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August 13, 2020
Career Advice
How to Grow Your Career Without Leaving Your Company: A Conversation with Greenhouse's Lauren Allanson
Lauren Allanson has had three jobs in five years and hasn't had to move offices once.
That's because all of her recent career changes have been at Greenhouse, the hiring software company, headquartered in New York. Lauren began working there as a recruiter, then moved into product management before becoming a project manager.
<p>We sat down with Lauren, who's now working remotely from her home state of California to discuss her career path, how Greenhouse supports her growth and what insights others can learn from her experience.</p><h3>Finding her own path</h3><p>Lauren first joined Greenhouse as a technical recruiter. While hiring for these roles, she interviewed hundreds of engineers, collaborated with engineering leaders and grew a deep understanding of the Greenhouse mission of helping companies become great at hiring.</p><p>After two years in recruiting, her firsthand experience with the Greenhouse product and deep understanding of recruiters and other individuals who use it made her a great candidate for a newly-opened role on the product team. Lauren had spoken to her manager about her goal to become more aligned with the technical side of the products at Greenhouse. Soon after, her manager and some of the engineering leaders she worked with recommended that Lauren consider the role. "It's so important to let your managers and other potential mentors know about your interests and skills," says Lauren. "They saw that role and thought that I would be good at it – and I might not have made that connection myself."</p><p>The learning curve in her new role wasn't always easy, but Lauren was up for the challenge. "It meant being really curious, asking lots of questions and accepting that I was not going to be an expert right off the bat," says Lauren. "It was OK that I needed to lean on other people for support while I learned the role." </p><p>Lauren soon hit her stride. As a product manager, she enjoyed partnering with a variety of internal teams and stakeholders to evolve the Greenhouse line of products. "You have to be a generalist—you're working with engineers and designers, talking with salespeople and customer success and support, as well as interfacing with your legal team to determine what impact regulations have on product build-out and interacting with customers to understand their goals and feedback," she says. </p>
<p>After three years in the role, Lauren realized that while she loved improving products and working with different teams, she was ready to develop skills outside of product management.</p><p>"I really enjoy organizing, planning, and executing processes, so some of the more ambiguous parts of the product role – like prioritizing feedback and turning it into a product strategy – while they were challenging and rewarding, ultimately weren't for me," says Lauren. "I was ready to dive deeper into project management and become closer to the end result."</p><p>Lauren began to take on more internal projects, serving as a project manager with the support and encouragement of some of the engineering leaders who got her into product initially. "I really loved it. I knew from that point on that I wanted to do more formal project management in the next step of my career.". Following her passion, Lauren worked to create connections internally and network with other teams to find a role that would fit what she was looking for. In the spring of 2020, Lauren found her current role as a project manager, helping Greenhouse enterprise customers implement their software and services.</p><p>"Greenhouse is very supportive of their employees' career development," says Lauren. "Both managers and employees are encouraged to discuss our goals openly and feel empowered by our culture of growth."</p><h3>How to develop your career within your organization</h3><p>We asked Lauren her top five tips when charting an internal growth path at your own company. Here's what she shared:</p><p><strong>1. Network internally</strong></p><p>"Internal connections are absolutely crucial," says Lauren. "They help you position yourself for open roles or projects, as well as help you gain the confidence to raise your hand when you see new opportunities arise." Start by volunteering for side projects in different departments and reaching out to people whose job titles interest you for a coffee chat. </p>
<p>She also recommends joining any groups you feel identified with where you can contribute. For example, Lauren is on the leadership team of Greenhouse's employee resource group (ERG) focused on women at work, the Greenhouse onboarding "buddy" program and the culture add interviewer team. </p><p><strong>2. Learn how to be a good mentor and mentee</strong></p><p>Lauren works with two organizations focused on mentorship: <a href="https://www.mindsmatter.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" target="_blank">Minds Matter</a>, an education nonprofit that works with low-income high school students to prepare them for college success and <a href="https://www.builtbygirls.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" target="_blank">Built by Girls</a>, an organization that provides female identifying and non-binary students with the support they need to make their first career move into the tech industry. </p>
