I began working in software engineering in the early 2000s. In 2001, when I was in 9th grade, I completed my first paid project – a website for a local company. Back then, web development was something that is now referred to as a «webmaster» type of work. We had to create HTML pages and upload them to shared hosting manually. We used scripting languages like PHP or Perl for dynamic elements on the websites. This was commonly seen in features like the feedback form.

The 2000s were a big deal for the internet. It went from a niche to being everywhere – in businesses, daily life, everywhere. Along with the progress in mobile technology, the Internet has greatly changed the world. Almost everything shifted to the web. For younger folks, it might be hard to see the big difference, but for those who remember the times before the internet and mobile phones, it’s clear how massive the change has been.

I recently wrote a post about how some companies use attractive job titles to lure in candidates, even if the title doesn’t accurately reflect the job. At least by 2023, due to the hot labor market, companies have been lowering their expectations for industry-standard job titles. This trend is known as «title inflation» and it stems from the rapid growth of the global IT industry over the past 20 years, where companies have been using fancy job titles to attract people seeking career advancement.

My previous post focused on job titles for managers and how they correspond to industry standards. Now, I will share my thoughts on job titles for individual contributors (ICs).

Lots of companies (especially startups) attract candidates with impressive-sounding titles that don’t match the job they offer. For instance, they might advertise for a CTO or VP to lead a team of just 10–15 engineers. They might also want a manager who still spends half their time writing code. It’s limited to management positions. The same happens for individual contributors. For instance, hiring a software engineer with only three years of experience and calling them a senior engineer wouldn’t make sense. There are lots of other examples, too.

Today I want to share the super-set of books that helped me to learn the principles modern and successful software engineering companies relied on to grow and prosper.

I sincerely recommend the books for leaders who aim to build effective product teams, create outstanding software products and grow their own professional level in leadership and management.

Мои мысли на тему постоянно всплывающих со стороны соискателей мифов о том, как рекрутерам и менеджерам (hiring managers) стоит вести процесс найма.

Решил я вернуться к ведению своего блога и привести его в порядок. Подробнее об этом я написал на страничке Об этом блоге. Stay tuned.