I’ve been toying with the idea of a series of posts (which is what “Giving Good” refers to) dedicated to navigating the process of interviewing and securing a new job. Two main reasons why I’m doing this now, 1) COVID-19 has wiped out decades of job growth and some people need more guidance than others, 2) I’ve started to mentor graduate students from the University of California Santa Barbara, as well as other connections in my personal and professional life, and I want to make sure they can refer to the following and take what suits them in their journey.

What makes me think that I’m qualified to talk about this? Let’s check out my work history…

Started my first job on July 8, 1997, which was the day I was legally allowed to get my working permit. I folded and packaged kids clothes in a warehouse down the street from my parents house. I worked hard in a less than well ventilated cinder block building that was shared with a t-shirt printing press. I’ll sum up this experience with three words “Who is FICA?”

Retail associate at the Gap, Eddie Bauer, and American Eagle throughout highschool when I wasn’t playing team sports or doing theater (I was either in the pit or on stage. Yes, I did everything in highschool). Two words, “Employee Discount”

Worked in a pizza shop freshman year of college. Two words, “Freshman 40”.

Three co-op experiences at Drexel University that required me to interview every 6 months starting at 19 years old. UNIV 101 formed the basis for the next few articles and is why so much of my resume building/interview knowledge is second nature. A few words to sum it up? I learned more about what I didn’t want in a career, which is just as important as learning what you do want.

Multiple work study experiences in the Drexel University Public Relations team and Athletics Department. Two words, “beer money”.

Competitive intelligence consulting for a private investment group while wrapping up my undergrad. Little did I know this would have the most profound impact on my life. Four words, “even more beer money”.

Working at a true startup for the guys that hired me in college. I loved having actual keys to the office, demoing beta software on a trader’s desktop during working hours, installing servers in high security NYC data centers, and being trusted to pick up a $3mm check used for funding the company, among other things. This was also the first time I worked somewhere that couldn’t make payroll and my bosses paid me out of their pockets when times got tough. Two words, “The Patriot”.

Working at Experian Hitwise and building my analytics chops & professional network. This was the first acquisition I was a part of and I even saw the walls go from orange to blue. It was also where I weathered multiple rounds of layoffs during 2008 housing crisis, which included my senior getting let go leaving me and my director (my senior’s family hit the lottery and hit it big, so it wasn’t all bad). Lesson learned, “control what you can control”.

Competitor intelligence consulting for a location based social network. I found confidence in myself that I didn’t even know I had, that and how to create invoices. One word, “self-employed”.

Took the George Costanza approach to a first interview (did everything opposite), got a second interview & assignment, got rejected, reached out with a firey email between chest presses at the gym, got a second chance, won the job on May 11, relocated to California to work at Efficient Frontier starting July 5, which got bought by Adobe 3 months later. Four words, “fortune favors the bold”.

Back to startup life and off to Sweden on my first day of work. One of the coolest experiences of my life, which included multiple trips to Stockholm, Berlin, Copenhagen, and Bengaluru. Did I mention we also got acquired? This time by 247.ai. I also got married around this time as well, so couple of words would be, six week leave of absence followed by change from client services to product.

Collected my first year vest and gave my notice after winning the job after 16 interviews at MediaMath. This alone was a test of endurance more than anything else. Same went for the job after a long learning curve, not winning deals, and having our first child. Four words, “being comfortable being uncomfortable”.

Getting laid off but seeing the writing on the wall and having a role at Origami Logic lined up perfectly. Time for a second kid. Then, surprise surprise, getting acquired by Intuit 3 months later. This was the 4th and most recent acquisition I was a part of. No, I’m not retiring any time soon. A few words, I rejoined 4 people I used to work with, 2 of which since Efficient Frontier.

And here we are now, a Customer Experience Specialist sitting at my dining table after evening calls with India writing this post. One word, fulfilled.

So for those keeping count, that’s 19 jobs and over 50 interviews over the course of 22 years. Some may think that I’m a job hopper and therefore a flight risk. I’ve envisioned my career as a massive jigsaw puzzle, but this puzzle evolves, changes shape, dimensions, and the image even gets distorted over time. However, as I’ve exposed myself to different roles, responsibilities, teams, technologies, countries, customers, etc. I’ve learned what truly motivates me is helping others. I’m lucky to be in a role now that enables me to do that at scale, and I’m also doing it right here for you.

Ok, so I’m going to break down the posts into the following…picking the right job, resume preparation, first to nth interview, and what happens after you get the job. Before we get into those posts I wanted to end on a baseline that carries across all of them.

I’ve always told myself and others that are searching for that next opportunity that you’ll have different problems at each phase, but the last problem you’ll have is which offer to take. I understand that this may not hold true in all situations, however this mentality is the first thing that I would establish before heading out and winning your next role. It’s the same mental excerise that elite athletes perform as they visualize their win, which makes it possible for them to achieve greatness. We all have this ability in us, not just to succeed, but to surprise ourselves and deliver more than we thought we ever could.