<p>Being a mentor has taught Lauren how to be a better mentee – and helped her realize these relationships can evolve over time. "I mentored a woman three years ago when she was a senior in college and now she's a project manager who has more experience in the role than I do. She's been a huge help to me in my new role!" says Lauren. "Find those people at your organization who you can partner with as a mentor or mentee, because these relationships are also an investment in your future."</p><p><strong>3. Invest in self-reflection</strong></p><p>"I often check in with myself to acknowledge what I like doing within my role, what parts of the role don't resonate with me and recognize when I feel the most happy and successful," says Lauren. She recommends reflecting each month or quarter to evaluate your wins and accomplishments, areas for improvement and goals or skills you'd like to develop. </p>
<p>By deeply understanding her own motivations and what felt right for her, she was able to pivot towards a role that fulfilled more of her interests and strengths.</p><p><strong>4. Create your own career ladder</strong></p><p>"Ideally, your manager has thought about a career ladder for your position. But it's always a good idea to do your own research and think about your career path for your role as well," says Lauren. She recommends researching online to find career ladders, or developing a plan to progress into a role to ever-increasing responsibilities and salaries, for jobs you're interested in. "I identify the most important skills and then self-evaluate against them to understand where I need to gain more experience," she says. She also looks at job descriptions at other companies to gain a deeper understanding of requirements to succeed in that same role or at her own company.</p><p><strong>5. Above all, be your own best advocate</strong></p><p>Great managers play a big role in supporting your career development, but no one will play a bigger role in your own success and growth than you do. As you discover what you're interested in, make sure your mentors, managers and peers know what those interests are – and always advocate for yourself.</p><p>"Learn more about the team you're interested in within your company," says Lauren. "What kinds of events or programming do they do? Do they write blog posts? Do they have Slack channels? Get more ingrained in their culture in order to understand what those teams do and how you could add value," says Lauren, who has attended engineering lunch-and-learns even when they were "way over her head" in order to show that she's interested in wanting to partner with them. </p><h3>When it comes to growing within your company, always follow your passion</h3><p>It might seem daunting to follow a new career path within your company when so much of the groundwork is now remote, but that doesn't mean you should give up.</p><p>"All of these things can be done virtually," says Lauren. "Continue to raise your hand, show up, make yourself heard and help wherever possible to create new opportunities for yourself."</p><p><em>If you're interested in learning more about working at Greenhouse, </em><a href="https://powertofly.com/companies/greenhouse-software" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" target="_blank"><em>view all open roles</em></a><em> on the PowerToFly hub.</em></p>
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January 08, 2020
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July 26, 2019
CarGurus
"Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone into a New Time Zone"
Below is an article originally written by Kate Kalil, Account Executive II, EMEA, at PowerToFly Partner CarGurus, and published on April 4, 2019. Go to CarGurus' page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
Can I let you in on a little secret? I've never traveled abroad. And, man, I hate Guinness.
I met Wendy Harris, our Vice President of European Sales, at the August Women in Sales Event hosted at CarGurus. Wendy gave an inspiring presentation in which she shared insights into her career path, what she looks for when hiring sales people and challenges that she faced personally and professionally. One of the topics she spoke about was an opportunity she had to step out of her comfort zone and join a growing team and learn something new. She described this opportunity as the path less traveled. In the midst of her presentation, I started to think about my own experiences.
My heart beat strong in my chest as I started to ask myself: When was the last time I stepped out of my comfort zone? Was I too comfortable? Was I truly challenged? Was I flexing any new sales muscles? Or just doing the same old song and dance that's worked for me?
The last time I felt out of my comfort zone was the day I walked into this office to start my new job, over 2 years ago. A sales job unlike my previous, in a traditionally male-dominated industry, I was wildly intimidated. I spent my first few months on the phone with a weak pitch and a shaky voice. I felt out of place and my quota attainment was nothing to be proud of.
