What This Chevron Executive Sees as Essential for Early Career Success

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Today, Rhonda Morris is vice president and chief human resources officer for Chevron Corporation and the first African American female corporate officer in a 140-year-old energy company. But when graduating college, Rhonda had no idea her career would go in this direction—and in fact, thought she’d end up as an English teacher.?Inspired by her story, I caught up with Rhonda to discuss the advice she has for students and young professionals interested in following a similarly meaningful and successful career path.

Andy Molinsky:?What misconceptions do you think college?students have about entering the professional world?

Rhonda Morris:?Perspective and patience are important. We spend most of our adult lives working. This could be several decades. Titles and rapid promotions aren’t as important as continuing to learn, grow, develop, and deliver results, especially as you start off your career.

Andy Molinsky:?What advice would you give to a young professional who experiences the “imposter syndrome”—the fear that they are not worthy, and couldn’t possibly be qualified to do the job or task that they’re attempting to do?

Rhonda Morris:?I would advise them to get over it and to get over it quickly. It’s important to believe in yourself.?

Andy Molinsky:?If you had to identify one or two key things that ultimately influenced your career path, what would they be??

Rhonda Morris:?I worked for and learned from many great leaders. Many believed?that I could take on projects and assignments beyond my normal scope of responsibilities in HR.?I remember working for a marketing vice president who would say, “smart people can do lots of different things” and would look beyond the usual suspects when she filled jobs. That really resonated with me. I don’t put myself or other people in traditional boxes. Taking risks, especially with job assignments would be the second key thing that was an influence in my career because I’ve never really focused on sequentially going from one job to another to get to an ultimate aiming point so to speak. I’ve always focused on doing the best job I can in whatever role I’m in. I’ve been in positions where there was no clear role or next assignment—and that was okay.

Andy Molinsky:?What’s an underrated or overlooked factor you think is critical for achieving early career success?

Rhonda Morris:?Clear and concise communication. Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation still matter and differentiate performance.

Andy Molinsky:?What specifically about your college experience has proven to be most helpful for your eventual career success? Is there anything you didn’t necessarily anticipate being helpful, but actually has been??

Rhonda Morris:?I was involved in student government when I was at University of California, Davis. These roles helped me develop leadership skills. For example, through this experience, I learned how to run effective meetings. This was useful for me as I transitioned into a corporate environment because I understood organization structures, how decisions get made and governance. I found holding leadership skills through college to be very powerful and very useful.?

Andy Molinsky:?What’s your very best advice for helping a student or young professional craft a career with a strong sense of meaning and purpose???

Rhonda Morris:?I would say a couple of things. First, I think one’s personal values and purpose should be aligned with the values of the company or organization that they choose to work for because if they are misaligned, I don’t think it will be a good fit. And the same applies to people in the organization. I would counsel someone to look for depth. And not just of the person that is interviewing them, but depth and consistency across the organization.