Today marks the 1 year + 22nd day mark of the first day I started working at RockIT. The magical powers of Linkedin was kind enough to remind me of this anniversary date so I figured I’d use that momentum to just reflect and write.
If you’ve got an extra set of eyeballs that could feed on something entertaining this morning, follow along!
Business Is Not A Job
Coming out of college I fell victim to the widespread, I Want To Pursue Business As A Career Syndrome.
You see… “Business” isn’t a job. You never just work as a Businessman. Business is really more of an umbrella term that opens into a flood of hundreds of other jobs.
When I was growing up, my dream was to always be part of the briefcase swinging, cement pounding amoeba of people strutting down the crosswalks of New York City.
What I didn’t realize in those dreams were the myriad of occupations that each of those individuals were getting their paychecks from.
The lady with the red shoes was an accountant…the athletic man with a round nose was a sales manager…so on so forth.
So when I graduated, I came to the realization that the problem wasn’t a lack of choices, but very much the opposite. The Syndrome began to fill my head with questions:
What was I going to be when I graduated college? What if I choose the wrong career? How do I know if this is what I want to do?
Do these questions sound familiar to you?
I’m approaching Year 3 now since I’ve entered the Real World. 3 whole years that’s been filled with frustration, doubt, and only recently, joy.
I’m indebted to RockIT for introducing me to this wild world of Tech Recruiting: a job I truly enjoy, excel in, and can see myself growing in through these next few years.
Here are a few nuggets I took from my past jobs at Pivotshare (online video startup), Google, and Linkedin that I hope can point you closer to finding authentic satisfaction in your career.
1. Before You Look, Look At Yourself First
It’s incredibly easy to just dive straight in, put on your HUSTLE hat, and apply for a million jobs in hope that one will work out.
But perhaps a more productive alternative would be to just looking at yourself first.
Introspection is a wonderful thing. It’s free, it’s self serviced, and it ultimately sheds light on parts of your life that can actually be surprising. Sure it’ll take some patience and some time, but I can promise that it’ll save you a few headaches in the future.
There are 3 main areas that’s worth thinking about: your Personality, your unique Talents and understanding what Work Environment you would thrive the most in.
A few examples from my journey:
Pivotshare (Marketing)- I discovered that I love tech, working in small teams, and having independency in how I work.
Google (Data Analyst) – Sitting behind a screen crunching data was limiting my abilities to talk, to empathize, and to make a difference in someones life. This also re-confirmed the fact that I’m terrible with math and anything that requires strenuous thinking with #’s.
Linkedin (Recruiting Coordinator) – Re-confirmed my love for the tech industry and highlighted how badly I wanted to have a direct impact on people’s lives. I also found out that asking for things (like interview times) was not one of my strongest character traits.
RockIT (Technical Recruiter) – I’m building teams for the Valley’s best startups, engaging in unique conversations with the brightest people in the world, and given the independency to build my own success. Ding ding ding!
2. Make A Decision And Just START
Staring down the aisle of Safeway’s cereal options isn’t going to get you closer to the checkout line.
(Reuters/Mike Blake)
Gather all the clues you need to make the best decision you can and just start. You’ll only learn from this next job on what fits and what doesn’t.
I would have never discovered recruiting if I didn’t ask more questions.
The church I attend just happened to be littered with internal recruiters from Apple, Facebook, and Linkedin.
3. Stay Curious, Always!
If I had never been curious to ask questions about, Why they enjoyed their jobs, How they got into recruiting, etc. etc, Linkedin and RockIT might never have crossed my path!
People want to help because someone else most likely helped them as well.
I repeat: people actually want to help you succeed.
But how will they know if you don’t first ask? After all, what do you have to lose?
4. Stand Grounded, The Pursuit Is Worth It!
I took a risk when I left Linkedin after 3 very short months there. As a recruiter who now looks at hundreds of resumes every week, 3 month stints is a big No No. Plus, I would be missing out on the amazing kombucha and chocolate covered strawberries that they occasionally served!
But my gut told me differently. (see what I did there?)
All the little lessons I learned from these past 3 jobs seemed to harmoniously illuminate this path to RockIT Recruiting… It sounded too good! But man am I glad I took the plunge on this one. There’s nothing like waking up each morning motivated, yet at peace to tackle on the day’s work. It’s a priceless feeling.
Maybe your risk tolerance might be different than mine because of certain situations, but that shouldn’t stop you from examining your gut and asking yourself if the opportunity is worth the reward.
Remember: We spend nearly 90,000 hours over the course of a lifetime at work.
That’s a lot of hours to be doing something you don’t want to do.
Wrapping Up
RockIT and Tech Recruiting isn’t the last piece of this puzzle. Life is constantly evolving and I’m certain my priorities of today will look different than my priorities of my 30s, 40s, and my 50s.
I, along with almost 80% of people around the world have gotten a taste of what it feels like to be dissatisfied with their jobs. 80%?!
Nope never again.
So here’s to the continual pursuit of finding purpose, happiness, and of course, loads of fun in whatever I choose to do with my career.
Stories of Albert 