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HBCU Careers Magazine

74

It’s been over 12 years since I entered the work force and one thing that I’ve learned along the way is

that you have to take risks to be successful. I’m sure you’ve heard that before, but it’s critical to your

success. I’m going to share two risks that I took during my career with you and hopefully they will

provide some valuable insights as you begin your journey.

I had a successful job and career in Seattle. I was making good money and I enjoyed the work.

However, I was spending over three hours a day commuting. I wanted to work closer to home, but the

opportunities where I lived were limited. I’d always had a passion for coffee and decided that I would

step away from everything that I knew to pursue my dream of running my own coffee shop. My goal

was to work my way up from barista to manager. Unfortunately this didn’t work out and I found myself

laid off a few weeks before Christmas. This is something you will more than likely have to experience at

some point in your career. My advice, don’t let it define who you are as the next opportunity could be

right around the corner.

This was new ground for me. I have years of

experience assisting others find employment. Now

I had to put those skills to work for myself. My goal

was to be unemployed for as short a period of time

as possible. I quickly registered for unemployment

benefits and went to work finding my next job. I

began by tapping my extensive LinkedIn network,

joining the local job club, and scouring the web for

opportunities. Even though my contacts didn’t have

anything local for me, they did provide great advice

regarding my tactics and resume which were very

helpful. Ultimately it was the job club that brought

me to my current employer. In one of our meetings I heard that T-Mobile was hiring and I immediately

applied with them.

T-Mobile was also a risk. I knew that I would have to swallow my pride and start at the bottom. Starting

out on your career journey will be challenging; having to reboot your career can be even more difficult.

I decided to take a chance and restarted my career at the bottom as a call center rep with T-Mobile. I

quickly learned the other departments in the location I was at and mapped out my long-term career

goals. I knew I wanted to work with the government/corporate accounts team. To get there I had to put

in at least six months with regular customer care. I came to work each day and did what I needed to do

to get that promotion. It took nine months, but I did it!

Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

By: Sean Lynott, MBA, CPRW

Field Sales Recruiting Coordinator

T-Mobile