Career Corner: An Update

It’s been awhile (I feel like I say this every single time) since I did a career update. It has been SEVEN months since I started at Google. Time flew by and at the same time I think about my life in Texas and it feels like it happened decades ago.

Where do I start? Short answer, I’m thriving. I love this job. I love this company. I love this team.

I have always thought that I would have to choose between loving my job and loving where I work and at Google, I don’t have to make that choice.

I’m going to caveat that no, things are not perfect rainbows and unicorns 24/7, but that’s not a realistic expectation to have in life; in any capacity.

Things are really shiny and sparkly though and I have all the boxes checked when it comes to what matters to me in a career.

Growth

Growth is really important here. There are endless opportunities to learn both online, out in practice, and from your fellow Googlers. And it’s all valuable. Every avenue for learning is beneficial to me on a personal and professional level. I have avenues to grow into within this company and those possibilities are endless.

Respect

I am respected. And at any point if I am not, it is addressed immediately and thoroughly. My supervisor has repeatedly had to remind me that I am not in my past roles and she does not tolerate abusive behavior from anyone - within Google or from outside visitors.

Challenge

I am challenged every single day. Truly, I learn about a billion new things each day and there is still so much more I have not learned. There’s no possibility of “I’ve learned it all” here. And the talent pool is so stacked that I’m forced to keep up if I want to stay relevant.

Time

My time is respected. I have a social life. I control my schedule and I’m allowed to say that I’m overwhelmed or burnt out and need support. This has vastly improved who I am as a human being. I’m finding that a lot of my cranky behavior in the past was due to being so miserable and unhealthy in the workplace. I don’t have that here

The bottom line is I’m so happy. I’m so thankful and I’m so encouraged by what I’ve found at this point in my journey. And I hope it encourages you to never settle for anything less than everything. It’s out there. And it’s worth the fight.

Career Corner: An Update

I guess it’s time for a little career corner update. I’ve been a Googler (shout out Cloud team!) for about three months now. Practically a seasoned veteran.

Bottom line - I’m happy and I’m thriving. Let’s break it down.

Can I hack it?

All of the intense fears I had about not being good enough are all but gone. Being new to the tech world was a really intimidating thing. I didn’t know the lingo, the products, the way things are done - and I still don’t. But the best thing I was ever told was that I’ll never know. Tech is ever evolving. By definition that’s its job! And that’s my favorite thing about being in this industry. I cannot learn everything. There will always be a new training I can take or a new product to research. I cannot ever be the smartest person in the room because of how large this field is. When I said I don’t ever want to be an expert in anything, I certainly hope I meant it because here I am living that truth.

Life Balance

I watched one TedTalk on Work/Life balance being a sham and here I am drinking the Kool Aid. I buy into the fact that sometimes all your marbles live in the work bin and sometimes they’re rolling around in your party pants. Thankfully, three months in I feel pretty good. The first two months were a lot of studying. A lot of shadowing. A slow ramp up. All things I hate. But all very necessary to being successful in my role. Then here we are in January which has been the wildest Fast and the Furious movie yet. But I’m in the thick of it and I’m able to contribute to the team. We are all learning about some cool new changes together. AND I’m not the new kid anymore! There are days I’m exhausted. Sure that affects my personal life - yet most days I feel a reasonable level of stress and the ability to do what I need to do personally.

That Google Culture

Listen, I wish this was the moment I was able to give you some big expose on Google. I know I’m still new so in a year I could be sitting here thinking wow was I wrong (if you’re a regular reader, you’re aware it wouldn’t be the first time) but right now, I’m here for the vibe. I’m treated like an adult, with respect, kindness, inclusiveness - I didn’t know this was all a thing at a company. Sure, I have moments I get irritated, I don’t positively love every human I meet - but when this organization says you will be respectful, it damn well means it. My schedule can be flexible. As long as I do my job, the rest, that’s for me to design. Period. They really mean it. And the perks, yea, they’re pretty nice. I’m here for the googliness, I have nothing negative to say and I’m sorry you don’t get the Access Hollywood scandal, but I just haven’t experienced it.

The Role

When I first started I wasn’t sure if this was the role I had dreamed of. I was in all transparency not 100% sure of everything it entailed. Fun fact, neither was the team! It’s been an evolving ever changing role with a growing department. For me that’s not a new position to be in. It doesn’t bother me like it might someone who craves structure. I think it leads to a lot of really exciting possibilities and areas for me to grow. I’m also appreciated for the talents and experience I have. I’m encouraged to use those things to make the team stronger. I honestly don’t know what my dream role is anymore. But I know I’m happy, challenged, and I don’t dread coming to work. That’s more than enough for me.

