Michel Nguyen’s Post

Have you ever played free board games? I recently had the opportunity to play board games for the first time, and it was an absolute blast. Yes, thanks to Google who sponsored our South team outing, and it turned out to be a day filled with learning, bonding, delicious food, fun, and personal growth. We enjoyed games like Suspend, Codenames, and Guesstures where I got to know that my team members can be really fun outside work. 😂 Here are three valuable takeaways from this experience: 1. Team outings are essential for strengthening the bonds among team members and getting to know each other beyond the workplace. 2. Fun team outings help alleviate stress and burnout, especially for sales professionals striving to meet their targets. 3. Informal team outings enhance communication and collaboration among team members. For me, it was a special day because I felt comfortable conversing with my teammates. I felt secure just being myself, without worrying about what I didn't know. I owe this personal growth to my supportive team members who allowed me to be who I am. I'm sharing my story to encourage those who may struggle with self-confidence. Challenge yourself every day and push yourself. Eventually, you'll witness your own improvement and be able to say, "Yes, I'm growing." I cannot express enough gratitude for the positive impact Google has had on my life. P.S. Stay tuned for another team Diwali celebration on the horizon! #Google #AfreenatGoogle #Fun #TeamOuting

I quit my job at VTEX to try a different career path. The result? I didn't like it. I had the curiosity: What if my Interior Design hobby was actually my career, would I be happier? The cliche: turn your hobby into your job and lose both became a reality for me. I learned from that experience that I need both activities in my routine: work with something analytical and strategic, and then disconnect my mind in the design and art universe. That mix is what makes me happy.  Now I am back in the market. And with much more self-knowledge for this new professional cycle. I found one post by Tim Denning and he summarized everything I feel about my career break moment: - "Resume gaps demonstrate you can take risks. If you can't even attempt one new job that you might fail at, how can you attempt leadership that is full of guaranteed failures? Take risks that create resume gaps. It shows character". So, companies, if you are looking for a professional who knows how to take risks, fail, and restart, I might be the one. Besides, I am also the one if: ➡️ You are looking for a problem solver. I was responsible for structuring the Recruiting Operations team at VTEX when the company was triplicating its size. I needed to find a solution for all the Recruiting processes and tools to guarantee quality and efficiency. ➡️ You are looking for a recruiter. I hired for the Product, Design, and Engineering teams, while still setting up practices that reduced bias and predicted on-the-job performance. ➡️ You are looking for someone who can master data. I was responsible for designing, maintaining, and analyzing HR data. I co-created the People Data Warehouse, the team's dashboards, and storytelling presentations to C-levels. ➡️ You are looking for a project manager. I run several Product Discoveries to identify issues and validate new product implementation. I managed different stakeholders to guarantee our projects would hit our OKRs. Send me a message if you believe your team could benefit from someone with my experience and skill set. 🇧🇷 in the comments #opentowork

This is my 10th week at TTD joining after 5+ years at Meta. I think it is the right moment to share my onboarding experience for anyone who may be interested in. Despite more than 25+ yrs experience, several things pleasantly surprised me, and these are a couple of key reflections.   People. More and more companies put the profit and efficiency over people even though they don’t say it in public. My experience so far including Onboard event in NY confirmed that TTD at least is trying hard to put people at the core of the business. All new hires, regardless the role, level, and the location, were invited and had valuable time to learn about the company, product, and functional skills and to build their own network. I was told there will be another training program for the first-time people manager as well. The founder and CEO, Jeff and several C suites flew over from Ventura to NY for Onboard, even though it was the 2024 Q1 earning call week. They all gave 1-hour sessions in person covering vision, product, culture, Go-to-market, growth mindset and so on. They are also very humble and accessible, welcoming any casual talks and questions at any time in the office. A group of new hires even were able to get in CEO’s rom for their group activities and Jeff personally acted for them.   Vision and Values. TTD has a very clear vision and unique values. Most interestingly all TTDers try to live with the vision and values, believing they will build a better workplace and drive the business at the same time. Throughout Onboard event, new hires were able to learn, interpretate and exercise the vision and values. Jeff and C-suits also endorse them by showing they personally live with them. What I liked most were-first, TTD pursuits a sustainable growth of the whole internet for ALL, including consumers, advertisers, publishers, and content creators, which is very different from, or even contrary to, how giant wall gardens run the business, second, I was encouraged to be authentically myself at TTD and I am expected to ‘Come as who I am’.   Invest AHEAD in APAC. TTD is a relatively young player in APAC while it is already very strongly established in US. In APAC the ecosystem, market dynamics and knowledge level of clients/agencies are way different from those in US. I understand TTD sees this is a huge potential to grow together with other partners including advertisers, agencies, and publishers, rather than issues or obstacles. TTD leaderships has a strong belief on this and eager to invest AHEAD in the region. I am very excited with a lot of interesting opportunities unfold soon.   This is reflections after 9 weeks at TTD. I don’t mean that TTD is flawless and perfect. It can be better than now, no question. I just wanted to share how I was welcomed by TTD and all TTDers and I am grateful.  I am also excited with opportunities for me to bring additional values as a part of TTD and help ALL players in the open internet thrive sustainably together.

