The Programming Podcast

• The Art of the DM: Proven Networking Hacks That Actually Get Replies

  In this episode of The Programming Podcast, hosts Danny Thompson and Leon Noel dive deep into the art and science of professional networking. Whether you’re just building relationships or in “hit listing” mode to land your next job, learn why cold DMs rarely work—and what does. From warming up prospects with genuine engagement and “nerd bait” to volunteering and shared interests, Danny and Leon share real-world examples of outreach tactics that actually get responses. Plus, discover how to add value in every interaction, transition seamlessly from casual conversation to asking for a call, and keep your network “hot” even when you’re not job hunting. Stick around for our Ask Danny & Leon segment, where we tackle listener questions on maintaining strong connections during turbulent times.🔥 Real advice. Real experience. Real value. Hit that like & subscribe button to support more episodes like this!NEW SITE https://www.programmingpodcast.com/Stay in Touch:📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!Danny Thompsonhttps://x.com/DThompsonDevhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDevwww.DThompsonDev.comLeon Noelhttps://x.com/leonnoelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/https://100devs.org/📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!What you will learn in this episode:- Networking Modes: Understand the two distinct phases—general networking for relationship-building vs. hit listing when you’re actively job hunting- Cold DM Strategy: Learn why cold outreach often flops and how to avoid the “ask-first” pitfall- Lead Warming: Master warming up leads via strategic content engagement (likes, comments) before sliding into DMs- Value-Driven Outreach: Craft value-first messages that show clear benefits to your contact- Visibility Amplification: Boost your presence and social proof through consistent public engagement- Long-Term ROI: Discover why ongoing relationship building drives outsized returns over time🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and hit the bell icon for more insights from industry leaders.Chapter0:00 Intro & Networking Modes 1:31 Messaging Mistakes & Disconnects 5:04 Warming Up: The Art of the DM 12:17 Volunteering & Shared Interests 15:03 Nerd Bait: Sparking Conversations 20:52 Value-Driven Outreach 28:01 Hit Listing: Job-Seeker Phase 37:55 Ask Danny & Leon: Keeping Networks Warm 44:27 Outro & Key Takeaways

  --------  

  45:00
• Angular Isn’t Dead. You Just Stopped Paying Attention.

  In this powerhouse episode of The Programming Podcast, hosts Danny Thompson and Leon Noel sit down with Mark Techson — DevRel at Google and a longtime educator — to dive deep into Angular, DevRel, tech education, and how to create transformational learning experiences. From Google I/O prep to why Angular still thrives in enterprise environments, Mark opens up about his journey from teaching in churches to influencing thousands of developers globally. Whether you're React-curious, Angular-biased, or figuring out your tech journey — this episode will challenge how you think about frameworks, developer growth, and what success really looks like in this industry.🔥 Real advice. Real experience. Real value. Hit that like & subscribe button to support more episodes like this!NEW SITE https://www.programmingpodcast.com/Stay in Touch:📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!Danny Thompsonhttps://x.com/DThompsonDevhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDevwww.DThompsonDev.comLeon Noelhttps://x.com/leonnoelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/https://100devs.org/📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!💡 Topics covered:What DevRel actually does at GoogleAngular’s evolution and futureSignals, hydration, and bleeding-edge web techDeveloper education and breaking down hard conceptsThe mindset shift from junior to impactful developerPowerful personal stories on teaching, mentorship, and legacy in tech0:00 Intro01:05 - Meet Your Hosts: Danny, Leon, and Mark02:00 - What is DevRel *Really*?05:00 - A Day in the Life of DevRel at Google08:00 - Why Fortune 500 Companies Still Use Angular10:35 - Modernizing Angular: Signals, Hydration & More13:10 - How Google Listens to the Developer Community15:25 - Angular's Opt-In Philosophy & Avoiding Breaking Changes16:45 - What Caused the Angular Perception Problem?19:45 - Rebuilding Angular’s Image & Modern Relevance22:00 - Transformational Education: Teaching Angular Differently25:00 - Creating Talks That Change Worldviews27:00 - From Church to Code: The Roots of a Great Communicator29:00 - Evolving Notions of Success in Tech Careers32:00 - Life Lessons: From Struggle to Strategic Planning36:30 - Impact Through Mentorship & Developer Cohorts40:10 - Cohort Project Spotlight: Smart Tenant Solution42:00 - The Power of Being a Hard Worker with a Plan44:00 - Learning to Learn: Avoiding Accidental Days46:05 - Teaching Moments: Students Who Were Meant for This47:00 - Listener Question: How Far Down the JavaScript Rabbit Hole?50:00 - Why JavaScript + TypeScript Still Makes Sense54:00 - Danny’s Rant: Don't Just Trust Random Internet Advice56:30 - Final Thoughts & Farewell

