Career Path: Technology Enterprise Sales, Guest: Mackenzie Coughlin, LinkedIn

How a positive attitude and strong networking lands you the job...twice!

Key Career topics include: Networking before, during, and after job experiences | The hidden job market |  "Creative" Networking

Mackenzie Coughlin had recently graduated from Providence College and secured her dream job at LinkedIn when COVID-19 derailed those career plans.  Mackenzie was less than a year into her new job when she became part of a large layoff at LinkedIn.  Mackenzie shares how she got the job at LinkedIn - spoiler alert: she didn't intern there during her junior summer!  Hear about what she did do in her summers (and as an undergrad) and how she leveraged those experiences to get into one of the most coveted sales programs in the tech industry.  Her first two years out of college have not been a straight path but that's what makes her story so interesting and so very much worth the listen!

Links mentioned in this episode:
Mackenzie's LinkedIn profile
Vidyard

LAUNCH Career Strategies was founded by Karen Elders and Elyse Spalding. We help young professionals launch a successful career path with expert coaching services. Reach out today for an initial FREE coaching session.
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Transcript

Guest: Mackenzie Coughlin

Host, Karen Elders: Are you looking for your first internship or job? Or maybe the next step in your career? Welcome to Top of the Pile. The podcast explores all things career for 20 somethings. I'm Karen Elders with launch career strategies, and I'll be your host. Let's get started. Okay, welcome back top of the pile listeners. Today, my guest is Mackenzie Coughlin. 2019 graduate of Providence College. Mackenzie was a marketing major with a finance minor at Providence, and was also a swimmer on Providences D1 varsity swim team. Very impressive. And currently, McKenzie is a learning solutions consultant for LinkedIn. McKenzie is only two years out of school. But it's been an interesting twisty turny a little bit road. And I think everyone listening will learn a ton from McKenzie story. So I'm excited to have her on top of the pile today. So welcome, Mackenzie.

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin:

Thank you for having me excited to be here. 

Host, Karen Elders: 0:57 

Great, great so let's jump in. So first off, one of the things I think is so interesting about your background, I always encourage undergrads to get involved in their school in their college as soon as possible. And I think having clubs and organizations to speak to when you start to interview for internships and jobs is key, to show that you take initiative, you develop leadership skills, etc. Now, you were a Division One swimmer. So that's enough for most people, but you were able to get super involved a PC. So I think it'll be interesting, if you can tell us a little bit about your involvement outside of swimming, and why that was important. And you know, kind of what you got out of that involvement.

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 1:38  

Yeah, absolutely. I think for myself, I knew getting involved was really gonna be the first time I would had the chance to flex networking muscles. And looking back on being involved outside of just being an athlete. I think three reasons that I want to get involved included, just to be able to meet new people, learn about career opportunities, and over time have the chance to take on more leadership responsibilities. I think freshman year, I certainly may have over joined a few clubs. But over time, I stuck with organizations and clubs that I genuinely enjoyed and had an interest in and for the time it came to interview cycles for internships and even post grad careers, when often also is my biggest accomplishment. I would speak to my involvement in various organizations and just taking advantage of every opportunity I could to help narrow in exactly what I wanted to land in a post grad career for myself, but for how I could leverage it to an organization as well. 

Host, Karen Elders  2:37  

You know, it's an interesting point you say about, you know, freshman year, I think a lot of people do sometimes oversubscribed themselves and jump in on too much. But you know what, it's, you can always just take things away, and you don't want to bite off more, but it's okay. I think, you know, you got to test the waters and see what really connects with you and resonates what group of people are there. So that's, that's great. So I think one of the other things that is really interesting about your background, and I think encouraging for people, hopefully to hear is that you are now at LinkedIn, but you didn't internship, you did not intern there. So it sounds like you're able to get the job through the regular application process when you're in your senior year in college. But so backing up, if you would share a little bit about what you did as an undergrad, you know how you spent your summers and how you were able to still develop professional skills to speak to in those interviews.

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 3:32  

Yeah, absolutely. So I spent seven summers as a swim coach, and the last two of those summers being the head swim coach and aquatics director, certainly not kind of prerequisites for a corporate position necessarily. But due to the timing of when the swim season began, I also did have the chance to take on internships with which were a little bit more, you know, business corporate roles, which was a great experience. But when it did come to the interview cycle, postgrad, I often spoke to my summer jobs. And that is because I was able to speak to the transferable skills that I learned and summer jobs like being a sports coach or a camp counselor, or even working as a waitress or not only the first time you get a paycheck, but really you leaning in on those transferable skills for the next role you won, and you've gained stories to speak on for interviews. So I think for myself, that was a priceless decision that also allowed me to have a super fun summer and it was definitely something I heard from recruiters that stood out for my interview processes that few different companies. 