As Diversity Month draws to a close, it serves as a reminder that cultivating inclusivity and equity in the workplace is an ongoing journey we all share. Here is how we strive to live this commitment daily at Criteo: 🌟 Committing all year long: By launching comprehensive initiatives, we work together to build a culture of openness, respect, and support for all communities, both inside and outside of Criteo. 🌐 Empowering our community: Through programs like Criteo Cares, and mentoring and sponsorship, we aim to uplift underrepresented voices and foster an environment where everyone feels like they belong, while being equally set up for success. 🔗 Volunteering and giving back: All our Criteo team members benefit from 2 days to volunteer and give back to projects, organizations, or initiatives with a positive impact of their choosing. 🔄 Sustaining a diverse culture: Real change comes from long-term commitment and that’s why we instill values of #DEI in all we do—from hiring practices to professional development opportunities, ensuring inclusivity is at the core of our business ethics. We continue to prioritize these initiatives, not for one month but every day, and will foster a culture that celebrates and champions diversity all year round! #CompanyCulture

(My) Four Aspects of an Unwanted Career Transition 1. Finding a job becomes your job. This was and is no surprise. Most of my energy, focus, and mental capacity is consumed by this (until I spend time with my family in the evening). 2. Dealing with constant rejection and disappointment. It’s hard to fully transition from 20+ years of delivering results, leading cross-functional workstreams, project planning and execution with global field teams, defining and optimizing digital customer journeys, working on large-scale omnichannel marketing campaigns, and contributing to a team’s success……to all of a sudden doing none of that. And in turn, you’re dealing with the opposite, ongoing failure. Do I want to “get used to it”? No. Do I need to find some sort of comfort level with it to stay sane and remain positive? Yes. This has taught me resilience and given me a fresh perspective on….. 3. The longing and desire to be a part of a team, add value, and do meaningful and impactful work. At first, this wasn’t something I immediately missed as I was more focused on taking a step back from things and then going through the mental adjustment mentioned above. As the weeks and months have gone on though, I find this longing growing and becoming stronger and stronger. (Depicted below with #Fezzik) 4. Taking advantage of the situation when possible. Apart from having more time to connect with my family, which will be the topic of a future post, it has been great to reconnect with former colleagues, enhance my skills in AI prompting, do some marketing consulting with local companies, and deepen my knowledge across various industries like #Tech, #Gaming, #Security, and #Retail. As I continue this journey, I remain optimistic and am eager to bring my experience and energy to a new team and company. #Nintendo #Amazon #Starbucks #Meta #Xbox #Google #Smartsheet #Intel #AlaskaAir #AWS #Adobe #NVIDEA #Freshworks #Pokémon #Costco #Chewy #F5 #SentinelOne

1 thing I did to advance my career quickly at companies like Meta and Google: "Eat the frog" for my manager. How it works: 1. Do your current job well 2. Identify the work your manager dislikes 3. Learn how to do them 4. Do them well Eat the frog for your manager to build trust and credibility, so that when the time comes for a promotion or raise, your manager will step up to the plate for you. Full story on Business Insider: https://lnkd.in/esXgbFBj

I got promoted quickly at companies like Meta and Google by following this career tip: 'Eat the frog' #CareerSuccess #PromotionTips #EatTheFrog #FastTrackCareer #MetaSuccess #GooglePromotion

The author of the article ( (Andrew Yeung) got promoted quickly at companies like Meta and Google by following this career tip It's simple: Do your current job well. Identify the tasks your manager dislikes. Learn how to do them. Do them well. #meta #google #promotion

Sternly Worded + Lyft in 2024 Through the end of last year, I had a great opportunity to try out two different contracts at once. It was a great way to compare and contrast onboarding, design cultures and rituals, and get a little taste of a company cultures. A little try before you buy. For both roles, I positioned myself as a "content design assassin."* Give me the brief on the problem that needs to be solved, throw all your style guides and files my way, and then I'll get in there with strategic stakeholders to get to a workable solution, fast. And for both roles, it was effective: I took on the tickets that had been languishing, but still needed help. I dug in on some quick collaboration and polish work to get things shippable. Get in, get out, get the job done. But, balancing two part-time contracts at once was a lot. Context (and computer!) switching, totally different tools, plus extra time-zone math. I worked one contract 7-11 am, the other one from 11-3. Manageable for a short time, but not wholly sustainable. Both contracts sought extension, but I had to choose. I'm excited to continue my engagement with Lyft through June. Just like before, I'll be picking up whatever needs strategic Content Design expertise, as well as consulting on some central Content Design needs, like tone and tools. The team is stellar, and I'm so glad to be working with them. And what's nice about this set-up? I've still got some extra time for other things, like getting an agent for a novel I wrote (!), plus team-building workshops and other small projects. Hit me up if you'd like to chat about any of this. Thanks to Alicia Ostarello and Amy Lipner for bringing me on. I'm loving my time with the team and looking forward to an awesome H1. *believe me, I want a new phrase for this, but nothing's beat it yet

After learning about Google's recent layoffs (check out the article linked in the comments for more information; my sympathy to those affected), I wanted to share an article by Andrew Yeung from Business Insider that might be useful for those who are currently working for large multinational corporations like Google or Meta during these difficult times. The article highlights a career tip that helped Yeung get promoted quickly at these companies: "eat the frog." #careergrowth #tipsandtricks #frog #managingup #opportunities