Good Humans
🎙️ NEW SEASON ALERT 🎙️
Good People
Join us as we explore the art of starting afresh, reflecting on past seasons and crafting memorable impressions. 🌟 #FreshStart #NewBeginnings #ZATecRadio🚀
Episodes
The One About Twitter Clones
Elon is messing up and the sharks are circling. In his wake, we’ve seen the proliferation of new micro-blogging platforms to serve a disgruntled user base. Threads by Instagram(Meta) is the newest entrant and probably the biggest threat to Twitter’s dominance. In this episode, we share some thoughts and immediate reactions
The One About The Signal In the Noise
Getting into a new role can be daunting, often we think there’s a right way, an expectation. As you grow in it, you learn that it’s not as clear. It’s easy to get lost in the sauce - sometimes your own sauce. In this episode, we retro Sihle’s experience coming into his role as a technical lead.
The One About Technology Without Context
ChatGPT will not change your life - probably. Neither will the 100s of AI tools being released alongside it. Although Innovation brings change, the heart of change is people; It’s people and their big brains. Technology alone isn’t enough. In this episode, we talk about the unspoken parts of successful software, technology and business.
The One About The Peter Principle
In a hierarchy, employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence. “In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties." This week we chat about competence and how it affects teams. Can it be helped or fixed? Listen and let us know
The One About Continued Layoffs
With the continued layoffs happening around us, many might be feeling uncertain - especially because it’s now so close to home. In the episode, we have a deeper chat about the layoffs and give our perspective. Listen, like and review
The One About Setups, Apps and Productivity
South Africa has become a challenging th environment to operate in both as a business, consumer and even operator. From power failures to lack of innovation and competition. In this episode we explore how much is enough technology, and is South Ahh doing enough
The One About Salary Negotiations
As the saying goes, “You never get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate for”. A lot of devs are reviewing their salaries and looking to bump the cheese up. How do you effectively do it? Listen and share with friends!
The One About Money
Tech has money - this is good. It means previously disadvantaged groups can make massive gains in bridging the past’s divide but to make the impact generational, we’re gonna have to establish some new habits especially where money is concerned. How do we ensure the glass floor isn’t artificial? Where do we start? Listen, like and tweet us @zatechradio
The One About Us Reflecting
New year, better us. How we left was sudden - life happened. So much change in the world, so much to reflect on - lots to be grateful. We have a new timeslot next week but the same great insights! Listen, share and follow!
The One About The Current State of Tech Pt. 2
There are so many macro shifts in tech. FAANG and Elon are firing other kids, stocks are down over 50% and there’s just a broad sense of instability which can lead to uncertainty. This week we provide commentary and make some bets! Listen, like and share!
The One About The Current State of Tech
There are so many macro shifts in tech. FAANG and Elon are firing other kids, stocks are down over 50% and there’s just a broad sense of instability which can lead to uncertainty. This week we provide commentary and make some bets! Listen, like and share!
The One About Year-end fatigue
As devs, we’ve often felt the bite of year-end fatigue; when one is just not motivated enough to move the needle. And it could be for a variety of reasons. How do you stay motivated during this time? What should you focus on to ensure you always deliver value? We discuss all this and more on today’s episode. Please like, listen and share!
The One About Onboarding as a Dev
Joining a new team can be daunting - maybe even hard when the culture of documentation is nonexistent. How do you get started as quick as possible in your new role? Is it even valuable? In this episode, we discuss onboarding and how to make the most out of it.
The One About Knowing When To Leave
There’s a whole river of feelings, emotions and decisions that you need to get over before moving from a company, especially one that felt like home. How do you get over being grateful for the opportunity and start seeing it as a new avenue to add value In this episode, we discuss this to get a clearer thought.
The One About Process and Conflict
Work is easier when we all agree - agree on a process, culture and generally how to get things done. However, when the process is lacking or a team is new, the chances of conflict increase. How do you work through a process, manage conflict and handle egos? In this episode, we chat about this to better navigate instances of this.
The One About Mentorship
ZATechRadio’s mission is to help black people get in, stay in and thrive in tech. Doing that means guiding them through paths we’ve been - mostly in the form of advice and tips. Of course mentorship trumps all but getting into that can be difficult. In this episode we chat about mentorship and how we go about it - hope it helps someone.
