Recognition and Respect for Essential Workers
When you’re walking around our offices, how often do you run into a janitor? How often do you say hello or speak to them?
Our janitors at Palo Alto Networks are hardworking people who don’t get enough recognition.The majority of them are Latino and now is a great time to highlight their daily contributions to our company.
Sometimes, they get overlooked because their jobs seem so simple and so humble – words often used to describe Latinos. Because they also work quietly so as not to disturb anyone, there is a sense of invisibility that comes with the role.
But that means too many individuals go unnoticed. People rarely know their names or stories.
I am proud to have been raised by parents who spent their careers as janitors because of what their dedication and work ethic instilled in me. I learned that everyone in any company deserves respect and gratitude for what they contribute, and I learned to value what I have along with the opportunities I’ve been given because of the work my parents did.
I am a first-generation Latina, first-generation college student, first-generation graduate student, and first-generation tech employee. None of it would have been possible without my family and the hard work of my parents. They kept food on our table and a roof over our heads my entire life and for that, I will always be grateful.
My dad worked at a community college for 26 years and just retired this summer. He started as a custodian and was promoted to supervisor – a position he held for the last 20 years. The majority of his co-workers also stayed there for most of their careers. I know this because when I’d visit my dad as a teenager or young adult, they’d say they remembered when I was a little girl and came to see my dad on Friday afternoons.
My mom also retired over the summer after having spent 20 years working as a housekeeper at a hospital. Her manager was sad to see her go, saying his “best employee was leaving” him. During the peak of COVID-19, I saw the stress and fear my mom felt going to work, but that didn’t stop her from doing her job. She and her colleagues kept themselves safe while being essential to the hospital doing its lifesaving work.
Without both of my parents working in janitorial roles, my family couldn’t have afforded to live in the Bay Area. My brother and I wouldn’t have had the opportunities we had, and I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I probably would never have found Palo Alto Networks or the community we have here.
One special janitor I had the honor of knowing here was our beloved Yolanda, whom we lost to COVID-19 earlier this year. “Yoli” was such a sweet woman who would go out of her way to help others and she always took time to get to know people. She had a humble background and struggled to overcome obstacles to be a happy mother, grandmother, and friend.
“Yoli,” who died earlier this year from COVID-19
When news spread of her passing, stories were shared on Slack about the type of person she was and each one was full of love and admiration for this wonderful woman.
I spoke to her often and loved hearing about her family and seeing her joy when she told me there was another grandchild on the way. She once crossed the Building 3 cafe just to come give me a hug and talk for a bit.
A co-worker sitting with me then said Yoli probably enjoyed talking to me because I speak to her in Spanish and she’s more comfortable conversing in her native language. It hadn’t occurred to me that others didn’t speak to her in Spanish and I then realized how few employees around headquarters speak Spanish and are able to easily communicate with our janitorial staff.
Yet, I have seen colleagues who don’t speak Spanish taking time to try and connect with our janitors and every time I do, it brings me such joy.
As a child of janitors, I thank those who make the effort to pay attention to our cleaning staff in spite of any language barriers. I especially thank them for seeing our janitors as people who deserve the same level of respect as anyone in any other job.
During Latinx Heritage Month, and beyond, I urge all of you to reflect on these “invisible” workers who make our jobs easier. If you can, make them less invisible by chatting with them and showing appreciation for what they do.
FLEXWORK Flourishes With Palo Alto Networks Interns
Since you’ve been with Palo Alto Networks, how have the company’s values shown up in your day-to-day experience, or for you personally?
Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, securing an internship came with thoughts of shared office spaces, lunch with fellow interns, live presentations and mapping out routes for the best possible commute. However, with the changes the world has faced in the past year and a half, internships and work as a whole continue to be reimagined.
FLEXWORK is a direct response to these changes and has granted employees across Palo Alto Networks the opportunity to create meaningful work from anywhere — including interns.
This summer, the intern cohort here at Palo Alto Networks consists of 202 interns from all across the country — and the world! While many of our interns are still remote and haven’t been able to head into an office quite yet, FLEXWORK and Palo Alto Networks’ commitment to employee choice has made their summer better than imagined. Hear a few of their experiences below:
“The remote working environment gave me flexibility with timing. I met with a lot of interns through Zoom meetings and attended more intern events compared to what I could have done If the internship was not remote.”