In order to conquer the intimidation that I experienced, I came in early and stayed late in order to perfect my pitch. I shadowed our best reps, took notes on industry jargon and scoured the prospecting queues. Within a few months, I had found my groove and was performing like the salesperson that I knew I was. If I had never been out of my comfort zone, I'm not sure that I would have ever evolved in the ways that I did – I don't know if I would have achieved the same success without the setback.
When Wendy presented the opportunity to do an expat assignment in our Dublin office – everything inside of me told that I would never be able to do that. I had never been to Europe, had never lived more than 45 minutes away from my family and I was happy and content doing what I was doing here.
That's when it hit me. Again, I found myself content with being comfortable, even more so than when I first started at CarGurus. This opportunity in Dublin would push me so far out of my comfort zone, personally and professionally. I would come away from it with new knowledge, different sales tactics, a fresh perspective on a new addressable market, new friends, increased confidence in my skills and finally a passport stamp.
So, I applied. I poured over information on our UK market, compiled countless questions for my interviewers, spent time with former and existing expats and spent hours preparing for the interviews. Once I realized that I wanted this, I approached it with the same tenacity and perseverance that I approached my sales.
When the role was offered to me, it became extremely surreal. I have no idea what to expect; I'm both excited and scared at the same time. But what I do know is this – without being out of my comfort zone two years ago when I joined this company, I would have never been pushed to achieve the goals that I have achieved today – I would never have learned what I have, and I certainly would not appreciate the immense growth that has happened.
CarGurus has given me much more than a paycheck. They've taught me about myself – my abilities to learn, grow and evolve. They have given me an incredible opportunity to experience a new challenge in a new country, selling to a foreign market.
I will be greatly out of my comfort zone – but the most important thing I've learned thus far, from Wendy and from my own experience, is that with great risk comes great rewards.
May 20, 2019
Fidelity
How Can the Financial Services Industry Retain More Women?
A Look at Fidelity's Approach to Women's Career Growth and Engagement
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According to a 2018 study by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org, 90% of companies say they prioritize gender diversity, but only 52% of employees agree. While many companies stop at verbal commitment, some select leaders are earnestly working towards a more diverse workplace.
<p><a href="https://blog.powertofly.com/diversity-in-workplace-benefits-2616313615.html?rebelltitem=3&%3Brebelltitem3" target="_blank"></a>Financial services firm, <a href="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/446146731;254547223;f?https://powertofly.com/companies/fidelity?utm_source=powertofly.com&utm_campaign=financialplanningofficeswomen&utm_content=niche_site&utm_medium=content&utm_term=financialplanningofficeswomen" target="_blank">Fidelity Investments</a>, is a prime example when it comes to women's engagement and career advancement in the industry. Fidelity feels strongly that women are a critical part of the future of financial services. The company wants more women to consider the industry, and Fidelity continues to do everything they can to ensure they provide a work environment that will allow women to build successful and rewarding careers.</p><p>So, what is Fidelity doing to ensure an inclusive and supportive culture for women?</p><p>We sat down with Nicole, a Relationship Manager at the firm, to better understand her perspective as a woman working in financial services. </p><p>From speaking with her, it is apparent that Fidelity has three key factors that drive women's engagement and career advancement: </p><p>1. Ensuring women's voices are heard </p><p>2. Providing opportunities for growth</p><p>3. Offering flexibility </p><p>Fidelity is successful at these things because the company is willing to consider what their employees say about their experiences and make concrete, positive changes.</p><p>Sound like a good fit? Check out Fidelity's open roles <a href="https://powertofly.com/companies/fidelity?utm_source=powertofly.com&utm_campaign=financialplanningofficeswomen&utm_content=niche_site&utm_medium=job_posting&utm_term=financialplanningofficeswomen" target="_blank">here</a> and read on to learn more about Nicole's experience making her voice heard, capitalizing on opportunities for growth, and embracing flexibility at Fidelity. </p><p>---</p><p>As a Relationship Manager, Nicole partners with advisors in her local office and helps them support their clients. She's been at Fidelity for just over four years, and in spite of being fairly early in her career, she had no hesitation in saying, <em>"I can really picture myself working at Fidelity for my entire career. I know Fidelity is going to support me in the path that I want to go down and help me get there."</em></p><p><em></em>So, what about Fidelity helped Nicole reach this conclusion? We took a look at the three key factors. </p><p><strong>1) Fidelity listens to their employees and enacts their feedback, paying special attention to women's viewpoints in what's been a traditionally male-dominated industry.