Virtual Coffee started out of a need for community, out of a need for conversation. We're not a meetup. We believe in a person-first approach, where we recognize that each person is a complex human being who isn't defined by their tech stack, etc. Conversations are often focused on tech, because that's what most of us do, but they don't have to be limited to tech.
- education
- community
- communication (and misunderstandings)
- interviewing
- mental health
- worklife/balance
- hobbies
- navigating challenges
- wellness
- what excites you
- growth mindset
- networking
- job environments
- asking for help
- documentation
- accessibility
- design
- open source
- physical wellness
- ergonomics
- social equity
- core competency and stretch competency
Please feel free to use these as back-pocket topics at any time. And talk about what feels comfortable to you.
- what’s a challenge you’ve faced and overcome?
- How do you approach them?
- What happens when you get stuck?
- What have you learned from it and been able to apply in other situations?
- Why is documentation important? What makes good documentation? Do you have any examples of good documentation? How do you think companies/products can improve documentation?
- How did you learn to code
- we’re always learning, what are your favorite places to learn?
- what gaps have you seen when trying to learn something new?
- does your job provide support for continuing education
- What does this mean to you?
- what are some of your favorite communities and why?
- what challenges have you faced as part of a community?
- Do you think community is important?
- How do you best communicate?
- How do you handle challenging conversations?
- Have you ever tried to break some bad communication habits? How did that go?
- How does your personality influence your communication style?
- How do you deal with misunderstandings?
- Remote v. in person communication
- Async v. sync communication
- The good, the bad stories
- How to make sure you interview the company interviewing you
- How to be a good interviewer
- How to “study” for the interview
- Tips for interviewing
- Do you need to unwind or decompress after an interview? What are your favorite go-tos to recover?
- What motivates you?
- How do you deal with it when you can’t find motivation?
- What are some ways you’ve been motivated by others?
- What are things that de-motivate you?
- How could we help motivate you today?
- How do you know when you're "done" learning and ready to code?
- Does this change over time?
- What things give you confidence that you are "ready"?
- What's the difference between learning about a new framework, for example, and using it?
- What advice do you have for people who feel "stuck"?
- What makes a good conference or meetup?
- What are some strategies to make them successful?
- What is your main goal when you go to a conf/meetup?
- Long-term impacts of attending?
- What's the difference between in-person and virtual events?
- What have made/could make the best ones?
- How do you deal with anxiety caused by a project?
- How do you communicate your anxiety to your supervisors
- What do you do when dealing with the project interferes with team progress?
- How do you problem solve when the whole team recognizes that the codebase is a challenging mess?
- How do you recharge and recover? This month's challenge is all about nourishing our bodies, minds, and spirits so that we can become healthier developers. Let's talk about the things we do to become healthier devs.
- What are some habits that make you a healthier dev? This can be mind and body centered (drink, move, read, meditate, rearrange your work station) or code centered (review your ReadMe, clean your code, refresh your GitHub repo) or both.
- How do you decide what topics to learn deeply or projects to focus on?
- Do you have a process?
- How do you avoid doing a lot of things shallowly?
- how do you prepare,
- do you have a list of go-to questions,
- how do you prepare the test you'll give (whatever the kind of test)
inspired by Just JavaScript, ch. 1
These approximations of how something works in your head are known as “mental models.”
- How do you develop mental models?
- Do you notice them as you're coding?
- Do you ever have to rethink and recalibrate your mental models? If so, how do you reinforce the changes?
- What trends in technology are you skeptical or uncertain of?
- How do you stay up to date on technology trends?
- What are your favorite sources?
What motivated you to pursue a career in technology? Is it the same thing that keeps you motivated now?
- what are some transferrable skills you bring to tech, either from a previous career or from other parts of your life?”
- How do you know when you’ve outgrown a role?” “How do you create opportunities for growth for yourself?” “How do you know when a job will really offer you opportunities to grow?”
- What's your favorite non tech topic to study or learn? Has it helped you in your tech career?
What are the most painful barriers to entry for being "in tech"? What should we do to reduce these blockers? Does having close family or friends in tech help or hinder you in your tech journey?
- As developers, we create technologies, but in our daily lives, we're consumers like everyone else. What user experiences online frustrate/baffle you, and how do those inform your decisions as a developer? Conversely, have you ever experience a UI/UX that brought joy or relief?
- What are the most painful barriers to entry for open source contributions? What should we do to reduce these blockers? What have been your favorite OSS repos to contribute to?