– Keerthiraj Nagaraj, Data Science Intern, University of Florida
“I love the idea that all the graduating students and early career workers will now have the opportunity to dictate how day to day life should be run. I don’t think a generation has had the opportunity to do that in a long time. My hope for this new normal is that we can embrace change and listen to each other to build an efficient, and dare I say, enjoyable work lifestyle.”
– Kelsey Henson, Software Engineering Intern, Georgia Tech
“The fact that the internship is online allows for less interruptions and saves me commuting time. I feel these factors have enabled me to spend more time towards my project. I am currently working remotely from Iowa where I go to University. Since the time zone I am in is ahead of the rest of my team in California, I am able to start my day earlier. I can be more prepared with updates or questions by the time my team begins work.”
– Yamini Mathur, Software Engineering Intern, Iowa State University
“What helped me was contacting a bunch of interns to set up 30-minute calls. That actually allowed me to get to know a lot of the interns. In addition, every Tuesday and Thursday, some interns in the area get together in the office to work. That has definitely helped me feel more comfortable in the internship program as well.”
– Aishwarya Golechha, Consumer Finance Intern, University of Edinburgh
The internship program here at Palo Alto Networks is growing by the year. With initiatives like FLEXWORK that make employee choice a top priority, we are excited to see how our early-in-career teams and company as a whole continue to flourish.
Interested in learning more about our internship and early in career opportunities? Visit our Early in Career Site.
Sold on a Career Path: My Internal Mobility Experience
By Niamh McLarnon, Major Account Sales Representative
When I enrolled at the University of Manchester, I was like a lot of new college students, in that I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do for a career. I knew I was interested in business and how organizations developed and executed strategies, but in terms of where I might fit into that world, I wasn’t sure. I decided to pursue studies in business management as well as Spanish, which would open up the world of international business for me.
I spent a year abroad working in Barcelona as an intern at a local real estate firm, which was my first introduction to sales, and I discovered that I really enjoyed it. Part of my job was to show flats to people who were looking for rentals. I found I really liked the experience of matching the right client or renter with the right property. When someone found the perfect flat for them, it was pretty fulfilling. I realized that forming relationships was a strength and a source of enjoyment and motivation for me.
After my year in Barcelona, I enrolled in a graduate scheme, or training program, in management with an infrastructure services provider for the UK government. This not only enabled me to develop my sales skills, but also helped me to realize that I wanted to work in technology, which I knew would surely provide career growth and opportunity and also allow me to work alongside bright, talented people. I had my eye on a business role with a technology company, and I was fortunate that a former colleague of mine from Barcelona had gone on to work as a Business Development Representative (BDR) with Palo Alto Networks. He let me know about an open position with his team in Amsterdam, and I knew it was just the position I’d been looking for.
I was fortunate to be hired and began working as a BDR in December 2019, and I immediately began learning a tremendous amount, not only about cybersecurity but also about sales and sales enablement. I became fascinated with the concept of channel business sales, and I loved the aspect of building a relationship with a partner and enabling that partner to go out and sell our solutions successfully.
My manager actually joined the team the same day I did, which you can imagine meant that many systems and processes needed to be put into place and territories assigned. I was aligned to the regional team handling the UK and Ireland, and I was working with that team on its outbound strategies — in other words, its cold-calling efforts. While BDRs typically only handle leads that are brought to them, I now was more deeply involved in the sales process. Additionally, I was asked to be a team lead to assist with the day-to-day operational management within the team as it grew and began onboarding new BDRs. This was key in providing me with an internal mobility opportunity.
I learned that a Major Account Sales Representative (MSR) position had become available. This was a step up from the BDR role I’d had. While the BDR books a meeting with a potential customer, that’s where the involvement in the sale ends. The goal is to book meetings, but that involvement in the sale, the development of the relationship and meeting the customer’s needs isn’t really part of that. However, an MSR provides support further along in the sales cycle, helping to put a deal together that aligns with both the customer’s needs and the sales team’s. Thanks to my involvement in the operational aspects of sales and the additional responsibilities I had taken on, I was in an excellent position to move into the MSR role.
