Following your curiosity and creating the job you want
Dear Grand Fam,
We've kicked off the new year with lots of momentum. Our Grand Guide Marci Alboher recently wrote about her experience guiding a Grand Session, and it was published in The Washington Post last Monday! For all the new folks who've joined us since, I'd love to extend a big warm welcome. The Grand is your home for navigating life's biggest questions. Rei and I co-founded The Grand to make wisdom more accessible across generations. We're so glad you're here. We write to our community twice a month, here's my first letter to you.
When I first started business school, I scoured the internet and the career portals trying to find the perfect role for my summer internship. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I had this vision of working at the nexus of social impact and media since I believe in the transformative power of stories. Those job descriptions didn't really exist, and in fact, I learned that only about 20% of jobs are posted online.
Fast forward to six months later, the stress started to seep in. My friends all had offers from top consulting firms, tech companies, and investment banks. I still hadn't even applied to a single job.
Around this time, I went to a media and entertainment career trek in New York and met the team at Viacom. I was blown away by each of the people I met because they seemed so genuinely excited to be at the company, and their average tenure was 5+ years. I distinctly remember their office painted in bright blue and orange. There was one guy dressed in a gorilla suit just because, and a woman riding her skateboard all around the office. They truly embraced the bring your whole self to work philosophy. I knew it was the type of culture that I wanted to be a part of.
A week later, serendipitously, the Global Head of HR from Viacom was our guest speaker in my management class. After his talk, I went up to him and told him I was drawn to the company and through my research, I learned they had a really strong Social Impact group. I scheduled a meeting with him to learn more about his own career transitions within the company. Over the next few months, we spoke regularly about potential opportunities, we discussed my goals, and I shared more about my experience. After learning that I speak fluent Spanish, he recommended that I talk to the Latin America team – it was much leaner and I would have more responsibilities and opportunities to grow. I was nervous since summer was fast approaching and I didn’t have it all locked down, but I had a good feeling.
Two months later, I was working for MTV & Nickelodeon Latin America on their Social Impact team in Miami. It was a dream job. They didn't have a job posting, they weren't on-campus recruiting. It only happened because I followed my curiosity and I asked, and together we crafted a role that made sense for me and the company. As I reflect on this experience and other major career decisions that I've made over the years, those are the two lessons that stand out: 1) Get curious – you never know who you're going to meet who might set you off on a whole new trajectory and 2) Just ask – if you don't, others will never know what you want.
I'm looking forward to sharing some of these learnings and more during my Grand Session in collaboration with Boss Women Collective on Designing the First Five Years of Your Career (1/29).
It’s also why I’m so excited about The Grand Quest. We’ve been hard at work designing the curriculum and curating the community and can’t wait for you to experience it firsthand. If you're thinking about making a big career transition, join us. We know how your journey might feel ambiguous and lonely, and we want to change that. We also know that this isn't a decision that you want to take lightly. At the end of the 14 weeks together, you’ll walk away with the clarity, confidence, and community to make this big shift a reality.
Upcoming Sessions
How To Make Friends Across Generations 2/10 Join this Grand Session if you’re seeking meaningful intergenerational friendships. Our Grand Guide, Aanchal Dhar, is a communications strategist in her 30s who loves making new friends across generations and is excited to share how her Gen2Gen relationships have positively impacted her life.
I'd also love to hear what's worked for you regarding career shifts and new friendships, let me know by replying directly!
💌
Anita