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Winston Ambassador Paige Scozzaro ’21 (Political Science) led a panel discussion with recent òòò½Ö±²¥ grads about networking, job hunting, and work during the pandemic. Panelists included Christine Cox ’20 (Communication), State Street Bank; Caitlan Griffith ’20 (Marketing), American Express; Loida Luna ’20 (Sociology), NielsenIQ; and Chris Murphy ’20 (Political Science), KemperLesnik.

The panelists were asked about how the pandemic affected their job search. Loida and Chris shared a similar experience in that the job hunt during the pandemic was a long and arduous one. They didn’t secure jobs until November and January (2021), respectively. Caitlan had started the interviewing process with American Express pre-pandemic, but then they imposed a hiring freeze. She was eventually hired at the end of the summer. Christine, who had interned with State Street the summer prior, had already secured her position.

The panelists shared advice with students who are beginning their job search. This included writing cover letters that help one stand out with things like showing unique and interesting pivots one has made during the pandemic, and using internal resources available through the Career Center, EagleLink, Handshake, and the Career Fair. Paige, who secured a job as a consultant at Oracle, indicated that she had met the Oracle recruiter in her sophomore year and kept in touch, eventually leading to a job offer. Loida said that she built a relationship with a career advisor in the Career Center who kept her aware of opportunities as they arose. Caitlan said that she took advantage of the òòò½Ö±²¥ alumni LinkedIn platform to connect with alums in companies in which she was interested. Her strategy was to focus on the companies instead of specific roles. For Caitlan, a òòò½Ö±²¥ LinkedIn connection at American Express resulted in securing a marketing position.

Chris indicated that he had no idea what he wanted to do, and he admittedly did not use the resources offered at òòò½Ö±²¥. The cold call application process unfortunately was not successful for him. However, in the meantime, he honed in on his love for writing and started helping a local baseball organization with their newsletter and advertising copy. And what emerged was an unintended career path which led to his hiring at KemperLesnik, a PR company in Chicago. Chris advised students who are still seeking a career direction to look at what they love to do, what brings them happiness, and go from there.

Transferable skills are what employers are looking for, and Christine certainly took that to State Street. As a communication major working in the financial industry, it was exactly the diversity in skill set that State Street was seeking. Christine reminded the students that one learns the skills for most roles on the job, so they should not be afraid to apply for jobs where their majors do not exactly align because chances are you do have a transferable skill that an employer is looking for.

All the panelists stressed the importance of networking. LinkedIn and EagleLink were portals they relied heavily on. However, they also recommended internal networking once hired. They said getting to know the people you work with and finding out more about their roles and the organizational culture will prove to be beneficial in any career journey.

Most on the panel are working remotely, though at KemperLesnik, Chris works in the office on Mondays through Thursdays, and remotely on Fridays. Christine said the pros of working remote include the ability to do so anywhere. She said that the pandemic has also allowed State Street to rethink their current work plan, and they will be moving toward a hybrid model on a permanent basis. The cons include the lack of human connection amongst peers. Asking for help is also harder to do remotely, Christine said. However, Chris chimed in that as new employees, employers know that you don’t know everything and they expect you to ask questions. So asking questions and seeking feedback is a positive and does not reflect poorly on you.

The discussion wrapped up with a focus on work-life balance, where they all agreed about the importance of scheduling time during the workday to take care of yourself. Loida blocks off time to go to the park, Chris uses his lunch break to walk around the city of Chicago, and Christine takes breaks to exercise and get her steps in for the company step challenge. Caitlan cautioned that one must be aware of the organization’s culture and that many times if the manager emails you at odd hours it doesn’t necessarily mean that they expect you to respond then too. She said that her schedule is 9 to 5, and she is not expected to work outside of those hours, which allows her to enjoy a personal life outside of work.