Nine incredible years at LinkedIn summed up in one photo

Today I am celebrating my 9th anniversary at LinkedIn!

From the first time I arrived on campus nine years ago for my interview, there was a palpable energy in the air. Everyone I met that day was incredibly smart, interesting and seemed to have a sparkle in their eye (Nate Bride, Marcella Cheung, Brian Frank, Ryan Longfield, Mike Derezin, David Cohen, Pat Cronin, Mary Munroe – I’m looking at all of you!) Even though I swore I would never work somewhere where I would have to commute again – this was something I could not pass up & I wasn’t going to let that stand in my way. I knew I wanted to be a part of what was happening at LinkedIn, but I could never have imagined in that moment how big of an impact it would make in my life – for *nine years*- both professionally and personally!

And I feel like it can all be summed up in this one glorious picture! I had just finished busting out my one pseudo break dancing move at the end of this year’s traditional Campfire/Talent Show at Culture Camp. (Just going to leave it here again for your viewing pleasure in case you missed it up above! HA!)

It was an awesome moment in and of itself – but I also think it speaks to three important themes that underpin my experience at LinkedIn:

1.  I am so grateful that not only do I feel comfortable bringing my authentic self to work, but that I’m embraced and celebrated for it. 

Totally normal that I’m wearing crazy camp pants, a light-up LinkedIn jacket and of course, my hot pink wig (fun fact: we now call her “Moira”), right? Ha! While this might be an extreme example of it – this feeling of acceptance rings true for me at LinkedIn always thanks to our incredible culture and leadership.

2. Look at that crowd support! 

I can still feel the energy, the smiles and the high fives from that night. And that’s how I feel at work every day. I am blessed to be on a team filled with people who I truly care about and who are always there to support me and cheer me on. The Employee Experience team is such a special group. Nina McQueen, Jackie Waldorph, Rebecca Roberts, Nawal Fakhoury, Aoife Conroy, Kristina Insanalli, Archie Panigrahi, Mia Mirelez, Katie Loitz, Shauna Cort, Tony Biallas, Justin Leathers, Jane Lee, and Chris Dobbins-Callahan, I feel so lucky to know all of you and to be able to call you friends. This feeling of connection also extends to the entire Benefits team, the broader GTO team, and honestly with all the people I work with throughout the entire company.

3. The incredible opportunities I have had to learn, stretch and grow have been incredible, and Culture Camp is a perfect example of this. 

I’ve had the privilege to work on this program for the past four years and it’s been my shining example of the magic that happens when your passions in life collide. Camp and LinkedIn? Does it get any better than that? I’ve also been fortunate enough to work on this program with the dream team of Nawal Fakhoury (Nawyoncé), Rebecca Roberts (Rebs) and Kristina Insanalli (Kiki). We poured our hearts and souls into Culture Camp because we love nothing more than to create amazing experiences for our employees. To see and feel the joy, connection and camaraderie that was around that campfire/dance party circle was the perfect exclamation point on a truly transformative experience. Culture Camp is just one example of the many incredible opportunities I have had along the way as well…everything from my time on Sales Effectiveness and Customer Success teams…to the chance to run our Speaker Series and our Alumni program. I’ve been constantly learning, stretching, and growing…with some dancing sprinkled in along the way!

Not only do I feel grateful to work at LinkedIn for all the reasons above, but I am so proud of our mission to connect the world’s professionals to provide economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. It’s now more important than ever and so proud of the work our team is doing in the world.

Big virtual group hug to everyone who has been a part of my 9 trips around the LinkedIn sun, with a special shout out to my start group buddies who are still on this amazing LinkedIn journey with me: Happy 9th anniversary, Sarah Lawless, Nicole Fleming and Bob O’Keefe! 

And Tyler Mussetter – how you always seem to capture the absolute PERFECT moments of our #LinkedInLife, never ceases to amaze me. Who knew at the time that you were capturing nine incredible years in that one photo? :)