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To me March signifies St. Patty’s Day and as they say…the “Luck of the Irish.” There are two components that make up a successful career as an administrative professional. One certainly can be luck, being in the right place at the right time however the other one is what we do with the luck once we recognize we have been given a little luck.
When a dear friend approached me to ask me if I was interested in working for a small start-up as an Executive Assistant, I scratched my head. What does an executive assistant do? Why would I want to interview for that role when I was already an office manager and comfortable in my existing role?
I listened to my inner voice that said “Hey this could be your lucky break! Go for the interview!” And so, I did.
As luck would have it – they hired me and lucky for me that I had the willingness and desire to be the best executive assistant they had ever had and so I took initiative in learning, taking on projects and managing executive calendars to the best of my ability. Luck got me started however it was my efforts that kept me moving in the right direction.
When the doors on the start-up closed due to financial reasons, again luck tapped me on the shoulder when the Vice President of HR found me a temporary role as a contractor in the company he was now working at. Was it luck or was it because I had developed a great relationship with him during my time in the start-up world where I stepped up to help him assist the employees who were being let go.
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During this time, I was sending out my resume to so many companies and getting interviews although none of the companies I interviewed with felt to me like they were the right place to work.
One day, as luck would have it, my resume made its way to the recruiter of Cisco Systems, and I got the call to come in and interview. The company was on a good day, 45 min. away from my home and I was reluctant to drive that far however my inner voice again said, “go for it, what do have to lose?” and so I did.
Lucky for me that John and I hit it off right away in that interview because that was the beginning of one of the most wonderful careers I have ever had as an executive assistant.
So, while luck has played a big part in my life, I know that it takes more than just luck to be successful. I used luck to open doors that would have otherwise never opened for me, and then I grabbed hold, used my initiative, stepped out of my comfort zone, and took risks to make the blessing that luck provides me into something wonderful.
Yours Truly,
Debbie Gross
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