  --------  

  57:12
• Software Engineer at Meta Shares Career Advice You Won’t Hear Elsewhere

  Welcome to this power-packed episode of The Programming Podcast featuring hosts Leon Noel and Danny Thompson with special guest Andy Wong. In this in‐depth conversation, the trio dives into what it really means to be a mature engineer—one who not only masters technical skills but also leads by advocating for junior engineers. They share personal experiences from diverse tech backgrounds (from startups and boot camps to big tech giants like Meta, Google, Amazon, and Wayfair), discuss the art of “two‐way door engineering” (making decisions that are reversible versus irreversible), and explore career strategy in an ever-evolving industry.🔥 Real advice. Real experience. Real value. Hit that like & subscribe button to support more episodes like this!NEW SITE https://www.programmingpodcast.com/Stay in Touch:📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!Danny Thompsonhttps://x.com/DThompsonDevhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDevwww.DThompsonDev.comLeon Noelhttps://x.com/leonnoelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/https://100devs.org/📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!Throughout this 73‑minute episode, you’ll hear about:• Mentorship & Advocacy: How investing in your juniors and empowering teams can drive both personal and organizational success.• Career Growth & Decision-Making: The importance of taking risks, learning iteratively, and knowing when a decision is reversible—what Andy calls “two‑way door engineering.”• Navigating Different Work Cultures: The trade-offs between startup agility and the structure of big tech, including insights into job hopping and innovation.• Work-Life Balance & Burnout Prevention: Real talk about managing your time, setting boundaries, and keeping the passion alive without burning out.• Listener Q&A: A candid response to a listener’s question about whether it’s too late to start learning tech later in life.If you’re passionate about personal growth, leadership in engineering, and practical career advice—all delivered with honesty, humor, and a genuine commitment to helping others—this episode is for you.🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and hit the bell icon for more insights from industry leaders.Chapters0:00 – Intro1:16 – Meet the Hosts & Guest: Andy Wong2:47 – Why Andy Was Requested (and Requested Himself)4:10 – The Many Faces of Andy Wong6:05 – The Boston Connection & Early Days7:00 – Mentorship Through Wayfair & Lab Zero10:46 – Teaching SQL and Explaining Backends13:18 – Internal Advocacy and Following Up15:20 – The Senior Engineer's Real Role: Advocacy18:29 – Defining Seniority vs. Management19:48 – Startups vs. Big Tech: Myths & Trade-offs25:17 – Job-Hopping and Career Longevity26:32 – Startups and the Illusion of Innovation30:06 – The Power of Risk: Two-Way Door Engineering33:32 – How Meta Encourages Fast Iteration38:05 – Personal Risk Tolerance & Career Strategy41:06 – Keeping Your Head on Straight44:42 – Avoiding Burnout & Setting Boundaries46:09 – The Grind for Early-Career Devs50:58 – The Truth Behind 1:1s & Early Confidence54:00 – You Don’t Need Permission to Grow56:03 – Rest vs. Recovery: Knowing the Difference58:17 – Motivation, Momentum & Being Petty1:05:00 – Building Projects for Impact (and Spite)1:08:03 – Too Old To Code?!

  --------  

  1:13:28
• How Top Learners Pick What to Learn First?