My manager brought the opportunity to me, thinking it a good fit, and I met with him for about a half hour to discuss the details of the role. It sounded like just what I was looking for, so I applied, went through a rigorous interview process, and was officially offered the position.
Though I’ve only held the position for a short while, I’m excited about the potential to learn more about putting together deals and closing them successfully.
One of the things I really like about this company is that there’s a strong emphasis on individual development plans to help employees determine where they want to be and what steps they ought to take to get there. This is an environment where we are truly encouraged to figure out where our interests lie and explore them.
While I can’t speak for everyone at the company, I can say that I always have felt very comfortable bouncing ideas off my manager, and I had a good enough relationship with her that I could express my interest in new positions as they arose. Especially for someone like me who is early in her career, it’s okay not to know exactly what you want to do right away. It’s okay not to know everything. The leaders here recognize that, and they encourage us to speak with other people and solicit their opinions and advice. I look forward to continuing to learn more as I develop in my own career.
Living Values Through Actions
Since you’ve been with Palo Alto Networks, how have the company’s values shown up in your day-to-day experience, or for you personally?
That was one of the first questions I asked when I interviewed with each employee on my interview panel at Palo Alto Networks about 6 months ago. Each individual shared a personal story of how the company showed up and supported them during moments that truly mattered. These moments varied from the level of support and integrity the company displayed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to Palo Alto Networks’ commitment to its people and professional development. This showed me there is a true emphasis on investing and supporting the employees at PANW.
You take that feedback at face value during the interview process and hope that similar sentiments are pervasive throughout the organization. In my short 6 months, I experienced and witnessed 2 unique moments where values were lived through actions and not just spoken words.
As many parents and caregivers have experienced throughout the pandemic, the juggle between caring for children and delivering against expectations has shown up every day. Within my first 3 months, there were 2 instances where our youngest son needed to quarantine at home due to a COVID-19 outbreak in his classroom. I was concerned with being viewed as inaccessible or distracted, but this was not the case at all. I was met with empathy, flexibility, and trust in my execution. I was reassured that being present for our son was the priority and in turn that enabled me to show up and be present for my family when they needed me the most.
Additionally, as a US Navy Veteran,I have a passion for serving our military community. In support of PRIDE month, the VetsNet and LGBTQIA+ employee groups came together to support Modern Military, which is a national organization focused on supporting LGBTQIA military, veterans, and family members.
We completed a virtual volunteer event creating “Child Comfort Boxes” for children of LGBTQIA+ service members or children who identified as LGBTQIA+or Transgender. It was an amazing event that created a safe space to share experiences, become more educated on this community, and create new support systems – all while giving back!
As I reflect on these two moments, I can’t help but be proud to be a part of the Palo Alto Networks family where #inclusion sits within our core values and shows up uniquely for its employees each and every day.
Disrupting the Future
Palo Alto Networks’ interns explain how they are equipped and ready to change the world in the #DisruptingYourFuture campaign.
Here at Palo Alto Networks, we are on a mission to disrupt the cybersecurity status quo and ensure that every day is more secure than the last. As our organization continues to configure solutions for our world’s toughest security problems and reimagine the workplace with initiatives like FLEXWORK, there seems to be no group more excited to disrupt the future than Palo Alto Networks’ interns.
The #DisruptingYourFuture campaign aims to showcase this generation of young adults and how they are focusing on challenging the status quo, both in the workplace and in the world. With the chaos of COVID-19, calls for social justice reform, and the evolution of technology, this generation is beginning their careers in a time like never before. As they continue to stand-tall in the face of adversity, those who are early-in-career are eager to make a difference.
Throughout this campaign, many of the 202 Palo Alto Networks’ interns were asked to think critically about how resilience has played a role in securing an internship at Palo Alto Networks, how they have handled remote work and stayed motivated, and most pertinent to our core value of disruption: “How do you foresee yourself and this generation disrupting the future?”
