Category Archives: Kohsheen

The Waiting Game

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Today I had a first round video interview with a company that I really want to work for this summer. I nervously sat in front of my laptop with my professional business clothes and my list of information about the company and prepared for the interview. Surprisingly, I found that the first round was not with a person and instead I was being interviewed by an automated video system.

This was very disconcerting to me because I had never done this type of interview and was not prepared for how to interact with a computer system instead of a person. However, I had no choice but to go along with it and continued answering the computer’s questions for half an hour until the interview was over. The system promptly let me know that my replies would be sent to a representative who would then contact me for further interviews if I passed this round.

With that section finished, I am now in the most dreaded stage of the interview process: the waiting game. From now until sometime in the next two weeks, I am going to have to sit tight and wait for a reply from a company that I really want to hear back from. There is nothing I can do and there is no way I can control the situation, so naturally I am nervous.

Whenever I am in this stage, I have the bad habit of continuously refreshing my email and even waking up in the middle of the night to see if I have been contacted. From my experience, I have learned a few to dos and not to dos in this stage to keep you from becoming a nervous wreck.

To Do:

  • Remind yourself that you are qualified for the position and that everything is out of your control at this point
  • Take your mind off of this topic and do something fun!
  • Learn as much about the next stage of the process so that you are prepared if there is a quick turnaround for the next interview.

Not to do

  • Do not over analyze your answers after the interview. This never helps and there is no way you can change what you said.
  • Continually check your email (like I have the bad habit of doing)
  • Incessantly email the recruiter asking how you did or when they will get back to you. You can probably send a polite email in a few weeks if you have not heard back.

I know that this is a stressful time in the job-hunting process, but it is important to remember that you are awesome and that it will all work out in the end!

How I learned to be professional by making sandwiches

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I joined my first job at Ike’s Sandwiches when I turned 17 and continued to work there until I graduated high school. Ike’s is a popular gourmet sandwich chain in the Bay Area and its sandwiches are well loved by Apple employees and Stanford students alike. When I started working, I was the youngest person in the restaurant and felt extremely out of place amongst the hipster older guys and the few older women that worked there. I spent most of the first month keeping to myself and trying to learn the names of all the sandwiches (there are hundreds so this was quite a feat). After I passed the initial learning curve, I was able to open up to the people I was working with as well as to the opportunity of gaining great work experience while making great sandwiches. Here are some things that I learned at my first job:

  • Learn as much about the product that you are selling as you can. In my case, this meant that I had to learn about all the dietary restrictions of our sandwiches, all the names on the secret menu, what the secret sauce was made of, and what sandwiches were popular amongst customers. I quickly realized that people would ask me a lot of questions and that I needed to have answers to give back to them. In another work scenario, this might mean knowing all about the technology you are working on or the case that you are in charge of presenting. No matter what you are working on, it is important to know it from beginning to end and to ask questions when you are confused about any aspect.
  • Work on your communication skills- I had to spend a lot of time talking to customers, receiving their orders, and answering questions so it was important that I remained personable and communicative. This is true in any work scenario. Whether it is with a customer, your boss, or coworkers, it is vital that you have good communication skills so that you can make the point that you are trying to carry across. (This is especially true when you are asking for a day off from work and need to keep open communication with your boss so that they know this.)
  • Show up on time- This seems like common sense, but it was especially important in my position because if I did not come to my shift, there were no backups for my cashier position. This was the first time in my life that I was being paid to be on time and it was a lot of pressure at first. Not only did I have to physically be at work on time, but I also had to mentally stay engaged with customers as part of my job. This ended up being an important life skill that has helped me in many other internships and work situations. If I did not have this pressure during my first job, then being on time would not have been ingrained in me to such an extent.
  • Finally, try your product to make sure you are giving customers good advice. In this case, this piece of advice meant that I ate lots and lots of sandwiches J

Here is a picture of an Ike’s sandwich that will hopefully incentivize you to go try one when you are in the Bay Area!

sandwich

How to make the most of Career Fairs

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Last week, I attended a Consulting and Management Career Fair hosted by University College London where I am studying abroad. Personally, I approached the fair as a learning opportunity and as a platform to find out more about companies and their application processes. On the other hand, my flat mate came into the fair determined to get access to an internship and network with recruiters who could get him to that point. Both of these approaches are perfectly reasonable and depend on what you want to get out of the overall experience. After the fair, I began to think about how I can get the most out of these opportunities no matter what my expectations are. Here are some tips and tricks that I came up with to take advantage of career and grad fairs that you may attend:

1-Dress appropriately- Depending on what type of fair you are attending; it is commonplace to dress according to the occasion and the industry. For example, for most career fairs it is acceptable to simply dress nicely without having to be too formal. This means no sweatpants or pajamas, but does not necessitate a suit. For some specific industries, such as Investment Banking or Trading, it is more common to see people dressed in suits or business formal attire. Overall, there is no standard dress code, but I would dress in a manner that is both comfortable for you and strengthens your professional presence.

2-Bring multiple copies of your resume- Print out at least 5-10 copies of an updated resume in case someone you are talking to is interested in keeping one of them on file. You may not give out any resumes during the fair, but it is always a good idea to be prepared for every scenario.

