Today was a big day. Just the typical day of work: wake up, work at home in my pajamas for a couple hours, walk into work, grab coffee and handcuff myself to my desk to get some work done between the day's many meetings... But today was a big day. Really, a thought-provoking day.
Also, a mushy day. Let this act as your mushiness warning.
We had a company meeting today, which of course started with my sentimental look around the room at how the company has grown in my short few months there. Not only was it amazing to see how it had grown, but it was also nice to see us all there together, because that doesn't happen as frequently as it used to.
One of the things I love about my company is that everyone loves working there and I'm not the only mushy one. What's especially great is that this mushiness is accompanied by stark realism. It's not all bananas and dancing with toothbrushes, you might say. There's the good, the bad, and the ugly (alternate blog title right there), and we see all of it and address it head on. But it turns out, all in all, there's a lot of the good. We're lucky, we're happy, we appreciate it.
So, on to the thought-provoking part (not just the mushiness-provoking part). The topic of the day for me - coming out of that meeting and also out of some catching up on my unread blog posts - is what does it take to succeed in this fast-paced, exciting, love-to-be-working-here-but-I'm- sure-they'd-soon-enough-hire-someone-to-replace-me-if-I-don't-add- some-mojo-to-the-team place. And two things came out of that:
- What am I bringing to the table? How can I bring more? How can I grow and succeed and be the overachiever I love to be?
- A lightbulb! AKA Inspiration, the Aha! moment. I am really starting out on my career path now, I've got a lot ahead of me and I'm only just beginning. I plan on continuing to learn and grow and figure out all this career and post-grad life stuff out and I know I'm not the only one who's confused and excited about all this, so why not share my experience and any lessons I learn along the way?
And so my blog is born: Welcome to my "career path breadcrumbs" blog (um, name still to be refined...). The idea is that I'm just starting out on my career path, and figuring out my way, and as I figure things out I want to leave behind some kind of tips, signposts, breadcrumbs to help others on their paths as well. (New look and feel and branding for the blog to come soon... :))
So maybe, to get us started, I'll drop a few of the things I learned/realized today.
- A good company (like mine) is a meritocracy. Deal with it. I sometimes "remind" myself that I am really fresh out of college and maybe this means I can excuse some of my stupidity at work. This is dumb. I should neither use this as an excuse for poor work, nor should this be a factor in evaluating my contributions to the team. At a good company like mine, you are rewarded based on your merits, not your age, or position, or anything else, so work on bringing some real value to the table.
- Find the right job for you. This will make you happier and more productive at work. Cliche, yes. And I've said this many a time, but I believe it more and more each day. It's also important to note here that the "right job" is different for everyone. I sometimes think how amazing my job is, and then I try to imagine one of my friends in the same situation and realize that it's just not the right fit. It's all about finding the right fit between you and the company.
- Good people make all the difference. At least in my opinion and experience, the people you work with can have a bigger impact on your happiness at work than the actual job you do. I've had some crappy jobs in the past, but it wasn't a drag to go into work when I enjoyed the people I worked with. The toughest times were when I was alone at my job - either temping as a receptionist (what fun) or having an office job sitting in an empty office all day.
- Stay in a job only as long as you are learning and growing. Some of the best job advice I ever got, and got it more than once from different sources. With my personality, I don't think this will be an issue (I would get bored if I wasn't learning anything and would be itching to make some sort of change), but it's generally great words to go by if you want to keep progressing through your job and life. Of course, other priorities come up and sometimes you will choose to stick with a stable job you know really well, where you aren't growing as much, so that you can focus on another part of your life, say, family. Also, I'll throw in a bonus, related lesson: Surround yourself with the smartest people possible. Another great piece of advice if you want to keep growing in your job, or life in general. My aunt gave me that nugget, which she heard as a quote from successful entrepreneurs when interview about what made them successful.