</strong></p><p>All employees want to have their voices heard, but it's important for women to feel that their opinions are taken seriously. </p><p>Nicole is a participant in an effort - an advisory board - that focuses on ways to hire more women as well as retain the women already working at Fidelity Investments. Members have the opportunity to meet directly with the head of branches both virtually and in person. </p><p>Fidelity also offers Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) specifically for women to learn, grow, and collaborate with one another. There are several communities that employees can engage with, like the Women's Leadership Group (WLG). This group meets on a monthly basis and publishes articles, promotes employee success stories, partakes in community service, and works to encourage women at Fidelity on a regular basis. </p><p>Nicole also spoke of the importance to her of having female representation at leadership level and stated that "[she's] <em>grateful just to be a part of a company that invests in women the way Fidelity does." </em></p><p><strong>2) Fidelity provides ample opportunities for growth - inside and outside the company. </strong></p><p><strong></strong>Nicole started out in an entry-level position straight out of college, and the opportunities for growth -- from programs to learn the hard skills necessary to succeed in financial services to the multitude of career paths one can take within the company -- are what excite her most about Fidelity.</p><p>When Nicole started, she didn't have any of her financial licensing or a background in financial services, so she really benefited from Fidelity's hands-on approach to help her get licensed. <em>"Everyone gets placed in a group where you're working together through the material at a consistent pace to get licensed. Once I was fully licensed, I went to an actual core training course for a week in Chicago. Learning the ins and outs of what [I was] supposed to do on a daily basis and then hearing best practices from other people was super helpful." </em></p><p>The learning doesn't stop once you're fully licensed. <em>"We also have learning and training modules online that we can go through whenever. So, if there's something you want to gain more insight on or learn a little more about, there's definitely a spot to go and find that information." </em></p><p>The opportunity to learn and grow goes beyond career-specific skills. Nicole used Fidelity's tuition reimbursement program to obtain her Certified Financial Planner™ certification. Alternatively, many of her colleagues use it more for personal development, or higher education like an MBA. </p><p>Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Nicole talked about the many different career paths that one can take at Fidelity and the goals she already has for herself there. "I think Fidelity really wants you to decide where you want to go. <em>They're not going to tell you what path to take, but they want you to decide how you want to succeed, and then they'll help you get to your goal." </em>It should be noted that not every job at Fidelity requires licensing. </p><p><strong>3) Fidelity gives their employees the flexibility to work where they're most productive.</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Finally, flexibility is another key way that companies can keep employees, including women, engaged and happy. Women and men alike <a href="http://familiesandwork.org/site/research/reports/time_work_flex.pdf" target="_blank">take advantage of flexibility when it is offered.</a></p><p>As the tools for how we work have evolved, so has our understanding of the traditional workplace. While offices are still particularly important in an industry where meeting with clients is a central part of the job, providing employees the flexibility to work from home at times can offer them the reset they need to feel productive and engaged in the long-term. </p><p>Depending on their role, employees have the opportunity to work from home. Nicole has started to take advantage of the flexibility to work from anywhere. <em>"Fidelity believes in work-life balance and being able to work from home is a huge benefit to me. When I'm working from home in my own environment, my productivity levels actually increase, and the flexibility definitely cuts down on my travel time as well. On the days that I do work from home, I can spend more time with my husband, which is really important to me." </em></p><p><em>---</em></p><p>Nicole's experience at Fidelity's branches helps to highlight the importance of listening to women's experiences and offering opportunities for growth and flexibility. This article touched on just some of the many ways that Fidelity is going the extra mile to foster an inclusive culture that empowers its employees to blaze their own trail. They are always searching for outstanding individuals to enrich their offices with fresh perspectives. </p><p>If you're interested in starting or continuing your career in financial services and working at a company where women's career advancement and engagement are priorities, be sure to check out these <a href="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/446146731;254547223;f?https://powertofly.com/companies/fidelity?utm_source=powertofly.com&utm_campaign=financialplanningofficeswomen&utm_content=niche_site&utm_medium=content&utm_term=financialplanningofficeswomen#jobs" target="_blank">open roles at Fidelity</a></p>
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March 25, 2019
T Rowe Price Group Inc
Meet Samantha Pilon, Senior Manager At T. Rowe Price
Below is an article originally written by PowerToFly Partner T. Rowe Price, and published on February 28, 2019. Go to T. Rowe Price's page on PowerToFly to see their open positions and learn more.
