Significant Career Lesson From A Software Engineer At Advertising Company
Tristan, a software engineer, emphasizes the critical importance of "measurable outcomes" in their career, learning that focusing on results—whether "the amount of people that you served" or revenue generated—is key for professional success, rather than solely focusing on the process. This includes tracking accomplishments, communicating them effectively to management, and recognizing when to move on from a problem that is taking too long.
Project Management, Problem-Solving, Achieving Goals, Communication, Industry Realities
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Tristan Hilbert
Software Engineer
Advertising Company
Major: Computer Science
Loyola Marymount University - Masters : Computer Science
Computer Science
Advertising, Communications & Marketing
Product / Service / Software Development and Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Focus on measurable outcomes, not just the process. In a professional setting, the impact of your work is key.
2. Keep track of your accomplishments and communicate them to your manager. This helps demonstrate your value and progress.
3. Don't be afraid to move on from problems that are consuming too much time. Knowing when to cut your losses is important for efficiency and meeting deadlines.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that is proving significant in your career?
Outcomes are the most important thing when working within software engineering and engineering. You can spend as much time as you want on a problem, and for homework assignments, when you're coming out of college, you're very used to working for days and days. A lot of that time, when you complete it, then your goal is that you did it right.
But for businesses, and what I've learned personally from working with people, are the measurable outcomes. The amount of people that you served, the amount of money that you generated. It can be different for each company; each company has its own set of goals or different mission statements.
There are different things they want out of the stuff they're putting money into. So looking for what that is, whether it's a product org or a revenue-based org, is important. Actually keeping a paper trail of what you've been accomplishing and giving that to your manager, saying "This is what I've been doing and this is why I've been doing a good job," is very helpful.
Always keep track of the outcomes of what you're doing, even the good and the bad. You can learn from the bad, and you can show off the good. Always be pushing for those outcomes. Don't spend too long on a problem. If you're spending too long on it, it might be good to just call it dead. So, it's okay.