What a Senior Manager Long Range Planning at Patagonia wishes they had known before entering the Consumer Goods industry
Jenny, a Senior Manager at Patagonia, cautions against generalized industry assumptions, noting that even within "consumer goods," the "pace of work, hours of work, even work styles" vary drastically between companies and departments. The interviewee stresses the importance of critically examining broad career advice and instead focusing on understanding a specific company's culture during the interview process to avoid the pitfalls of relying on myths like "this environment is much more relaxed."
Career Exploration, Industry Realities, Workplace Challenges, Candid Advice, Company Culture
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Jenny Tang
Senior Manager, Long Range Planning
Patagonia
University of California, Berkeley
MBA & M.S. Business Analytics at Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey
Environmental & Related Sciences
Apparel, Beauty, Retail & Fashion, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
Finance
Took Out Loans
Video Highlights
1. Understanding company culture is more important than industry generalizations.
2. Even within the same company, different departments can have drastically different work environments.
3. Challenge broad stroke assumptions about industries and companies; critically examine expectations before committing to a role.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone had told you before you entered the industry?
That's a great question. When you're in a business school environment, there are so many different conversations about what going into a company or an industry would be like. Some of it may be true.
For example, if somebody is interested in Wall Street and investment banking, they will probably dedicate a lot of time to a very fast-paced, competitive environment. There may be exceptions, but this is likely the norm compared to consumer goods, which is the industry I'm in.
However, during my schooling, whenever we talked about consumer packaged goods, there was almost this myth that this environment is much more relaxed and chill. I think compared to certain industries, and depending on the company you enter, it can be.
But I would say that during the interview process, it is often more important to understand the company culture. This is commonly a myth because even within the same company, the expectations, pace of work, hours, and work styles can differ drastically between departments.
So, it's always important to know that as we learn these broad assumptions in school, we should always challenge them and examine them critically depending on the situation you find yourself in.
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