So, if you have an opportunity to work with big bosses you have an “if” condition. The “only if” condition is that you must have the potential capability which the boss is looking for. In the first example, that is the working ethic. In the second example it is the strong education background and especially the strong English communication.

4.       The return of Viet Kieu

After working 2 years for a leading software outsourcing company, Le moved to US to study his MBA. Besides studying, he supported the business of the company, he understood and managed client’s expectation very well which help the offshore team a lot in delivery. With good experience in working directly with US clients, after coming back to Vietnam, he was appointed to be the Vice President at the age of 27. With the size of more than 500 people and many senior managers, he met some difficulties at the beginning; however, with the strong communication and the excellence in applying what he studied from US, he had built the trust to not only his team consisting of Delivery Directors but also to most of staffs. The name of the character has been changed

Similar to Le’s story, Linh studied at a university in Australia. After graduating, he had an interview for the position of bridge engineer working in US. The interview was done by the chairman who lived in US.         Linh is very smart and clever in communication; he had built a very good image to the chairman very quickly. As the result, Linh not only worked as bridge engineer but also supported the presales activities together with the US sales team. During 4 years in US, he had a great contribution in supporting the offshore team and growing the business of the company. When coming back to Vietnam, Linh was appointed to be the Delivery Head taking care of the delivery of a hundred people. The name of the character has been changed

Because of the nature of the industry, most of clients are from Western countries. Having the open and strong communication is a very advantage point to move fast in the profession. This is why Viet Kieu and Expats often have better opportunities than the local Vietnamese.

5.       The Assistant:

After graduating from one university of Australia on Computer Science, Thuy came back to Vietnam. Instead of starting working as a developer, a BA or so Thuy started working as a Project Manager Assistant. With good education background and strong English communication, Thuy supported the Project Managers a lot especially when facing with client. During 3 years working as an Assistant, she observed and understood clearly not only the work of the team but also the work of project managers.         One day, her company needed more project managers and she was absolutely capable of taking this position at the age of 27. The name of the character has been changed

6.       Taking adventure:

Someone told me that “you can't move quickly if you don't have opportunity”. I don’t totally agree with it. Now, let’s take a look into more stories.

Le Nguyen had been working as a Project Manager for 4 years. Besides being mature with knowledge and experience in project management, she also had solid experience on software engineering during years of working as developers and technical leader before. She had wished to move up to the next level of management since last two years. However, the opportunity hadn’t come yet. Moreover, looking at the structure of the company, Le thought that the opportunity won’t come in at least 3 years. Even though if her division expanded, other managers would take the chance first instead of her.         Thinking carefully, Le decided to move to another company which she thought the opportunity would be clearer. After one year, Le was appointed to be a Program Manager. The name of the character has been changed

Similar to Le’s story, Son had been with the work of project management for 5 years in one company, from Project Manager to Senior Project Manager. The opportunity for Son to move up to Division Head was just very near. Due to some reasons, Son didn’t think he could stay long with the company. However, if Son left the company at this point he would only receive an offer outside with the similar level of project management.         Son decided to stay longer for a few more months and finally he got the promotion to be the Division Head. Being at the level of Division Head, Son easily found a good job outside at Program or Division management. The name of the character has been changed

7.       The crisis

I remember when my boss in my former company left, he created a crisis because he had been with the company for years and contributed a lot. Moreover, there were so many things depending on him and his leaving made the board of management worried. However, at my view it was good for his subordinates though as it created many opportunities for them, especially for someone who has built the trust and the credibility. Let’s see another real story. 

Cuong Dinh Viet QC Manager at Pyramid Consulting         After graduating in 2002, Cuong worked as a QC for a leading software outsourcing company in Vietnam with more than 200 people. Via the projects which he worked on, he showed very good capability in English communication and especially a wide understanding in software testing techniques. This had built a very good impression not only to his direct boss but also to the board of management.         One day, the QC Manager left and the company needed a replacement (which I call a crisis). While there were many senior leaders and managers, Cuong was appointed to be the QC Manager at the age of 26. With a good education background and strong communication skill, he had done a very good job in taking care of the quality of the whole company.

8.       Conclusion

The straightforward road seems to be the one that most of people choose to go. It takes time but it is quite steady. You’ve experienced with programming, you move up to team leader or project manager to manage programming work. You’ve experienced with project management, you move to program manager to manage multiple projects or project managers and so on.

Not many people can move on the other roads. If you look back to the stories again, most of them seem to be shortcuts of profession. People who moved on the shortcuts are also very special. In general, the have the below capabilities right at their young age which not many others have:

·         Advanced English speaking skill and clever communication.

·         Very confident in communication and public speaking skill.

·         Very fast in thinking and making decision.

·         Very good background education.

·         Very good application of what they have learned on what they do.

Hopefully, from the stories which I’ve gathered here you could find the best suitable road to move on your profession.