Another thing is the support she received from the Co.Lab community during and even after the process of job application. The connections she built have outlasted the cohort. Her mentors helped her with interview tips when she reached out and they continued their mentorship even after the end of her cohort.

“I was able to form friendships with the members of my team as well as other PMs in the cohort. We’re still in touch these days and give each other tips and support each other.”

In a rather exciting turn of events, Alex and some of her Co.Lab team mates recently launched their app ‘Sidekick’ on Google Play Store. It was the project the team worked on during their time at Co.Lab and on completion of their program, they submitted the winning UX demo. As the project was in a problem area that they really cared about, they felt a duty to see it to completion so they worked on it even after the cohort ended. Today, it’s a living, breathing app that allows you to track and prioritize up to 5 relationships each week, so you can make time in your schedule for those who matter most.

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The saying ‘Third time’s the charm’ rang true as she was employed by Google after her third application within a number of years. What sort of changes did she make between her first and third applications, to better position herself for the role she wanted? 

“I acquired real product experience through Co.Lab and took initiative at my workplace by tactically taking part in and initiating projects that bridged the gap between where I was and where I wanted to be.” 

For example, It was a major requirement of her job for her to have had experience managing stakeholders. As the Product Manager in her Co.Lab team of individuals working remotely in their different roles, trying to create a single product, she learnt the language of the job, how to tailor the features of the product depending on whom she was communicating it to, and other skills required to manage stakeholder expectations. She recalls learning about User empathy the hard way when her first Products Requirement Document was heavily criticized by two of her mentors at Co.Lab. As it turned out, she was more focused on the idea of the product she wanted to create than on the core problem the product was to address. After this was pointed out to her, she had a complete mindset change and modified her approach so that she began by first, identifying a problem and then worked towards solving it rather than hop on just any new, cool idea. Also, eventually shipping a product demonstrated to her employers and to herself that she had the mindset to make such things happen.

She took on assignments at work that gave her exposure to products and delved into opportunities that allowed her craft a convincing narrative about herself. This is why she believes that more people should ask themselves: 

“Is there a way I can take advantage of the current situation to build the skills I need instead of always doing something new?” In this way, they can maximize their current jobs in order to carve out opportunities that might be beneficial to their end goal.

The one thing she advises is for everyone to be unafraid to experiment. 

“In college, I was in a very safe mindset of ‘I need to have a job when I graduate’ or ‘I should not try this because I have no time to fail’. Now, I think failing and learning to experiment helps to challenge yourself. At least when you fail you know what needs improvement. Each time I fail, I learn something and I’m a little closer to my goal”.

She finds it especially critical in job applications, to learn to fail. “Sometimes a job is asking for 2+ years of experience and you don’t have 2+ years of experience so you don’t apply. Maybe just apply? The worst thing that will happen is you’ll be rejected.” As a person who sent out 200+ job applications, we’re confident she knows a thing or two about the process and we’re willing to take her word for it.

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