9 Ways to Grow Your Career Within a Company With Stack Overflow’s Brittany Boardman
Brittany Boardman went to her first interview with Stack Overflow without expecting much.
"I'm not technical, I'm not an engineer. And I wasn't necessarily looking [for a new job]. But Stack just blew me away," says Brittany of her first exposure to the company behind the world's largest and most trusted software developer and technologist community. "The people I met that day seemed like they genuinely liked coming to work. There was this cohesive belief in what the company was doing. I was converted pretty quickly after that interview—Stack was somewhere I wanted to join."
That's exactly what Brittany did. She first joined as a Senior Account Executive, parlaying her sales and consulting experience into partnering with Stack's clients, and then grew into a lead for that team. Earlier this year, she became the Enterprise Account Executive on Stack's newest product, Teams, which solves the problem of how to manage and share knowledge across an organization.
We sat down with Brittany to learn more about her different roles at Stack and how she continued to find exciting growth opportunities without leaving her company. She shared insight that's applicable across career stages and industries, and we're excited to bring it to you here.
9 ways to grow your career…
…as an interviewee
All of the career growth advice in the world won't help much if you're not at a company that encourages its employees to succeed and supports them as they work towards their goals.
Brittany has worked in finance in New York, been a consultant in Denver, and is now working remotely for Stack from her hometown of North Carolina. She knows her way around an interview process, and her first three tips are about how to use interviews to figure out if a company is a place where you could build a successful career.
1. Talk to a peer. "Even if it's not part of the hiring process, reach out to someone on LinkedIn," she recommends. "They can tell you whether it's an organization that helps to promote and encourage mobility within their employees."
2. Ask about growth paths. Brittany suggests asking the hiring manager directly about trajectories for the role you're considering. Do employees stay in that role for years? Move into management? Transfer laterally to different teams? You don't have to follow one of those set paths, but knowing that people do move up and out is a good indicator.
3. Determine whether your would-be manager will help remove obstacles or just add to them. When Brittany was interviewing for her current role at Stack, she was looking for two things: first, that her future manager had done the job before and knew how to coach her, and second, that she was willing to "roll up her sleeves, have a conversation, strategize, and remove blockers to success." "I probably would not have joined the team if I didn't sense those two things about her," reflects Brittany.
…no matter what your role is
Brittany's latest transition at Stack helping large enterprises bring in Stack Overflow for Teams. It combines her love for collaborating with internal and external stakeholders, strategizing to solve CTO- and CIO-level problems, and being true partners to her clients.
That role didn't drop into her lap, though. As she learned more about herself, her skills, and her company's needs, she saw there was an opportunity and went for it. "There was that question of, 'What do you want to do when you get up in the morning, when your feet hit the floor?' And it's exactly what I'm doing now. I'm really happy. It almost feels like I've created a new job," explains Brittany.
Here's how she recommends you do the same:
4. Ask people you admire about their habits. "What helped me ramp up really quickly was identifying people that were having success and what was driving their success," says Brittany, who found Stack's open culture to be one where people were happy to have those conversations.
5. Don't worry too much about timelines—focus instead on getting managerial support. Brittany's first promotion came pretty early in her Stack tenure, and she wouldn't have gone for it without the encouragement of her manager. Why? It seemed too soon. "I think a few folks were like, 'Oh, that's a big thing. People tend to wait a year before they go out for that role.' But I had a really great manager who encouraged me. 'What's the worst that could happen?' she said. 'They say no and they know that you're interested,'" remembers Brittany. In the end, they didn't say no, and her manager continued to support her even as she moved to a new team.
6. Find mentors. "People want to tell you about how they've been able to overcome something," says Brittany, who has reached out to her company's CRO as well as a few director-level managers to get their perspective on her career. "Just ask!" she says.
…if you want to move into management
While she's not a manager yet, Brittany is interested in stepping into that kind of role at some point, so she's preparing for it now. Here's what she's investing in and where she recommends you do the same:
7. Understand your industry. "You want to really understand the context that you're working in. What's going on in the market? How are things changing? How might that impact our products or clients?" says Brittany, who notes that having that industry knowledge helps with strategizing and bigger-picture thinking down the line.
8. Build relationships across your organization. In her new role, Brittany has to collaborate with people across her company, from security to product. By making those personal connections and building up her understanding of how their teams and processes work, she's preparing for bigger collaborative efforts: "Having that ability to go talk to finance or legal is crucial when moving up into management."
9. Study the managers you admire. It sounds obvious, but it's vital, says Brittany. "I've been fortunate to have some really good [managers] here. And I think, 'What do I like about them? Is it their communication style? How they set clear expectations?' I'm learning from what I appreciate as an individual contributor," she says.
If you're interested in working with Brittany at Stack Overflow, check out their open roles (and start putting her tips to use!).
Growing Your Career in Technical Support: 4 Tips for Getting Hired at Elastic from Support Director Heidi Sager
Heidi Sager loves math, but she also loves working with people.
She always has, which is why she enjoyed her part-time job working at the IT department of the University of Colorado while she was studying electrical engineering. (She'd started in computer science, but explains that it "wasn't for her" and switched her major.) She helped students and professors with word processors, basic programming, and software checkout, and took a full-time job after graduation as a UNIX system administrator.