To sum it all up - I feel like I’m balanced. Weird way to describe a new job but it’s all I’ve ever dreamed of. I’ve existed in roles I hate or companies I hate or surrounded by people I don’t respect and there’s never been just a balance of feeling calm and even and normal. I don’t have the intense Sunday scaries. I’m not looking at how I can get out of work. I’ll still always prefer to be traveling the world, but if I have to work until I win the lottery/marry rich - this gig will do.

Stay tuned…the adventure is sure to twist and turn and bob and weave and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

As always, thank you for your support and know that your best adventure is out there if you’re willing to chase it!

Fake it Til You Make it: A Guide

Ladies and Gentleman, life is a grind.  It's a lot of am I doing this right?  How did that happen?  I thought I paid that bill?  What do you mean I'm late?  I need new tires?  And then sometimes it's how did I get so lucky?  I can't believe my dreams are coming true!  This is the best day ever!  

The point - it's ups and it's downs and it's a lot of nobody knows what they're doing anways.  But the ones who I know are going to be okay, they're the ones who fake it til they make it.  I'm talking the people you meet who seem to just have it together.  They're always on.  They never appear flustered.  We all know them.  We wish we were them.

So how do you fake it until you make it?  

Believe in Yourself

The first and most important rule of faking it til you make it is to actually believe in yourself.  You can't expect anyone else to buy into you if you're not confident in your product.  But what if you're just not there yet?  Before you can fake it, you've got to work on creating some level of confidence in yourself - even if you've got to trick yourself!  Start by giving yourself pep talks.  Write down things that you love about yourself.  Put yourself in situations where you know you shine.  Rinse and repeat. 

Know Who You Are

Are you the funny guy?  The tech nerd?  The one who always has random facts?  Ientify who you are - and be authentic to who that is.  Im definitely the goofball.  But I'm also really loyal, passionate, and probably too extra.  It's who I am.  I could never try to be the quiet bookish type.  It wouldn't be believable.  Know who you are, commit to that, and show people why they should care.

Stay Woke

Stay current on a wide breadth of topics.  Read the news.  Scan social media.  Subscribe to things.  Just be aware.  In order to appear put together, you need to be able to engage with people on a myriad of topics and sound informed.  The more diverse your knowledge, the more opportunities you will have to meet people and expand your network.  

Work Hard

If you expect to eventually make it, and stay there - you've got to work hard.  Even the people who accidentally succeed, they don't stay successful unless they work at it.  Even when you're faking it, work.  Never stop working towards your dream.  

Being successful has everything to do with confidence.  Everyone who ever made it had to fake it at some point.  You arent a failure because you're not there yet - you're a failure if you don't try. 

Management.

Because I've been on the search for the best fit for me - I've spent a lot of time working for a lot of different managers.  I've seen the  best, the worst, and the apathetic.  I've been a manager as well.  And I like to think I'm a pretty good one.  In order to become better, I try to take the pieces of each boss that I love and embody them - and to take the pieces I hate, and never be them.

So what makes a good manager?

A Can Do Attitude

I've got a rule.  I'll never ask my staff to do anything I haven't done or been willing to do myself.  A boss should be willing to put in the work.  I  don't respect a superior who's not willing to roll up their sleeves and get the job done.

Reasonable

I need a supervisor to be reasonable.  From standards and expectations to the hours I keep, I need you to be realistic.  There is a difference between high standards and pushing too much.  There is a highly defined line between working hard and working too much.

Aware

A boss should be aware of what's going on within the team at all times.  Too many supervisors are quick to notice the mistakes and don't celebrate the successes or even have a clue what's going on within their team.  It shouldn't be a surprise to you when you have a bunch of staff quit.  It shouldn't b few and far between that you're thankful for the work your team does.

Accountable

The boss should hold more responsibility and accountability than anyone.  If your team is consistently making mistakes, it's  on you to find out why and how to fix it.  At the end of the day, the results are on you.  Additionally, if you're the boss and yet you don't put in the work, hold yourself to different standards for vacation/sick/hours - you're not respectable.  You're in charge but you're not above the rules.

Teamwork

I have a client who constantly corrects me when I say work for you.  He insists on saying work with.  And he's my favorite client.  He values me as a human being above all else and understands what being a team stands for.  He knows that the successes and failures are part of the team's effort.  He's willing to put in the time to make us successful and he's not afraid to push us harder.  He doesn't make it a me vs you situation because if I lose, he loses.

There are of course, a lot of other qualities that make a manager great, but to me, these are the basics.  Finding a good boss is hard.  Being a boss is hard.  Making an effort to be a good one and work for a good one is critical.  We spend so freaking much time working, find somewhere and someone you enjoy working for and with.