Faces of T. Rowe Price: Samantha Pilon, Senior Manager, Relationship Management for Individual Investors
We're very open here, very clear about our mission and goals, both for our clients and our associates. And for me, as a leader, it's all about those relationships. Working closely with my team and helping our clients save for retirement and for their family – I just love what I do. I love coming to work every day.
- Samantha Pilon
Samantha Pilon has worn many hats at T. Rowe Price, steadily climbing the ranks in her various roles over the past 12 years. Right after graduating from college, she was working at the firm as a phone representative. One day, a supervisor tapped her with a new opportunity. "She told me she thought I would be a great leader for the team," she recalls. "She saw something in me that would allow me to grow professionally."
The supervisor was right— Samantha was perfect for the role."I love leading a team," she explains. In her career at T. Rowe Price, Samantha has led supervisor teams and back-office groups. Now, she's leading relationship management teams. "I thrive off the people, and I love seeing people grow," she says.
Although men do outnumber women in her new position, Samantha doesn't find it at all intimidating. "We are all just talking and working with clients who are just like us, who want help with their retirement plans," she explains. "We put the client at the center of everything that we're doing. It's always coming back to the client."
Samantha is also involved with WAVE @ T. Rowe Price, a women's business resource group at the firm. "We recently had a great talk and forum discussion about women feeling they need to get tapped, or that they have to be 100 percent ready for a business role before they go for it," she says. "Meanwhile, men are more likely to take the risk to apply for a role even if they aren't perfectly qualified."
That discussion struck a personal chord with Samantha, recalling how she felt upon entering the workforce 12 years ago. She believed that she, too, had to be tapped before seeking more professional responsibility. "But now I feel comfortable and confident based on what I've been able to achieve here," she says. "I'm raising my hand to tap myself now."
Her confidence is well-earned. Over the years, she has excelled at positions in a variety of departments like operations, brokerage, business improvement, client development sales, and Salesforce. Some people are surprised to hear she has worked at the same company since graduating from college, but Samantha has an understandable explanation. "I tell them, "You have no idea how much I've moved around within [the firm]. I've been a part of so many different groups and tried so many new things." Samantha has found abundant opportunity inside the firm instead of looking elsewhere for professional satisfaction.
In one of her roles, she was part of an agile development project focused on improving how quickly teams work and respond. "It's a business value-driven approach to development so instead of building something and taking two years, you're building a tiny bit of it as you go," she explains. Now that she's been working in her new role for about a month, she can introduce some of those best practices to her current team.
As she settles into her new position, Samantha doesn't feel the pressure to be an expert on everything or have all the answers. Thanks to the firm's collaborative environment, she can call on peers for help and draw on some of those past relationships as a resource.
"I have lifelong friends at T. Rowe Price," Samantha says, "It makes coming to work better. After all, you spend so much time in your life at work that you have to love what you do. Clearly, I'm happy coming to work – I've been here for 12 years after all. I think that says something."
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