Climb Hire Success Story: Catching up with Joey Rocha-Perez

1. What are your top Climb Hire memories?
   I was part of Salesforce Cohort 2 (February 2020) and have had a lot of experiences since. We used to meet Saturday and Wednesday from 9am-2pm; we only saw each other only once a week. Making the COVID Contract Tracing App was a unique experience. There were tasks, formulas, and late nights of aggressive Googling. Andrew, Jess, Stacie, Ashleigh and I were a team and swam in the chaos of completing the capstone and the presentation. When I was a Fellow, I enjoyed helping Climbers with [Salesforce] material, facilitating, and being in community. The best part is getting to see Climbers and meeting them in person. One time, I went to Colorado and saw Fellows, like Mackenzie, Em, and Brady. Just recently, Nick came to visit us here, too!
2. What are some things you’re proud of building at Climb Hire?
   The Fellowship! We’re continuing to build it now. Creating things like the Fellow Handbook, basic foundations of the 1-on-1 structure, resources on Learn to Win—we didn’t have any of this before. When I was a Program intern, I helped create the Soft Skills curriculum with [former DIrector of Community] Alex. We’d meet after the Fellow meetings with Adrienne [a fellow Cohort 2 Alum]. Alex’s methodology was unique, where I thought, “Oh, I didn’t think about things like that before.” Alex is a lively, powerful facilitator who gets you going.
3. What does the Fellowship mean to you?
   The core philosophy is to pay it forward, not just financially, but to someone else. It’s about being passionate and being there for someone else. This is a chance for someone to be there for the next generation. You don’t need to be perfect to be a Fellow, but you do need to be there for the experience.
4. The Fellowship requires time, patience, and energy. What does it take to be a successful Fellow?
   The most successful Fellows are good time managers and project managers. It’s good to schedule time and know when to disconnect. Someone who does this well is Stanley. He’s always on top of things. He reviews the agendas ahead of time and also makes the appropriate time to disconnect. You don’t have to do this perfectly when you apply but if you want to grow, I suggest taking this step and building from there.
5. What would you say to someone who is unsure about pursuing the Fellowship?
   Nobody ever knows if they’re ready for anything. Trust yourself and know you don’t need to be perfect, but just want to be a leader and build up these habits. You can learn how to be a time manager and practice this in cohort. It’s about the ability to trust yourself and to want to be in community. A lot of people come back for multiple fellowships for the sense of community.
6. What tips can you share with the community?
   • On time management: It’s good to be extremely realistic about how you manage your time. Put things on a calendar or write it down. Do this consistently, but don’t feel bad if you can’t do everything. Like in the morning, I take some time to contemplate life then eat overnight oats. Oatmeal is easy to make, but the water takes long to boil so I like overnight oats. You gotta work smarter, not harder!
   • On knowing yourself: It’s a simple but difficult thing. There are different ways to get to know yourself. Others ask people who they are and how they are. When you’re contemplating life in the morning, ask yourself who you are as a person. Or if that doesn’t work, write some things down. Like if you’re lazy. What are certain things you’re lazy about? Find ways to work with yourself and not against yourself.
   • On professional advice: When looking for a job, write down what you want to do. Gear your actions and what you want to do towards this. It also helps to start building healthy habits professionally and personally.

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Say hi and connect with Joey on LinkedIn.