Looking back at my first 10 years at LinkedIn
The first week of January marks my work anniversary at LinkedIn. This year its my tenth.
After ignoring the first InMail I received (I thought it must have been a mistake) I responded to the second. That InMail opened the door to a conversation, which lead to an interview, and eventually a career which has been truly transformative. Thank you Aleks for your persistence!
The interview was tough, but exhilarating. I met awesome people who to this day I count as friends: Anna Wright , Laura Fox , Dan Dackombe and Chris Brown . They set the tone for what I would come to expect over the next ten years: I would be surrounded by people who were equally as smart and driven as they were thoughtful and lovely. At that point we were 3,000 people serving 200,000,000 members. Today I have 21,000 colleagues around the world helping our 875,000,000 members connect and make them more productive and successful.
Having been offered the job, soon came the realisation...
I was wildly out of my depth.
Social media and tech never stand still. Just trying to catch up and then keep up to those around me meant a lot of running. Thankfully people like Lauren De Boer and Michelle Lederman were incredible mentors (pretty sure they got me through my probation!) and the likes of Chris Kang and Padraic taught me how to operate in a start-up environment - everything had to be scalable! The principles of digital and the system thinking these individuals gave me will serve in any role I have going forward.
Meeting the global Solutions team (the business I was originally hired into) for the first time was intimidating. The knowledge, experience and intellect of people like Sam , Vibha , Dina , Pam , Jess and too many others to name left me in awe. I vowed to raise my game and put in the work to get to that level. Something I aspire to still!
The only constant is Change.
Within 8 hours of being in the office my manager had been promoted into a different role. Things change quickly at LinkedIn. The leaders I've been lucky enough to work for have demonstrated expertise in things like strategy and analytics with Ingo , inspiration and compassionate leadership with Erin , building networks and business with Yves , creating a performance culture with Ollie . My current manager Adam has given me support, sponsorship and autonomy to move into the 4th role at LinkedIn as a Senior Manager. Thank you! Each role I've taken on has been the biggest role I've ever had. "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable" was sage advice from Ingo.
But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants. David Ogilvy
Our number one operating priority at LinkedIn is team and talent and I've been fortunate enough to meet and hire many incredible people. I hope that they enjoy the same opportunities, experiences and comradery that I have. My advice to any manager is find people who are better than you and get out of their way. Ego is the enemy.
There are so many people I could and should thank for their support over the years. But the person who has been the biggest support has been my wife Amie . We have three boys and she has done the lion's share supporting us all emotionally, raising the boys and making sure they are ready for what ever life brings them. All this alongside cross qualifying, getting a Masters and running a Nutrional Therapy practice. And that stuff goes on without the perks of a tech job. There is no fan fayre or Sales Kick Offs for her. No the CLUB trophies or winners lunches. I genuinely couldn't be more grateful for the compromises she has made and everything she has done and continues to do for our family.
It has been a privilege to be part of this business over the last ten year. Let's see what happens in the next ten.
Some great memories and moments at LinkedIn
The Solutions Team and the Solutions offsites in LA, Paris and Amsterdam.
Visiting Chicago and Singapore rolling out new narratives and ways of working.
Meeting Mike Gamson and Dan Shapero for the first times.
Manager of the Year and the Club awards.
Winning the EMEA MVP award in my first year.
Being part of the team to win the Global Leverage award.
Baking a cake for our CEO Jeff Weiner and CMO Shannon (Stubbo) Brayton.
Head of Linkedin Sweden - LTS
1 年Huge congratulations and thank you for all the support and help you have provided me and still do. So fortunate to be part of same team as you ??
I solve problems by creating Talent Solutions | Podcast host @Tales from Tech Titans | Collaborating with companies to attract, hire and retain the best talent across Technology | Diversity, Equality & Inclusion champion
1 年Congrats Alex Charraudeau!
Sales Leader / MHRM / CIPD
1 年Loved reading this!! Huge congratulations on 10 years ????
Director, Customer Success EMEA @ Culture Amp | Proud "People Geek" | Passionate about organisational transformation and people development
1 年Wow!! Congratulations Alex!!
Interim Board Level Director; CMO, Marketing Director, Brand Strategist, Executive Leader.
1 年Alex, your candour in this article is indicative of the rounded, highly competent professional you are. Your guidance to me while acting as an Interim Marketing Director for Cavendish Professionals undoubtedly helped the rapid scaling of that business. I wish you continued success.