If this is your first time interacting with me, hi! I’m Brian. I’m a full-stack software developer based out of Ann Arbor, MI. I have a background in physics, but moved into tech after getting a job as a help desk technician post-college. From there, I discovered that I genuinely enjoyed working in tech, and programming felt like the right next step for me. I spent years teaching myself to program while continuing to work in IT/technical support roles. I also supplemented that learning by contributing to open source projects and attending tech conferences. Eventually, I joined Shopify as a developer on the Professional Services Engineering team. If you’d like a more detailed rundown of my previous work and skills, you can find that on my about page or in my resume.

In May of this year, I was laid off along with ~2000 other employees at Shopify. This was an unexpected transition for me; the night before I got the news I spent a good portion of the evening puzzling over a challenge I was working on in my current project, only to then wake up and find out that I’d never find the answer to it.

While jarring, this sorta “forced vacation” has given me time to mull over what I’m looking for in my next role. I’ve never really had the privilege to consider what things I want out of a job, so when a career coach asked me about that, I remember being taken aback. After thinking it through, here are a few things I’m looking for:

• A company whose values and mission are ones that I can get on board with. Not only that, but I’d like to see those values actually demonstrated — not just talked about.
• Being able to work on a product that I’m genuinely excited to be involved with. One that I can see an ad for on YouTube or see an article about and think “cool, I helped make that.”
• An opportunity to mentor others. I enjoy passing my knowledge and experience on to others, and what better way to do that than through mentorship. This is one of the more important requirements for me, especially as I gain more experience.
• A company where everyone can be their authentic selves. People work best when they can bring their full selves to work. I want to work somewhere where everyone is empowered to do just that.

If you know of a role that aligns with what I’m looking for or if you’d just like to chat, feel free to reach out to me at hello@brianwilliams.dev or on LinkedIn.