Don’t Limit Yourself by Your Job Description

I learned it the hard way. It started from a failed interview.

I started in analytics and later decided to be “closer to business”. Now I understand that analytics is the closest to business you can get, but back then I wanted to be more hands on. I was working in an Oil & Gas corporation, doing things close to project management. Things were going well, I had good career prospects there, but I missed the tech industry and its data-driven decision making. So I was open to exploring.

My previous manager asked if I might be interested in an analyst or a project manager position in the company he worked at. A project manager one was interesting for me.

This interview lasted for 3 hours. I failed from the beginning till the end. Apparently my corporate experience wasn’t applicable to the tech startup too much. After the interview he asked me what I thought. And I said that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave my current place, but now I definitely want to work here. My failed interview showed me how much I can learn here.

Long story short, I landed in the same team as an analyst, my experience was much more relevant here and I missed data. We agreed that I’ll learn more about the company and its business, and later I would be able to switch to project management.

What I love about tech companies and their culture is freedom. You can do pretty much whatever you want as long as it contributes to the company goals. On the first team meeting someone suggested an idea of a project. Our manager asked who wants to lead it. Without hesitation, I said: “I want”. I was an analyst, not a project manager. The answer — “It’s yours”. I am infinitely thankful for this trust. Later we found out that this project required a lot of analytics, so I was doing it end-to-end both as an analyst and a project manager.

This simple initiative allowed me to learn project management in a softer way. Though a lot of ups and downs were still in front of me. In 10 months I fully became a project manager and led a very exciting strategic project.

Don’t limit yourself by your job description. Take initiative if you can make an impact.