Host, Karen Elders  4:39  

Yeah, it's, it's awesome because there is so much pressure and everybody right now to feel like they have to know their career path, like the minute they start college, and they've got to start doing internships immediately. And, you know, it's, I don't think it hurts you to do them. But I think that there are other things you can do to develop those skills. So and I love what you said about flexing the networking muscle during the clubs and, you know, getting out of your just friend group to be able to deal with different personalities. And then as you're in your summer job to, you know, it's a lot of customer service, you're dealing with demanding parents, that's a skill that any job needs, you know, being able to do client customer service, be able to step back and come in, you know, handle a situation. So, so, moving forward, so when did you kind of start to finalize your resume and start researching companies? What led you to your decision to go into sales? First, okay why don’t we start with that?

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 5:38  

Okay, so I think when looking back on how I ended up in sales, first, I was aware of my skill set. Naturally, being an athlete, I've always been wired to hit and chase goals, I love that feeling of chasing something greater than myself or for myself, but along alongside my teammates, as well, second, have always enjoyed working with others, which is very common in sales to be on a team. And then just having the chance to manage your own time and be accountable for the results in the input you put in to lead to your own output is something that always attracted me. But I recognized my skill set and understood the experiences that were in front of me. So talking with others, listening to folks who were in roles that I could see myself in all within the industry as well. I gained those experiences from doing shadowing programs and just messaging people on LinkedIn, asking for a few minutes on their calendar to help me understand why they ultimately ended up in the role that they were in. And then when you put that all together, that's in short, how I ended up in sales and glad I did and excited to see what's in the future for me. 

Host, Karen Elders  6:43  

Yeah, it’s great. You are natural at sales. And I know there's moments, especially when you start a sales career to say, you know, maybe you lose a sale or something doesn't come through, or whatever it is, you say, should I be doing this? Am I going to succeed at this? But, that happens in every role across any industry in any path. But I think what's good to know about sales, is, you said it, you know, being a salesperson is almost like running your own little company, like your sales book of business and your quota and everything is your own little mini company, but you're a company within a larger company. So you are on a team. And usually sales teams, hopefully, if you do your due diligence, where you're interviewing that you want to be on a sales team that has a very, you know, collaborative, supportive culture, that, you know, like your swim team, like everybody cheered each other on and, you know, rings the bell when somebody makes a sale. That's it. That's a great environment to be in. And I think it's a natural role for an athlete actually. But you don't have to be an athlete, obviously, to go into sales. But you know, I can tell just talking to you that you probably were really good and organize your thoughts when you're interviewing. How did you kind of hone that craft of interviewing? You know, I think you mentioned doing informational type interviews. And I think that's really, you know, interesting piece to get data collections. I'll let you maybe chat about that a little bit. 

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 8:05  

Yeah, certainly, I think, first of all practice is key. Being prepared will give you confidence as well, which is incredibly important. And during the interview, you want to feel confident that you do have a great chance at winning the role. And I actually thought of the interview process very similar as I would as an athlete would train for a game or for a meet and to be the best athlete, you train every day. And you have to train yourself to interview like it is a game day or they are approaching a game day. So for myself, I often would prep in a few different ways from typing out the hots and questions and potential answers or bullets I would like to speak to, I would ask myself questions in the mirror to practice, especially if they're in person interviews, how my behavior or my body language would come across. And sometimes I'd even throw headphones in and walk around and answer my own questions just to feel more confident about speaking out loud and trying to listen to the work or to this flow of how I was answering those questions as well. All while being diligent on what's out there on LinkedIn, what are some podcasts and articles that would just help give me the insight to how I would practice for those. For those interviews as well, 

Host, Karen Elders  9:15  

It's so great, and I hope anyone listening is going to tune into that, that the idea of just, you know, video recording yourself, listening to your audio, the way you're pacing, your answers and your organizing. It's so tempting to try to memorize interview answers and I see people do it all the time. And it's so dangerous. Because if the question isn't asked exactly correctly, the way you practiced it, or if there's a little extra nuance put into the question, or just people can tell when it's when it's rehearsed and memorize. And it, the truth just comes out and you know, you've got to be careful that so I think that's smart. As you say, the more practice you do and then it becomes conversational. It just becomes your natural, authentic genuine answer. And I think, you know, it's so important that people aren't memorizing. So, alright, so let's jump over. I mentioned that it was a twisty turny road. Let's go to your senior year in college. And, you know, tell us about how you got into finding out about the LinkedIn role and that hiring process?

