Yogesh G.

Your PR got blocked during the code review.  You have about 20 comments, most of which are minor suggestions.  The deadline is near, and your manager just asked for an update. Here’s what you shouldn’t do in this situation: - Take it as a personal attack. - Get defensive or start justifying every little thing. - Respond emotionally or rush to reply. - Blame others for missing details. - Drag out the discussion in comments. Instead, do this: - Stay calm and treat it as constructive feedback. - Go through the comments with an open mind. - Ask for clarification where needed. - Address the issues in a clear, focused way. - Propose a quick call to resolve any bigger concerns. Comments are great for feedback and documenting ideas, but they don’t communicate the tone or how you want to say it. While working in a team, it’s not just about what you say but also how you say it. A short conversation can clear up misunderstandings in minutes that might take hours to hash out through written replies. Sometimes, a quick chat leads to a much smoother and faster resolution.

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I am a Principal Software Engineer with over 12 years of experience. The last decade of my life has taught me a lot. If I could talk to my 22-year-old self or any other Jr. Engineer, for that matter, here’s what I would tell them: [1] Pick one programming language and just stick with it for months. Don’t keep jumping because every new thing looks shiny. Get so comfortable that you stop thinking about syntax and start thinking about the problem. [2] Learn at least one strongly typed language. When things break, you want to know why at compile time. You’ll write better code, period. [3] Debugging is the skill that saves careers. Don’t just read logs and hope for the best. Dive in, reproduce, trace every step until you know why things are breaking. Nobody remembers how fast you shipped, everyone remembers if you fixed what broke. [4] Don’t blindly trust what someone else says is a “known issue.” Do your own digging. Half the time, the thing everyone ignores is hiding something deeper. [5] Work on something end to end, even if it’s your own project. You’ll see how hard it is to go from zero to launch, and nothing teaches you more than pushing a real thing to users. [6] Stick with a project for more than a year. Most mistakes in architecture take time to surface, and you’ll never learn if you always leave before the real problems show up. [7] Don’t waste energy learning every new framework. Stick to patterns, figure out why things are designed a certain way, and new tools will always make sense. [8] The stuff that looks complicated is just a pile of simple things stacked together. Don’t let jargon or new tech scare you. Take it apart, ask dumb questions, and keep going. [9] Stay curious about everything in tech. You don’t have to be an expert in AI or cloud or crypto, but knowing what exists means you’ll never get blindsided by what comes next. [10] Don’t sleep on AI. People who ignore it will get left behind fast. Use it, break it, build with it, even if it’s not your job description. [11] Interviews are just a skill to practice, not some reflection of your worth. If you want the best jobs, treat it like you’re training for a sport. Do the reps, review your mistakes, try again. [12] Job hopping for a quick pay bump? You’ll keep resetting your reputation. If you want big scope, stick around and earn trust. The good projects go to people who have been through the fire. [13] No one will remember your wins if you don’t. Write down your impact, talk about it, and don’t be embarrassed to tell your story. Promotions aren’t always fair, but you can make it hard for people to ignore your work. [14] Your job isn’t who you are. Titles change, layoffs happen, reorgs come out of nowhere. Don’t let your whole sense of self hinge on your company. Invest in your own growth, health, and people outside of work. That’s what stays when everything else shifts. -- P.S: What would you add here?

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My thoughts on why so many Tech Layoffs are happening now. We keep hearing that AI is automating jobs out of existence, but that’s only half the story. In reality, what we are seeing is the aftermath of massive capital investment. Over the past couple of years, tech giants have poured billions into AI infrastructure GPUs, data centers, training clusters, all of it. That’s serious capital. And when you spend that much, you still have to show growth and profitability every quarter. The result? A brutal round of internal reprioritization. Only “cash cow” products and high-ROI bets are being kept alive. The nice-to-have or long-horizon projects are being quietly shelved. And when those projects go, so do the teams behind them. These rounds of layoffs isn’t just about automation. The cost of chasing AI innovation has to come from somewhere.