Hear from a few of our interns below:
“This generation hasn’t been afraid of speaking out about issues from toxic work cultures to systemic racism and I don’t see that changing. If there’s a better way to do things for everyone, I think this generation will have the opportunity and motivation to try to do better.”
Kelsey Henson, Software Engineering Intern, Georgia Tech
“Inequality and injustice have long been able to exist in the structure of our society, and myself and this generation are taking a stand against them. We’re taking a stand against all forms of hate and breaking down barriers. We’re the generation that grew up with the most interconnected world and we recognize our responsibility to make it better.”
Christian Brake, Customer Success Engineering Intern, Eastern Michigan University
“In the future, I hope to be a part of the creation of software products to protect businesses, organizations, schools and even governments that will safeguard the digital future. I want to be involved in creating a safe environment for the digital world to grow.”
Yamini Mathur, Software Engineering Intern, Iowa State University
“Our generation has more resources than ever and is on the rise. We’ve been through difficulties but we are ambitious and resilient. With that, we can disrupt the future.”
Yanan Lin, Prisma Access Intern, University of Southern California
Getting the opportunity to work at Palo Alto Networks, an organization that holds disruption as a core value, interns are able to gain hands-on experience on how to truly make our world a better, safer place. Navigating a new normal is not easy — especially as one begins their career — but with a launchpad like Palo Alto Networks, the sky’s the limit.
To find more on the #DisruptingYourFuture campaign, follow us on social media:
Instagram and Facebook @lifeatpaloaltonetworks
Twitter @wehireleaders
Interested in learning more about our internship and early career opportunities? Visit our Early in Career Site.
Trailblazing Your Path
Yumei Peterson, Strategic Program Manager (WW Shared Services)
Plano Office next to a wall mural painted by employees during a Women’s Network Connections event.
In December of 2017, I moved my family from New Mexico to Texas to start a new chapter of my career at Palo Alto Networks for many reasons: best-in-class technology & solutions that customers loved; hyper-growth company & industry; and let’s be real, an amazing compensation plan & benefits.
4+ years and three promotions later, I can honestly say that I am on a career journey of a lifetime. A journey that led me to be first the person in three brand new roles for the company.
Being in a brand new role has its challenges as I ventured into the great wide unknown, but I’ve found there are also invaluable learnings and priceless “first” moments where you get to be a part of the company’s history. Above it all, one of the most rewarding aspects of trailblazing a career path is creating new possibilities for others who will follow behind . It’s an immense joy and blessing to set a firm foundation for this newly forged path for others to join in with their unique contributions to unlock all the potentials of this path and forge new ones.
I am sharing a few of my learnings along my career journey to give hope and encouragement to those who are on their own career journeys!
Change Brings Opportunity
Change is the only constant in life and it rings particularly true in the workplace. Yes, change can be uncomfortable and overwhelming with many uncertainties to consider. What is also true is that change always brings a gift in the form of opportunity. Don’t be a bystander waiting for the wave of change to settle down, instead look for new gaps and needs in the business caused by this change where YOU can be the solution.
As I look back at all three of my promotions, one common thread is that they were all during times of change in the business: we had a new VP join the organization, the company created a new program, and an unexpected leadership change. These were moments in time where my hustle met opportunities, which resulted in dream jobs for me. Expect and embrace change to seize the opportunities at hand.
Collect Skills, Not Titles
Consider these 2 statements, and see if you can tell the difference:
- In 5 years, I want to be a ______________.
- In 5 years, I want to be able to do _____________.
When I first entered the Corporate world, I was set on becoming a sales manager and that was my goal. Through the guidance of all my incredible mentors, I was able to change my outlook on my career path and decided to seek opportunities based on a new goal of learning new skills. The way this played out in my career journey was:
Started in a sales role -> transitioned into a sales operations role -> then got back into sales -> ventured into a sales enablement role -> built programs from the ground up -> now I am in a strategic program management role in sales.
Through all of these dynamic experiences, I developed new “muscles”, gained new knowledge, widened my worldview, expanded my network, and became a jack of many trades. What’s next? I don’t know what it is yet but I know it will be something that stretches me to be the best version of myself.
What Are You Waiting For? Dive In!