The One About The “Cult” In Culture
Loosely defined, culture is an adopted set of social norms and behaviours within a group of people. In tech, culture is important - no doubt. This has even led to the culture-fit interview being added as a step in the recruitment process but should it be used as a criterion to qualify for work? This week we chat about this hoping to filter out the #BS!
The One About Taking an L
Interviews take a lot from a person, often we’d love to come out successful but what happens when an experience drains you, what red flags should you look for in the process and how do you take away the positives? In this episode we chat about VT’s most recent experience - hoping to learn.
The One About Coding at Work
So you're fresh out of university, college or bootcamp and you want nothing more than to just code. You get the chance and soon learn there's still so much more than just code. How do you ensure your value in a team when you get tired of code, or when it is the last thing you can do? What's left after the code? Like, Share and Review
The One About Imposter Syndrome
As black people, a lot of us are our families' last hope. So naturally, as we move onward and upward in our careers, many of us fear the fall because of what we carry with us. However, When people realise the reward for good work is more work, it becomes easy to give in; to buckle under the pressure or even self-eliminate. How do you deal with imposter syndrome? By @simzzz_xoxo
The One About Technical Leadership
“New levels bring new devils” - many from inside out. Starting a new role especially leadership demands new thinking but how do you do this? This week, we speak about technical leadership and teams. How do we measure them respectively? Listen, review and share!
The One About Talent and Compensation
With the proliferation of software in everyday lives, does tech talent get compensated accordingly? Are devs rockstars or just coal miners? In this episode, we explore this to find out how we can all get paid a little better. Listen, review and share!
The One About Starting A New Role
When it comes to career progression, very few industries provide upward mobility like tech. At the same time, tech blood is getting younger and younger. Put those 2 together, and you have a potential source of confusion and anxiety - especially for black people. In this episode, we speak about starting a new role and team culture + environment dynamics. Like, listen and share!
The One About Wearing Multiple Hats
When a team is small, people wear multiple hats. You might also hear, “We run a lean team” - which is abused as an excuse for being “agile” - but this has trade-offs. In this episode, we listen to Sihle vent but more so dive into this to understand the effects it has on teams and talent. Like, review and share!
The One About Technical Interviews
Are modern technical interviews broken? Everyone and their folks hire like FAANG. This sounds great but when you consider the socioeconomic experience of black people in South Africa, it can leave many wanting and others, discouraged. Do we need something different? Listen, review and share!
The One About Balancing Work, Life & Side Projects
Getting into tech is one thing, staying in & thriving is another - especially as life changes. In this episode, we talk about work-life and side projects. How do you prioritise your time to ensure everything is done? Listen, review and share!
The One About Preparing For Employment
School is a means to an end, not an end. Gaining employment is typically the end goal. But many leave this to their final year, which is often too late - even in tech. In this episode, we talk about unemployment, how young graduates delay it, and how to get ahead of it. Like, review and share!
The One About Managers, Process and Autonomy
The One About Managers, Process and Autonomy The word manager grew in prominence ever since software development went mainstream. In this episode, we discuss managers and how teams/talent views them. We also discuss why process matters to devs and what autonomy can do for teams. Like, review and share!
The One About The State of the Software Developer Nation
Software development is still growing in South Africa. However, we still lag behind leading markets - like the US and Europe. It’s good to take stock from time to time. OfferZen conducts an annual survey to understand how our nation is doing in terms of software development as a career. In this episode, we dive into the report. We give our initial thoughts on it, which hopefully adds context. Like, download, share and leave a review!
The One About ZATechRadio
“If it wasn’t clear, we exist to help black people get in, stay in and thrive in tech” - @vt_codes After an extended break, we come back with a clear, refined purpose. In this episode, we speak about the parts such as Discord, Twitter, etc and the whole such as the values and mission that make up the #ZATechRadio community. Beyond that, we speak about the broader tech community and the toxicity that exists in tech. Like, share and review!
ZATechRadio - Episode 003
The One About Resting… Tech is fast-paced and constantly evolving. Often we are consumed by everything happening and we forget how important it is to rest. In this episode, we hang out with Andile Mlata to talk about rest and its importance.
ZATechRadio - Episode 002
Getting into tech can be hard or sometimes unconventional. Learning another person’s journey can help shed some light on your way. In this episode, we chat to Sdu💰 about her journey into tech from starting as a QA to being a developer for the biggest banks in South Africa.
ZATechRadio - Episode 001
ZATechRadio is a meeting place for the SA Tech community. We host spaces and conversations on topics affecting the everyday lives of techies in South Africa. Join us for this podcast and more.