Comfort Zone Symptoms Not to Ignore - BP Analyst Shares Year of Transformation

Marlene Perez shares her year of transformation in becoming a Financial Analyst at BP North America. After a year of investing in herself, Marlene shares the tools she gained to advance in her career. 

By: Marlene Perez 

Have you ever felt frustrated because you were too comfortable in your career? I’m talking about the heaviness that sets in when you reach a standstill and it robs you of your potential to be challenged.

This feeling was all too familiar for me back in August of 2015. I found myself not only with low morale on the job, but also the type of  discouragement that spread into my personal life. It touched every part of me. I felt stuck and knew I needed to do something about it. My job was paying the bills but I wasn’t growing as a person. 

I was determined to find something new so I applied to several positions in and out of my organization. However, the more I tried, the more frustration set in as I wasn't getting any call backs.​

After all those rejections, I thought to myself, “If I am struggling with my job search, than it must mean my resume needs to be updated—I am going to focus on that. If it is going to take me consulting with someone, than I am going to do it.”

That’s when I finally decided to move in a different direction in my approach thanks to my own self-talk and the recommendation of my mentor. I was referred to CULTIVATE EXCELLENCE at the end of December and looking back, I can say the process was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. 

During the cold winter weekends of January 2016, I spent my time working with President and Founder, Linda E. Alberty, and it was definitely worth the investment. I always knew that a resume should be top-notch, but what really made an impact for me was when I first saw my new personalized resume. It was a complete rebrand of my talents and skills. 

Seeing my new personalized resume made me realize that all that time, I wasn't doing a very good job of portraying my skill set. I was underestimating my talent and not showing others what I was really capable of ... I was just being modest. "

CULTIVATE EXCELLENCE helped me quantify my work and associate it to something bigger, something more significant. It was life changing. The light bulb went off — I wasn’t dealing with hundreds of dollars, but with millions in my reporting to the Department of Energy.  Eventually, after my resume was completed, I also realized that I needed help to improve my interviewing skills. The Mock-Interview and Role Playing helped me recognize the value of my contribution and taught me how to craft and create this powerful narrative.

I found an internal Financial Analyst position listing that I had previously interviewed a year before for but did not get. I still remembered the remarks from the HR person who interviewed me then, “Marlene, you are not qualified for this role at this time.”

After my experience with CULTIVATE EXCELLENCE, I got the courage to apply for it again despite those negative words spoken to me in 2014. Here I was, almost a year later with a new resume, a compelling story, and the highest confidence level I had ever had. I went into the interview with that same HR Manager, declaring in my mind, “I am going to show you what I have this time around.” I wasn’t intimidated because I finally had learned how to convey my skills and wins over seven years of experience working in Crude Oil.  

​At the conclusion of the interview, that same HR Manager complemented me. He told me he had seen a big improvement from the year before. I can’t tell you how proud I was in that moment.

"Today, it feels surreal to say I’m a Financial Analyst at BP North America. It comes with a lot of hard work and it is continually a challenge to learn something new everyday. I have acquired more skills that I wasn’t getting in my previous job. This promotion pushes me in a way that is very rewarding."

If you’re ready to step out of your comfort zone and experience the positive ripple effect of self-confidence, know, that like me ...

You Really Need to Push Yourself — A year and a half ago, I didn’t think I was capable of doing more. Pushing myself out of this mentality has brought me to a place I would not be right now if I did not take action.

Rotate — Learn more skills and rotate departments if possible. After a two year term, you want to rotate, you don’t want to get stuck not learning new skills.

It Starts With You — If you truly believe in yourself, you will be able to do it. I didn’t see myself becoming a Financial Analyst but the more steps I took to get closer to this dream, the more real it became. Sometimes the things we doubt ourselves about are the very things that can be the catalyst for our growth. 

The Benefits of Confidence Extend Beyond The Workplace — As a result of pushing myself, I have expanded my involvement in the community and have gained a greater interest to give back to others. ​