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 10:22  

Yeah, absolutely. I think, first of all, kind of speak to how I landed into the hiring process, which was through a referral. I use LinkedIn to get to LinkedIn, I networked with someone who was actually in the role that I wanted to be in and, and ultimately landed and but did not know them and did not have a connection. But I just sent over a quick message. And luckily, they responded to me and we were able to chat. And from there, we enjoyed our conversation, and he passed along my resume, which then led me to the hiring process. So from there, the hiring process included a recruiter screen, you know, behavioral interview, an interview with the hiring manager, a mock call with a sales manager. And the last round was a super day, which was on site in person out in Chicago, which was a great experience. So that was my interview process for the first time I was at LinkedIn. And then also when I went to Okta, this happened in a very similar way, I sent a message to someone who's in the role that I wanted to be in. And what was unique about this process is that they were not hiring for that team. However, I still have the chance to speak to the recruiter, and she connected me to someone who would eventually become my manager. And like I said, they were not hiring. But ultimately, after her conversation, he felt strong about me joining the team, and there ended up being headcount. So this role was never publicly posted. But I think that speaks to the volume of the power of networking and kind of also just being in the right time at the right place. 

Host, Karen Elders  11:59  

Yeah, it’s so interesting. And so we'll get into why you say the first time at LinkedIn. I think that though, what you just said, doing a cold reach out, so many people are stuck on Well, I don't know anyone at that company, you have to put yourself out there and not be afraid to just reach out and reaching out to someone in the role is brilliant, because they're already there. And if you can get them to give you a little bit of information about the role, even if they don't refer you, you're so much more informed and educated about it. So I love that you did that. And I really encourage people to do that. And the other piece of that, though, there isn't a role open there right now, I won't apply to that company, or I won't network there. If it's a good company and you're interested in the company, there will be a roll open, there will be eventually. And the key is hence the name of my podcast, you just want to be on the top of the pile and on the desk when that roll and headcount comes open. So the thought process has to be that you got to be in it for the long haul. And not just for what's open today. And what am I applying to in this moment? So I mentioned the twisty turny road for McKenzie, first few years out of school. But, so, you were at LinkedIn. So you get the job out of college, you start after school. And you're there for I think a little under a year when COVID hit. And you were part unfortunately of a major layoff at LinkedIn. So I think it'd be cool to share like, how did you how did you handle that? And what did you do to get the new job?

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 13:35  

Yeah, absolutely. I think being laid off is never something you expect to go through and, and what was my dream roll out of college and being laid off truly was an absolute gut punch. It hit me like a ton of bricks, just because it was something that I really did not think I would experience this early on in my career and at a role at a company I had given 110% into for the for the start, and how much time I put into networking internally and how excited and the potential I felt to grow my career at LinkedIn. Waking up to an email out of the blue after months of being told this would not happen definitely was not a great feeling. But when I took a step back, I realized that this is now gonna be an opportunity for me to take on a new experience, leverage what I have learned in the past year, and gain new skills that would help me continue to grow my career. And this was a good reminder that it is always important to be networking, especially externally as well and leverage those connections you have. Many of my LinkedIn friends, we all came together and were able to, you know, grow our own networks by connecting our personal network. So I made it my new job to find a new job and treated it like a sales process from prospecting companies and roles that would be a good fit and then finding the decision makers who would be those who have the hiring power all while doing consistent outreach and LinkedIn and emailing and in some cases would call would cold call people. So I knew the more I tried more responses I would get. So over I think it was about four weeks, I spoke with 14 different companies at three final rounds and three offers. And it felt good to have the ability to choose what was going to be the best fit for me.And what how I could best leverage my skills.

Host, Karen Elders 15:41

 It's great. It's great. And you know, you're coming from LinkedIn. And, you know, people are gonna say, well, she got the job at LinkedIn. She's obviously talented in the first place. But I think that you also move to a new city. I mean, you're from the east coast, New York City, tri state area, and you move to Chicago, correct?

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 15:43  

Yeah, absolutely. I never thought a million years would be in Chicago. But when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn't say no. And being let go, I'm happy to say and I was excited to stay in Chicago. So that was a, you know, a silver lining as well.

Host, Karen Elders  15:57  

I think this is opening up a bit. But I do think people especially in the last year when they were looking for jobs had to be flexible on where they live. And you know, now things are being redefined too. So, so remote work, etc, will be more common. So I think one thing to highlight is that you ended on a good note at LinkedIn, too. It's so smart to do. So then you went to Okta, and you hadn't experienced that? And then tell us what happened. So you're at Okta, you got the new role. And then I guess what I just said kind of helped. Right? So maybe you can speak to that?