The best way to demonstrate that you can do something is to do it. You don’t need the title of a manager to be a leader. I am a leader because that’s who I am, not because someone told me to be. Don’t wait for an invitation to show the world who you are, just dive in and be you!
Not sure where to start? I have a hint for you.This is a place overflowing with opportunities to lead, be creative, make a difference, meet like-minded people, and have fun. Did you guess it? It’s the Employee Resource Group! Get started by joining or volunteering to serve as a leader of an employee resource group that best aligns with your passion & interests.
When I first entered the Corporate world, I didn’t know a thing about professional skills such as networking, mentorships, or personal brand. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn these skills through various programs provided by the employee resource groups. Until one day, I decided it’s time for me to dive in deeper and give back by serving as a leader in various groups. Beyond the “cube”:
- Led the first Career Development Program for early-in-career sales professionals at the Plano office
- Serve as the Plano site leader and advisory committee for the Women’s Networks Group
- Co-founded the Toastmaster chapter at the Plano office, served as the President of the past 2 years, now starting a new role as an Area Director
- Mentor to local university students and early-in-career professionals
I know, this is a classic MO of an overachiever. I just can’t help it though; this is who I am and these “beyond the cube” engagements fill me with inspiration, motivation and joy! When you do what you love, it’s not work anymore, it’s fuel that keeps you going.
It’s All About the People
Most importantly, none of this is possible without the resilient support of my family members, friends, mentors, sponsors, peers, and amazing leaders. Your career journey is not meant to be traveled alone. Good company along the way who can point you in the right direction, keep you accountable to your goals, encourage you when you want to throw the towel in, or just “seat” with you as you regain your strength is the most important part of your journey. I am sincerely grateful for the countless individuals who joined my journey along the way. I know I wouldn’t be here without all of you and I will give back to help others.
The key to beginning and maintaining fruitful relationships is for you to be authentically you. Not who you wish you could be, not who someone wants you to be, but just you being unapologetically you. When you put your true self out there, the most amazing humans will emerge onto your path. When you find these kindred spirits, hang on to them and cherish them. Life is more fun when you can share with the humans who accept you just the way you are because my friend, you are enough.
Today, I choose to continue my career journey at Palo Alto Networks for the same reasons I joined the company plus one more; our company culture that thrives on the passion, creativity & dedication of the people. I am proud to be a part of the Palo Alto Networks family where anything is possible together!
Positioned for Growth
As a person who has both experienced internal mobility within Palo Alto Networks and helped facilitate such mobility for others, I can certainly speak to the incredible career opportunities and potential for growth within this company.
I joined Palo Alto Networks in 2012, which, considering our explosive growth in recent years, it was a very different organization. I was recruited from a prior sales rep that I worked with at a prior organization. I joined as a Channel Account Manager in NYC. The role of the Channel Manager is to work with our partner community to drive the alignment, enablement, and demand generation so that we drive 2 critical business drivers, pipeline and bookings.
When I first started in that role, Palo Alto Networks was a fairly young company without a highly developed business strategy for working with strategic partners. With my 10 years of professional experience in sales and marketing, specifically in channel account development, I was able to contribute. I aligned and collaborated with many but my focus was to align and understand how I can partner with the District Sales Manager and Systems Engineering Manager. We built out a shortlist of partners that we would focus our efforts on and build out a strategic plan. We aligned on what our goals would be and how we would drive the business and understood what cadence would be required. We had many ideas over time and sales plays that worked and some that didn’t not but we quickly pivoted and drove the focus partner bookings to a point where it was 80% of our overall bookings.
Fortunately, as the company grew and expanded its channel business, I was well-positioned and understood how to drive an effective operating rhythm, having done this already on a smaller scale, to expand my role and bring that expertise to the entire East Coast region while also leading a team of Channel Business Managers, as the new Manager for Channel Sales East.
Then in 2019, the business had grown to another critical point where my responsibilities grew as well and I moved once again — in my new position of Director of Americas Regional Channel Business, the scope of my work extends throughout the U.S., as well as Canada and LATAM.