3 Women, 7 Lessons: What These Relativity Leaders Learned in 2020
Working at Relativity—the global tech company that equips legal and compliance professionals with a powerful data-organizing and discovery platform—looked different in 2020. The highly collaborative environment of their Chicago headquarters transitioned to a virtual setting, and just like companies around the country, Relativity adapted their goals and major projects to a completely remote environment.
8 (Virtual) Diversity Conferences to Attend in 2021
Diversity Reboot 2021: The One Hundred Day Kickoff
<p><strong>When</strong>: February 1-5, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Free!</p><p><strong>Where to register: </strong><a href="https://summit.powertofly.com/" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>We had to include our own Diversity Reboot on our list of the best diversity and inclusion events to attend in 2021 because we know firsthand how the quality of 100+ expert speakers, the enthusiasm of 10,000 participants, and the cutting-edge tech that enables meaningful virtual networking and job fairs combine to create a truly epic five-day experience. This year, the theme 100 Day Kickoff harnesses the energy of the new government's first 100 days in office to help jump-start personal and professional plans to build more diverse and inclusive workplaces. </p><p>Following the February summit, we'll have a monthly series of smaller virtual summits on topics spanning everything from returnships to LGBTQ+ advocacy, so be sure to stay tuned for updates!<br></p>The Future of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 2021
<p><strong>When</strong>: February 3-4, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Free</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://www.hr.com/en/webcasts_events/virtual_events/upcoming_virtual_events/the-future-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-2021_kcxf8glq.html#detail" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>This virtual conference put on by HR.com focuses on how social movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter have pushed DEI at work beyond legal compliance and into a major factor of any company or brand's culture, employee engagement, and performance. Topics include how to uncover and resolve pay gaps across your team and hire top-level diverse talent.</p>Workplace Revolution: From Talk to Collective Action
<p><strong>When</strong>: March 8-12, 2021</p><p><strong>Where</strong>: Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register: </strong>$820</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://cvent.me/ZQ4BbE" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>The Forum on Workplace Inclusion's 33rd annual conference includes 12 session tracks, from DEI Strategy to Social Responsibility, along with 59 workshops and daily networking sessions. This year's theme focuses on one question: "What will it take to start a workplace revolution that moves us from talk to action?"</p>Diversity: How Employers Can Match Words With Deeds
<p><strong>When</strong><strong>: </strong>May 19, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register</strong><strong>: </strong>Early bird registration is $49 and general admission is $149</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://hopin.com/events/may-virtual-conference-diversity-how-employers-can-match-words-with-deeds" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Here</a></p><p>From Day One is hosting monthly conferences in 2021 focused on different ways for companies to foster strong relationships with their customers, communities, and employees. May's half-day virtual event is focused specifically on how companies can make diversity promises that don't fall flat and features workshops, panels, and a fireside chat.</p>Hire with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
<p><strong>When:</strong> August 18, 2021</p><p><strong>Where: </strong>Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register: </strong>$195</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://www.hci.org/conferences/2021-virtual-conference-hire-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-august-18-2021" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>This conference put on by the Human Capital Institute is one of 12 virtual conferences that HCI has planned for 2021. This one focuses on fair and inclusive talent acquisition, including how to attract diverse talent, implement inclusive hiring practices, and addressing bias in employee selection. Other conferences will focus on optimizing talent strategy, engaging employees, and developing your workforce.</p>Virtual Grace Hopper Celebration 2021
<p><strong>When:</strong> September 26-29, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual, broadcast from Chicago, Illinois</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Was $799 for regular access to the virtual conference in 2020; 2021 pricing hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://ghc.anitab.org/attend/registration/" target="_blank">Here</a>, though 2021 registration wasn't live at the time of writing</p><p>Grace Hopper might be the best-known conference for women in tech. Through keynote presentations, networking sessions, job fairs, and community-building activities, vGHC reached over 30,000 women for their 2020 conference and are expecting even more in 2021! While not a conference focused exclusively on diversity and inclusion, many speakers plan to focus their talks on creating environments for women to thrive in the male-dominated tech field.</p>Inclusion 2021
<p><strong>When:</strong> October 25-27, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual and in person in Austin, Texas as of now</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register: </strong><a href="https://conferences.shrm.org/inclusion" target="_blank">Here</a>, though 2021 registration wasn't live at the time of writing</p><p>The Society for Human Resource Management's biggest conference of the year saw 1,200 DEI leaders participate last year; SHRM hopes to see even more come to learn, be inspired, and to walk away with a playbook of implementable strategies to create truly inclusive workplace cultures.</p>AfroTech 2021
<p><strong></strong><strong>When:</strong> November 8-13, 2021</p><p><strong>Where:</strong> Virtual</p><p><strong>Price to register:</strong> Early bird pricing is $149 for individuals and $249 for corporate attendees; regular pricing hasn't yet been announced</p><p><strong>Where to register:</strong> <a href="https://experience.afrotech.com/" target="_blank">Here</a></p><p>AfroTech is a conference hosted by Blavity, a tech media platform for Black millennials. It focuses on emerging tech trends, connecting Black talent with top tech recruiters, and providing networking and educational opportunities, with an overall goal of building a strong Black tech community. Over 10,000 people participated in 2020. While the conference isn't focused specifically on DEI, its main audience of Black tech talent is an important one to understand and to engage at work and beyond, and several speakers plan to focus on issues of race and inclusion at work. </p>Finding Her Sport: Being Part of the Team in a Startup Environment
A Conversation with Vouch's Lead Designer Carrie Phillips