So, Why a board member at The Bridge?

After 23 years of professional experience and almost 16 as a proud Microsoft employee, I decided that it was time to give back to the community as part of my career development.?

Wait, How giving back to the community can benefit my career??

You may think that taking courses is a way to help your career development, and I agree with you. I'm continually investing time in learning activities related to Change Management or Coaching, technical certifications (i.e. ), and recently, enrolled at?The Power MBA-?a revolutionary online MBA program.

Taking courses is a way to help your career development

You also may consider reading career-related books such as branding, leadership, personal and professional growth as another way to benefit your career. I must confess that I'm not a book fan, but setting the goal of reading a book a month has helped me greatly. When I was writing this article, I read "Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity" by Jennifer Garvey Berger.

Reading career-related books is another way to benefit your career

However, over the years, I had discovered that getting involved and contributing with time as a board member is where I get the most return on investment because it impacts my career at the pace that I'm contributing to the success of other (individuals, non-profit organizations or companies).?

Getting involved and contributing with time as a board member is where I get the most ROI

It allows me to meet new people regularly that can enhance my life and career beyond the idea of improving my professional network. Meeting and talking directly with talented people in the technology industry is a source of fresh insights and different perspectives, which can be an invaluable experience. Balancing people from large enterprises and start-ups also help me to expand my knowledge base.

Even though contributing with time is complicated and sometimes painful for my family, I must admit that helping others - regardless of what you have done to help - gives me a priceless personal sense of satisfaction and significantly influences?my confidence.

The Bridge, Who they are?

Let's start with the basics. Did you know that Mexico graduates over 110,000 engineers per year, and they are the third-largest IT exporter in the world? Did you know that Brazil's talent pool represents around 250,000 IT professionals and approximately 23,000 new IT graduates enter the industry every year??

This allows companies to find top-tier talent still but at more cost-effective rates. However, companies outside Latin America find it hard to find the right talent with the warranties they need to succeed.?

The Bridge is a global agency that creates value by connecting large enterprises and technology high-qualified digital professionals (i.e., Architects, Front-End, Back-End &Full-Stack Developers, UX/UI Designers, etc.). When I was writing this article, they had an international talent database of over 230,000 professionals to help companies hire or outsource (as Individuals or Digital Squads) to develop temporary or permanent projects to accelerate their digital transformation.?I love their capacity to help companies with talent professional that can also work remotely, which is a win-win situation.?I believe that agencies such as The Bridge can help Latin America-based tech professionals generate career opportunities (without the need to immigrate to the USA or Europe) and, together, improve the brand /reputation of our tech community.

The Bridge currently has offices in Chile (Headquarter location), Brazil and London. They also have solids plans to open offices in the USA and Mexico.

Then, Why The Bridge?

Here are my six reasons considered to accept the offer to become an advisory board member at The Bridge:

1. The mentioned mission of the agency and their 100% focus on digital.
2. The vision of their founder and CEO,?Bernardo Carvalho Wertheim. When Bernardo asked me to be his mentor, I saw a unique opportunity to practice my coaching skills to guide him (and other board members) through the art of asking questions and sharing my professional experience. Unlike my current job at Microsoft, where leading involves telling and making the right calls, I do think board members should succeed by doing the right questions and creating connections.
3. The opportunity to connect The Bridge with another initiative that I'm helping to launch?Iasa en Espa?ol?- a new portal designed by/for tech architects and 100% dedicated to the Hispanic-LatinX community with the support of?IASA Global, the world's leading professional association.?
4. The possibility to help tech professionals get jobs outside their country of origin (working remotely) by connecting talented people to international opportunities in large organizations with digital ambitions and the need to accelerate their transformation.??
5. The occasion to increase my professional network by collaborating with The Bridge's Leadership and other Board Members such as?Eduardo Pooley (Banco BCI CMO, ex - Country Manager Google, Chile), Jo?o Bezerra Leite?(Investor, Experienced Board Member, ex-managing director at Banco Itau) and Irina Bezzan (Country Manager The Bridge, Brazil).
6. The chance to learn from startup culture and the attributes/skills of?entrepreneurs. It is well-known that startups have confidence in working fast, failing quickly, and learning and developing. They work according to the changes and accommodate themselves with the new wave. These essential components of startup culture will help me keep growing working in a large corporation with large enterprises and public entities.?

Closing

I see my participation in the advisory board of The Bridge as an extension of my brand and a learning experience to improve my professional career.?

My goal is to contribute to The Bridge success, help the tech professional community to achieve more, and position Latin America as a global tech provider (the new "Silicon Valley").?