5 Companies, 5 Years, 5 Lessons

Everything happens for a reason.

Lessons

1. Work experience > education, a degree will not make you special (for business).
2. Money, prestige, learning and purpose; you can only pick one, sometimes two, very rarely three and four is a unicorn - figure out what drives you and use that to guide you.
3. Take  risks and have a willingness to change your status quo without certainty can accelerate your overall goals.
4. Diversify yourself by being curious, engaging in new activities and (re)developing your motivations.
5. Never stagnate: keeping things fresh stops the world from going by so quickly.

This is a reflection of my work experience so far. It has been a huge learning experience for me and I will be sharing some key lessons below. I also know it is difficult to land that initial role so I will be posting a guide about that soon. See my work experience below:

1. BDO Australia, Professional Services - Audit and Assurance Cadet.
2. Forage YC Backed Startup (bought out), EduTech Startup - PM and Sales Enablement Intern 
3. Wagestream (bought out), FinTech Startup - Sales Development Representative.
4. SiteMinder (ASX listed), Tourism Tech - Account Executive. 
5. Hostaway, Tourism Tech - Sales Development Representative.

I got away with working in 5 companies in 5 years because I was a student with the professional flexibility that exploring different jobs and industries provides. Most student oriented roles have an attached duration to them, so it is important to make the most out of this.

Work experience > education, a degree won’t make you special (for business).

Commerce/business degrees themselves are almost worth nothing due to their commoditisation, particularly in Australia. In the last year, international students fees and spending made up half of our 1.5% GDP growth - the fact that Australia coming off the back of the largest mineral boom in our history is being matched by our tertiary education system signals how common a degree has become.

The caveat here is although learning is marginal and value is low, the opportunities outside the classroom through extracurriculars and resources universities provide is where your return on investment as a student exists. 

Gaining work experience in any form makes you more valuable than the several thousand commerce students who go through uni focused on studies purely. My WAM is ~70 (which is low for a business degree) but my focus on work experience has time and time again allowed me to land roles that I could not have done without it.

Money, prestige, learning or purpose; you can only pick 1, sometimes 2, very rarely 3 and 4 is a unicorn - figure out what drives you and use that to guide you.

Most jobs break down into these four things. They are self-explanatory but it is important to be honest with yourself about what you are after - these factors are dynamic and change with your current objectives and stage in life.

• My Audit Cadetship at BDO was a slog to get into - it was my entry way into the professional world and I have learnt many lessons  from my time there -> Here, I picked prestige and learning.
• Interning at Forage (an Edu-tech startup) was off the back of burning out at BDO and resigning without a plan. Pennie Li (the tech goat and someone I respect and admire a lot), encouraged and mentored me to apply -> Here, I picked learning and purpose.
• Wagestream (a fin-tech startup) was a return to full time work. I got a taste for sales and, thanks to the folks at Earlywork, was able to join this amazing organisation. Here I met amazing mentors, particularly Juri Han (hands down the best Account Executive)-> Here, I picked money and learning.
• At SiteMinder (a large tourism tech, ASX-listed company), I was able to progress my career into full cycle sales. To be completely honest, it was a hard gig and slog at times. It made me realise I did not enjoy working in corporate due to its rules, structure and speed of business -> Here, I picked money and prestige.
• Wanting to return to my roots, I joined Hostaway (an STR Tourism-tech startup) where I’m currently working as an SDR. In true startup fashion, there was no clear role when I reached out.cAfter chatting to the team, they believed that building out their APAC presence was the right move -> Here I picked purpose and money.

You need to take risks, a willingness to change your status quo without certainty can accelerate your overall goals.

I quit my Audit Cadetship without a plan in mind - it was a risky endeavor but paid off due to the extracurriculars and expert guidance that I received, which ultimately helped me land a role at Forage. My entry into the professional world with an Audit Cadetship funneled me into a very specific career pathway and reduced my risk appetite for opportunities outside the field. 

Everyone’s situation is different, but if you never take a chance and listen to your intuition you are bound to miss out on an opportunity. To be entirely honest, I would not say my situation of quitting without a plan was risky since I had no financial obligations like a mortgage, dependents or an impactful personal situation.

You need to take risks and be willing to change your own status quo when you are no longer growing.

Diversify yourself by being curious, engaging in new things and (re)developing your motivations.

You need to be more than your job, education and the person you were yesterday. Diversifying yourself is multifaceted and includes:

• Being curious
  • Constantly learn about your current industry and the wider world, read books, listen to podcasts or binge some youtube videos (this is my favourite).
• Engaging in new experiences
  • This could be  through working in new industries, volunteering or picking up different hobbies. Cognitive flexibility is a great predictor of lifespan and resilience - a great way to improve that is by doing new things.
• (Re-)developing your motivation
  • From 14 - 21, my primary source of motivation was mostly extrinsic - prestige, career and primarily money. Since reaching a level of financial stability and not caring too much about others’ perception, I have slowly started shifting towards building and curiosity which is what I’ve found most fulfilling.

Never stagnate: keeping things fresh stops the world from going by so quickly.

Life will go by much quicker if you are not doing new things. You do not have to be doing something new everyday, but having goals, activities or ideas in the future you are building towards helps you continuously learn and grow. 

Here are some examples of things I have done:

• Learn to swim, cycle and snowboard
• Tried acupuncture (massages are better)
• Solo travel
• Work on my garden
• Create a blog
• Paint my house
• Learn basic plumbing and electrical skills

Things I’m going to do:

• A full ironman triathlon
• Visit 6 (or more) new countries in the next 12 months
• Gain basic mountaineering skills
• Learn to ski
• Maybe get lasik because I am as blind as a bat

The last 5 years have been a crazy ride for me, but I have realised it's the toughest situations that allow me to learn and grow the most. Being redundant led me to getting a better job. Resigning ended my burnout and made me a happier person. Being jumped on the street meant I got a nose job and cured my insomnia in one.

Everything happens for a reason.

Credit: Sheela Bhattarai