Informational Interviews: Utilizing Your Network

By Jessica Kweon, Peer for Career

A great way to build your network while gaining a better understanding of an industry you want to pursue is to arrange informational interviews. The purpose of informational interviews is to discover more about a certain field you may be considering; although informational interviews can help you develop productive working relationships that may lead to new opportunities, they should be conducted without any expectation of a job offer. One important thing to keep in mind is that informational interviews are not your standard job application interviews. During informational interviews, you are the interviewer and you get to ask questions about a professional’s experiences, challenges, and interests. Although informational interviews tend to be less stressful, you should always prepare for an informational interview as if it is a real interview and maintain the same level of professionalism.

For a successful informational interview, know exactly what you want to get out of the experience and make sure to do research. Think about industries you are planning on pursuing, the companies you would like to work for, and certain people who you can meet with to help you gain that knowledge. Make sure to take advantage of your current networks such as professors at Baruch, previous employers, friends, or even family. If you are currently working or interning, make sure to benefit from that network as well. Not only do you want to research what you want to learn more about, but also you should consider how that professional can help you. View their LinkedIn profile, browsing their background and their current position. Additionally, be aware of any recent events that have occurred relevant to the industry that might be worth taking note.

Once the professional has accepted your invitation for an informational interview, make sure to be ready. Remember to treat this as a real interview, so be prepared and professional. Have a list of questions available to ask the professional relating to his position and industry. Take notes during the meeting and let the conversation flow naturally. Towards the end, make sure to thank the professional for his or her time. Ask for any referrals for additional potential informational interviews and ask for their business card. Plus do not forget about that Thank You note! The professional has taken time out of his busy schedule to meet with you, so it is appropriate to follow up. Be sure to also keep records of who you have met and what you have learned for future reference.

Although informational interviews can seem intimidating, they are a great way to get informed about the career path you want to follow and clarify your own goals in the process.

Grades, Sleep and Social Life: Give Me All Three

By Christopher Woo, Peer for Career

Most college students have heard that they must pick two out of three: grades, sleep or a social life. With everything that goes on in college between jobs, homework and extracurricular activities, getting two of those seems like a stretch. Three seems impossible. But there are many things a student can do to make the most of their time and reach for the impossible trinity. It all comes down to one of the most important things in college and the working world: time management.

The themes to time management are pretty simple: prioritize, meet deadlines and create an environment where you can be productive. But achieving those themes on a micro level can be difficult, especially with all the distractions around you. Start with prioritizing and getting a planner. For some, writing things down is one helpful way to remember; for others, it’s the major catalyst to accomplishing something that needs to be done. Whether physically on paper, or on a phone, having a to-do list will help you get organized. From there, you can prioritize tasks by deadline and get the urgent ones done first. Planning out your day and sticking to this plan will reduce the chances that you get caught off guard and help you get everything done.

Creating a productive environment is another key to time efficiency. This means leaving social media and phones aside so that you can focus on the work you have to do, which will give you time for sleeping or going out later. Putting your phone on “do not disturb” may silence the need to instantly respond to every notification. For those who are easily distracted, temporarily blocking sites like Facebook, Twitter or Netflix (even if you have “The Walking Dead” to catch up on) may help you focus better on meeting your deadlines.

But one of the biggest keys in managing your time is that you have to know yourself. You are the only one who knows how many responsibilities you can handle. This means saying no when you need to. When people ask for things that may exceed your current capacity, whether social or professional, saying no could be the key to giving yourself enough time to balance everything out. Always saying yes puts a lot more on your plate and makes you the go to person when someone needs something extra done. This could take away from your time to study for good grades, sleep or hang out with friends. Knowing your limits, respecting them, and communicating them considerately to others is the key to balancing and managing your time. Learning to manage your time now will not only allow you to achieve high grades, get enough sleep and enjoy a social life in college, but it will also help you reduce your stress in the professional working world and in life.

How to Get Ahead: The Journey of Obtaining an Internship

By Samantha Bendernagel, Peer for Career

It was my sophomore year at Baruch, and I was starting to feel a bit left out. All my friends had internships, and there I was, second year into college with no experience pertaining to my field. I decided that it was finally time to take my future into my own hands. I was determined to get that perfect summer internship!

First, I revised my resume by going onto the STARR Career Development Center’s website and referencing their resume packet. Next on the list was my LinkedIn account. I updated all of my information and did my best not to regurgitate everything on my resume. However, I made sure not to spare any of my accomplishments. “No longer restricted to one page,” I thought.

