Drive and Willpower: My Journey to NetSuite

“Congratulations on Celebrating 5 years at Oracle”. As I began to count the years with my fingers, I quickly realized that LinkedIn was right. I started at Oracle in 2016, and shortly after the acquisition I made the jump to the NetSuite Global Business Unit. Where has the time gone??

I am sure you’re familiar with the quote: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Personally, I always thought that quote offered a false sense of encouragement. A simple LinkedIn work anniversary reminder, however, has changed my perspective and helped me realize just how lucky I’ve been over these last 5+ years.?

My Mom's Two Favorite Words?

I am originally from Sacramento, California. I am the second oldest of 40+ grandchildren, and the oldest of four siblings. I was raised by the strongest women I know, my mother and my grandmother. If I learned one thing from growing up in a single parent household, it’s that being a single parent is double the work, double the headaches, double the stress, and double the tears. Equally, it is also double the love, double the hugs, and double the pride.?

Growing up, my mom always stressed the importance of two things: drive and willpower. In fact, those might have been her two favorite words. Little did I know the role each of these words would play late in my adolescent years and young adult years.?

After experiencing string of misfortune, at 19 years old, I ended up the last place I ever expected…in my car, without housing.

"I'm homeless."?

As I snuggled into my blanket in the driver’s seat of my car, for my first night ever without housing, I remember thinking to myself in dismay - “I’m homeless.” And while the nerve-racking experience of not having housing was overwhelming at times, in a matter of days I was glaringly reminded of my mom’s two favorite words: drive and willpower. In August of 2012 - almost exactly 9 years ago - I wrote the following on a piece of paper and handed it to my mother and grandmother to keep (and they did):?

• I will transfer to UCSB or Cal Poly?
• I will work for Intel or Oracle?

While my circumstances seemed less than favorable for a young adult dealing with the struggles of community college academia, I also knew that there were people in the world dealing with much more adversity. After 746 days, two extremely cold winters, two heat waves, and a bit of wear-and-tear on my car seat cushions, I transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara with a nearly perfect transcript. And you know those turnaround moments people talk about...this was mine.?

I'm Lucky Katie Loved Coffee?

I saw college as a chance to change my life, and for me to change with it. During my time at UCSB I chose to double major in Economics & Accounting and Sociology, and double minor in Technology Management and Sports Management. I knew that if I was going to have the life that I desired and envisioned, I needed to work twice as hard as those around me. Luckily my mom's experiences taught me that double the work can also mean double the reward.?

During my final year at UCSB, while walking home from rugby practice, I saw hundreds of students lined up outside of the event center. I quickly realized that it was the career fair. I did not have a suit, I did not have a registration ticket, I did not have my resume, I did not have a haircut (college student priorities). However, I did have two things - drive and willpower (and a lot of mud on my shirt and shorts from rugby practice). I remembered that I had the Oracle recruiter’s contact information from the year before, so I sent a quick message: “I hear you’re on campus today. I’m going to grab a coffee; would you like one?” She replied almost instantly, “YES. THANK YOU.” I quickly rode my bike to Starbucks and returned to the event center with a black coffee. I walked past hundreds of my peers wrapped around the stadium, and walked right up to the team that was checking students in. When questioned about my name not being on the list, I simply responded “Oh, I’m with Katie from Oracle. I’m bringing her coffee.” As I walked in, I was overwhelmed by the number of students and companies, all of who were dressed in formal business attire. I was in muddy shorts and what once was a white t-shirt (now brown from practice). I quickly spotted the big red "Oracle" lettering and joined the other students in line. As soon as the recruiter saw me, she waved me over (I think she just really liked coffee). I got the opportunity to hang out with a couple of Oracle employees who had attended the career fair with Katie, and I listened to the elevator pitches of some of the amazing students. I apologized to Katie for my attire, and she thanked me for the coffee.

After a few weeks and four interviews, I was offered a position at Oracle. People often ask me how I got to Oracle, and sometimes I think to myself...I’m lucky that Katie really loves coffee.?

"...and you'll never work a day in your life."?

When I look back, whether I was without housing or overloaded with schoolwork or unprepared for the career fair, my mother’s two favorite words always come to mind: drive and willpower. I brought these two things with me to Oracle and then again to NetSuite. As I reflect on my career at NetSuite, I’m unequivocally reminded that the careers and the people that I have positively influenced mean so much more to me than my own career. As a matter of fact, they are my career. When I started as a BDC at Oracle, it was about making myself into the best salesperson that I could be. As I took on leadership roles and opportunities - even before becoming a manager - at some point my own success stopped being a priority and I started caring more about helping the people around me reach their versions of success. And quickly, my dream simply became about helping other people achieve theirs.?

I’m grateful for the success that I’ve had at NetSuite and that I work for a company with an amazing mission and product. But most importantly, I’m grateful that I work for a company with amazing people. While I now have housing, in many ways NetSuite has really become a home for me. And while it’s already been 5+ years, it doesn’t feel like it. You know what they say, “Choose a job you love”...well, you know the rest.

P.S. NetSuite is hiring. Come join me and an amazing group of people. Apply now:?https://bit.ly/OracleNetSuiteCareers