Get on a rocket ship

Sheryl Sandberg (Photo credit: jdlasica)

I’ve frequently heard of the struggles that twenty-somethings go through in finding jobs that fit their skills and education. So I was inspired by a speech that businesswoman Sheryl Sandberg gave to Harvard Business School in 2012.

Sandberg was also trying to find work during a rough economic period. A growing consumer Internet company wanted to hire her, but the position was several levels lower than her other job offers, and it didn’t match any of her criteria for a desirable job.

When she pointed out those objections to the company’s CEO, this is what he told her:

Get on a rocket ship. When companies are growing quickly and they are having a lot of impact, careers take care of themselves. And when companies aren’t growing quickly or their missions don’t matter as much, that’s when stagnation and politics come in. If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on.

And, by the way, that company was Google.