Reflections From (Almost) A Year At Microsoft

As you can tell by the title, I am slowly creeping up towards my one-year anniversary at Microsoft (ahhhh!). Looking back, I cannot believe how fast and slow the past almost-year flew by. It feels like I have accomplished so much, yet so little. Met so many new people, yet not enough. Grown so much with my skills and knowledge, yet not at all. I have so much to say about the past year - things I wish I could tell myself a year ago.

I had wanted to save this article for my actual one-year anniversary in July but sometimes you just get inspired and excited to share. Also, this is the perfect timing for any (soon-to-be) college graduates who are entering the working adult world for the first time. I hope you can take some of the things I have learned with you to your new and exciting post-grad job.

(Disclaimer to all readers: I am definitely in no way saying I am an adult. I freaked out when my toilet started leaking and I scream at spiders. But maybe there are things I have learned that will help your endeavors - and if you have lessons to share too, I'd love to hear them!)

Lesson #1: Inexperience is not a weakness, it is an asset!

Oh my gosh, I cannot tell you the number of times I have walked into a meeting or project thinking "I am the least qualified person in this room, I do not belong here". I talked about my lifelong battle with imposter syndrome (here) when I first accepted my Microsoft job offer and vowed to myself, and to you, that I would fight it. I did - but it was really, really, really hard. When you are surrounded by brainiacs, some who have been at Microsoft longer than I have been alive, the imposter syndrome voice comes fast and hard. You think that 1) this guy/girl knows literally EVERYTHING and 2) I have only been here x months, there is no way I know anything that this guy/girl does not.

When that voice attacks, I get quiet and doubt myself. My managers have recognized this and have been great with giving me opportunities to prove to myself that just because I am new does not mean I am useless. Three months into my job at Microsoft, my manager sent a peer and I to the Philippines for a month to teach Surface Commercial Support to a class of 20 agents. Thinking I was not going to be very helpful, I let my peer (a 4-year Microsoftie) lead the classes...initially. Then I realized the agents had the same questions I had and was asking for the same practice I had asked for when I went through training. We went back through the curriculum and restructured the way we presented and practiced the material. Seeing the training through my newbie lens let us best enable these agents to be successful for our customers.

Someone once told me, "Microsoft is too big and too important of a company for you to be dumb and useless - if they spending the money to keep you around, you are an asset". I had never looked at myself that way: an asset. Through so many network meetings, I have learned that when you have been doing the same thing for many years, you do not see the small changes that a new person would see. I am not the idiot who is asking "why", "how", and "what if", because I know nothing. I am the asset asking "why", "how", and "what if" because I am truly trying to understand why a tool or process works the way it does - and questioning if that is the best way to do it. That is how innovation happens. That is what makes me an asset. I am sure this is true at any company, not just Microsoft.

Lesson #2: Everybody poops.

I know you are frowning at your screen but seriously, everybody poops. When you think of any senior leader that way, whether it be your CEO, EVP, CVP, or even that manager that you think is so scary, they become human. If you were to bump into the CEO of your company in an elevator, you would most likely internally scream (I know I would) - and a big part of that is because they are the big, honking, chief executive officer of your whole company. I understand how that can make a person scary and unapproachable. But what if you saw that CEO in line behind you at the grocery store (but you did not know they were your CEO) with ice cream and Oreos, would they be as scary? Probably not, right?!

My point is: do not be afraid to network. Yes, network! It is one of those buzzwords people seem to use a lot and there is a good reason for it! Networking is super important to your personal and professional growth. Each and every single person you talk to helps you grow. That includes anyone from the person you share a cubicle or desk with, your manager, your manager's manager, the receptionist in your building, and yes, even the big bosses of the company like the CEO, EVP, CVP, etc.

When I first started, I set up a 30-minute one-on-one meeting with every single person in my work circle. These were people that I was in group meetings with all the time and they knew me, sort of. I was the "new girl" and of course everyone wants to help the new person grow but they also have projects and lives of their own. Selfishly, I set up these meetings because I was intimidated by my new teammates and I wanted to formally introduce myself before I felt comfortable asking for their input on a project. These 30-minute meetings helped me get to know them as a person and helped them get to know me. I will say, these meetings were mostly personal. We did not talk about work or projects. I really just wanted to understand my teammates as people. What were their hobbies? Why did they want to work at Microsoft? How has their career grown? What are they like outside of work? I wanted to find common ground. Through learning about each other as people, you find out their unique skills and perspectives outside of the scope of their job. We are not defined by our titles, neither should the way we network. Sure, it is a starting point but genuinely getting to know a person will make your connection that much more meaningful. Do not limit your network to those immediate to your position. Meet the CEO! Meet the General Manager of your business group! They want to tell you their story too. We are all human, we all have a story to tell, we all poop!

Lesson #3: Own your career.

I want to take five seconds to give a shoutout to my former manager, Peter Dempsey, and my current manager, Steven Kerr, and the entire network I have built in the past 10 months at Microsoft. I have felt nothing but supported since day one. Every person I have met has gone above and beyond to help me learn and move one steps closer to my goals, and for that, I am so thankful. My career has shaped itself in ways I never would have imagined walking into the steps of Microsoft that first day. Much of this I attribute to the amazing peers I have, but I know it does not end there. Even with the most generous support system in the world, they cannot help you if you don't ask. Know what your goals are, and if you don’t, make a plan to find out. If you are missing a skill, find a way to incorporate working on that skill in existing or upcoming projects. If you are missing knowledge, talk to your team about how you can acquire that knowledge. Help the people around you help you grow! Those people I mentioned that have been at Microsoft longer than I have been alive? They want to share that knowledge and wisdom, but you have to ask for it. No one has a definite roadmap for their career but everyone has aspirations, whether you realize what yours are or not. It is easy to go to work and do the job you were hired for but guess what, your manager doesn't want that! They want to see you grow and succeed and do big things. More importantly, they want to see you grow and succeed in the best way for you.

Lesson #4: Pop that bubble!

When you start your first job or a new job, it can feel like you sleep, eat, and breathe that job. It is so easy to make friends at work - and only have friends from work. It’s also easier to network internally within your company, they’re simply an email away. And where the heck do you even find people outside of work? Through conferences, meetups, or referrals! Find events that you are interested in and try to meet as many people as possible. Try to pop your bubble. There are people and ideas outside of what you can find at work. Whether if it is for professional or personal growth, friends and mentors who work outside of your company, or even outside your industry, are just as valuable. One of my mentors works in strategy consulting at Grant Thornton and he shares with me a radically different perspective than what I would find within Microsoft. When you incorporate the world views of people different than you, you can better solve the world’s problems - or at least have a better understanding of how the same thing can have dramatically different impact on different audiences.

Okay, so I have shared my wisdom! Now you can go out there and conquer the working world. I wish I could go back and tell myself these things when I first started - but sometimes you have to learn as you go. Looking ahead to my one-year anniversary and beyond, I am already a more confident person. I also find that I am taking the most advantage of each day. I am starting to find my voice and am working on using it more and more. And the imposter syndrome? It is still there - each time I meet someone new, I get nervous. But then I just remember that everybody poops...