As the Fiscal Year 2020 (July 2019-June 2020) comes to a close, I thought I’d share some of the lessons I learned in my 10-month journey as a data scientist at Microsoft. These opinions and observations are my own and should be taken with the understanding that everyone’s professional journey is different. Some of these apply directly to the Data Science discipline, while others apply to anyone starting their first full-time job.
- Prioritize your tasks. Focus on what matters and let go of what doesn’t. In the first full-time job, things are exciting but can also be overwhelming. You may have too many meetings to attend and too many emails to read. Having OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) in mind will help you keep on track. Ask yourself whether you should invest time and effort into something before taking action and getting busy.
- Focus on the impact, not just activities. In my first six months into this job, I was keeping myself busy without paying enough attention to what impact I was making on business. I started to realize the problem when I felt empty and couldn’t gain fulfillment from work. Being impact-driven helps us identify “why” we are doing something, rather than “what” we are doing or “how” we are doing it. Also, what managers want to hear is the impact you have achieved rather than the activities you have been doing.
- Understand the business focus of your team and organization. For new graduates and others early-in-career, Employee Town Hall and All Hands meetings may not be very exciting or relevant to your daily work, especially when you’re in a large company. However, those meetings are great resources to help you understand the focus of the business. For example, COVID-19 has changed the strategic plans for many companies. It’s even more critical to attend those meetings and understand leadership’s attitude and decisions in these difficult times.
- Less is more. I used to have lots of tasks on my to-do-list all the time, and it caused so much emotional burden on myself, and I even needed regular mental burnout to reset myself. It’s okay to remove tasks that have been staying on the list so long that every time you see it, it reminds you how procrastinated you are or makes you feel like a failure. Focus on a few but more important things, and stay calm.
- Have hobbies and interests outside of work. Workaholic? Actually I am, too. There are good days and bad days at work. When the fulfillment from work is the only source to make you happy, it is much harder to remain calm under pressure in bad days. It comes naturally that we identify ourselves based on our work, believing our work title is our identity. However, you are NOT your work — it’s simply a part of you. For me, I love to dance, sing while playing the ukulele, doodle & sketch in my spare time. I irregularly share my dance/sing videos and drawings with friends and put on my social media to track my personal growth and self-improvement. What I enjoy outside of work brings me so much fun and fulfillment; in turn, it also improves my mental health and boosts my confidence at work.
- Exercise your leadership. At work, you can start from taking responsibilities of the projects you are working on, and then look for opportunities to lead and own a business metric or a product feature. Apart from it, keep an eye on volunteering opportunities and community events. For example, I am an intern leader this summer at Microsoft to organize social events for 25 interns.
- Learn how to manage up. Keep in mind what career YOU would like to pursue. In 1:1 meetings with your manager, let him/her know your career goal and how you would like to achieve it. A good manager will give your suggestions and support you. If you are looking for new opportunities, pick a job that you get paid to learn, which is very important for new graduates and young professionals.
- Don’t hesitate to ask for help, especially from your immediate team.
- Build connections within your organization. I am glad that Microsoft provides such a great environment for community development. I joined some data science communities and have made several good connections. Joining those communities also makes me feel connected and improves my sense of belonging.
- Build a personal brand. Branding is not only critical for companies to win customers and separate themselves from competitors, but also invaluable for anyone who wants to boost their career. I am working on it now and hope to share my experience in the future.
- Sharpen your technical skills. Keep learning in a rapidly changing technological world. Book uninterrupted study time every week on your calendar to learn new algorithms, take online courses, or practice coding. Dig into the area that you want to be an expert in. Keep yourself posted on new trends in your field.
- Be patient with your career. It takes time to be an expert in an area. I used to be an impatient person (so I took four years, rather than taking longer, to finish my Ph.D.). But now I realize that career is a marathon, not a 100-meter sprint.
Looking forward to growing and learning more in the Fiscal Year 2021! Stay safe, healthy, calm, and positive!
