Calling all College Seniors: Career Tips from our 2018 Interns Part 2

To welcome seniors back to campus, I posted Part 1 of a two-part blog series last week that features job search tips and lessons through the eyes of Accenture’s 2018 summer interns. You can check out their great advice here. As promised, this week I’m passing the pen to three other interns to share their stories. Please meet Taylor, Jas and Mike…

Taylor Gorshe, Marketing and Technology Management Major at Indiana University. Internship: Accenture Consulting in Chicago

My Advice: Nobody succeeds alone, invest time in building your network.

Nobody succeeds alone. You need support from others who will take time to listen and help you.  You need an army to stand beside you. This summer, during my internship as a pricing analyst at Accenture, my army consisted of several people who mentored and encouraged me to do my best and find my place. I found this welcoming and inspiring group of people in several different ways.  Many were on my project team, a few were through mutual connections, and some I reached out to blindly. The insights they’ve all passed on to me have been immeasurable.

My advice to you is to grow your network. You hear it time and time again, but it really makes a difference. A year ago, when I heard someone stress the importance of networking, I was uncomfortable with the thought of approaching people I didn’t know very well for advice. It seemed disingenuous to me until I truly figured out its purpose. The purpose of networking is to learn. I found that almost everyone is willing to take a few minutes to listen and share. And, when you’re conducting your job search, your network can help you gain access to a wider audience and even more opportunities. Seek to find people who inspire you. Go out of your way to stay connected with old friends and co-workers and make time to connect with new ones. Start building that army of people you want to support you.

Jaskirat (Jas) Gaelan, Business Management Major at UC-Berkeley. Internship: Accenture Consulting in San Francisco

My Advice: How to work towards an internship or job offer at a company like Accenture? Be resilient!

Have you had your heart set on landing an internship or job at a large company but then had self-doubt creep in with thoughts of “I don’t have a chance…”? Well you do and I’m proof! I first learned about consulting in a general information session my freshmen year of college. I knew no one who worked at a consulting firm and never did a “case interview” until I was applying to consulting clubs my sophomore year. Nearly two years of applications, 50+ coffee chats, countless emails and interviews later, I landed my dream summer analyst internship with Accenture. I’d like to share five tips I’ve learned in hopes of motivating others to stay persistent and resilient in pursuing their dream internship or job.

·      Remember who you are. Leverage your strengths, be aware of your growth areas and prioritize learning.

·      Remember who you meet and nurture those relationships. And, be respectful to all because you don’t know what role they may play in your life (now or later).

·      Ask for help and collaborate with those who have similar goals.

·      Have the maturity to accept inevitable rejections, trusting that if you gave something 110%, it’s the most you can ever do. Sometimes things are just out of your control.

·      Stay motivated because resilience pays off in one way or another. What looks like a closed door now might open another down the road.

Mike Kenyanya, Business Information Systems Major at the University of Minnesota Duluth Internship:  CIO in Chicago

 My Advice: You are capable of more than you realize.

 Three days into my internship at Accenture, I met my project team and was told I would be unit testing JavaScript Code. A little embarrassed, I told them I didn’t know JavaScript and figured they would reassign me. This was not the case. My supervisor’s response was “I guess you’re going to have to learn it.”  I was surprised and a little disappointed.  “I was honest with them, I even told my interviewer what languages I knew. Why are they setting me up for failure?” These are the thoughts that ran through my mind over the next couple days. I then decided I wasn't going to fail.  Accenture has amazing learning opportunities and I found a virtual course that covered unit testing. My supervisor let me work on that during the day and I would supplement that knowledge by watching videos and doing practice exercises. I tapped into colleagues who could offer guidance and answer my questions. Within weeks I was writing my own unit tests, and after a month I was helping some of my co-workers with theirs.  Now I was surprised, but for a different reason – I was capable of more than I realized.  And you are too.

The next few months (and years) will test you, like my internship tested me. Your senior year will be tough, your job search will be tough and your grad school applications will be tough. And that's okay because you're tough too! Your attitude towards those challenges (or better yet opportunities) will determine the outcome. This quote by Henry Ford says it best, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right!”  Once you accept all that you’re capable of and decide you’re going to crush this task, your family, friends, faculty, and mentors will be there to help you just like my team was there for me.

 Back to Ellyn…Mike, Jas, Taylor, Ronak, Cassie and Lauryn, thank you for using your voice and experiences to help others. You are all extraordinary individuals and your advice is spot on. Recapping your important insights:

1.      Look beyond the obvious and expand your job search to include organizations that you might not have originally considered.

2.      Always remember that in your job search, you’re interviewing the company too.

3.      Be comfortable with not knowing. You don’t need to have it all figured out.

4.      Invest time in building your network because nobody succeeds alone.

5.      Be resilient in pursuing your dream internship/job.

6.      You are capable of more than you realize.

Adding my voice to theirs, I’d like to share what I call the “5 C’s” as you begin your career journey:

Be Curious – Seek to learn something new every day to always remain relevant.

Be Creative – Put your ideas out there and push the envelope.

Be Collaborative – If you’re doing it alone you’re probably doing it wrong.

Be Courageous – Raise your hand for new challenges and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Be Compassionate – Bring both an open mind and open heart to work each day.

With that, I urge all college seniors reading this to finish strong and enjoy this exciting new chapter in your lives!