Significant Career Lesson From An Alternative Programming Coordinator At MACRO
Erika's most significant career lesson is that "failure is kind of the only way that you're gonna be able to learn certain things," a realization that challenged their previously high-achieving trajectory. This led to the understanding that embracing setbacks, even those felt acutely in "adult life," is crucial for growth and resilience in a professional context.
Resilience, Overcoming Challenges, Motivational Stories, Achieving Goals, Hard Truths
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Erika Rodriguez
Coordinator, Alternative Programming
MACRO
Northwestern University, 2020
N/A
Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Arts, Entertainment & Media
Creative
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Failure is a crucial learning opportunity, especially in professional settings.
2. Early career success shouldn't discourage risk-taking; it's important to embrace challenges and learn from mistakes.
3. Maintaining a resilient mindset is key to navigating setbacks and professional challenges.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
I think one lesson that I learned is that often, failure is the only way that you're going to be able to learn certain things, which is very daunting. Especially for someone who, most of my life, I've been very high achieving.
I feel like I was able to get away with making sure that I had a high school scholarship so I didn't have to pay for college. Then I had a college scholarship so I didn't have to pay for college. It definitely rattled me a little bit to feel like I wasn't doing enough to an extent that I'd never felt before.
Those were definitely feelings that I felt once I got to college too. But once I got to what is considered adult life, it felt like the training wheels were off a little bit. In college, you're very much encouraged to do things, even if you might fail. I would say that is probably the safest place to fail.
Now I was out in real life and realizing, "Oh God, I should have done more of that in college." All this to say, sometimes you just have to take the punches and roll with it.
This is especially true when you're applying for jobs and you feel like, "Oh God, I'm the least hireable person in the world." Or if you make a mistake at work, or you have a typo in an email and someone asks why. Being able to take it and just be like, "Well, one day at a time."