This blog is part of my reflective journal. Starting from Jan 2021, I have been writing in Chinese, which is my mother language to write down my feelings, learning, and planning. I published most of those on my WeChat public account (公众号：亚云月谈). English is my second language, and I am not very comfortable expressing my feelings in English, but I still would like to write in English to publish my learnings. So that is why you can see this blog now :)
Reflecting on the start of my career journey at Microsoft, there were things that I did pretty well, while there were things that I wish I knew at that time. Thus, I summarized my learnings into the advice to the old me — and many similar new graduates.
- Get to know company benefits and ask your peers about those. For example, 401K, HSA/FSA, HSPP, group legal services, etc. When you’re not sure about how to maximize some benefits, don’t hesitate and ask one of your colleagues.
- Join interest groups and find communities. There are lots of those that you can join. For example, investment club, data science club, real estate club, free food club… you name it!
- Have 1 on 1 meetings with all colleagues in your immediate team. Get to know the work styles and culture in this team and get a solid plan for your career goals (growth, promotion, etc.). Give yourself 3–6 months to ramp up, also check if your assigned team is a good match. If not, don’t waste time — explore other opportunities in the same company. As far as I know, most big tech companies have very flexible policies about internal transfer.
- Make a goal. It may not be about promotion, but about what you want to do and what skill sets you want to master for your next role. Yes, your next role. Never limit yourself to your current role. For example, you want to be a senior data scientist in the future, then think about what you should do to get there; or you want to make a career change, what you can do to make it happen. Also, think about what skills you should have to find a new job if anything unexpected happens (e.g., lay-off, PIP).
- Be mindful of how you spend your time. Allocate time smartly. For example, don’t spend too much time on reading emails Lol. I used to spend almost half day to catch up on emails. Most of the overwhelming emails are not directly related to my daily work. Instead, they are more about the activities around my broader team and the whole company. As a new graduate, I was so eager to explore ANYTHING but then only found myself overwhelmed. Learn to prioritize!
- Create your work routines and develop good habits for your physical and mental health. Two good habits that I recommend: 1. find your own balance between work and life. 2. reflect on yourself regularly and write down your learnings and plans (which is what I am doing now :)
Stay tuned for my future self-reflections and learnings!
Happy Lunar New Year!
2022.1.31