I have always aspired to get to a point in my career where I could make more strategic decisions and develop and structure my own team, and now I’m fortunate to be in that position. People are what matter and building a solid team is critical to anyone’s success. We have been extremely fortunate to hire the best of the best Channel players. My team has helped me grow into the person I am today. I have learned a number of skills on how to continue to remove obstacles so that our teams can win at the point of attack. Those skills include continued collaboration, decision-making, conflict-resolution, and delegation skills.
I credit that in part to luck, as well as to my enthusiasm for the work and for contributing ideas and energy to help grow the business, which I think positioned me well for promotions when new opportunities arose. Also crucial in my success, though, have been my managers, who have offered me the chance to contribute ideas, trusted my experience, and presented me with opportunities to advance. Rather than reinforcing a hierarchical structure and insisting I remained in a position where I was doing predictably well, the leaders at this company wanted me — and all employees — to experience career growth, to continue learning and advancing my knowledge, responsibilities, and earning power. That’s a benefit not often found at other companies.
Now that I’m overseeing a large team of people, I’m in a position to do that for others. While I do hire new employees into our Channel Business organization, I also am constantly looking for opportunities to advance existing employees into new positions of responsibility, if they are talented and eager to learn. With the amount of growth happening at this company right now, if someone really wanted to move into a different role, even a management position, it’s absolutely possible.
A while back, one of our VPs told me that before a role is even open, you should be looking for ways to promote yourself and act as if you’re already interviewing for the job. You do that in how you carry yourself, how you respond to challenges and seek out learning opportunities. Then when the role does open up, like what happened with me, it becomes a no-brainer that the person to fill that job is you. You are essentially writing your own RFP.
So my advice — to anyone either within Palo Alto Networks who might be looking to move into a new position or to someone who might be wondering whether this company is for them and is looking for a place with advancement opportunities — is to stay persistent. Once you figure out what you want to do or where you want to be, put yourself out there, and embrace the challenges. Challenge is what changes us and you as a person. Reach out to people in the organization and ask if you can pick their brains or even shadow them. Seek opportunities to take on new responsibilities and projects just so you can learn from them. Get involved in groups that get you interacting with new people. Put yourself in the driver’s seat of your own career, and you just might wind up exactly where you want to be.
Inspiring Youth With A Virtual Business Trip
Ever since I joined the company, I’ve been exposed to several opportunities to volunteer for Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) efforts which is something that’s dear to my heart. One of the earliest opportunities was Activities in Cybersecurity Education for Students (A.C.E.S.), which is dedicated to demystifying cybersecurity through interactive learning, equipping youth with resources to have safer online experiences, and encouraging them to pursue careers in cybersecurity.
Initiatives like A.C.E.S. are opportunities for corporations to have positive impacts on underrepresented communities by creating a rich pipeline of talent. Through developing a slide deck to help the company pivot to online deliveries of A.C.E.S., I was recruited to speak to students in The Hidden Genius Project on June 18, 2021; a nonprofit based in Oakland, CA, with the goal of training and mentoring Black male youth in technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership. They were hosting virtual business trios (via Zoom) with tech companies across the Bay Area, and Palo Alto Networks was one of the companies they selected. When I got the invitation to participate in the talk, my response was emphatic, “I’ll be happy to do this!”
Before I joined Palo Alto Networks, I did tech talks and technical training across various cities in California, including San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sunnyvale, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and Sacramento, so at this point in my career, I was used to presenting to a room full of people. However, I was concerned about having my message resonate with the students. I believe that in order to get your message across, you have to first captivate and then retain the attention of your audience. This is especially true for teenagers who can have wandering minds. Therefore, after I pondered how I was going to deliver my presentation, I decided to ditch the PowerPoint and speak from the heart with the goal of trying to inspire the students to pursue careers in tech. In addition, I wanted to give the students the opportunity to express their thoughts. I knew listening to them would make the talk more engaging than just lecturing them.
When the big day came, the volunteers met briefly to understand how the event would be facilitated and get any last-minute questions answered. After the pre-meet was over, the students were put into breakout rooms with the volunteers, who each gave a presentation discussing their education, role, and path to Palo Alto Networks. Each session lasted roughly 15-minutes, and then the volunteers rotated to a new set of students until they had the opportunity to speak to all of them. The event went by fast, and each session started the same: After I gave the spiel about myself and my career, I asked the students what projects they were working on in The Hidden Genius Project, which got them to open up. One of the students mentioned that he was trying to build an AI voice recognition tool and was also interested in pursuing a career in tech.
