Significant Career Lesson From A Founder At YourNegotiations.com
Gerta's significant career lesson, gleaned from "Designing Your Life," is that career development is an iterative process of "playing around with things," learning from each experience, and incorporating those learnings into the next. This approach, exemplified by their journey from IBM to biotech to LinkedIn to founding YourNegotiations.com, highlights how accumulating varied experiences ultimately led to a more informed and confident career path.
Career Exploration, Career Development, Negotiation, Entrepreneurship, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Gerta Malaj
Founder
YourNegotiations.com
Wellesley College
MIT
Mathematics, Data Science, Statistics
Coaching, Speaking & Writing
Entrepreneurship and Business Owner
International Student, Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Immigrant
Video Highlights
1. Start your career by taking a job and learning from the experience, iteratively refining your career path based on what you discover you like and dislike.
2. It's normal not to know exactly what you want to do right out of college; explore different fields and roles to find what aligns with your interests and skills.
3. Prioritize gaining experience and building a strong foundation, as this will inform your future career choices and provide valuable insights, even if it takes time to reach your ultimate goals.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
What comes to mind is a book called *Designing Your Life*. It's written by, I believe, the head of the design department at Stanford. It was a game-changer for me.
The premise is this: before reading the book, I thought you found your career by trying to find one thing that magically aligned with your interests and skills, like finding "the one" in love.
But this book recommends playing around with things. Take a job, find out what you liked and disliked, and then incorporate those learnings into your next job, side project, or even a volunteering opportunity. It's a reiterative process.
You just start somewhere, learn, and then incorporate those learnings into the next thing. That's what happened with me when I first started. It's hard to know exactly what you want to do right out of college. I'd be surprised if the average 22-year-old knows exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives.
You figure that out by starting somewhere. I started at IBM and realized I liked tech. Then I wanted to do something in an impactful field, so I went into biotech, where you're helping people save lives with medication.
Then I thought, "I really like the impact. Now I want both impact and tech, more tech culture." So I went to LinkedIn, where you help people with their jobs. It's techy, but I wanted a faster environment with more ownership.
So then I went into venture capital. There, you have impact, a fast pace, and the tech aspect. I thought, "Now I want even more ownership. I want to be a founder."
Now, where I'm at incorporates all these learnings I took along the way. I meet founders in their early twenties and wish I had started my company so early. But on the other hand, I have so much conviction and all this experience that I'm very grateful for the journey that brought me here.