Finally it came time for the hard part, which was actually finding an internship. I logged onto my STARR Search account and checked for the following: Was it paid, and if so, how much? Was it part-time or full-time? What was the start and end date? Where was it located/how long would my commute be? Did I fit their criteria? Did they fit mine?

Eventually, I found a company that I deemed a good fit. It was exactly what I wanted—a hands-on learning environment where I’d be given my own projects and responsibilities. Not to mention, it was paid! I then went onto the company’s website and conducted further research. Based on their job description and the additional information I found, I wrote them a personalized cover letter where I expressed my interest for the position and explained how I could contribute to their program.

I emailed my files to the hiring manager and hoped for the best. Although the experience was intimidating, I learned a lot about the application process. Regardless of whether I was to hear back not, I was proud of myself for what I had accomplished.

One week later, I received an email back! They were impressed with my credentials as well as my knowledge of the company. My interview is next week…wish me luck!

Alumni Interview: Cheng (Kevin) Chen

By Jubi Gauchan, Peer for Career

On a chilly December evening, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Chen, an alum of Baruch who graduated in June 2013. He majored in Finance and minored in Natural Sciences. As many stars of Baruch are, all through college life, he was heavily involved in various leadership activities and has interned in many different companies. He was also a former Peer for Careers and is currently working at New York Life Investments. Read on to find out more!

1. What year did you graduate? What was your major and minor?

I graduated in June 2013. My major was Finance and I minored in Natural Sciences.

2. Where do you work and what is your current role?

I work in New York Life Investments, which is the investment arm of New York Life Insurance Company. I am currently an Associate in the Strategic Technology Investments Group, which is essentially the corporate venture capital team at NY Life. My team invests in technology start-up companies as well as venture capital funds. We have a mandate of bringing innovative technology companies into NY Life and we introduce their technology to the firm.

3. Could you tell us a little bit about your experience in Baruch? Did you participate in any clubs or organizations?

I had a great time at Baruch. It is a great bang for the buck!

In freshman year I was still debating on whether to focus on pre-med or go into Finance. Then in my sophomore year, I joined TEAM Baruch and then Peers for Careers. At the same time, I started to explore different clubs. I joined Beta Alpha Psi and became an Assistant Treasurer. I was also in the Bio-Med Society. I also started a non-profit on campus called Baruch Operation Smile. We were a student club arm of the non-profit called Operation Smile, where they provide free procedures for children in developing countries born with cleft lips. I was the President and Co-founder. For my sophomore year, I was recruiting members and building out the operations and then mainly focused on developing it further during my junior and senior year. We originally started with 4 members and then by the time I passed on the baton, we had 40 members. Besides that, I was also the Chief Operating Officer for Financiers without Borders.

4. Please name some steps that helped you to launch your first full time job?

The Peers for Careers program got me started with career development and prepped me with all the skills necessary to get my first internship at JP Morgan in the Baruch Extended Finance Internship Program. I was working there through most of my sophomore year. Then, I moved to Bank of America to explore a wealth management internship. After that, I went back to JP Morgan after finding out about an opportunity from fellow Peers: the Inter-year Operations Program, where I worked as a part-time Analyst for the rest of my college life. In between that, for summer during my junior year, I interned at Société Générale in Emerging Markets Trading. After that, I joined the investment management program at New York Life Investments full-time.
In sum, the Peers program combined with the experiences of club life and starting my own club on-campus built a strong foundation for me that helped me obtain all the internships. Then, all the internships built up the right skills that helped me to market myself as a suitable and competent applicant.

5. What are the qualities that are the most valuable for your current position and your company?

The qualities would be the ability to take initiative, being able to work without being given directions, taking ownership of projects, multi-tasking and developing professional skills such as how to interact with people. All these are important especially at work where I meet with entrepreneurs and have to work with different types of people.

6. Could you tell us about the challenges you faced when you first started your full time job?

It was a new team so there was no procedure to follow. In a lot of big companies, there is always a predecessor before you, who would give you the documentation of what to do and describe your day-to-day job duties. However here, we had to help build the process for it from scratch, which was extremely exciting.

Transitioning into full-time was also different. The transition from Intern to Analyst or Associate where you get more responsibilities and you have to think about where you want your career to go were some things I had to deal with.

Initially, I had wanted to be a trader so all the steps I took in college was to prepare for that role. Thus, getting into the venture capital field was not my original intention. However, when I stumbled upon the job, I found it to be very interesting and enjoyable.

7. If you were to give one advice to Baruch students, what would it be?

Be open to opportunities. Never look down upon an opportunity because it is a job that you do not like. You never know what doors might be opened next from there and where it might lead you to. Thus, jump on any opportunities that you find and do not be afraid to do it.