Taking the Long View ñ Many Careers in One Company
From Anita Borg Institute Wiki
What kinds of experience did you get in different disciplines in engineering at one company?
Learned lots of different topics (retail sales), learned about operations
What value did your broad engineering experience give you and provide your company?
Broadening technical background is like expanding your job skills. Gives you more alternatives to let you try out more options when you want to test what kind of jobs will fit you better and that you will enjoy more. Is great to explore alternatives. You will be able to work and collaborate with other groups better, make you more efficient. Your job will be more fun. Learn more technologies and different functions of you job.
What differences do you see between switching between one company and a different company, seniority, other factors?
By staying at one company, go through leadership development program. People see your potential. Maybe easier to go up the ladder at one company. When you change companies you have to establish yourself again and rebuild your network. Understand culture, how the company operates, known entity
Are there particular gender aspects from taking the long view, do women or me benefit more or less from changing jobs or staying put?
Managers tend to hire themselves. Groups with a concentration of personalities. Being a woman in a group that is primarily male, you are likely to have a male manager, who may take longer to get used to you. It will take longer to get used to you at each job. If you are known, they will acclimate to you more quickly. You can leave you past behind, but the longer you are in a company, the less new stuff accumulates, the less being a woman matters since you aren't new anymore.
What skills did you gain, if any, by staying in one company that you might not have acquired by moving between companies?
Can acquire skills wherever you are. It is easier to learn history of your company if you stay there. When a new project starts you can go back and find relevant information or know who to ask. If you are new, you wouldn't know. You have a very broad and deep network. You get to work with a lot of people by working with a company for awhile. How you work with people comes back. You may work with the same people, but you know how to work together which makes dynamic, effective, and efficient teams. You can do the job a lot faster than someone who is new who doesn't have the deep network. Getting the job done faster reflects positively on you. You can also understand the politics. Although the org chart says this, maybe a different set of people are the real influencers. You know to talk to the influencers if you have a project you want to move forward. Things go much more smoothly. You are a known quantity. People know you, people know your background, what you've done, and you can get them done when you approach them. You don't have to prove yourself again.
Been with the same company, how long do you stick with a particular thing, when did you think it was time to move on?
When I didn't feel like I was learning. I was getting bored or the job was getting easy. About every 3 years or so. Short attention span. I like areas that are in trouble or need a turn around, or a major challenge. The time needed is the time it takes to turn it around or to realize that it's failing (there are failures, like you aren't the right person for the job). Stay 2-4 years. Closer to 4. Work in groups that are just forming. Clean slate, new objective. Once it's matured, you can look for something else. Use your network to find out about new things! Use you reputation, organizational knowledge, and trust.
How do you know that you want to stay at your current company? What about the company made you stay?
The environment. Go home and feel good. You are appreciated It was fun! You don't loose anything by asking +If you switch, switch for a reason.
How do you know that your salary is still competitive?
Use vault.com. Periodically interview. Glassdoor.com
How do social circumstances (kids, relatives, etc.) encourage staying longer or moving?
Look for flexibility. Longevity of being there. Technical ability, organizational knowledge (how to get things done), social network, all this builds trust and reputation. Once these things are done, flexibility comes easily.
Does your company appreciate you for loyalty or do they take you for granted?
Sometimes do things for the company, take unwanted roles, be pleasers. At the same time, company is very good to you. When you've been at a company for a long time, they are willing to put up with things like family issues that take you away from work for a few days.
How to keep skills and knowledge current without switching companies?
One trap to fall into is that your main value becomes one of connecting people because you've been there so long. Doing this is not bad, but if your only value is doing that, that is not a transferable skill. Look at the value you are adding.
Do you feel that you've created a false sense of security and how do you protect yourself again re-orgs?
Everyone is available to be laid off or transitioned at any time and to think any other way is foolish. Company is loyal to stakeholders not to people. Lack opportunities of knowing other groups of other people out in other companies. Find ways to break out of the company and build your network. Sometimes people you know in the company leave and then you know other people in other companies.
How create a balance between politics and work ethics?
Ethics and your own moral compass is number one. If you are in a situation to violate that you have to think about the choice. Never violate ethics, but you may have questions about your own value system and you may to do things that are difficult. Recommended reading: Leadership and Self-deception. You won't know everything! You will learn on the job and people will help you. If you have humility and are competent people will help.
Company attachment?
Remember that it is a business. Differentiate between the people and the company/business. Actually have to re-attach to the company every year, from mergers, new hires, new directions, etc. Be attached to people, not the company. Use social networking sites to keep track of people!
