To Graduates: Notes from the Trenches

I’ve been thinking a lot about graduation this spring, with nieces, nephews and neighbors finishing university and starting their career journeys. I also had an interesting conversation last week with Seattle-area startup of the year KORU, a cool company with a great mission focused on helping graduates transition into the workplace with the know-how to make them successful, and helping fast-growth employers get new hires prepared to hit the ground running in a real-work environment.

When I graduated, what I knew was that I loved to write, I had a thirst for knowledge about how things work and I was curious about the world. I didn’t know what to do with my double major in International Relations and French. While I got to do some writing for a paycheck in a small PR firm early on, little did I know that watering the agency owner’s garden in the morning would be part of the job.

Fast forward to today. While no one predicted how the world – and the introduction of technology – would open up new career possibilities, I did stay close to my true north, and that has served me well.

So while I've mentored many and had great mentors in my career, here are some tips I’ll be giving to a few people over the punch bowl this graduation season:

Do what you love with people you like. This sounds cliché but 20 years in to your life after university, you’ll look back and either hug or kick yourself about career choices you’ve made. The number one regret you’ll have? Not doing what you love, with people you like. So if you’re a numbers guy or gal, don’t sign up for a lot of writing. If you’re a people person, being stuck in a cube by yourself may feel like slow death. Passion for a discipline, industry, culture, and people, all matter. That doesn’t mean you won’t have aspects of your job – or people - especially as you progress in your career, that aren’t your favorite. It just means the bulk of the what and who should get you up in the morning. Related to this is of course to surround yourself with people you like, who you can learn from, respect and be respected by. Nothing kills enthusiasm, inspiration and aspiration more quickly than working with jerks.

Don’t be afraid of change. There comes a time in many of our careers when we know we’ve stayed “too long” somewhere. It might be two years, and it might be 10, but when your switch flips, you’ll know it. Maybe it’s your manager, maybe it’s the work you’re doing, maybe it’s the company or the industry itself. Rather than belaboring it, face it. There is no disloyalty, no failure, and no loss of pride that matters if you’re seeking growth. At least in America, it’s in our DNA as a country of immigrants and pioneers to forge ahead into the unknown. Letting the status quo reign will only delay the oxygen you need to thrive. While there is something to be said for “it’s easier to get a job, from a job”, and noting the point I make next, having the character to stick through a rough patch, there’s also something kind and courageous about giving yourself permission to move on, and doing something about it (this is why you also put part of your paycheck into your rainy day fund!) You’ll be amazed at how distance from the daily fires or a low-growth environment will bring new ideas, new passion and interesting insights you were blocked from noticing before.

Stick it out. While this seems contrary to the above, context is key. In our current era of instant gratification, it’s easy to bail if things get tough, don’t go our way, or seem to be taking too long. Didn’t get that promotion? Don’t like your current manager? First version of that product got bad reviews? Grunt work – or watering the garden in my case – not what you expected? Sometimes the greatest growth we have as human beings is persevering through these moments. If I hadn’t stuck it out in the 100 person startup tech company I joined when there were barely enough chairs for everyone (or those companies in a similar stage that came after) I wouldn’t have experienced the thrill of announcing a joint venture in Japan, acquisitions in Germany, Sweden and Ireland, or an independent public offering (IPO) four years and 800 employees later. There’s a difference between stunted growth from staying too long, and earning your battle scars; and you have to stick it through when you’re having an experience you’ll need the character for later. Embrace it when it happens and know you’ll come out the other side better and wiser for it – and just think of the stories you’ll have someday for the punch bowl. Some of my best and deepest professional friendships were forged through (insert war metaphor here) experiences requiring resourcefulness, grit, humility and perseverance. (This is also when you start to cross over from neophyte to potential mentor yourself).

Go abroad. Five years ago I moved to Paris to lead a team of Microsoft communications professionals through addressing one of the biggest-ever regional shifts for the company. My first day at the office involved a metro, a long walk producing massive blisters, and a desperate taxi ride just to figure out my commute. I’d worked in Microsoft’s HQ for 5 years by that time, and felt like a veteran, but everything from meeting etiquette to work styles to the language was different. As a marketer focusing on consumer trends and business productivity, my commute to work walking through Paris streets gave me a lot to think about when compared to driving through American suburbs in my SUV. Regional history, government structures, local policy, family traditions, all played a role in nearly every conversation – from the workplace to the dinner table - in a way I’d never imagined. My personal experiences and more material enlightenment working across cultures and challenging conventional thinking about “how” to do something, upended my myopic, US-only experience, in a life-changing way. I will never forget the birthday I celebrated with a team of 60, at an offsite in Spain, when everyone sang happy birthday simultaneously in native languages. What a beautiful and appropriate metaphor for the work our Microsoft EMEA team was focused on, blending company assets – brand, products, principles - with local flavor, into one harmonious melody. While you may not see living and working abroad as a possibility today, at least embrace the concept of getting out of your comfort zone long enough to balance your perspective and build a lifelong network of people who enrich your life with beautiful differents.

At this time of year especially, I find it’s a great time to inventory experiences and perspectives, and hear what other people count as their big career learnings.

What are the questions YOU have? And if you're deep in your career already, what major career lessons do you share?