What Type Of Person Thrives In The Tech Industry, According To A Supplier Manager At Cisco
Christina's experience highlights the importance of adaptability and flexibility in the tech industry, contrasting her structured approach at earlier companies with the need for "being nimble, flexible, and responsive" at Cisco. The interview also reveals a valuable lesson learned early in her career: humility and a willingness to ask for help are crucial for success, as evidenced by their experience at Halliburton where a lack of humility resulted in a missed return offer.
Adaptability, Flexibility, Responsiveness, Humility, Relationship Building
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Christina Marone
Supplier Manager
Cisco Systems Inc - San Jose, CA
Michigan State University
Arizona State University
Industrial, Supply Chain Management
Technology
Operations and Project Management
Worked 20+ Hours in School
Video Highlights
1. Adaptability and flexibility are crucial in the tech industry; be responsive and nimble, and don't strive for 100% perfection in every communication.
2. Humility is key; don't be afraid to ask for help and seek to understand the business processes before offering solutions.
3. Early career choices regarding humility versus pride significantly impact future opportunities; be mindful of these trade-offs.
Transcript
Q8: Who thrives in industry?
How would you describe people who typically thrive in this industry?
One thing that's different from tech than some of the industries I've been exposed to is being adaptable and flexible. I had to learn this very quickly when I was at Intel versus when I was at Halliburton.
For example, I am very structured. I would have my meetings, my agenda, and all my ducks in a row. When things got rescheduled, I had to learn to be cool about that, flexible, and responsive.
When I was starting out in the working world, I didn't realize how important being nimble, flexible, and responsive would be. I also learned that you don't have to be a hundred percent perfect in all your communications. One email can change your life, but building a relationship doesn't occur one email at a time.
Building a relationship happens by showing up, being responsive, and aligning with values that are important to you, such as fairness and responsibility. That's something I learned.
When I first started my internship, I learned about humility very quickly. At my first internship at Halliburton, I thought I was so smart for getting into an engineering internship. I spent the entire summer Googling.
I thought they hired me for a reason, but at the time, I didn't have the humility to ask for help or to realize that I didn't know what I was talking about. My team lead asked for help. I ended up finishing my internship and doing everything well, but I honestly did not get a return offer.
It was a good lesson for me. If I had been humble and spent the first couple of weeks of my internship asking questions, seeking to understand the business and processes before saying I knew what we were doing, I would have had a much more mature approach.
I know that wasn't the question you asked, but a lot of the values you show early in your career are important. Be mindful of the choices you make. I made a trade-off between being humble and prideful. Knowing when you're making those trade-offs is something else I would add.