You should probably have a Bragging Doc

Posted On: 2024-06-03

Getting a dev job is one thing, but being recognized at that job is another.

Expanding on the advice of advocating for yourself, it’s important that you keep track of your own accomplishments and contributions to the company. I’ve personally been pretty terrible at keeping track of the work that I’ve done and had trouble showing the “impact” that I’ve had on my team. I had the mentality that my work would speak for itself.

Silly me, that’s incorrect and a terrible way to think 🙂

When performance reviews came around I was scrambling to remember everything I had worked on in the past year and talk up how much I was improving the product. There’s also a social aspect of contribution that’s harder to track down.

Aside from performance reviews, I believe it’s also a good idea to keep a bragging doc handy for when you’re trying to get promoted. At least where I’ve worked, there’s usually some process of collecting proof that you’re performing at the next level. There’s more involvement with your manager, but the idea is similar on your end.

It may sound like a lot of work to maintain, but it’ll save you a lot of cramming and searching once you start. Future you will thank you. Probably 😛