Is it the Journey or the Destination? 4 Tips for Starting a New Career

I was recently speaking with one of our training classes when we came to Q&A. What’s the future of our organization? What’s our plan for international expansion? What are some of the career opportunities to grow into from the entry level? Then one came with a slightly different tune…

Is it the journey or is it the destination?

That's easy.

Neither. It’s the company.

Insight Global has been a wonderful journey for me because of the people I’ve had the chance to be on it with. We have a quip that is commonly used on our floor, “doing hard things with people you love leads to a wonderful career”, and over the years that has proven true.

This week marks my 12 year anniversary with this team. In reflection, here are 4 pieces of advice to anyone starting a new career about the company they keep in the company they call home.

1. Be A Student of Your Colleagues?

When people ask how to grow in their career, this is the first answer that comes to mind. In a workplace it is easy to see colleagues as competitors, but they are your greatest inspirations if you look at them as such. Your team has talents they are itching to share with you, you can internalize those skills. Your friend Jessica is a great public speaker. Your buddy Jared is a great debater. Tommy’s humor cuts through any tension and Greg’s calm demeanor inspires safety and confidence. Those are learned skills, not divine talents. Don't be intimidated by your peers, study them.

2. Lean into Physical Togetherness

It's all too easy now to keep people at arm’s length. Your faults are less exposed, judgement harder to be felt behind the screen. The greatest resource you have, however is the ability to learn and grow as a team. A tenant of a growth mindset is valuing the opportunity for growth OVER the fear of embarrassment. Additionally, that exposure driven vulnerability creates space for real relationships, not just emojis on Teams. This goes for outside of work too, make more efforts to integrate work and life than you do building barriers separating them. Make the commute, laugh at each other's awkward failures, get a beer after work. It's worth it.

3. Appreciate the Conflict

This is one I wish I could tell 22 year old Larry. The people you have the most conflict with are the ones to invest the most time in. Throughout the years you will find that the topics will change and your disagreements will not persist. What’s left is two people who care about the mission, the company, the team, or the goal enough to debate it out. They care enough to get better. They care enough to disagree and commit. Amicability and acquiescence are not your friends. Those you disagree with at work are not your biggest enemies, they are your greatest allies (and are probably right just as much as you are probably wrong).

4. Impact the World Around You, Together

My first team at Insight Global, our Seattle office, often saw success outpacing company expectations. It wasn’t the milestones that I look back on with the clearest, most vivid memories however. It was the Make-A-Wish galas and volunteer events our entire team rallied for. It was building houses for Habitat for Humanity. It was showing support as a group for weddings and funerals alike. Recognize that as a group the blessing of being employed with a great company is also a responsibility to use that stewardship for good.

At your new career, your fulfillment relies on the people you're in it with. At Insight Global it's the people that make us more than just a staffing company. It's the people that care deeply for others. It's the people developing each other personally, professionally and financially so that we can be the light to the world around us. It's people relentlessly pursuing opportunity for others. And it's all done together.

Insight Global?is a multinational staffing company servicing a large number of industries including IT, Accounting / Finance, Engineering, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Administrative, Managed Services, Direct Placement and Executive Search. Insight Global recruiting teams conduct over 2 million initial interviews with candidates, coordinate over 200,000 candidate interviews with enterprise customers and place 80,000 consultants annually. We relentlessly pursue opportunity for others.