Significant Career Lesson From A VP Retail Partnerships At Blendjet
Erin's most significant career lesson involved learning to "advocate for [oneself]," realizing that hard work alone isn't sufficient for career advancement; actively seeking mentorship and networking, as demonstrated by obtaining a Square role through a Yelp referral, are crucial for growth and seizing opportunities.
Career Development, Networking, Advocacy, Mentorship, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Erin Kristovich
VP Retail Partnerships
Blendjet
Washington University in St. Louis
NYU Stern Business School
Spanish & Other Languages, English
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Sales and Client Management
Video Highlights
1. Advocate for yourself and seek opportunities for growth. Don't assume that hard work alone will guarantee promotions or recognition. Actively push for new opportunities and challenges within or outside your current company.
2. Identify mentors and build strong professional connections. Mentors can provide guidance and support, helping you navigate your career path and find opportunities for advancement. Maintaining connections with past colleagues can also lead to future opportunities.
3. Networking is crucial for career advancement. The speaker emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining professional relationships, highlighting how a referral from a former colleague led to a significant career opportunity. This underscores the value of networking in securing new roles and advancing one's career path.
Transcript
What is the most important lesson you've learned?
The most important lesson I've learned is to advocate for yourself, both at different companies and within different roles. When I was starting out, I assumed that hard work and being a top performer would naturally lead to promotions and recognition.
While that can be true to an extent, it's also crucial to actively push for yourself and seek out growth and learning opportunities. This applies both internally within a company and externally. Companies want their employees to succeed and be retained, but they can't build a career path for individuals.
This realization was missing when I first came out of college; I believed that hard work alone was sufficient. Advocating for oneself also means identifying mentors or managers early on who are invested in career growth. They can significantly aid in advancement within the organization or help you find external opportunities.
Maintaining connections with former colleagues has also been beneficial throughout my career. One such connection led to a role at Square, thanks to a referral from a former Yelp colleague. Therefore, continuously seeking the next opportunities and understanding the necessity of self-advocacy to achieve them is key.