Anything For You All: INSTANT MBA: A 26-year-old explains why she told Google before accepting a job that she'd quit after 2 years

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April 24, 2017

WayUp CEO and cofounder Liz Wessel knew she ultimately wanted to be an entrepreneur.

That's why before she could accept a job offer from Google in her senior year of college, she needed to run something by the recruiter.

"I said, 'I am really interested in taking this, but if I take it, I want to leave in two years and start a company. How do you guys feel about that?'" she told Business Insider.

"'I'm telling you to hire me because I'm entrepreneurial, but that's also the reason I'm not going to be here way too long. I'm going to want to be entrepreneurial by starting a company. That has to be OK.'"

As a student at the University of Pennsylvania, Wessel founded her own company, worked as an Anheuser-Busch campus ambassador, and interned on Google's marketing team.

"I loved my summer there," the now 26-year-old said. "I had the best experience. I worked with brilliant people. Everything about it was pretty fantastic."

All that experience helped Wessel figure out she wanted to build a product to help college students get jobs. She also knew she wanted to gain more experience working at a tech company like Google. When she got the job offer, she was excited.

"At the same time, I knew I wanted to start a company in two years," Wessel said. "I was very adamant about starting a company while I was still young and could take big risks — not that you can't when you're older, but I just was really excited about the concept of it."

When she spoke to the Google recruiter about her plans, she found them quite supportive, and they listed several Google alumni who went on to found their own companies, Wessel said.

Wessel says her experience reflects a new normal when it comes to employment. CNN reports that workers now switch jobs an average of four times before hitting 32.

As CEO of an online platform that connects college students with jobs, Wessel says she draws on her own experience when talking with employees. She said that if a worker at WayUp were to tell her they were going to leave in two years to start a business, she'd be thrilled.

"My response is, 'As long as you let me invest, I'm happy with that,'" she said.