For the last 15 years, I have been working with brands in various roles. I started as an assistant in a small agency and rose to the position of head of special projects at Yandex, from where I went freelance. But that is a completely different story. And today I would like to reflect on the mistakes I made in building my career, so that you do not have to repeat them.
Career growth: what it is and how to quickly climb the career ladder
1. I didn’t take on tasks “for growth”. In December 2010, I came to Simple. Despite several years of working in a small agency, this job felt like “the buy bulk sms service first serious job”. Adaptation was complicated by the fact that, being a newcomer to the profession, I knew nothing at all about wine, the product I was working with. Around me were real masters, people who had received a European education, who conducted negotiations in French and Italian, and had been developing their wine expertise for decades.
In conversations with colleagues, unfamiliar words were constantly heard – “terroir”, “millesime”, “disgorgement”, “pinotage”. It took me a long time to fill my professional vocabulary, gain basic knowledge about wine, try different champagnes and study competitors from all sides. And having reached an acceptable level, I … stopped. Looking back, I understand that at some point I stopped taking on tasks “for growth” and began to ensuring software quality in the modern age stagnate. This led to the fact that for several years I was immersed only in routine, which did not bring either professional development or career advancement.
How to Find a Balance Between Constant Achievement and Stagnation
2. I didn’t track my burnout.
“I want to leave. To nowhere,” I told my boss, a manager at a large corporation producing federal brands. I realized from her sincere surprise that she had not expected such an outcome of the conversation. And although it seemed obvious marketing list and transparent to me that I was tired and that my “eyes were not shining” from the current tasks, from the outside it seemed to her that everything was normal. A conversation that didn’t take place in time, burnout and desire for change that were not caught in time led to such a radical separation. What is obvious to us is not at all obvious to others.
What I would recommend to my past self to do differently: monitor your condition and talk to your manager. If your “eyes are not shining” and you have no strength to initiate work changes due to accumulated fatigue, then at least initiate a conversation with your manager. Perhaps you will be offered a solution that will suit both parties – a vacation, help with a project, or a change of direction.