In this conversation, Richard and Vernon discuss the experience of being rejected for conference talks and the importance of actionable feedback. They emphasize the need for clear and compelling abstracts, as well as the value of networking and building relationships within the industry. They encourage individuals to continue sharing their stories and knowledge through alternative platforms such as YouTube, blogs, and meetups.

The conversation also touches on the power of diversity in conference lineups and the importance of providing opportunities for underrepresented voices. In this conversation, Richard and Vernon discuss the importance of networking and building relationships in the software testing industry. They emphasize the value of nurturing connections and being present in the network, rather than only reaching out when you need something.

They also discuss the challenges of onboarding onto a new team and share their experiences and strategies for effective onboarding. They highlight the importance of asking for help, sharing knowledge, and finding the right balance between asking for help and helping yourself. Overall, the conversation emphasises the power of relationships and continuous learning in the testing profession.

00:00 Introduction and Positive Feedback

09:01 Creating Clear and Compelling Abstracts

16:21 The Importance of Actionable Feedback

33:10 The Power of Networking

45:33 Finding the Balance: Asking for Help vs. Helping Yourself

53:06 The Importance of Continuous Learning

Links to stuff we mentioned during the pod:

08:00 - Richard's legendary advice about how to structure your conference proposal
10:07 - Sarah Deery on LinkedIn
13:00 - Clear not clever explained by Nicolas Cole
17:09 - Posts from Lena, Emna, and Jenna
20:00 - The Mash Program
20:20 - I couldn't find anything about Speak Easy but you can find the founder Anne-Marie Charrett
25:21 - Lisa Crispin's website and LinkedIn page
27:00 - Abby Bangser on LinkedIn
27:30 - Ash Coleman Hynie on LinkedIn
31:30 - Vernon Scott II on LinkedIn
34:00 - Marie Cruz and Lewis Prescott's book
45:47 - Lisi Hocke's website & Ben Dowen website
46:08 - My old pal
49:55 - The First 90 Days book on Amazon
56:37 - What's AWS?
58:50 - What about Google Cloud?
58:51 - What's Heroku?