Monica Alfonso

I think my faith has definitely always been a stable peace in my life, and that's my upbringing, that's my family. That changes over time, but in my case, I think it's definitely faith-driven and family-driven. My parents were refugees from Cuba, and it's a very difficult situation. They left everything in this country with no money and no resources, but they came to this country exactly for that, for me to have the opportunity to be able to do those things. No pressure, right? But like, now you have to make it count. I think growing in confidence and growing in a particular skill set outside of just the essential to do my job has been key. Becoming competitive in my particular area, and driving myself to focus on technology, and as I've grown at Microsoft, getting more competitive, even with AI tools. Even though I don't come from a coding background, I get AI certified to make sure I'm competing with the best of the best in my particular sector. I think it was a stroke of confidence, and getting that confidence over time, whereas I think some people are born with it. I was not. I had to build that skill set over time, and it took the harder experiences and learning at different, more local places.

I've had so many amazing leaders, so many amazing mentors, at every single company I've worked for. It's been a great group of allies, some men that are just really rooting for me, and some women along the way that are also just amazing managers. Even my last manager at Microsoft, I say that she makes managing at Microsoft almost intimidating, because she's just such a good human and amazing leader. Her name is Laura. We've recently restructured, so I'm supporting a new team and I'm under a new manager, but I think I talk to Laura every other day still, because she's not just an amazing manager who pours into her whole team, but I think individually she just really rooted for me, and really held the torch for me in rooms that I wasn't present, and advocated for promotion, and advocated for my development. I cannot thank her enough. I think in my 5 years at Microsoft, she was just one of the most influential people in my whole career. I don't view career growth as a destination, but rather as an ongoing journey, shaped significantly by the mentors and leaders I've encountered along the way.

I would say dream big. Getting out of college, I never thought a place like a Microsoft or a Google was an option for me. So dream really big, but take the risks while you're getting there. If that means starting at the staffing agency that you don't think you're cut out for, take the risk and try it. If that doesn't work, jump to another one. If that doesn't work, take the risk and lead somewhere else, and eventually you will find your footing, and you will land somewhere. Ideally, if you're building towards that goal place that you want to get to, or that goal business you want to start, if it's starting your own recruiting firm, you'll have the experience and build up a skill set that is very unique to you to help you do that. I look back 11 years, and I can't believe it's been 11 years, and I'm here, and I'm grateful to that I get to do this now at a place that I absolutely adore.

I would love to see more people embrace AI and relinquish some of the fear. This fear may be just from movies and fear because of a lack of understanding, a fear that it's going to replace you or knock you out of your job. But I think companies are really trying to focus on keeping people that are using AI to make them more efficient, more streamlined. In the process, that may look like what it looks like right now, which is some reductions in force, but I do think it's not lost on companies to keep people that are really trying to influence via AI, make faster decisions, work more efficiently. I would love to see people outside of tech embracing AI and not fearing it or dismissing it because I'm not a coder, or I'm not a software developer. Like myself, I have never coded in my life, and probably won't ever, but I do push myself to try to obtain certifications and learn about large language models and AI, and the different ways it can help me in my job. The way that it could help a software developer and the way it helps me may be two very different ways, but nonetheless, it is helping. Just like when computers rolled out, and the internet rolled out, the way it influenced a marketer and the way it influenced a software developer at the time were two very different ways, but the influence was there nonetheless.

I think curiosity is most important. I'm a curious person, and I think that's what's kept me successful in any employer, is having a value of curiosity and leading with that curiosity. And finding joy. I'm always trying to change my perspective. I love Microsoft, but it's a company, right? So there are changes, and there are times that I may not completely embrace or be at ease with certain changes. So I'm always focusing my perspective on where can I find joy in this, and where can I, even if it means, well, it's a little bit different, but I can find more joy at home to compensate maybe in a bit of a season of change or burning, or a bit in a new system with new systems. I'm always looking for finding joy, and that's what I call my own version of work-life balance. I don't fully believe in traditional work-life balance. I don't want to say I don't log off. I do log off, but my work-life balance may look a bit different than what others may expect. I'm ready and available, but I do also put my phone down to really be present. I think that's another big value for me, is being at a place that allows for that, and having the option to do that.