Alumni Insights: Career Success Toolkit
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In conversation with Paula Chamas and Anja Nikolova: A (paraphrased) list of career success strategy takeaways: Thank you, Paula and Anja, for making the time.
1. Build a vast network: from within our programs and schools, with peers at other programs and schools, and with professionals in the field.
2. Attend career fairs and build relationships with employers as often as possible. This makes us savvy at interacting with the hiring world (which has a very different dynamic than the academic space, even for those pursuing work in academia).
3. Work on our elevator pitch. A 60-second, impactful elevator pitch is key to establishing professional credibility (because it takes a LOT of critical thinking work and practice work to get good at it).
4. Become proficient in our corporate and marketable skills. Academic learning is foundational, but corporate and marketable skills is what enables us to use that learning to succeed in our chosen area of impact.
5. If we don’t know what the marketable skills are in our field, read job descriptions to learn about them, and pursue proficiency intentionally.
6. A first job is a first job. A second job is a second job. Take on roles that aren’t exactly what we want. Adjacent roles will lead us to our ideal role if we stay the course.
7. To repeat: The first, second, or even third job is rarely the ‘dream’ role. They are necessary stepping stones to that role.
8. All roles help us learn what we are passionate about and the specific space where we want to have an impact.
9. 2 degrees of separation rule: all roles are opportunities. People know people, and proficient professionals get hired because of our reputation as people who deliver and are effective co-workers / managers, so do good work wherever we are working.
10. Each role will help clarify what we want in terms of location, lifestyle, environment we want to work in.
11. This growing knowledge will enable us to reach that ‘right’ role, over time.
12. Keep going. Career success is a long and complex journey. There is (almost) never a direct path to an ideal role.
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