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 16:30  

Yeah, absolutely. I think during my time at LinkedIn, I had many opportunities to network with other folks, which had always made me excited, as I said, to grow my career there. And when things abruptly ended, that was nice to go to Okta and still stay in close contact with those connections I had at LinkedIn. And over the last few months, there was different opportunities that presented itself to be back at LinkedIn, but I wanted to make sure it was the right team and the right role for myself. And when that opportunity did pop up, it was great to have been contacted a few times, and but definitely comes from leaving on a good mark and, you know, fostering those relationships that you build. So definitely, I think speaks to the power of networking.

Host, Karen Elders  17:18  

Yeah, good for you. It's awesome. It's a great story. I mean, you created all of this so much yourself. And you know, didn't feel sorry for yourself, you picked your bootstraps up and kept moving forward. And I think your positive energy is also people have got to keep the positive energy, you know, whenever they're going to any interview process. But so, so tell, tell me a little bit about your current role at LinkedIn. It's a little different, I think your first role, but tell us a little bit about that role?

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 17:49  

Yeah, certainly. So today, I'm on the LinkedIn learning team. I work as a learning solution sales consultant for enterprise and large enterprise accounts, which at LinkedIn means their organizations anywhere between 500 to 10,000 employees. And what that really means is the high focus on the front end of the sales cycle, primarily focused on prospecting, qualifying leads, all while partnering, partnering with account representatives to generate pipeline and close that new business. I think what's great about being laid off, which I laugh about, just because it's hard to find how great it is, in the moment of all that going on is I was able to leverage the skills that I gained at Okta to, to do this role and feel I am more confident in this position than I would have been, had I not been laid off. So very much a silver lining, but excited and grateful to be back at LinkedIn

Host, Karen Elders  18:42  

Everything lends itself to another, you know, every link in the chain helps you move forward and learn and build a stronger chain. Right? So I think that's good to remember. And, you know, if people go through long periods of time where they don't have work, they, you know, I encourage them to take a class, get a little certification, strengthen a hard skill they have or a soft skill. So anything else that kind of is on your mind as a new grad, you know, only two years out that you think would be helpful to share with someone coming up the pipe behind you? 

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 19:17  

Yeah, I think one thing that always comes to me is don't be afraid to network, do not be afraid to reach out to people on LinkedIn, I know it can feel and sometimes sound a little daunting just to add connections and from people you vaguely know, but I don't know, put yourself out there, leave a positive impression by doing something creative. You can send someone a voice memo through LinkedIn or you can send a recruiter or a team that you want to be on a Vidyard, which is a video platform as well. And I think also throughout the interview process, don't be afraid to network throughout that process as well. And you know, the more people you have vouching for you to be at a company can only help you in the long run. 

Host, Karen Elders  20:03  

You know, and I think that one of the biggest networking pieces people don't pay attention to, is when they're an intern perhaps, or even in your first job, you know, it never ends. It's something that, you know, we used to call it the Rolodex, but I don't know, people still use the term Rolodex, but it's your, your relationships in sales, it's revenue and relationships, right? What do you bring into the table? So as you move forward in your career, if you move to another company, as a salesperson, that's what they're going to focus on. You know, what have you sold? You know, how have you moved the needle for a company? And what relationships do you have? But you know, beyond that, are you a team player? Can you support other sellers and not just be your own island? And even if you sell a lot, you know, some companies will value that more than others. But I think in this day and age, the team player seller is really the rock star, and the person that people want. So thank you so much. I love it. This is all great. And I wish you the best and continued success at LinkedIn.

Guest, Mackenzie Coughlin 21:03  

Thanks, Karen. Thanks for having me. And for anyone listening, if you have questions or thoughts, feel free to reach out to me. I am on LinkedIn. So thanks. 

Host, Karen Elders  21:11  

Awesome. You know what? I will include Mackenzie's LinkedIn connection, or profile link in my show notes. And, and I'll throw some other notes in there from things that were mentioned, like Vidyard that you mentioned. I'll put that in there, too. All right. Thank you. 

Launch Career Strategies helps young professionals launch you know, successful and fulfilling career path. Check us out at launch career strategies.com. By the way, if you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a rating and review. Reviews are key to helping spread the word about top of the pile so we can reach other young professionals or anyone looking for advice on how to up their career game. Thanks for listening. I hope you have or are having an awesome week. I hope to connect with you next week.