Career
There's an infinite range of possibilities for using your PKB when it comes to your career, here are some ideas to get started:
Overview.md: keep a high-level current summary of your career.A list of what you've done so far with corresponding dates (schools, jobs, etc.)
What you're hoping to accomplish with your career.
What your important next steps are.
What you've learned about how you work best and the environments you enjoy most.
A
Resume/folder for your resume and cover letter.
Keep a folder for every job you've had (e.g. YYYYCompanyName/ ) to include a variety of things like:
An
AchievementLog.mdfile, in which you record materially important things you accomplished.Copies of annual reviews.
A
First90Days.mdfile, to intentionally define a concrete set of goals for the first 90 days of any new job or role.A
PostMortem.mdfile, for after leaving a job, in which you can reflect about interesting learnings and how they will affect future jobs that you take.
Keep a folder with a variety of checklists to remind you of important things to do at every stage of a job:
Finding a Job: Keep a checklist of the important characteristics you're looking for in a job, as well as the important questions you want to ask. You also may benefit from keeping some of these spreadsheets:
A "Heads-Up Display" for a job search.
Company | Phase | Channel | Notes |
CompanyA | PhoneInterview | Company Website | |
Use a few generic "phases" (Resume, Phone, Onsite, Negotiation), and calculate survival rates at each phase to get a sense for where you're doing well.
A simple place to collect ideas for where you might want to work.
Sector | Company | Contact | Why? |
SectorA | CompanyA | My Buddy | Really Cool! |
A record of everything that's happened during a job search.
Date | Company | Phase | Channel | Result | Notes |
1970/01/01 | CompanyA | Resume | Referral | Fail | :-( |
This log of activity can be helpful for managing job searches that run on for a long period of time (have you already submitted a resume? what did you ask during your last phone interview?).
Negotiating an Offer: There are a variety of great resources on how to negotiate an offer, but it can be helpful to keep a checklist to help operationalize the most important tactics, so you don't forget to do them in the heat of the moment.
Starting a New Job: Read a few books such as "First 90 Days" and "Deep Work", and build plans based on the new job to make sure you're doing critical things like building trust, finding work-life harmony, and keeping important principles in mind as you go through a major transition.
Leaving a Job: Leaving a job can be stressful, so keep a small checklist of things to do, ranging from sending thank you notes to dealing with health insurance. This helps minimize the worry of forgetting something important during a big transition.