I gave advice when I felt it was warranted. For example, I asked the student who expressed an interest in AI if he considered using Amazon Web Services (AWS), as they have a plethora of services geared towards artificial intelligence. In addition, Ashely Savageau, who is the social impact program manager at PANW, has connected that student to two researchers at Palo Alto Networks for an informational interview. This is just one example of how our company goes beyond day one. I concluded each session with a motivational message to the students which is, “Don’t be afraid to let the world know who you are and to go after your dreams.”
After the volunteers talked with all the students, I facilitated the recap and asked the students if they had any additional questions. One of the students asked if cybersecurity has changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We all agreed that it has, as cybersecurity is a dynamic field that requires constant innovation to stay ahead of the latest threats.
Conclusion
I was happy to have the opportunity to represent Palo Alto Networks at this event, and I feel that it could serve as inspiration for similar corporate community engagement events. Tech is an industry that recognizes the need for I&D efforts, and Palo Alto Networks is a company that’s working to minimize this gap. I don’t mind volunteering for causes that I champion because I’m a firm believer that in order to make a change, you have to step up to the plate. Plus, employees can log their volunteer hours in My SMILE, and the company will contribute to the nonprofit employees volunteer with. I want to conclude this article by giving a shout-out to the volunteers: Rolanda Small, Derek Jones, Juwan Rogers, and MK Palmore for helping to make this event pop. There’s a lot of work to be done, and I hope to see more events like these in the future!
Career Elevation Starts with a Conversation
In my role as Project Manager for Palo Alto Networks’ People Team, I assist with guiding a number of employee initiatives, including corporate responsibility and rollout of Reflektive, but I’m chiefly responsible for our Performance Elevation initiative. Through this program, I am deeply involved in helping our employees chart their own career paths, by overseeing a program that encourages them to set and achieve goals and take advantage of personal and professional development opportunities.
Additionally, as an employee who joined Palo Alto Networks as an intern and has experienced my own considerable career growth since joining this company, I have seen firsthand the opportunities available here to learn and grow in your career. In my case, my internal mobility into my current position began with a simple conversation.
I joined Palo Alto Networks as an intern in our Talent Acquisition department, which deals with new employee recruitment. I was fortunate that the company was incredibly flexible and willing to let me work part-time as I completed my college classes. And when I graduated in 2018, my enthusiasm for this company, the work, and learning all I could about the business helped me to earn a full-time position in Talent Acquisition Operations.
After about a year, I got to thinking about what next step I might like to take in my career. Project management appealed to me. Rather than being task-oriented, it would enable me to see the big picture, work with different people and teams to accomplish milestones, and enjoy the fact that every day would bring something new. It was a skill set I knew would be valuable throughout my career and give me great visibility among high-level executives.
So I took the first step and contacted someone on our People Team and expressed my interest in project management and in developing skills such as public speaking and leadership. Then I asked if I might have the opportunity, pending my manager’s approval, to shadow one of the People Team’s project managers to see whether this was a role I really wanted to pursue.
Without hesitation, they agreed, and my manager was completely supportive of this idea. So when the department was later reorganized and the Project Manager role on the People Team became open, I was fortunately positioned to take it on, which I did in 2019.
I suppose you could say I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. But I’d also carved out that path for myself, and with the incredible support I received from both my original and new managers, I landed right where I wanted to be.
In my role as Project Manager, I primarily oversee Performance Elevation, which involves leading weekly meetings of a cross-functional core team of about 20-25 people. My job is to manage the project plan, obtain status updates, ensure we’re meeting deliverables, determine our resources, and communicate with the executive team or stakeholders about how the project is going.
Since taking on this role, my leadership and confidence have grown so much. I used to be so nervous, I would never have been able to lead a meeting without sweating, but now I do this every week! I’m able to voice my opinions with confidence, work with a wide range of people, and steer them in the right direction. My overall comfort with leadership and my ability to accept new challenges are certainly due to my project management position.
