Toward the end of my Writing 50 class first semester, “Too Much Information,” Professor Elam brought in a Scripps College alumna, Briana Smith, to talk to us about her career journey and how she started working at Pinterest. Though I’m not planning on going into the same career field as the alumna, I think that the conversation we had with her was helpful and intriguing. It showed a real-life example of things I have heard or wondered about. It showed proof that people end up somewhere intriguing to them, even if they have to make a few (equally interesting) detours along the way.
Though professors don’t alway bring in alumna or students to talk about about jobs, I find that I can extrapolate information from these presenting students/alumna to apply to other areas.
For example, a student came into one of my Core class, Making Sense of Power, on Thursday to talk about making change and active intolerance and resistance as related to the Foucault criticisms and theories that we have been reading for the discipline theme described by the course syllabus.
From what she talked to us about, a couple things stuck out that I can apply to careers.
1. Be persistent
Not everything works out on the first try (though if it does, that’s also great!), and sometimes what you’re going for takes a bit of extra work and time. If you don’t get your dream internship for this summer try again next year and/or the year after that! There’s a chance they’ll ask if you’ve applied for it, or they might remember your name. Seeing your determination can be a helpful too. Maybe if you haven’t heard back about a job, give the recruiter — DO NOT harass them, but let them know that your interested and are thinking about the position or opportunity. Not everywhere will post a name/number/email for the person managing the hiring for the position, but try to figure it out and reach out if you can.
2. Follow what you think is important
No matter what you’re doing in the future, try to do things that you think you can learn and grow from. Chances are you aren’t going to be in love with every job you ever had, but there’s a reason you’re there, right? Look for your passions and follow them where you can! You may have to look a little harder to see how some things tie in, but there’ll be something.
Your professors know a lot more than what they teach in class, and they always are looking out for students and trying to connect them with people and ideas. Make sure to listen carefully to who your professor brings as a guest next 🙂