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sgraye

Driving your own destiny

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As you look to progress in your career, “climb the corporate ladder” and continue to gain more responsibility you have to continue to work hard and fight for what you want to do.  It will not come easy and it won’t simply be handed to you.  It’s important that you know what next step you want to take and you have to do the work to ensure you are considered for that opportunity.

That may mean, networking with individuals in similar roles in that organization.  Networking with senior management in that organization so you have an idea of what attributes they look for in potential candidates.  Being confident is a big attribute to have. I often get asked how I feel confident to speak up in a male dominated field as other young women feel as if their opinion doesn’t mean as much or they are in situations where others don’t ask their opinions.  My response to young women is that you have to feel comfortable enough to voice your opinion and/or ask questions. It doesn’t matter if it’s the opinion others have. What matters is that you have a point of view and that you express yourself.  This will help you to build confidence.  With knowledge comes confidence.  If you are confident in your work, then you should not feel shy about voicing your point of view.  Lastly, even if you are wrong, if you voice your opinion and articulate your position well, your peers will respect you for having a point of view and that is how you build confidence and credibility. 

Throughout your career journey you may come across defeats, jobs you didn’t get considered for or those that you did get considered for but did not get chosen for.  In these cases, you can’t get discouraged and give up. I really believe that things happen for a reason and sometimes things don’t work out in the timeframe you may want it to but if you continue to persevere and work hard, eventually things work out for the best.  Sometimes it’s those situations of defeat that help you more in the long run because it may force you to take an alternative path, or put you in contact with someone whom you would’ve never worked with otherwise who could turn out to be a better champion for you.

In any scenario, I always tell young adults you have to prepare for your current job as well as your next job because the job you have should be a stepping stone to help you get into that next role.  I encourage young adults to be patient.  As has been the case with my career, I have often had to do rotational roles or check multiple boxes before I was considered for the job I really wanted. But again, if you work hard, persevere, deliver consistently, it will work out in the end.  It doesn’t matter what job level or role you are in, in your career you will constantly have to ‘prove yourself’ but that should be a challenge you should be up for. It means you will always need to work hard, always need to continue to learn, always be open to coaching and you will always need to deliver on expectations. 

With that, I tell young adults, don’t give up.  Its challenging out there but with the right focus and drive, your career aspirations are definitely achievable. 


About the Author:

Jas Sood, HPE US VP of SMB SalesJas Sood, HPE US VP of SMB Sales

Jas Sood is the US VP of Small and Medium Business (SMB).  She is responsible for driving sales and growth for the SMB Market.  

Jas is a 22 year veteran of HPE.  During that time she has held leadership positions across a variety of HPE functions and business units.  Prior to her current role, Jas was the VP of Business Operations for the North America Data Center Hybrid Cloud Business and Sales leader for HPE Data Center Networking.

Jas holds a BA in Economics from the University of California at Irvine and an MBA from Pepperdine University.  She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three children.  Her interests include supporting youth competitive soccer, weight training, running, Spartan races and in her downtime supports her favorite sports team - the 49'ers, Giants and Warriors. 

Keep connected with Jas on LinkedIn and if you are interested in starting a career at HPE, check out our current Sales oppenings here.

 

Susan Graye
About the Author

sgraye

Talent Acquisition and Attraction

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