Looking back...

Well, where do I start…?

5 years *BOOM*, gone, just like that…

This week marks my 5th anniversary @Microsoft and what a journey it’s been!

So much has changed in 5 years and I certainly wouldn’t have imagined the current pandemic we’re all experiencing now?!

Satya Nadella: “We’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in two months. From remote teamwork and learning, to sales and customer service, to critical cloud infrastructure and security—we are working alongside customers every day to help them adapt and stay open for business in a world of remote everything.” 30th April 2020.

I remember the whole application process from start to finish just like it was yesterday. Being invited to interview via Skype (all virtually) at a time where there was no crisis or pandemic happening to which i'd add, was seamless.

5x interviews sounds daunting, but I promise you that not one of them was anything of the kind. Each and everyone of the interviewers gave me the chance to express my views, creativity and what interests me in a career here @Microsoft (no hard pressing or “trick” questions I may add).

There were a couple of general team fit discussions, some technical scenarios to test my sourcing ability and approach to finding niche talent, my knowledge of MSFT & Engineering (where I started out my sourcing gig) and the final one, an interview with the Talent Acquisition Director for Europe (now structured to be EMEA).

I need to recite the last interview with @Elke Jorens and I think this is the first time you’ve heard this Elke ??

The other interviews felt very informal as I’ve previously stated, however, a video conferencing call with the “Head of...” kind of made me feel as though I needed to “dress-up” a bit. It was a very warm day in March (being from the UK, I kid you not) and I was planning on making the call from my kitchen due to the natural light and plain, white background available (Teams wasn’t available back then I'm afraid to say!).

So, it begged the question, “what do I wear?”. I couldn’t possibly be seen to feel uncomfortable due to the midday heat and nor did I wish to wear a full-blown suit, instead, I had a thought… “How about I wear shorts which the table will cover and white shirt?!”

*GENIUS*

Now, I’ve already mentioned that I hadn’t felt nervous (much) during interviews but I still had it in the back of my mind that Elke was going to ask me to stand up for some strange reason, thank god you didn't Elke!

One of the first questions put to me was “so, youre Dutch then?”, referencing my surname to which Elke and I shared a joke about. I continued to add that my Dutch/Flemish heritage being a little while back and my spoken language ability was in fact, 0.

That was the icebreaker and well, the rest of the interview as they, was history…

Fast-forward 5 years later, I’m more rounded as an individual than ever and here’s some of the reasons why;

Opportunity & Growth

I genuinely feel as though I’ve made a difference @Microsoft and I’ve grown so much during this time both personally and professionally.

Personally, I have a family now and they drive me more than ever. Along with that, I’ve always had a “never-say-die” attitude (what’s the worst that could possibly happen?). It’s this attitude that has helped me (quite literally) jump into things with an open mindset and a will to win, bringing those involved, with me, as one successful team.

The opportunity itself has been amazing and the diversity of projects worked on, the people I’ve mentored and worked with, the teams, the business units I’ve helped to build out, the people I’ve brought in (many of them friends now) and finally, the feedback I receive is why I continuously feel challenged and successful at the same time...

Leadership

I’ve taken on “leadership” roles/tasks/titles a number of times in the past but it wasn’t truly until I joined Microsoft, that I understood leadership fully and how to become a better leader.

A leader is one that leads by example, that wishes to get the best out of individuals, not to take on too many tasks as it begs two major questions 1. Will the project get completed on time and 2. What will others learn from me taking on everything? We’re all peers and all in this together, give praise where its due and even more praise for going beyond what is expected… You will only form closer relationships and trust me, this wont harness your chances of a promo because someone else did some good work too!

A big one here, listening. I cant emphasize enough what an important trait it is to listen. Many will think "what is this guy on about, anyone can listen?!" but the ability to know when to listen, digest the information provided and when to give your own input, I firmly believe is up there with the softer skills as a leader and as an individual, can continue to work on and learn from...

Work/life balance

I tend to take more time out now and I’m not afraid to say it.

When you are young and looking to cut your teeth in your first job, your adrenaline quite literally sees you through each day and the weeks/months that proceed it. You want to impress, you want to take on every project and you dont mind working all hours under the sun in order to accomplish the task at hand, its normal.

There did come a breaking point however in one of my first jobs and whilst living with my parents at the time, I quite literally broke down in front of them, from mental exhaustion to put it lightly. It really was time to sit down and talk with someone and I was very fortunate to have such a close bond with my parents and have that support network available to me. Thereafter and over time, you learn to manage things better, together...

(Disclosure: To confirm once more, this didn't happen during my tenure at Microsoft and again, I'm not afraid to discuss this with others being quite some time ago now. @Microsoft, we take mental health & well-being seriously and we have a number of dedicated resources to help individuals, should they feel like they're suffering alone)

Today, I have 0 guilt from taking an extended or multiple breaks throughout the day if I need to re-calibrate. It benefits me and the company in the long-run. Microsoft gives me that flexible working with no one monitoring when I "clock on/off", my calls times or anything of that nature for that matter. We use analytics, sure, but its the outcome at the end of the month or year that truly aligns to my performance of which, I feel even more accountable for.

I've also learnt to shut-off once I logout of my machine each night. There have been occasions where I've "worked" during previous holidays which is my choice and I still do answer emails prior to hitting the hay. Having a family now means I prioritise my time with them and my phone is put to one side during this time, indefinitely.

@Microsoft To Do is one of my favourite apps (alongside LinkedIn) and I tend to make a list of things at the end of each day from what I learnt and the objectives I will tackle for the coming day. This helps me focus and keeps the dreaded "sleep insomnia" at bay...

Learning

Again, I’ve learnt so much during this period and I can cover so much more than what I’m about to note; Technology and the economy, philanthropies, disability, diversity & inclusion, digital transformation and mostly, people. People are a company’s biggest power, not technology, but people. What is a company without its employees and what ethics or empathy will a company have if its solely run on "bots"? Yes, I work for the most innovative company in the world and I love that! And yes, technology is an enabler of transformation, but what good is transformation if you do not have a genuine interest in how a company is run, who it is run by and why, why do they do what they do and what do they wish to achieve...?

I feel the need to mention, undoubtedly, that I’ve worked with some super smart people. Not just smart, but people that are compassionate and take a genuine interest in you, sharing their time to help you learn and grow. I take a small part of that with me from people I meet in order to become better at who I am, what I do and how I can help others on the same journey.

Microsoft is an amazing platform. It sounds weird calling us a “platform” but I feel in this particular context, we are exactly that. The platform I’m currently talking about is the learning path that Microsoft gives. I’ve had three-roles in 5 years so I’d have hoped to of done something right during this period? Additionally, the soft and hard skills you ascertain through your own career aspirations and leveraging those who are more than willing to get you there is widely available. I’ve recently passed my Microsoft 365 Fundamentals and I won’t be stopping anytime soon (Azure Fundamentals pending…). The connections made have become invaluable to my learning (OneNote has become a close friend of mine also), providing me with amazing guidance and how my skills are transferable into roles i'd never considered before. This in turn has made my career aspirations, a reality...

What next...?

I love it @Microsoft! I can’t say that I will be here for the rest of my career as there is still some way to go yet, but I really do love it ??

5 years has gone super quick and I feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface!

The current period has really given me time to reflect on the previous year and given me food-for-thought as to what is to come.

I still have the same passion, drive and enthusiasm as the first day I walked through those Thames Valley Park (Reading, UK) doors and I cant wait to see what the next chapter here @Microsoft will bring.

Watch this (Cybersecurity) space… ??