How do we know how long to stay in the same role or company?
It is more common for people to switch companies every couple of years, atleast in Silicon Valley. People staying a decade or more in the same company is not as common and sometimes frowned upon. But I also know several people who have stayed long at places like PayPal, Meta and Google. So I am definitely not an exception but this is my story of an amazing 15 year journey. A journey that I am extremely grateful for.
15 years can feel like a long time. To me, it felt fast as my time at PayPal has been full of learning and growth! 15 years of highs and lows. 15 years of support and friendships. 15 years of diverse experiences.
I started my journey at PayPal in Apr of 2007. I wouldn’t have discovered PayPal if I had been laid off from my previous role. While layoffs rarely make anybody feel, I believe everything happens for a good reason and for me PayPal was the good that came out of it. My experience at PayPal was great right from the very beginning of interviewing and being recruited by my first manager Eric Gookins. I have had some great roles here and the last few years involved roles that I was given the freedom to create. I had roles in different parts of PayPal ranging from Data, Technical Product Management, Product Strategy, Architecture, Product Management, Social Innovation, etc., Each role helped me learn a lot while solving some really interesting and impactful problems.
How do you know if you can count on a company for the long term?
How do you know if you should stay longer at a company? I don’t think anybody can pre decided or pre commit how long to stay at a company. We should be thoughtful in ensuring we are staying for the right reasons. I haven’t stayed because I had no other options. I stayed because my assessment helped me believe this was the right place for me. I have also explored other companies and roles. Some didn’t come through and some did but every time I chose to stay here because of what was important for me.
I assess what is important to me in the context of what speaks to my soul, what is important to my mind and my self. Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself
1.My Soul
While “soul” might feel a very strong word, hang in there with me. Even if it is too soft for everybody to think about, it is a critical part of who we are. Consciously or subconsciously we think about what is important for our soul. It might be about our mission or the values we have. Make sure you take the time to reflect on a few of these questions
What are my values? Are the company values aligned to mine? If your value is inclusion but the environment you work in is exclusive then you might not to continue. If your value is kindness but you are surrounded by people who are rude, mean and disrespectful, then run! Do take the time to think about what your values are and where you are willing to draw a line.
What is my mission in life? Does the company’s mission align with mine? Not everybody might be clear in what their mission might be yet. But it is ok. You can think about smaller things like the problems you want to tackle. If you care about solving for world hunger but you are working at a company that is solving for internet connectivity, even if the mission of the company might be inspiring, it might not be for you.
What kind of people do I like working with? Are you happy with the kind of people you work with? Are your colleagues collaborative? Is your manager supportive? Are you inspired to do more for those around you?
Does the culture of my team and company align with my personality?
2. My Mind
Mind is all about the intellectual side of you.
What are my learning objectives? Are you interested in learning a new skill or improving current ones? Do you want to learn a new domain? Can these learning objectives be met in the current role or in another part of the company?
Who do I want to learn from? Are there particular leaders or companies that I want to learn from?
Are the problems that I am working on interesting for me and provide a learning opportunity? Will I be able to find interesting problems to work on?
3. My Self
Most people start here. People often think about how to get to the next promotion or pay hike. This is not wrong at all. But do make sure you are thinking about it just as much as the others. Otherwise you might be making a lot of money and your career is growing fast but you might end up being miserable working in a toxic environment for a company whose mission you might not be able to connect with.
Are there any constraints that require me to stay in my current role? A steady job or income to support yourself or your family, a VISA requirement or any other such hard constraints are real and might need you to stay in your current role even if it is not the ideal one. If you can, try and use the time to do a good job in your current role as you figure out what skills you might need to get to the next role when your constraints are removed and work on learning those skills.
What am I looking for next in my career and will I be able to achieve that here? Where do I see myself in the next 6 months, 1 or 2 years? Are you hoping for a promotion? Are you looking for a pay increase? Are you looking to land in a completely different industry in 2 years and does your current role help you take a closer step towards that goal?
How did I apply it myself?
I frequently go through this exercise myself to reflect on whether or not I should continue. Here is why I continue to stay
Impact: Making a difference in people’s lives is most important to me. And I get a lot of opportunity to do so at PayPal
Mission alignment: My personal mission to make an impact on people’s lives and improving their financial wellness aligns with PayPal’s mission.
Customer Focus: To make a difference in people’s lives, we have to be customer focused and I am able to do so in various customer focused roles.
Learning: I am most energized when I am learning. I have had tremendous growth through learning about new areas by working on tough problems and approaching it from another functional angle.
Interesting problems: I love solving tough new and challenging problems. Thanks to the company’s culture of internal mobility, I am able to constantly move to work on different problems.
People: Nothing else matters if the people we work for aren’t great. I have had the honor to work with some amazing colleagues and leaders. I have made many friends here. I receive a lot of support from leaders and colleagues alike and have an opportunity to pay it all forward.
It wasn’t all only work. I have been blessed with 15 years of an amazing personal life. I joined PayPal when my older son turned 1 and I had another son here. I went through Cancer here with the support of my team and management. I started a food truck business that grew in to a restaurant and closed it all. I home schooled my son for a couple of years. I celebrated 20 years of married life here. So many more personal moments of ups and downs all while I continued to thrive at PayPal.
I couldn’t have asked for more. I will continue to reflect on what is important for my soul, mind and myself as I make my career choices over the next decade.