KTech Bytes Live Review — Thriving in Tech
For Kellogg’s annual Thrive Week, KTech hosted a panel on “Thriving in Tech” to encourage students to think more broadly about finding meaning and personal success in our careers. “Tech” can be incredibly broad, so our discussion covered everything from finding the right fit and opportunities at tech companies to how to best use unlimited vacation time. Luckily, our panel also has diverse experiences in the tech industry, so we were able to explore a large variety of perspectives on life in tech. And yes, several panelists did indeed confirm that Silicon Valley is “scarily accurate”.
Finding the right “fit”.
Google is clearly a different company than a 5 person startup. But Google is also different from Amazon or Salesforce, and a startup can also vary widely from other startups in company culture, organization, etc. Understanding organizational structure is very important, and our panelists agreed that knowing how decisions are made and how your team is constructed can be critical to your success at a tech company, regardless of the company. Having a manager you can trust or finding an internal champion can also help you feel more comfortable and motivated. Identify what questions you can ask about the company that would help uncover whether or not it’s a good fit. Is it the stage or role? Is it how far ahead the company plans product launches? Is it growth in recurring revenue? Is it how frequently team members work on the weekends? Is it the executive team’s communication cadence? Ask these questions in your interviews if possible.
Defining your career path.
Some tech companies have very established “ladders” or career tracks. Some have no career resources. You may not want either of those options. For MBA students going into tech, having an understanding of what you want to gain personally and professionally from each role you take on helps tremendously, because it is often very unclear or nonlinear. Some of our panelists used internal company resources or Kellogg resources to map this out. Others sought out people in roles they aspired to have one day, and used those career paths as a guide. There were a lot of surprises for our panelists who switched into the tech industry, including how many people jump around within companies or from company to company within the tech industry. Having a sense of your next move allows you to start working on the skills and mindset needed for your future role while in your current one. Having this sense of career mobility and upward trajectory helps you feel more successful and fulfilled in your tech career.
How do I move to my next role?
There are always people in tech willing to generously make referrals for the referral bonus (like myself — if you’re reading this and need a referral somewhere, catch me on LinkedIn😂), so even if they’re a second-degree connection at your dream company, it’s worth reaching out and connecting. Turning on the “actively looking” flag on LinkedIn is a great source of inbound job leads, but the quality can be very hit or miss. Staying involved in your job community (of product managers, business development professionals, etc.) by participating in Meetups, attending conferences, keeping in touch with old coworkers, and joining online groups is a great way to network and stay updated on trends in your role, Many of our panelists who worked in tech found their next roles through these kinds of connections.
The dreaded work/life balance discussion.
Tech companies are infamous for breeding workaholism. Because most tech companies rely on digital communication tools like email, Slack, and even texting, the lines between work and life can be very blurred. On top of that, many tech companies offer unlimited vacation time, which can actually cause many employees to take fewer days off. At smaller companies or on leaner teams at larger companies, you may find yourself as the only person who can do your exact job. This all puts a lot of pressure on you to never fully turn work mode “off”. Our panelists recommended regularly taking time for yourself to do things like exercise or creative pursuits (and reminding yourself to do this), establishing boundaries, and finding a streamlined workflow that allows you to manage all those weekend notifications without letting it completely take over your life. All of this, of course, is easier said than done, so understanding expectations and team norms early on is critical to developing a work/life balance that works for you and your role.
Other unique challenges of working at tech companies.
A lot of challenges you might face in the tech industry are not necessarily only found in tech but can be a lot more prevalent or noticeable in tech. The panelists mentioned encountering things like inexperienced leadership, business failures, lack of hierarchy, being the only minority in the room, and technical skills becoming quickly outdated. Realizing that you might find these kinds of challenges in tech can help you figure out the best approach to addressing each of them as they come up.
That’s all great, but what if it tech seems great at first and then I end up hating it?
Tech covers so much ground — fintech, e-commerce, electronics, etc. There’s also a lot of mobility! You can switch teams or companies pretty easily once you have tech experience. Many tech employees switch companies after 2–3 years in Silicon Valley. Employees with MBA skills are valuable and there are a LOT of tech companies out there. Remember: if all else fails, call the Kellogg CMC.
