Athan flunked his first job interview. But he got the best life lesson

There is no denying the power of great advice, so here are the best career tips from three Australian executives.

Athan Didaskalou and Richard Li, founders of travel bag brand July, saw poorly designed luggage selling at high prices and realised there was a market niche. After researching problems and consumer preferences in luggage, they launched their company, July, in 2019 with a single product – a carry-on trunk.

The brand has expanded into other travel products with seven stores in Australia, and is stocked in luxury retailers around the globe. Its bags are used by celebrities such as Harry Styles, Jessica Alba and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Listen and ask questions

Didaskalou says he received the best life lesson during an interview for his first job.

“It was a group interview with Microsoft’s Xbox division in Sydney. We had to do a series of pitches and creative thinking, one of which was selling a fictional device to someone,” he recalls. “To my shock, they flunked me after the first round.”

July co-founder Athan Didaskalou.

When Didaskalou asked for feedback, the recruiting manager’s response was clear: “You never once asked me what I wanted or what problem I was trying to solve. You just kept talking. You thought more words and features would do it.”

He remembers this well and says listening and asking questions is the best way to sell ideas and products to people willing to solve a problem. “I never got the job but am forever grateful for that lesson.”

A career tip he doesn’t believe always works is “do what you love”.

“It’s amazing if it works,” he says, but he has found more comfort in the words of author Daniel Pink on the pillars of motivation: autonomy, mastery, purpose.

Owning your decisions and consequences, being good at your chosen pathway, and working towards a goal you find rewarding can be applied to any field of work, Didaskalou explains.

“You can have an amazing career in areas you never thought of. Leave the stuff you love for a hobby to enjoy in your downtime.”

Look after your people

Being a female leader in cyberspace has been rewarding for Kylie Watson. Before joining DXC Technology, Watson was the lead partner for hybrid cloud transformation and cybersecurity at IBM.

Her best career tip came from Virgin founder Richard Branson. “I met him 10 years ago, and he told me to look after your people, and they’ll look after your customers.”

Kylie Watson, the head of security for Australia and New Zealand at DXC Technology.

As head of security, Watson manages almost 1000 security specialists. DXC has 130,000 employees in 60 countries.

“It’s not always easy with the rising [cyber] threat landscape, and with many people and complexities, but to ensure my team remain dedicated, I create environments of trust, honesty, support and advice if things go wrong. I encourage a positive outlook.”

Workplaces should provide a secure environment for employees to learn, explore, thrive and enjoy their work, she says.

“They’ll be more motivated, despite challenges that arise, and they’ll look after customers. I prefer to coach and guide leadership teams and managers to lead well, instead of dictating.”

Watson has learnt that success is as much about relationships as it is about being technically proficient.

“I’ve worked hard to get multiple degrees and certifications, but what’s really important is the relationship with leadership, customers, peers, teams and suppliers.

“Customers and leadership need to trust that you can lead your team and provide access to the right technical support. Technology is moving so fast – you can’t be technical in everything, so you need to keep up, but it’s impossible to keep up with everything.”

Her advice is to focus on your core skill and bring in other technical expertise as needed. “You don’t need to do it all yourself, facilitate it to the right people.”

Work hard and stay loyal

For Paul Barlow, the best advice came from his father.

“When I entered the workforce, he said, ‘Work hard, stay loyal and to get ahead; it’s you who needs to make things happen.’ This has stood the test of time,” says the managing director of Carsales, a part of Car Group Ltd, which runs carsales.com.au, bikesales.com.au, boatsales.com.au, trucksales.com.au and Redbook Australia and Asia Pacific.

There are three other bits of wisdom he falls back on.

“The first is, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Second, one hundred 1 per cent changes are much better than one 100 per cent change. Third, the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago, the second-best time is now. Simple, yet real-world tips.”

One career myth he believes should be debunked is you must sample different companies or “job hop” to gain experience, get ahead and enhance your earning potential.

“I think it is the opposite,” Barlow says. “Job-hopping can accelerate your path to hitting your ceiling, whereas longevity in a business breeds trust, loyalty, broader learnings across a business and an opportunity to achieve uncapped earning potential.”

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