The Potential Of Technology To Unite People with Kris Howard
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Kris Howard
Kris Howard is a Solutions Architect Manager at Amazon Web Services in Sydney, Australia. Her achievements include creating a serverless application that creates an iCal feed for tech events, and the RoaldDahlFans website which has been running since 1996. Kris is also a regular speaker, giving talks that include ‘A Newbie’s Guide to Getting Started with AWS’ and ‘Serverless in Production – Lessons from a Skeptic’.
In this episode Phil and Kris discuss how to engage with potential mentors, why you need to engage with your local tech community, the importance of ensuring that your achievements are recognised and why you should continue to hone your skills.
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Resources
Web-Goddess.org – Check out Kris Howard’s blog!
KrisHoward.org – Check out Kris Howards’ website!
2 Top Career Tips
1) When asking a potential mentor to instruct you, aim for the stars! By sending a carefully-worded email that gives the person an “out” if they are not interested, we can frame our enquiry through the lens of asking them to recommend someone.
2) Get out there and engage with your local tech community. Once you start connecting, you’ll find that you have a ready-made support network that can provide many positive benefits.
Show Notes
Worst Career Moment
Autonomy was gradually stripped from Kris in an early role, which jarred with her career ambitions. People with insecurities about themselves often choose to spend these frustrations upon those in lower positions.
Career Highlight
The team that Kris is currently working with is a highlight. She inherited a team that had had several management shifts, and the engagement scores were very low. By empowering the team and helping some of them progress to a new level, Kris revitalized the dormant enthusiasm.
The Future
The lockdown situation has helped Kris to realise the importance of IT as part of modern society. IT has enabled us to continue our way of life through work, education and entertainment. The potential of IT services has helped society keep going, and is now being used in many different and exciting ways.
The Reveal
What first attracted you to a career in I.T.?
Kris’s mother was a guiding force in her young life, and instilled an interest at an early age.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Many women in IT believe that keeping their head down will see them elevated to success. But they should always be ensuring that their achievements are noted and marked out.
What is the worst career advice you’ve ever received?
Stepping outside of Kris’s comfort zone to work in an industry in which she had no interest, and which required a lifestyle change that she was not comfortable with.
If you had to begin your career again in today’s world, what would you do?
Kris would take more computer science courses at college, and hone her skills from a much younger age.
What career objectives are you currently focusing on?
To continue to grow as a people leader. We always have so much more to learn.
What’s the number one non-technical skill that has helped you in your career so far?
Public speaking has helped a lot, providing a level of confidence and resolve that has translated well in becoming a people leader.
What do you do to keep your own career energized?
Mentoring others has granted Kris confidence, and has also caused her to analyse her own journey. This has led to a reconciliation with how far she has become.
What do you do in your spare time away from technology?
Knitting is Kris’s main pursuit. It helps to focus the mind, and to provide much-needed time for reflection and thought.
Contact The Guest
Contact Kris Howard through the following social media platforms:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/web_goddess
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