3-Come up with a game plan- Sometimes your school will give you a list of companies and agencies who will be attending the fair. Before the day of the fair, take a quick look and see which companies interest you the most and do your research on them. If your goal is to get an internship at a specific company, this is the best way to impress recruiters and make a good impression.

4-Try to talk to companies that may not be on your radar at first- On the other hand, if your goal is to find out as much as possible about a large amount of companies, I recommend talking to as many representatives as possible and trying to talk to people from companies that you may not have heard about before. After attending the fair at UCL, I ended up applying for internships to two companies that I had never heard about before that day.

5-Get recruiter contact information- If you find a company or recruiter that you particularly like, ask them for the best way to contact them in the future so that you can stay connected. After the fair, email them reminding them of your conversation and asking them more questions or about possible internship or job opportunities at their company. Remember, recruiters are looking for eager candidates to hire, so it looks good if you show initiative and drive in keeping up a relationship with them.

6-Relax!- This is all part of a learning experience and the more relaxed that you are, the more likely you are to keep an open mind and have beneficial conversations with recruiters. Do not create any excessive pressure for yourself and take this as a positive opportunity for you to shine!

For All You Emerging Professionals

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It is that time of year again! The applications for the Scripps Emerging Professionals Program have come out and it is time to start thinking about career paths and summer internships. I wanted to dedicate this blog post to unabashedly bragging about the program and imploring anyone interested to please apply!

I applied to the program because I did not know what I wanted to do in the future and had many different interests that I could not figure out how to translate into a career. The Emerging Professionals Program helped me gain confidence in professionally presenting myself on paper and in person. It not only helped me revamp my resume and LinkedIn profile, but it also helped me come up with an elevator pitch and figure out how to conduct myself during interviews.

Here are some of my favorite memories and experiences from EPP and hopefully you all can partake in them when you join the program:

  • We began by learning about our strengths and personality types through a variety of tests such as Strengths Finder and Myers-Briggs. I had never taken time to figure out what my strengths and weaknesses are and how they can translate into a career path and these exercises were increasingly helpful in allowing me to think before acting on assumptions.
  • I loved being paired with a mentor who used to work in a career path that I was interested in and was able to give me great advice about her job and possible internships. We have remained in contact even a year later and I feel comfortable reaching out to her whenever I need someone to look at my resume or talk to me about possible career opportunities.
  • I found it helpful to go through speed interviewing sessions with professionals from companies that I might eventually want to work for. I learned that interviewing in person is different from interviewing through Skype, which was something I had not thought of beforehand.
  • It was especially important (and nerve-wracking) for me to have to come up with a one-minute elevator pitch to introduce myself to people in a professional environment. I then had to give this pitch to a room full of people from different companies as well as my own peers.
  • EPP helped me make my LinkedIn page and even took professional headshots for all of us. On top of that, we had resume sessions where my peers edited my resume and gave me helpful advice on improving it.
  • Lastly, we went to a networking event where we were able to meet Scripps alumni as well as other professionals from different industries. At the event, we were able to practice the networking skills that we had learned during EPP and make connections.

I would recommend EPP to any student at any point in their career path because there is always room for improvement and practice when it comes to professional development. At the very least, you get to form a great connection with Career Planning and Resources and meet interesting people who can support you as you navigate your career and personal journey. Learn more about the program and find the full schedule here.
Apply by midnight October 21, for consideration in this year’s EPP cohort.

 

 

 

 

Finding My Career Role Model

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My mom is the queen of introductions. She loves to meet new people and then introduce them to others whom she believes they will get along with. She also happens to loves making me talk to everyone and anyone that she can find to “give her young daughter advice on finding a job”. Due to my mother’s meddling in my career path, I was lucky enough to meet one of my first career role models and one of my close friends.

When I was a senior in high school and navigating the stressful path of college applications, my mother met a young woman at a party and immediately got her number. She came home and forced me to call the woman and invite her to coffee so that “I could learn a little something from a successful, smart lady”. At that point, I dreaded reaching out to people for advice and I assumed that no one in their right mind would want to talk to a teenager about career paths for an hour. Surprisingly, when I called the lady she sounded happy to talk to me and immediately set up a day and time that we could meet.

We ended up meeting for an hour at the Philz Coffee near my house and I cannot stress the importance of that one hour on some of the decisions that I have made in my career path. I could not believe that someone so successful had gone through some of the same choices and struggles that I was currently undergoing. On top of that, she had gotten through it and had advice for me to do the same. She talked to me openly about changing her college major, deciding whether to work for non-profits or the corporate world, and completely changing her dream job. She also gave me advice on how to get internships and what to look for in prospective colleges, which were important issues on my mind at the moment. Overall, she managed to make me feel like I was not alone in the struggle of determining my career path and her own winding path gave me some peace of mind.

After that one hour, I immediately called my mom and thanked her for forcing me to meet this woman even though I had repeatedly complained about it. I also remained in touch with her over the years and she continues to check in with me and give me advice on whatever I am dealing with at the moment.

In the past, I had never thought that people would be so open about their different paths, but I have realized that everyone loves to talk about himself or herself and it is up to us to pursue this type of mentoring relationship. Over the years, I have forced myself to become more open to mentors and role models in different aspects of my life. All of these people have impacted my life in various ways and have helped me make countless decisions, but most of all they have made me feel like I am not alone in my struggles.