There really is no such thing as a “dream job,” at least not a permanent one. That’s because people’s ambitions and goals change over time, which means a role that might have been challenging and exciting on day one can feel repetitive and boring after a few years. Companies know this, which is why many of them invest in the professional development of their employees.
A focus on professional development ensures that employees are constantly learning and growing their skill set and that, once they find their new dream job — internally or externally — they’re well-equipped to pursue it. This was the case with Bianca Gomez, who joined edtech company InStride as an executive assistant before moving into her new role as a success manager on the academic partnerships team.
“I’d been eager to take on more responsibility as an executive assistant, and my team allowed me to prove myself in various projects and initiatives, so it was an easy decision to apply for this new position,” Gomez said.
InStride isn’t the only Los Angeles tech company that’s all-in on career development. Built In Los Angeles also spoke with Knarik Manukyan, a named enterprise account executive at Redgate, about how she’s grown in her sales career at the company, which has included two promotions in two years.
Gomez and Manukyan are proof that just because your dream job changes doesn’t mean your company has to, too.
What role were you first hired for at InStride?
I was hired as an executive assistant to support several of our executives and their teams. I had my hands in a lot of different projects, from managing calendars to developing departmental processes to leading team meetings. The variety of work kept things interesting, and I appreciated that no one at InStride is defined by their job title. The company culture encourages a growth mindset and values lifelong learning. If there is something you want to learn about or work on, there is likely an opportunity to get involved.
Our mission is to enable employers to provide life-changing workforce education to their employees in partnership with high-quality academic institutions. InStride offers all employees the chance to experience this mission firsthand through our “Step Forward” education program. It’s an amazing opportunity that I’ve been able to take advantage of and, as a result, I am earning a master’s degree from ASU completely paid for by InStride.
InStride recognized my desire to learn and were genuinely happy to help me find a new challenge.”
What role are you in now?
I’ve just started a new role on our academic partnerships team as an academic partner success manager. I manage relationships with universities in our network. I make sure these partners are engaged and, wherever possible, I work with them to expand their offerings to InStride’s corporate partners.
I had the opportunity to jump in and help this team when they were down one team member, and I really enjoyed working with our university partners to come up with innovative ways to create a seamless learner experience. That level of strategic thinking was fascinating to me, and when I expressed interest in the role the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
I’d been eager to take on more responsibility as an executive assistant, and my team allowed me to prove myself in various projects and initiatives, so it was an easy decision to apply for this position.
How has InStride supported your career growth throughout this journey?
InStride has supported my career growth first and foremost by offering the Step Forward program, which all InStriders can participate in from their first day on the job. Through Step Forward, InStride covers our tuition in any of the courses offered to our corporate partners. That’s more than 1,700 choices!
Some people take certificate courses or skills courses, while others go for a full degree, which is what I’m doing. I am enrolled in the Master of Applied Leadership and Management at ASU. Going back to school was something I wanted to do, and thanks to InStride, I can achieve that goal and not have any student debt to pay off once I’m done.
What role were you first hired for at Redgate Software?
I started my journey on the inside sales team where I had the opportunity to work in the most dynamic line of the business and interact with almost all of our teams. My time in inside sales gave me real exposure to the technology we market and the wide spectrum of industries we sell to. In my role, I was responsible for taking care of inbound customer requests by managing the end-to-end sales cycle of transactional deals, as well as qualifying and supporting opportunities with larger potential for our account management team.
Looking back, my role was all about accumulating knowledge about the database industry, the digital transformation journeys our customers go on and how we help them shape better development processes in the DevOps world. Being in the role was a great opportunity to learn about our technology, processes and teams and develop the right backbone to succeed in my future roles as a business development representative and account executive.
I receive amazing, on-going technical training and support to do my job and to continue developing new skills.”
What role are you in now?
I’m now an enterprise account executive. My mission is to expand our relationship and our footprint in enterprise companies by helping with their larger digital transformation initiatives. The culture and the managers and mentors who took my hand and guided me really contributed to my success.
Every customer’s digital transformation journey is so unique and interesting. I’m currently working on a few projects in the finance and insurance industries where I’m helping the database administrator and development teams to modernize their database development practices and improve the way they develop and deliver software.
How has Redgate Software supported your career growth throughout this journey?
Here at Redgate we take pride in how we invest in our people. I feel really lucky and grateful for the personal and professional development opportunities at Redgate and all the talented people I work with. The amount of technical and sales training and the support and encouragement I received — and still do — from my managers and peers were critical to my success. I can’t emphasize that enough.
Sales is a rollercoaster ride, and in our industry we solve really complex issues, which takes time. You want to work in a company that understands that and teaches you how to be and stay resilient. It’s key through challenging times and gives you room to experiment, fail, try again and succeed. I strongly believe that the freedom I’ve been given at Redgate, along with the structured, supportive and healthy guidance, has contributed to my career growth and helped me climb the ladder and reach the role I’m in now.
