Sample interview responses:
(AW) “My boss (early in her career)…he treated me like I could do no wrong, just gave me rope to go out and do whatever I could possibly do. They allowed me to learn my own way, and to either stumble or do whatever. That was the best mentoring that I have had.”
(MR) “I was never hired for a job I had done somewhere else. It was always a new challenge in an industry I knew nothing about. It didn’t scare me; it energized me.”
(BS) “I love the autonomy there…they’re an organization that lets you try whatever. There’s not a lot of ifs ands or buts over how I’m trying things. Everything is, ‘Okay let’s try it.’”
(EM) “That’s how I work best, under leadership that says, ‘Just run with it and show me what you can do.’ …I’m fueled by passion. High energy…I can walk into a situation and see where the holes are and what changes need to be made…then I do it. If I have the freedom to do that, I thrive off that, having the freedom to create and to make things better.”
(AS) “I think my generation does think about our own happiness quite a lot. Yet why not put my energy into something I really want and work towards it? There’s no need to do the grueling 10 years in a position to finally get a promotion; those days are gone. I don’t think you necessarily have to earn a position the hard and traditional way. In fact I think that stifles organizations. It stifles departments. Companies should reward performance, not years of service.”
Survey responses: 73% said they moved up the ladder quickly and it was good for their career. None said they moved up too quickly while 12% said the progression was too slow.