I’m able to say, both from my own personal experience and from leading Performance Elevation, that Palo Alto Networks is a company where career growth is completely employee driven. I know it can feel intimidating to approach a manager about wanting to move into a new role, and in some businesses, a manager might even treat such a conversation with contempt. But here, there’s an overwhelming amount of support for employees to grow and take on the positions that best suit their talents and interests.
My advice to anyone who’s interested in taking the next step in their career or who is concerned about whether this company offers growth opportunities is to be clear and transparent. I’m so glad I spoke up and expressed my desire to move into project management — that conversation led me to where I am today. I think the key is focusing on where you want to be, enthusiastically taking on learning opportunities and new responsibilities, and talking to people. At this company, I’ve seen that people are more than willing to sit down and talk to you about what they do, so reach out and ask questions! Pick people’s brains. Ask about job shadowing or whether you can do informational interviews. Focus on where you want to go, not what you want to leave behind. Ultimately, when you’re doing the work you want to do, you’re more likely to give it your all and bring value, which benefits both yourself and the company too.
Drawn to the Data: My Internal Mobility Story
When I began attending Xavier University in Ohio, my interest in math prompted me to earn a bachelor’s degree in finance. I had no idea when I began the program that I would end up actively seeking out a data analytics role at a cybersecurity firm, but it’s a position I’m really happy to have.
About halfway through my degree program, I discovered that “analytics” was becoming an important buzzword among businesses, who were discovering the usefulness of collecting numerical data about customers (or potential customers). I realized this was something that interested me. I was fortunate enough to be offered a Sales Operations internship and began to really see glimpses of how analytical data could offer insights into customer behavior and help with developing sales strategies.
I interned for two summers with Palo Alto Networks while I was still in college, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time. I made it clear that I was interested in a full-time position with Palo Alto Networks upon graduation, and I was really glad to be offered a position as an Associate Sales Operations Analyst role. After a little more than a year, I transitioned to a Sales Intelligence Analyst position.
When I was performing analytical work for the Sales team, I was able to do a small amount of work with Einstein Analytics, a cloud-based analytical tool from Salesforce that helps teams visualize data and gain insights for business. I became extremely interested in how Einstein users could strategically incorporate this data into their decision-making about how a company operates. I realized that of all tasks I was responsible for in my Sales Intelligence role, what I enjoyed most was the reporting and analytics using Einstein, and I was ready to do it full time, in a more strategic role with the company’s security services organization.
Fortunately, Palo Alto Networks is a company that supports internal mobility — employees are encouraged to pursue roles they’re interested in because its leaders understand that people do their best work when they’re passionate about what they do. When the Business Operations Analyst position became available, I approached my manager to let him know I was interested. Rather than responding in a negative way about my leaving his team, he was nothing but supportive of my goal and the opportunity to expand my knowledge of analytics, so I applied for the job. It turned out that the hiring manager for the available position was also enthusiastic about my moving to his team, so I was offered the position and officially began this job in December 2019.
Now, a year and a half later, I couldn’t be happier. I now get to be involved in the inner workings of the Strata network security suite. Rather than doing general analytics for the global business, I’m getting more hands-on with this specific aspect of the business, which I really love.
I also enjoy that this company offers lots of opportunities to expand my career, whether it’s learning a new tool or taking on a project that may not necessarily have been my scope previously, all to give me the chance to learn new things and broaden my knowledge of the business. Looking ahead, I hope to continue growing in my understanding of data and how to present it so that others can formulate recommendations and make strategic decisions.
One important factor that has led to my sticking with this company for five years is the company culture — every team I’ve worked with has included coworkers who are not only supportive colleagues but also friends. There is a culture here of wanting others to succeed and stepping in to offer insights or even just a pat on the back, and that’s been really meaningful to me as someone who’s still in the beginning stages of his career.
Whether or not you already work for Palo Alto Networks, I can wholeheartedly say that this company is like a big family where everyone has your back. The leaders here really want you to succeed, even if that means you eventually move into a new job or department. As long as you have the best interests of the company in mind and are ready to work hard, you can find opportunities to learn and grow here.