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I am an able-bodied son of a general category middle-class family. So when people talk about the challenges some face due to reservations and gender diversity hiring, I lie on the sweet spot of that most disadvantaged intersection in the Venn diagram. But through the years studying and working, I understood why we need affirmative actions for education and the workplace. To the people who feel that movements like reservations and feminism are sham, I'd like to present two anecdotes to you: 1. A person whom I know closely was forced out of her job, citing poor performance, when the rest of the team was all male. The other female employee who joined the team after the former left was also treated badly and left the team soon after. There was no harassment or explicit mistreatment, but there were signs of subtle sexism when working with colleagues who often tended to ignore requests for help or the doubt on quality of work provided by female members. 2. In my college, a junior approached me for help as he was struggling in his studies. The situation was worsened by the fact that, as he was coming from a reserved category, his batchmates maintained a distance in interactions. They weren't discriminatory, but just uncomfortable interacting with the person and therefore avoided close ties. From these incidents, I learnt how it's necessary to promote people in places where the stereotype doesn't want them to be. It is important to push for breaking norms even if the general public is non-discriminatory. You might not care about the rights of minorities today, you're neither for nor against them, but your lack of empathy will be taken as tacit support for discrimination and persecution today and in the future. When I see people arguing over how the draconian laws ruin men's lives over divorce settlements, I agree with them, but just for a particular case. To think that all men are suffering is a laughable rhetoric, and we have enough statistical evidence to prove otherwise. And so is the case for every discussion on how some minorities are being given benefits in society. There are some cases of exploitation, but there are also cases where rules promoting the rights of minorities are needed to protect them from exploitation. This is my serving of "food for thought" for you. #education #workplace #justice #equality 

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✨ This week marks my last working week at Intuit ✨ As I wrap up a truly transformative chapter of my career, I find myself reflecting on all that I’ve learned. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunities, the people, and the growth. There’s so much I could share, but here are a few key lessons that will stay with me: 1. You own your career No one will care about your growth more than you. Managers and mentors can guide you, but you're in the driver's seat. Ask for what you want. Seek the teams and work that energize you. Build your own path. 2. Build your brand—champion others and have your champions Your work and reputation speak when you're not in the room. Invest in your professional brand. Lift others up and surround yourself with people who do the same for you. 3. If you want another team to do something, show how it helps them Collaboration thrives when goals align. Frame your ideas around what matters to others. Speak their language and solve their problems—it makes all the difference. 4. Have a mentor A great mentor can shift your trajectory. Whether it’s advice or advocacy, mentorship matters. (Bonus: be one too.) Some of the advice I received that changed my thinking: * Say thank you for any feedback—even if it’s negative—because they took the time to give it, and they care. * Listen more and speak up when necessary. * Don’t be arrogant, even if you know something well. 5. Do great work, then move on Celebrate wins, learn from them, and keep moving. Growth comes from delivering consistently and stepping into new challenges—even the uncomfortable ones. 6. Stay relevant—keep learning Tech moves fast. Business faster. Stay curious. Read, code, build, talk to smart people. Always be in learning mode. 7. Don’t be afraid to challenge—but do it with kindness Some of my most meaningful moments came from asking tough questions. But how you challenge matters—humility and empathy go a long way. 8. Appreciate others—recognize great work Spotlight (non-cash) awards are a beautiful Intuit tradition. I gave and received many, and each made an impact. Recognition builds culture and confidence. Use it. To everyone I’ve worked with, collaborated with, and learned from—thank you. Excited for what’s next. Let’s stay in touch! 🚀 #newbeginnings #careergrowth #farewell #techlife #Intuit #careerlessons #grateful

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There’s a fine line between being indispensable as an engineer… and becoming a single point of failure. A friend once joined a team where one engineer owned a critical system end-to-end. Sharp person. Deep expertise. But when they were out? The team couldn’t move. No docs. No backups. No shared context. It was a risk hiding in plain sight. That experience taught them something we don’t talk about enough: As engineers, we want to be the expert — but not the only expert. – deep knowledge matters. – but if it’s locked in one brain, it’s a liability. – and if it’s spread too thin, it loses power. The best engineers I’ve worked with? - they document clearly. - build tools others can use. - share context early and often. They don’t hoard ownership. They scale it. Because real value isn’t just what you know — It’s how well you enable your team to move without you. #softwareengineering

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