I’ve been with Nike for less than a year. What is the best advice anyone can give for someone who is fairly new and unsure if he wants a career here? Is a career here even possible? I’m just uncertain if I should take whatever skills I eventually acquire from here and move on in the future, or if I can actually see the possibility of longevity here. Any words of wisdom will come in handy.
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If you are straight, white and male then GTFO
Simple: Leave
Exactly. You can get pretty far by just playing defense (and occasional offense) when you realize most of these clowns think and behave in very predictable ways.
I don't mean to sound snarky, but the best advice I can give is to get out now.
The culture is going through major shifts and the company is directionless right now. You make it through the mess as one of the lucky ones who sat in the right musical chair at the right time, but odds are against you, regardless of your personal skillset.
However, if you do choose to roll the dice and stick it out, the post by @1ljo+1b00SfK7 is pretty spot-on.
@1ljo, are you seriously advising people to not be their authentic self, deceive people, die inside, and distance themselves from everything that is good in this life just to continue having a job/career at an organization that treats its employees so badly? This sort of attitude, yours, is the reason why our communities, cities, state, and, honestly, our country has deteriorated to an acceptable level of inhumanity. Shame on you.
Embrace contradiction.
Figure out how to market yourself as completely humble, but behave arrogant as he-l.
Convince people that you're laid back, but be a raging competitor behind the scenes.
Do enough to get by in your current role but work your a-s off in working towards your next role.
Figure out how to be the person everyone likes, but nobody really knows.
Develop a complete disdain for the corporate world but use those feelings to fuel your ability to excel within it.
Not trying to sound like a motivational speaker, but these are actual things that have helped me succeed here. I grew up listening to a lot of punk rock and never saw myself in this sort of position as some corporate clown, but I think the "rebellion" in my upbringing also provided me with a heightened awareness of how a lot of these people think.
If you find someone that's in a director/VP position and you genuinely get a long with them, invest in that friendship. Not in some weird brown-nosing way, just be a normal, good person. Those people are rare and so are peopler who treat them like anything other than a clout-ATM.
I wish you the best.
If you want to make a career out of nike you need to come to terms of being under payed. If you are a bargain it is more likely HR will not try to get rid of you. So make sure your pay is always under the mid point of your job description or attempt to get a new position with with bigger range.
Next be super nice. Don't rock the boat at all. Learn to say conflicting opinion while sounding super nice and agreeable.
Next always celebrate the the end of any project or large task as if it was 200% successful regardless of the results.
Stay in good shape - best to be a runner or some other athletic event that happens on campus.
Or you could try to kick a-s and pray your managers like it and promote you and continue to do this. I have seen this work once in a while but most of the time the person hits a boss or group of people that "manages them out"
Figure out what you want to get out of Nike. If your manager won't support it, then you are free to find other opportunities at Nike that will. Don't make the mistake of waiting for other people to do things for you. And, update your resume every quarter.
Leave as soon as possible. You deserve better than this company treats people.