Kate Taylor: Deviating From The Path is What Makes You Interesting

Oct 26, 2022

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As Global Head of Recruiting at Notion, Kate has an interesting vantage point on tech career journeys. But her own path is a powerful example of how growth is a jungle gym, not a ladder. Kate launched her career with a cold email to Marc Benioff (at a point when Salesforce had 4,000 employees!) and spent years in sales roles at Salesforce, Dropbox, and Notion, where she rose to become Head of SMB revenue before making a leap into people and recruiting. Kate’s story is full of simple but powerful points on the value of relationships across careers—and she offers priceless advice on how to ask strangers for help.

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I think people often are afraid to reach out to someone up, down, whichever direction they are near you. But at the core, most people I run into, want to help other people or they want to lend a helping hand. Anyone who’s asked me anything on LinkedIn, even if I don't even know them, I'm like sure, why not? Let me help you in some way. I find that's not unique to me asking a favor from someone or reaching out to someone, and not being afraid of what the answer is, and the response. Don't overthink it, just ask someone for help.” - Kate Taylor

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Episode Timestamps:

*(02:10) - How a cold email to Marc Benioff launched Kate’s carrer

*(05:57) - How Kate moved from Salesforce to Dropbox

*(07:42) - Why Kate gravitated towards Armando Mann’s leadership style at Dropbox

*(11:16) - The importance of having a job that shares your core values

*(15:08) - The benefits of building genuine connections and personal relationships

*(16:35) - Why you shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to people or to ask for help

*(19:55) - Being authentic with your ask

*(22:08) - How a personal connection with Kate’s intern came full circle to a job at Notion

*(29:15) - People love to be remembered

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Sponsor:

Who Got Me Here is brought to you by Connect The Dots, mapping professional relationships so you can find the strongest connections to the people and companies you want to reach. Visit ctd.ai to learn more.

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