Outside the (Job Description) Box

When a friend of mine first approached me about joining him at Palo Alto Networks, my initial response was no, I was happy with the company I was working at. But he repeatedly suggested it to me and expressed his passion for this company, and although I said no several times, I was intrigued about this company and decided to learn more.

I agreed to do an interview with a member of the executive team, but it wasn’t like any interview I’d ever done before. Mostly, it was just an enjoyable conversation where this person talked about the organization — where it’s been and where it’s going — and then shared his thoughts on how my skill set was valuable to where they were headed. It was less about my doing any specific job and much more about the culture, people, and future of Palo Alto Networks, about what we’re going to become, and ultimately, that’s what hooked me.

I have had a career in technology, marketing both hardware and software, data management as well as cybersecurity. This opportunity intrigued me because of what’s at stake, this is about something personal that affects all of us, every day — the protection of our personal information. I take our mission very seriously, for myself and for my kids. It’s not just a job, it’s a critical aspect of safety in our lives, so it’s not just important to me on behalf of the company; it’s important for my family’s future. In this position, I have the privilege of being able to spread that important message and contribute to people’s digital safety, and I’m really proud of that.

Outside the Job-Description Box

Since I joined Palo Alto Networks, I went from having no direct reports to leading a team of 15, and we’re constantly growing. The company and our individual careers are growing at a rocket-ship pace, and I’ve learned a ton.

My primary focus in this position is on partner and services marketing. I’m working with all kinds of people every day, each of whom has a different amount of understanding about cybersecurity and our products, so it’s important for me to communicate well with people on any level, whether they’re laypeople or technology experts, and get them excited about what our organization does. My day-to-day work involves writing that effective messaging, working one-on-one to present our products and enable people to use them, and generally sharing the importance of how working collaboratively will change the future of the industry.

When I first started here, my responsibilities were much narrower in scope, but the company has grown so fast that the scope of my work has grown with it. In fact, “scope of work” isn’t really a term we use around here. This is not a linear company, and people don’t do linear jobs. We’re very fluid, and things are always changing.

The people who thrive at Palo Alto Networks are those who can embrace and even chase that change. We don’t like to just stick with what we know. Instead, we just go for it, we try new things, we make things happen. Our philosophy is that we fail fast and learn faster. We’re encouraged to make mistakes because that means we tried something new, pushed ourselves, rose to meet a challenge, and we learned something from it. I’ve been pushed more at this company in my three years here than I ever have before.

One of my favorite parts of this job is being involved in the interview process and giving people a peek, during our 45 minutes together, into just how unique and special this company is, and how it’s like no place I’ve worked.