Lessons From a CEO
Welcome to the AEO Onward Blog! My name is Alice Peng, and I will be your Co-Editor on this year’s blog alongside the wonderful Iulia Costache. We have tons of article topics planned this year, so stay tuned for exclusive interviews with current students and Ivey Alumni! For now, to kick start the year, I am here to share eight lessons I learned from working with the CEO of a pharmaceutical company this past summer.
1. Avoid the Top 1%
Many people think the road to success lies in striving for the near impossible — being in the top 1% of an industry. But the truth is, success is not defined by how many competitors you take on or how many degrees you acquire, and there aren’t just a few one-hit wonders in each industry. You also don’t need to be in the top 1% to land that perfect internship or job, which is what I’m sure interests most avid readers. Instead, I believe you should aim to dominate the top 15% of competitors in not just one but two industries. In no way is this alternative path to success necessarily easy, but it’s much more practical and realistic than aiming for the top 1%. If you can gain experience and skills in various industries, the intersectional careers you can explore are endless. Ivey offers a dual-degree program for these exact reasons as business skills benefit you immensely in any industry.
2. Great Things Start Small
Careers are paved over time. One of the best pieces of advice I received was to know that as an undergraduate student, you’re young and have time to explore your interests, strengths, and weaknesses. If there’s any time to make mistakes, step outside your comfort zone, or take a risk and accept that internship, it’s now more than ever. If you’re scared of failure, remember that with each mistake comes a lesson to be learned and an opportunity to better yourself.
This summer, I capitalized on exploring my passions in various industries. On one hand, I delved into the corporate world of marketing and pharmaceuticals, for which I grew a profound curiosity. On the other hand, I spent six weeks as a summer research student at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, working with cancer cells and mouse models. The more experiences and opportunities you establish for yourself, the more you’ll recognize where your interests lie and how to craft your perfect career. If you’re lucky, you may also find out which careers you despise! Though it might feel like a step backwards, you need to have faith you’re moving in the right direction.
3. Character Trumps Skill
When I hold interviews, I base my first impressions on personality and the ability to communicate. If an employer only ever wanted to look into your skills and experience, a resume and cover letter would be more than enough to dictate your abilities. Still, most jobs ask for an interview. By this point in the application process, many interviewers are more interested in your character to see if you would be a good fit for their workplace culture. Believe me when I say a lot can be dictated by your charisma and genuineness in a 20-minute interview.
In any workplace, the reality is you’ll have to learn new skills. Picking up new tasks and adapting to your workplace environment depends on your soft skills and dictates your workplace success. Every employer wants an innovative, honest, and responsible team player who takes initiative!
4. It’s Never Too Late
If your life was the same a decade from now, would you be happy? Most likely not! We all want aspects of our life to change for the better, and with no risk comes no reward, so take that as your exigence to step outside your comfort zone. It’s never too late to try something new, take on a new job, or start that business you’ve been deliberating about for ages – as long as you feel you’re moving toward a more fitting and personalized career.
It’s also never too late to change your line of career. The CEO I worked with began his career in analytical chemistry and transitioned into the business world as the founder of a pharmaceutical company. The world awaits beyond your bubble, and everyone’s timeline is different, so pave your path at your own pace.
5. Corporate Life Can Be Healthy
Although paradoxical to many, corporate life isn’t always toxic and can often be extremely rewarding. Of course, if you are working in a 9 to 5 job that doesn’t resonate with you and for a company whose values don’t align with yours, then the chances are, you’ll scrutinize the corporate world. While there may be some truth that a corporate job is arduous, highly demanding, and on top of everything, emotionally draining, the same could be said of any job and any career. It’s all about balance.
The other determining factor in a healthy corporate environment is workplace culture. Like any student intern, I was nervous and excited walking into my first day of work a few months ago. What should I expect? Did I belong here? What if I make a mistake? It’s easy to get caught up in how people will view or judge you as a new employee, but upon meeting colleagues throughout the day, I was instantly put at ease. Strangers become familiar faces. Colleagues become meaningful mentors. A corporate workplace becomes a family. Suddenly, work has more purpose than ever before. A healthy social environment in the corporate world gives employees intent, grit, and motivation. Every so often, reminders for social gatherings or company dinners find their way into your email inbox and reaffirm one of the main objectives for any CEO: promoting a healthy workplace culture.
6. Network, Network, Network!
Many argue that your degree will only buy you up to 5 years in the workforce after graduation. From that point forth, the direction of your career depends on your work experience, resume, acquired skills, and above all: your connections.
For instance, in the pharmaceutical world, regular conferences are vital to growing and maintaining an organization. They are a practical way to get acquainted with those working at the C-level, find potential business clients, meet with investors, and learn from world-renowned doctors and researchers. In other words, they’re a hotspot for networking. As a CEO, every lunch break, conference, meeting, and even brief elevator ride pushes you to introduce yourself, collect business cards, and listen to stories from strangers and employees passing by. Opportunities are created, not found! A CEO’s workday never truly ends, and having the complimentary socializing abilities, demeanour, and charisma to interact with others is a well-sought-out skill. You don’t have to be an extrovert to put yourself out there. All you need is a lead from someone in your industry of interest to start building your professional circle, which often gets you further in life than a degree identical to a few hundred more students at your university.
7. Good CEOs Don’t Dictate. They Listen.
When someone takes the time to get to know you, listen to your story, and understand your point of view, you feel heard as a student, employee, and individual. A good CEO is masterful at listening rather than talking and fosters a collaborative environment where employees feel safe voicing their opinions and contributing ideas. Allowing individuals to advocate for themselves builds trust in any workplace environment. The results that spawn from allowing others to share their ideas without shutting them down are worthwhile in any environment, workplace or academic-related.
8. The Thirst For Knowledge Is Never-Ending
Education is a privilege that opens doorways. So why stop learning after completing an undergraduate degree? While this doesn’t necessarily mean you should expend thousands on an MBA or a Ph.D., you should take deliberate time to continue educating yourself through reading novels, taking a few courses here and there, attending a skills workshop, getting a certification or licence, etc. Any of these tasks can enhance your resume meaningfully, and the best part is: you will become a lifelong learner. We never stop craving knowledge at a certain age, and we never stop wanting to improve. As long as you’re willing to experience new challenges and push your limits, you are set for the future.