Identify Opportunities (Tal Rabin)

5 Minute Mentor

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Tal Rabin is Head of Research at the Algorand Foundation. She is a researcher that focuses on cryptography and security. For over 22 years she was the Head of the Cryptographic Research Group at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

https://media.blubrry.com/5minutementor/5minutementor473546891.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/17-tal-rabin-full.mp3

Transcript:

ES: This is 5 Minute Mentor, a podcast where you’ll get advice from prominent engineers, authors, artists, and more in 5 minutes or less.

ES: Today’s mentor is Tal Rabin, Head of Research at the Algorand Foundation. Tal is a researcher that focuses on cryptography and security. For over 22 years she was the Head of the Cryptographic Research Group at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

ES: This is their advice.

TR: People always discuss having mentors and sponsors in the work environment, which are very important things. But that’s not my advice. My advice is the following. I found for myself, that, many times I would identify opportunities. Not through a mentor or sponsor, but myself, that I thought that were relevant for me, and could advance my career. And it would be good if I could get them. But, this was not a self promotion thing that you could do, you really needed somebody to recommend you, or to put you forward. And what I’ve learned, and this is my advice: When you see that, and, if you have, a close colleague that you trust, and you think, can do this on your behalf, you should simply go and ask them. Please put me forward for this promotion. Please nominate me for this opportunity. And so on. So, it’s just very important that you sometimes take the lead yourself. with the aid of others. But try to identify things for yourself and push them forward.

Tal Rabin, Head of Research at the Algorand Foundation