I began my mentorship when I was matched with Gabriel Leiva von Bovet in September 2017. I was a Salesforce Administrator at the time with goals to “move forward” in my career; achieve certifications, promote, and identify a long-term path for my career. Over a four-month period under Gabriel’s guidance, I learned to build qualitative relationships on top of professional, things to consider and practice for interviews, develop more confidence in my professional ability and rhetoric.
While I was a Salesforce Administrator, my routine was to be assigned a project, complete, and repeat. My struggles with this routine were that after a period of time my skills plateaued and I had fewer opportunities to learn and practice new things. Gabriel identified that my communication practice and relationship with my immediate manager lacked quality; we discussed projects, addressed issues, and gathered whatever was needed for successful completion. The lack of a qualitative relationship may not have hurt my professional growth but I realized it also did not help. With Gabriel’s guidance, I began to be more conscious in my interactions in meetings with all colleagues. Over time, growth in relationships helped me communicate better in and out of meetings. I felt less anxiety approaching colleagues for help or advice. Eventually, I gained more confidence addressing friction directly, if needed.
In the interest of personal and professional growth, I began searching for new opportunities on my own and with Gabriel’s guidance. I first identified professional needs and applied to companies that showed promise they would be able to fulfill what I wanted in my next step toward a successful career. I successfully interviewed with two companies and began the next chapter of my career. I am constantly reminded not to repeat the same mistake of social isolation and to start with qualitative relationships in the new setting.
During the four-month period, I worked on addressing social issues at my now prior job. I enacted organized plans to address friction with colleagues. I went through many interviews where I needed to identify and articulate myself as a successful candidate. I gained confidence in my professional ability. By the end of Gabriel’s mentorship, he noticed that my opinions were stronger than when we started. I am now less modest about my professional ability in the correct way where keeping my strengths visible is important for future success.
There were a couple of objectives that were identified during the mentorship that were not completed. I was unable to achieve more certifications and I had trouble successfully completing public speaking training. My top priority was to advance my career. With that being successful, I am now able to shift more focus back to these other objectives. Gabriel continues his support, making himself available for further communications when needed.
