Long before LinkedIn, my professional network consisted of the Yellow Pages and a landline. At the age of 15, I had the brainwave (and the audacity) to cold call every business I could find until I landed my 1st job. After making around 25 calls, a local specialty hair salon near my home asked me to come in, and shortly after, I was hired! I worked as an unofficial janitor, sweeping and cleaning up the space after school three times a week. From day one, I closely observed patterns, personalities, customers, the stylists' precision and their individual work styles. Noticing my (very obvious) curiosity, the salon owner excitedly approached me and said, “Jamilla, if you bring in new clients, I will give you a $10 referral bonus per client.” Let's be real: $10 was considered a jackpot to a 15-year-old. I was excited to finally buy all the good snacks with my potential bonus—plus a fancy beverage, of course. Although the extra dollars were a great incentive, it was ultimately the challenge of winning clients that drove me to become a one-woman sales team. I persuaded teachers, neighbors, and parents to come to the salon with my enthusiasm, smile and business endorsement. After achieving all the success anyone my age could in sales, I moved on to learning how to wash hair and book appointments. I quickly learned that initiative paired with opportunity, direction and a bit of luck opens doors. Most importantly, I learned that skills are transferable, no matter where you start—and I learned all this while making a bit of extra money along the way. Because I came up in the “work trenches” (as I like to call those early days of grind and ambition), it became normal for me to hustle, walk through doors that open, take risks and uplift others. Looking back, those early lessons followed me into every role that came after.From sweeping hair at a salon to the array of jobs I have held throughout the years, I realized that no matter where I land, I find myself eager to learn new skills, build relationships and work hard no matter what I am doing. Over time, I realized this pattern has a name: I am a multidimensional professional, someone who builds skills across roles and experiences, and uses those vast (and sometimes random) experiences as a strength. I recently visited London and had afternoon tea. I noticed my server had a level of precision, professionalism and steadiness that I hadn't experienced before. I was impressed with him and, being the chatty person that I am, we struck up a conversation. I learned that he lived in Dubai like I had, studied finance, and took a job as a server while finishing his advanced professional studies. He wanted to justify how he ended up being a server while holding a professional training certificate. I stopped him and said, “As a multidimensional professional myself, I get why you are here, and I think your skills have transcended into how you served us today.” I went on to explain that the skills that he will gain while working in service roles will become an incredible business asset and offer fresh professional outlooks and immense people-reading skills, which will be an asset in a future corporate job.Reflecting on this interaction, I couldn’t help but to think about my current positioning at Red Hat. Coming from a somewhat unconventional background, it's fitting that I ended up here, an environment that encourages openness, originality, and diverse skillsets and interests. I am very much an example of this: a business planning analyst who writes for the Red Hat blog, leads my team’s monthly newsletter, facilitates an AI workshop, admittedly uses many exclamation points in Slack, and is high-energy on the regular.Because I work extensively with budgets, pivots happen by the hour on some days, which can understandably be challenging. I strongly credit my ability to stay resilient and patient in my work to the multifaceted environments where I’ve worked. Working at the hair salon taught me how to observe, grind, and exist in the grit of a fast-paced work environment while identifying opportunities to grow. In addition to that, I still choose to work in domestic services on occasion, which continuously teaches me how to genuinely connect with anyone no matter their age, socioeconomic status or background. This transcends into stakeholder management on all levels when it comes to communicating budget-related updates or having crucial conversations. If you're wondering how to leverage your own multidimensional experiences, here are 3 places to start:Share your unconventional experiences with others, and explain how they have led you to where you are now. Take it from me, the once self-proclaimed queen of the guarded, being authentically myself (and a tad vulnerable) and sharing my story has opened my professional circle up more than I could imagine. Both with people of similar backgrounds and with those who genuinely see me and value what I bring to the table at work. This has given me an invaluable support system.Take appropriate risks in your career by honing skillsets you may not flex in your daily grind. Find ways to learn and contribute using these new skills—whether through a side project, gig, or temporary assignment—in an effort to bring those unconventional contributions to your work. This can signal to others that it is OK to not fit completely into the box others may put you in, and increase your own confidence in your ability to adapt.Reflect on your past work experiences, what you have learned and how they connect to the work you do now. You will be surprised how working at a random place for two weeks might transfer into the role you are in now—and how it will offer a deeper appreciation for how far you have come!I will be honest: when I first came to Red Hat, I wasn’t sure how people would perceive today’s version of me. However, in my current role, I’ve been given the space, support and opportunities to bring all these unique pieces of my background to the table, making me just one of many walking testaments to the open source way. So, to all my fellow oddballs—the ones who want to write, dog walk or maybe even become Batman while navigating a corporate career path—I see your potential. Let’s stop trying to fit into the boxes others may feel comfortable putting you in and start opening them up instead. Open source has always run on a simple premise: that good ideas can come from anywhere. By including people with multifaceted work backgrounds on projects, teams gain distinctive perspectives that enhance the work. Contributors at Red Hat aren't valued because of where they came from or whether they arrive in the expected way. They're valued for what they bring. It’s like when you find yourself on a dance floor itching to join the center but realize you have to just … jump in! When we build that into how we work, we create a culture that doesn't just resonate with the multidimensional professionals among us; it genuinely values them. That, after all, is the open source way.