Key Components to a Successful Career from a Longtime Wall Street Journal Senior Writer
Longtime Wall Street Journal senior special writer and former senior executive at Salesforce Monica Langley sat down with students for a personal, in-depth conversation on the components that lead to a successful career. She spoke with students from the Baker School, Haslam College of Business, and College of Communication and Information.
Langley was a first-generation college student when she attended the University of Tennessee (UT). She is a proud alum, who credits UT for helping her find her voice and purpose in life. She always knew she wanted to be a reporter, working as a “copy boy” for the Knoxville Sentinel during the summers at a young age. When she got to UT, she took advantage of every opportunity, attending every event she could, being part of student organizations, and joining a sorority. Soaking it all in, she found her vision as a reporter. In her senior year, she decided she wanted to go to Law School after taking the LSATs on a whim. She attended Georgetown law school, selecting the school so she could be in the city where the laws were being made.
Later, Langley became a reporter at the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), where she spent 27 years covering CEOs, billionaires, and presidential candidates. This is where, as she put it, she entered the real world, and there were four key components that helped her reach the top of her career.
Find your talent, and your passion will follow.
Langley went against the old saying of picking your passion for your career, instead telling the students to find their talent and follow that. She told students to take every internship or part-time job opportunity they could, as it was through her own newspaper internships that she learned she had the talent as a reporter. From that, she built confidence in her talent, and over the years it became her passion.
“Work is going to be hard. You will have setbacks, rejections, and failures,” Langley told the students. “Passion will only get you so far, but with talent you can succeed in your work. The wins you have will come from your talent, and your passion for it will follow.”
Have the best work ethic in the room.
Langley was adamant to the students that they always outwork everyone in the room, no matter who’s watching. She used an example from her early years at the WSJ. It was after one of her first headline stories, coming in on a Saturday when she thought she was alone. Working for hours on phone calls and writing, running around the newsroom, getting to the bottom of a story. Unbeknownst to her, the reporting manager was in his office, watching her work the entire time. When he came out, he was impressed, giving her a raise on the spot.
“When you have a strong work ethic, and focus on that, you can accomplish so much,” Langley said. “And it will be recognized.”
Be your authentic self.
She again advised students to ignore the popular advice “fake it till you make it.” Langley couldn’t disagree more. When she first started at the WSJ, she looked up to one of the first women reporters at the paper. She wanted to be just like her, so she emulated her work, demanding answers and giving hard deadlines, and she got absolutely nothing done. After a week, she decided to be herself and before she knew it, she was getting the information she needed and having sources returning her calls.
“In being your authentic self, you will show what you can deliver,” encouraged Langley. “No matter what level you are at, you can and will make an impact in your work.”
Present with the best IQ you can.
You might not have the highest IQ in the room, but if you do your due diligence, it doesn’t matter. You must develop your IQ by doing your homework. Know what you want to accomplish before you walk into a meeting or interview and have everything to back it up. Langley still followed her gut as a reporter, but it was only part of the puzzle.
“If you do your research, know your role and deliverables, and ask the appropriate questions, it shows that you are worth that person’s time.” Something Langley lived by as a reporter. She would spend a month with the person she was profiling, learning everything she needed to know so that by the end of it, she knew them better than they did themselves.
“If you follow your talent, work hard, be your authentic self and build your IQ, you will get a reputation – either good or bad, that is still up to you.” Langley is now using her wealth of knowledge and experience to help students take the next step after college and build a successful career as a Professor of Practice at Haslam College of Business.