Boldness and Curiosity: How I got 5 awesome jobs (Part 5) — When Preparation Meets Opportunity

In Part 4, I shared how I met my first corporate boss when she called for an Uber to get to work. We had a bold and curious conversation during the drive and she ended up hiring me as her executive assistant.

Angie Tuglus was no ordinary executive. She was known as an innovation leader at the company. You could say that she had eyes for opportunities and for seeing the potential in people.

She brought me along to her leadership offsite meetings during which she and her direct reports would talk at a high level about the business for 3 days at a time. I had the privilege of sitting in those meetings and I learned so much about the business and operations.

From the beginning, she saw my potential for going on to another role in the company and so she mentored me directly and indirectly.

Two years after starting as her assistant, I came across an opportunity in another chance meeting with a hiring manager on our floor.

Lorri Modson was at the color copier at the same time that I was. She mentioned that she was printing off applications for the analyst openings on the product development team. I asked her if she had 10 minutes to talk about what the roles were because I might be interested in applying.

After that bold and curious conversation, I knew that one of those roles would be a great fit for me. I had gained valuable experience with our products during my years as Angie’s assistant. And, with Angie’s encouragement, I developed my leadership and communication skills as well as my reputation through my volunteer leadership with our company’s women’s resource group.

I got the job and I became an analyst on the product development team. It has been such a great fit for me to be in this role. I love using my strengths to contribute to the team and helping to make our products first-in-class in our industry.

Today’s take away: Opportunities for bold and curious conversations can appear at any time. Develop the awareness of these opportunities, continuously improve your skills, and be bold and curious when the opportunity for advancement appears!