It’s been real, Microsoft
Today I will sadly be turning in my blue badge and starting a new chapter of my career. After two internships and three plus years, I essentially “grew up” at Microsoft, which makes saying goodbye incredibly difficult.
Microsoft took a chance on me (or rather 19-year-old-me) 5 years ago, and for that, I am forever grateful. It’s been a journey full of ups and downs, but there have also been smiling faces all along the path rooting for my success.
You’re probably wondering why I left, but that’s not the way I see it. I was lucky to have an opportunity present itself that I am incredibly excited about. I am not running away from Microsoft, but rather towards a new challenge (stayed tuned for more details). It’s a pull, not a push.
What I learned
My time at Microsoft has taught me much; however, there are those lessons that truly change you for the better and that will stick with you forever. Here are the most important lessons I’ve learned.
A career is a long thing
As someone who once had a 1 year, 5 year, and 10 year plan, I have since ceased creating an arbitrary set of career plans (that will really just limit me), and started following my heart when it comes to making the tough decisions. One of my mentors would constantly assure me, “A career is a long thing.” Grasping this concept took time and patience, but it has given me the freedom and courage to not be fearful of the future.
A wise man once said…
You can’t connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. — Steve Jobs, Stanford Commencement 2005
When I accepted a position on the Outlook team, I wasn’t really sure what my role would look like or what I’d be working on, but I ultimately trusted my gut and am so thankful that I came along for the ride.
During the course of my two years on the team, my role has changed several times along the way. Some pivots made sense, while others downright terrified me. Looking back, I’m not only able to connect the dots backwards, but I recognize each challenge as an essential and necessary moment of personal and professional growth. Each dot is special and part of what makes me who I am today.
I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up… and that’s okay
When I accepted my full-time role at Microsoft as a Program Manager, I really didn’t know what it would entail, or more importantly, what I wanted it to be. Here’s a less obvious lesson — at some stages of your career, you are learning more about what you don’t like to do than what you do like to do… and that’s just as important.
From my time on the Microsoft Edge team, I discovered several things that I definitely do not want in a role:
- Working on a single platform: I found that being confined to shipping a Windows-only product was incredibly limiting, and quite frankly, made me feel irrelevant in (and oblivious to) the greater tech world.
- Heavy project management: I found that about 75% of my time was spent in VSO closing bugs and stack ranking work items. While this is a component of product management, if it’s ever the majority of the work, I now run for the hills.
- Cultural inflexibility: I found that in order to be successful in the team culture, I had to mirror the aggressive behaviors around me. I learned I never want to be in an environment in which I have to fundamentally change who I am as a person.
While on the Outlook team, it was a different story — I actually started learning more about what I do want! On this team, I had the opportunity to work on challenging and exciting features, but more importantly, I had a family of coworkers that I could trust and rely on. It was on this team that I gained an understanding of what I actually wanted in my career and who I wanted to be while doing it.
The approach is everything
This lesson I can’t stress enough! It’s not just about doing the job, but how you did the job. If you shipped a complicated project that involved tricky cross-team-collaboration (ugh I hate that phrase), but you left a bunch of dead bodies around… that’s simply not okay.
The tricky thing about this lesson, is you often learn it the hard way. However, the important thing is having the maturity to step up and be better. As I mentioned previously, my first team had a culture of getting the job done, no matter what, no matter who you hurt. I was 21-years-old and in my first real job, I was a sponge and absorbed these tactics. However, one day I woke up and realized that this isn’t me, and I made it my mission to be the person that is not only respected for their abilities but for their character.
Honestly, this one is incredibly difficult to learn without role models. Luckily, I have had many to look up to during my time in Outlook. Here are my key takeaways and best practices:
- Every team member must have a voice: I truly believe that a big part of my job as a product manager is to ensure that every team member not only has a voice, but a vehicle for their thoughts and ideas.
- Sell others on the why (rather than the how or what): If you are super clear about why you are doing something, others will be better able to understand and follow your lead — you won’t need to scream or yell!
- Own it and move forward: It’s not about whose fault it was, but rather what you are going to do to fix it and move forward — don’t throw others under the bus, find a way to lift the bus.
I’m constantly told that I must have a brand. While it is super cheesy, I’ve determined that my tagline is:
Meg, the PM you’ll actually want to be friends with once the project is over
How I changed
So in the past three years, I’ve grown older and perhaps even wiser, but what I’m most proud of is how I’ve changed for the better. Part of that was becoming a grown-ass-adult who has a mortgage, a husband, and a dog. However, an even bigger part of that is being shaped by the wonderful people I’ve encountered at Microsoft. Here is what I’m most proud of:
- I’m not afraid to try new things — New and scary things eventually become ordinary and mundane things
- I don’t second-guess my abilities or potential — I got this!
- I am able to persevere in the face of adversity — Hit me with your best shot!
- I have just as much of a right to be here as anybody else (yes, I’m a woman of color in tech, but I’m also a Harvard grad with a CS degree)
- I hold true to who I am, what I value, and who I care about
What I’ll miss
I will not only look back on my time at Microsoft fondly, but I will really miss these various things:
- The people, seriously — it’s like a family
- My team
- The Outlook Mobile dev app (getting the latest features is AMAZING)
- My manager
- The Alaska Airlines kiosk reserved for Microsoft FTEs at SEATac
- Satya
- Getting to work with the amazing folks from Acompli and Sunrise
- Salad club with my coworkers
- My mentors
- My mentees
- Getting emails warning me to beware of bears creeping around B32 — Wait, no, definitely won’t miss this one…
- Being a part of an amazing company that has a bright future ahead of it!
Thank you for reading and making it through this far. Like I said, stay tuned for more on my next adventure!
Update — check out what I’m up to in my latest post.
-Meg
