The following blog post was written by Avanade alum Paul Essene.

As part of Avanade’s culture of mentorship and learning, every employee is assigned a career adviser (CA) who guides them through their career, helping everyone at Avanade grow professionally and feel inspired, confident and cared for. Career Adviser Spotlights shine a light on Avanade CAs who go above and beyond for their advisees.

This post features Paul Essene, Group Manager and IT Experience Lead based in Seattle, WA.

How long have you been a CA at Avanade?

1.5 years

Describe a moment where you felt inspired, confident or cared for as a CA.

I think the fwd_Together team has done a great job providing training and insights as well as reducing the admin “overhead”. The focus on coaching skills has helped me think differently about how I approach the role of CA.

What's the most challenging thing about being a CA?

As an introvert and possibly (probably?!) lower on the EQ-scale, knowing how to help advisees when difficult personal situations arise. Work stuff is easy… human stuff is much harder. Work doesn’t happen in a vacuum though and as an adviser you may be put into situations outside of your comfort zone. As an adviser there is training, HR partners, and our own CA’s that may be more experienced to help.

What general advice would you give to all advisees on how to work with their CAs?

Be prepared and take ownership – ultimately you have to take responsibility for your own career. Understand the expectations and how people think about success for you then work on communicating what you are accomplishing. Don’t hesitate to ask for help or suggestions, but strive to develop your own solution since that is how you will grow.

What advice would you give to fellow CAs? 

Dive in! Take the role seriously and actively listen to your advisees. Help them come up with approaches and plans but don’t do it for them.

What advice would you give to someone in their first week of being a CA?

Bookmark fwd_Together, Avanade’s performance management program, and set aside time to really go through the content. Talk to other CAs about what works and doesn’t work for them. Look to learn from the prior CAs of your advisees when you can… you may be starting from scratch, but your advisee isn’t. Lastly and most importantly, start to establish a positive relationship – let your advisee know who you are and get to know them! 

When asked about what kind of CA Paul is, this is what we heard:

Paul is a tremendously knowledgeable and supportive CA.  He demonstrates compassion, is a willing sounding board, provides coaching or resources when needed and champions the accomplishments on his team and those he works with. 

I feel immensely lucky to have Paul as my CA. He is proactive about dedicating 1:1 time on a weekly basis, and always make himself available for conversation outside of those calls. I feel heard and cared for as he regularly follows-up on items we've discussed previously and is proactive about helping me navigate murky waters as I determine what may be the "next steps" of my career. He gives me space to make suggestions and listen to my ideas. He advocates for me and my career and productively pushes me towards growth. He feels comfortable with connecting on a personal level through sharing jokes or non-work items, which in turn helps me feel more comfortable with sharing feedback/thoughts/etc., and that conversations are more genuine.