What I Learned In the ExaGals Mentor Program

How has COVID-19 impacted your work life? Well, as a former office manager, it's definitely affected mine. This is the story of where I started, where I am now, and how I transformed myself and my role.

My journey began at Exabeam in May 2018. Within months I was promoted to office manager -- in this role I handled all of our monthly office events, summer events, holiday parties, securing presenters for the ExaGals speaker series and more. As you can imagine this involved a lot of people and togetherness -- things we’d soon lose once COVID-19 began. Events went virtual, folks became less engaged, and everyone with a computer developed Zoom fatigue. My in-office responsibilities vanished. I was left feeling counterproductive in our new work environment. For the first time in my career, I had too much time on my hands. For obvious reasons I started to become anxious about my job security.  I didn’t want to lose the value I brought to Exabeam, so I put a plan together: 

1. Connect with leaders throughout the company.
2. Offer them my support. 
3. Be ready to learn (a lot).

Right around the same time, I joined the ExaGals mentor program. This is when things really started to fall in place. 

The Mentor Program

Exabeam launched a mentor program through our ExaGals organization this year. ExaGals supports and empowers the women of Exabeam, as well as women in the technology community at large, with career development, education and personal growth opportunities. Through ExaGals, I was introduced to my mentor Ken Hammond, VP of Channel Sales for Americas and APJ. He set up an introduction meeting with me and gave me “homework" to finish before our first 1:1. The assignment was to identify areas of improvement, interests, and what I wanted to gain from the experience. Once we met, we talked about the insecurities I felt in my current role and my drive to develop my career into something more meaningful for both myself and Exabeam.  We decided our areas of focus would be:

• Career management
• Building my brand
• Goal setting
• Negotiation skills
• Public speaking

But before we could get started on those focus areas, he tasked me with surveying company leaders with whom I had a good working relationship. The survey focused on my performance, their first impression of me, and where in the company they felt I would succeed. The purpose of this exercise was to make sure that the way I perceived myself was aligned with how my colleagues perceived me. The survey results weren’t all that surprising, but it did help me gain more confidence in my abilities and fortify my drive to enhance my career. The feedback also helped Ken gain an unbiased perspective about me. 

From this point on, Ken and I focused on creating a three-year plan to achieve my goals. I relied heavily on learning and development. I took LinkedIn Learning courses in areas I wanted to improve, we exchanged articles, and I started reading  As We Speak, a book focused on building confidence when public speaking. The most invaluable part of this whole experience was the 1:1 time with someone who truly cared about my future. Ken gave me tips and tricks on negotiating, reminded me of my strengths and pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Ken will be a lifelong mentor, even though we have completed our mentor process I know I can always reach out to him about anything. 

One of the most important things Ken taught me is that there are a ton of opportunities in your workplace, you just have to have the guts to seek them out. The departments I enjoyed supporting the most were marketing and sales. Ken let me shadow in channel sales, which eventually led me to channel marketing and sales operations. Each department gave me a unique insight into the business. By showing up everyday ready to learn, I was able to strengthen relationships and build my brand. This also helped me figure out what I enjoy doing, what comes naturally to me, and what does not excite me. 

New Opportunity

In October, I got the exciting news that my hard work had paid off. I was offered a role as the marketing and sales specialist supporting the VP of sales operations. In all honesty, I loved being an office manager and without COVID I would likely still be very happy in that role. However, life changed beyond my control and I was forced to reevaluate and take some opportunities I wouldn’t normally have considered. What had first been one of the most uncertain moments of my career, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. COVID led me to the ExaGals Mentor Program. ExaGals led me to Ken. Ken led me right here. I am excited to see what new opportunities appear for me to take.

Thank you to all of the folks who've supported me during this journey. Your guidance, trust and encouragement has pushed me to exactly where I’m meant to be.