Career Day Advice

Career Day James Gwertzman Vice President, Asia/Pacific PopCap Games

What happens AFTER graduation?

You live in a knowledge economy Your knowledge and skills create your success

You build your own career path You must figure out yourself: • Where you want to go • How to get there

Who am I? Engineer Manager Father Coach Game Designer Student Vice President, Asia/Pacific Chairman Leader Entrepreneur Salesman Husband Technologist

Careers are messy • Don’t be taken in by clean career narratives – Every career, in hindsight, forms a narrative – But that’s not how you experience it • Life is actually a series of decisions & branches – Very different “in the moment” than looking back • No one follows a straight path

What my resume shows… Microsoft, Asia HQ Sprout Games PopCap Games, Asia Harvard Online Mktg Mgr Managing Director VP Asia/Pacific Tokyo Seattle Shanghai Microsoft Escape Factory PopCap Games Program Manager President Director Business Development Seattle Seattle Seattle

What it actually felt like… Should I help PopCap expand I’m bored… I to Asia? Or run its Online should quit and business in North America? join a startup Where should I go after I graduate??? I failed, now what? Wow, Asia is fun but Success!! It’s great I really want to do a that so many people startup.. But what? want to buy us. What How about games? should we do?

On making career decisions… • You won’t know till later which decisions mattered – So don’t stress about them too much… – And never stress about the paths you didn’t choose – You don’t have as much control as you think • Some general principles you can follow – Follow your heart – Stay focused – Line up the next shot

If you follow your heart… • You’ll work harder • You’ll be happier • You’ll be more passionate about your work • You’ll be more fun to work with • People will like you more • You are much more likely to be successful • You’ll get more and more opportunities • Money and status will follow….

This is not as easy as it sounds! • You’ll feel pressure to conform – Pressure from parents (“Get a good job”) – Pressure from your friends (“Get a BMW”) – Pressure from society (“Successful people drive BMW’s…”) • Pressure from yourself (“I want a BMW”) • You may not be any good at it • Your heart may not know what it wants

Seek greatness, not money • Greatness is not measured in money • Answer for yourself what it means to be great – Making a difference in lives of others? – Making the most of your talents or opportunities? – Having an impact on the world?

Be honest with yourself • Everyone has strengths and weaknesses – It is very hard to change yourself… • Pick a career that plays to your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses • Be ruthlessly honest with yourself – If it’s not working out, life is telling you something • Not everyone can be a rock & roll star – But maybe you can do PR in the music industry…

Hold onto your hobbies • Your hobby can help you find your path – No one cares what you do for fun – So you can try a lot of different things – Figure out what you really love • Everyone needs a way to recharge • Take your hobby seriously – You never know where it will lead

Theatre Computers Loved going backstage as a kid Learned programming as a kid Joined stage crew in high school Summer job building computers Ran stage crew as a junior & senior (TD) Wrote an email system for my high school Designed the set for “Pirates of Penzance” Majored in computer science at college Worked at a summer theatre festival Summer internship at Microsoft Designed sets for many shows at college First job at Microsoft Started a computer game company!

Stay focused • Be careful about jumping around too much – Beware of “grass is greener” syndrome • Stick with something to build a reputation – Companies want to see that narrative • To change careers, “line up the next shot”

On getting your first job • Starting a career is daunting • To get a job, you need experience – But experience comes from the job, right? • How to break into any career? • Just do it! – Work for free – Volunteer (but be serious about it!) – Do it as your hobby – Find someone to shadow – Create your own job

On interviewing for a job • Things I look for when hiring: – Passion – Horsepower – Effectiveness – Cultural fit • Why should I hire you? How do you stand out? • Best thing I want to hear: – “What is your toughest problem? Give it to me and I’ll make it go away.”

On succeeding at work • Good managers love initiative – Nothing helps you stand out more • Put yourself in your manager’s shoes – How can you help your manager the most? – It’s not about you anymore… • Most powerful words in business: – “I made a mistake and I need your help”

On the importance of humility • Be humble when changing schools / jobs • You need to be willing to take one step back in order to take many steps forward • No one knows yet how great you are – Let them discover it for themselves – Don’t worry, they will

On mentors • Mentors are key to your success – They can open doors and give you honest feedback – It’s like getting another brain… You can tap into their experience, contacts, wisdom, etc. • Figure out what skills or experience you lack – Then go seek it out… – Everyone loves to talk about themselves – Don’t be afraid to talk to the CEO

On the importance of luck • Don’t underestimate the importance of luck – But don’t just wait around either • You need to put yourself in the path of luck

On importance of communication • Everything in life is communication • Become an expert communicator – This is a life-long task… – Start now! • Treat every writing assignment as good practice – School essays are great opportunities to learn – Don’t treat them like a horrible chore – Master the essay and nothing can stop you

“Your job is to make it as easy as possible for me to give you an A” • Best advice I ever got from a teacher – Applies to all aspects of life • Never make it hard for someone to help you • Put yourself in their shoes – Filing expenses – Submitting a term paper – Applying for a job

On Intellectual curiosity • The world is a fascinating place • There is so much out there to learn • Learning doesn’t stop when you leave school – For some people learning starts when they leave • Be an active learner – Follow your interests – Use school to learn HOW to learn • Read, read, read – Most great leaders are avid readers

On work life balance • No one ever looks back at their life and wishes they worked harder • People do look back and wish they spent more time with family & friends • Early part of your career is the time to work the hardest • Establish yourself and figure out where to focus your career

Questions? James Gwertzman james@popcap.com

Career Day Advice

by James Gwertzman on Jun 11, 2009

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Career Day Advice — Presentation Transcript