  You asked. We answered.In this very special Q&A episode, Danny and Leon tackle real questions from listeners about getting hired, staying motivated, and managing your learning and tasks as a developer. Whether you're applying to 20 jobs a day with no response, feeling overwhelmed by your dev role, or trying to bounce back after a layoff — this is the real talk you need to hear.🔥 Real advice. Real experience. Real value. Hit that like & subscribe button to support more episodes like this!💡 Sponsor: Level Up Financial PlanningChanging careers or increasing your income? Get financial clarity with Level Up Financial Planning—helping early and mid-career tech professionals secure their financial future. Visit LevelUpFinancialPlanning.com for a free consultation!Stay in Touch:📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!Danny Thompsonhttps://x.com/DThompsonDevhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDevwww.DThompsonDev.comLeon Noelhttps://x.com/leonnoelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/https://100devs.org/📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!🚀 What You'll Learn in This Episode:✔️How to stop being a “click apply” job hunter✔️The tools and strategies to learn more effectively (and not forget everything)✔️Recovering after a layoff with structure and momentum✔️Why your calendar is the ultimate productivity weapon✔️Pomodoro, Anki, space repetition, and real talk on burnoutChapters0:00 - All good things come from consistency 0:36 - Stop using your calendar wrong 0:53 - How to learn more effectively with less effort 1:06 - Welcome to the Q&A episode! 2:10 - How the podcast is doing (stats + milestones) 3:02 - The Programming Podcast website is live 4:07 - Just keep showing up 5:00 - Surprise questions for Leon 5:51 - “I apply to 20 jobs a day and only get scam responses” 6:58 - The problem with just clicking “apply” 8:01 - Resume audit and using ATS checkers 9:01 - Auditing your job hunt process 10:17 - Fill your calendar with value (even for job hunting) 11:28 - Being a connector in your network 12:00 - SPONSORED13:07 - “I landed a junior DevOps role… how do I manage my workload?” 15:09 - Why note-taking doesn’t actually work 17:17 - How we forget what we just learned 18:00 - Take questions, not notes (active recall tip) 18:58 - How to use Anki & spaced repetition 19:28 - Duolingo, language learning & space repetition 20:57 - Learn your priorities 22:01 - Block your work on the calendar like tasks 23:09 - Defend your learning time like a meeting 24:43 - Recharge hard: why scheduling helps your mental health 26:07 - A packed calendar = progress 27:26 - Work/life balance with non-negotiables 27:33 - “I was laid off and I’m feeling lost. What now?” 28:34 - How to build a structured recovery after layoff 30:00 - Break big goals into daily tasks to avoid burnout 31:20 - Network, connect, talk to people 33:43 - What does “laser focused” job hunting actually mean? 35:00 - Don’t get distracted by hype tech — learn what matters 36:40 - Closing thoughts + how to reach us 37:32 - Spotify shoutouts + where to subscribe 38:34 - Why value per minute is the goal of this podcast

  --------  

  40:09
• He has worked at Netflix, Apple, Amazon and now... 🤯

  What’s it like working at Netflix, Apple, Amazon, AND now??? 🤯In this episode of The Programming Podcast, Danny Thompson and Leon Noel sit down with Robbie Wagner—Ember core team member, Staff Engineer at HashiCorp, and co-host of Whiskey Web and Whatnot—to talk about his journey through some of the world’s most recognized tech companies.Grab a glass (of whiskey or water), and let’s go deep on career, code, and community.🎧 Follow Robbie and his podcast: Whiskey Web and Whatnothttps://www.youtube.com/@UCogup1kGwxzjKjkAwUhVYEw https://open.spotify.com/show/19jiuHAqzeKnkleQUpZxDfFollow Robbie!https://x.com/RobbieTheWagnerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiethewagner/https://bsky.app/profile/robbiethewagner.devStay in Touch:📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!Danny Thompsonhttps://x.com/DThompsonDevhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDevwww.DThompsonDev.comLeon Noelhttps://x.com/leonnoelhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/https://100devs.org/📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?Email us at [email protected]!They cover:- The future of AI-generated code (and whether it’s useful)- Why Robbie still loves EmberJS- What it actually feels like to leave your "dream job"- How to prepare for FAANG (or Manoma) interviews- Why mentorship may be the real key to success⏱️ Chapter Timestamps00:00 – Intro: Meet Robbie Wagner (Netflix, Apple, Amazon, HashiCorp)02:00 – The “Manoma” Acronym Explained03:42 – AI Will Write 90% of Code? Our Hot Takes07:00 – Where AI Fails and Why Documentation Still Matters10:55 – How AI is Changing the Code Economy13:17 – EmberJS, Framework Evolution & Why React Might Be Subpar18:30 – Are We Chasing Hype Instead of Building Real Things?21:00 – Working at Amazon, Apple, Netflix: Pros & Cons26:35 – The Toxic Culture That Made Him Quit29:00 – Interview Prep for Big Tech (LeetCode, STAR, and Strategy)32:45 – What HashiCorp’s Interview Process Got Right34:00 – Advice for People Who See FAANG as the Dream36:00 – Defining Success Later in Your Career37:10 – Mentorship, Scaling Help, and Developer Growth39:08 – Preparing for a “Manoma” Interview41:40 – Final Thoughts & Closing Thanks

  --------  

  42:38

Plus de podcasts Technologies

Podcasts tendance de Technologies

À propos de The Programming Podcast