The Roadblock To Your Career is You

Where has your career taken you? Do you like where you are now? Here's the SYCK truth: Whatever you are now, like it or not, is because of you. While company culture, reorgs, or managers can influence this, the main responsibility of shaping your whole career falls on you.

I talked with Viktoriya Masand, a proud Googler, a former colleague, and the Head of a Google Cloud Tech Partner Co-Sell Program that she pioneered. During her ten and a half years at Google, she championed large-scale projects, impacted hundreds of colleagues, and faced challenges – because of her grit and willpower.

From her story, I learned four things that may be barring you from the career that you want.

You’re afraid of not being enough

You fear that all your inadequacies – your lack of experience, educational qualifications, or lack of knowledge – hinder you from the opportunities you want. It’s not wrong, but it’s also not final. What you lack won’t matter if you’re brave enough to face your weaknesses and fill those gaps.?

If you want to ace a job interview, do the homework. Read up on terminologies, research deeply about the company, and practice your answers. In joining Google, Viktoriya and I didn’t have any technical background about the jobs we applied for, but we prepared ourselves as much as we could.?

In non-technical roles, you may even find that hiring managers look for your ability to quickly learn, more than your previous experience, Viktoriya theorized.

You’re not open-minded

Along the way, you may encounter major reorgs, failures, or setbacks. The path to success isn’t linear. Expect these curveballs ahead, try solving them, and most importantly, don’t let them corrupt you. Be discouraged at first, then afterwards, pivot.

It was very difficult for Viktoriya when her role totally changed due to an abrupt reorg. Rather than staying distraught, she shifted her perspective, became more open-minded, and did her best to execute projects.?

Little did she know that her new manager, amazed by her skills, is the catalyst that would lead her to become the project champion of the large-scale program she’s heading today.

You don’t do the work

Plans and dreams will remain plans and dreams without action. To make things happen, you need to have the willingness to roll up your sleeves and be scrappy, regardless of your level or your experience. It will be uncomfortable at first, but that’s where growth sprouts. As long as you open yourself to learning, you’ll be able to handle uncertainty just fine.

You’re not proactive

You don’t receive what you don’t ask for. Whether it’s for your promotion or your dream project, always run it by your manager to see if it’s possible. Regardless of the results, you’re practicing your ability to proactively shape your career, and you’re sounding off on things that interest you.

Despite her performance, Viktoriya never got promotion offers unless she asked. How did she still get promoted? She created a promo packet and ran it with her manager – something you can try.

A line you can practice: “I've been in this role for X number of years. And I wanna walk you through my packet and get your feedback to see if you think that the timing is right.”?

Viktoriya Masand LinkedIn

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