What A Senior SMB Growth Manager At TikTok Wishes They Had Known Before Entering The Tech Industry
Kelly, a Senior Manager at TikTok, surprisingly revealed that "there's nothing you can do to prepare for a job until you just actually get there and do it," emphasizing the unforeseen cultural nuances and unique systems of each company. This insightful reflection, born from extensive career experience and multiple job transitions, highlights the universal experience of needing four to six months to feel truly competent in a new role, dispelling the myth of immediate mastery and offering valuable advice to those starting their careers.
Industry Realities, Overcoming Challenges, Career Development, Imposter Syndrome, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Kelly Mellenthin
Senior Manager, SMB Growth
TikTok
University of Southern California (USC), 2013
UCLA Anderson School of Management, Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Marketing
Technology
Sales and Client Management
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. No amount of schooling or prior preparation fully equips you for a new role; the nuances of each company and its culture are unique and must be learned firsthand.
2. Be open to new possibilities, ask many questions, and be flexible, especially at the start of a new job.
3. It takes time to feel confident and competent in a new role (4-6 months is typical); don't be discouraged by initial challenges or imposter syndrome, as this is a common experience for everyone.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
There was nothing I could do to prepare for this role. It's a bit of a strange answer, but I'm a hyper-organized, over-prepared person. I've switched jobs a lot over the course of my career.
Not once have I started a job feeling fully prepared. This isn't due to my own inaction; you never truly know what a role will be like until you're in it. Every company has its cultural nuances, its own systems, and its way of working.
These are different from any other company you've likely worked at, no matter how senior you become. That fact will never change. I wish someone had told me that there's nothing you can do to prepare for a job until you actually get there and do it.
No amount of schooling will prepare you. I majored in business for undergrad and have my MBA, but still, no amount of schooling prepares you for any job. It's just a matter of going into every new job open to any possibility, asking a ton of questions, and being flexible.
Take on anything, at least in the beginning, until you get your feet under you. Have the patience and grace with yourself to know you won't be crushing it on day one, because nobody is, and they don't expect you to be.
It's taken me at least four to six months with every job I've ever had to feel truly confident and competent. That seems like a really long time, but at the end of the day, it's really not.
I wish someone had told me that at the beginning because I suffered from a lot of imposter syndrome in my younger years until I figured out that pattern wasn't just happening to me, but to everyone. I wish someone had told me you can't prepare and you just have to learn on the job. That's how everybody does it, but nobody ever told you that.