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Phil\\u2019s guest on this episode of the IT Career Energizer podcast is Michael Hunger. Michael is the Caretaker General of the Neo4j Developer Community. For the past few years he has been working with Neo Technology on the open source Neo4j graph database.

He likes to help Neo4j users to be successful with their use cases & projects and he is the project lead of Spring Data Neo4j. He is also an author of several books as well as a regular conference speaker.

In this episode, Phil and Michael discuss behavioural career tips, why patience, understanding and compassionate are so important and why you shouldn\\u2019t be afraid to be a contributor.

They also talk about making the most of every day and how opportunities can open up to you when you expand your horizons.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS:

(3.10) TOP CAREER TIP

Michael talks about the book Apprenticeship Patterns which is a collection of behaviours that are suitable to people joining the industry. It includes tips and tricks from experienced practitioners and is a book that Michael often returns to. Michael provides the example of learning to share what you have just learnt. This could be a blog post or a talk. Mentorship and continuous learning are two other examples from the book.

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(5.22) WORST CAREER MOMENT

Michael describes a time when he was frustrated with someone. However instead of taking the time to find out what the reasons for this were, he responded by email to vent his frustration. He learnt that there are often legitimate reasons as to why people do what they do and not to be so impulsive.

Another learning from this was that email and written communication has its limitations and is no substitute for conversation.

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(7.36) CAREER HIGHLIGHT

Open Source has been had the greatest impact on Michael\\u2019s career and his life. Working on Open Source projects has opened up career opportunities as well as connections with really great people.

Working on one Open Source project led to Michael attending a conference where he heard the founder of Neo4J give a talk. This, in turn, led to Michael joining Neo4J.

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(10.28) THE FUTURE OF CAREERS IN I.T

Teaching kids and, in particular, girls to code is something Michael very much supports. Having a development skillset gives you an understanding that will be helpful to your career, even if you don\\u2019t work in I.T. later. Michael also talks about the importance of diversity in I.T.

Other things that excite Michael include the possibilities that technology offers and the potential of machine learning.

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(13.40) THE REVEAL

What first attracted you to a career in I.T.? \\u2013 Michael started writing computer programs on paper before he had a computer. Computers fascinated him from an early age and it\\u2019s what he loves to do.

What\\u2019s the best career advice you received? \\u2013 Make every day a day where you learn something new.

What\\u2019s the worst career advice you received? \\u2013 Focus only on your own career advancement.

What would you do if you started your career now? \\u2013 Be much more active in travelling around the world and learning from different people with different backgrounds.

What are your current career objectives? \\u2013 Helping team members to grow, giving them feedback and making sure that they have everything they need. As well as learning how to delegate and make difficult decisions.

What\\u2019s your number one non-technical skill? \\u2013 Michael has learnt how to ask the right questions and elicit information from people.

How do you keep your own career energized? \\u2013 Read a lot and listen to podcasts, both technical and non-technical. Also attending conferences which helps to generate new ideas.

What do you do away from technology? \\u2013 Spending time with his daughters and family, playing board games. Michael has also started meditating.

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(25.36) FINAL CAREER TIP

Don\\u2019t be afraid to contribute to projects, ask questions and talk to people at conferences. Michael says that he would rather ask for forgiveness than permission.

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BEST MOMENTS

(4.09) \\u2013 Michael - \\u201cIf you learn something new, write it up and publish it as a blog post\\u201d

(8.47) \\u2013 Michael - \\u201cOpen Source is such a great way of collaborating, showing what you can do\\u201d

(15.32) \\u2013 Michael - \\u201cMake every day a day where you learn something new\\u201d

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ABOUT THE HOST \\u2013 PHIL BURGESS

Phil Burgess is an independent IT consultant who has spent the last 20 years helping organisations to design, develop and implement software solutions. Phil has always had an interest in helping others to develop and advance their careers. And in 2017 Phil started the I.T. Career Energizer podcast to try to help as many people as possible to learn from the career advice and experiences of those that have been, and still are, on that same career journey.

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CONTACT THE HOST \\u2013 PHIL BURGESS

Phil can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/philtechcareer

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/philburgess

Facebook: https://facebook.com/philtechcareer

Instagram: https://instagram.com/philtechcareer

Website: https://itcareerenergizer.com/contact

Phil is also reachable by email at phil@itcareerenergizer.com and via the podcast\\u2019s website, https://itcareerenergizer.com

Join the I.T. Career Energizer Community on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/ITCareerEnergizer

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ABOUT THE GUEST \\u2013 MICHAEL HUNGER

Michael Hunger is the Caretaker General of the Neo4j Developer Community. For the past few years he has been working with Neo Technology on the open source Neo4j graph database.

He likes to help Neo4j users to be successful with their use cases & projects and he is the project lead of Spring Data Neo4j.

He is also an author of several books as well as a regular conference speaker.

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CONTACT THE GUEST \\u2013 MICHAEL HUNGER

Michael Hunger can be contacted through the following Social Media platforms:\\xa0

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/mesirii

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jexpde

Website: http://www.jexp.de