Our 16th Annual Engineering Student-Alumni Networking event was held on Thursday, February 18. Of course, this year it was virtual. It was great to have over 200 alumni and students in attendance – our largest event ever. Alums were asked to come into the main zoom room and proffer their best career advice. Arranged by themes, here are some excellent JUMBO to JUMBO tips.
SAY YES
- Don’t ever be afraid to take on more responsibility – Peter Maglicic
- Sometimes an unexpected job or opportunity comes up, take them, they turn out to be great experiences. Go with the flow – Susan Raisbeck
- “Everything is Temporary” (Paul Rudd) so just take risks and try new things – Chad Milando
- Don’t be afraid to change course (in career). Go with your gut – Kenny Alperin
NETWORK
- Networking really is the key; it is how I got where I am – Christopher Camancho
- Network – make sure to connect with people – Wei Han Lim
- Network – if you get a business card write on the back the event and date, (put in your phone, spreadsheet ) – Rich Matson
- …find at least one thing you love to do. In interviews, we seek passion. It can’t be faked. Find something you love and the conversation will eventually get to it. This is the true way to network. Find people who share your passion or at least respect it. Listen to other people’s passions. – Keith Moore
KEEP LEARNING
- Keep Learning, you can never say you have learned everything. (New things to learn always) – Paul
- “Get 5 Years of experience – don’t get 1 year of experience 5 times – David Brown quoting the Prof. Nunen
- Try to learn as much as you can about a lot of different things – Robert Gersh
- Master the fundamentals! – David Brown
IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE
- Seek out a boss you respect both professionally and personally – Steve Dray
- Find a good Mentor and stick with them – Andrew Giancondi
GENERAL
- Don’t worry about the title of your job, think about what you want to do day to day – Steve Beling
- Trust yourself – You are great – you went to Tufts. You can handle what comes up – Tracy Guo
- “Working at a start-up is like waking up getting yelled at and getting kicked and still wanting to do it” – Alex Kim quoting Elon Musk
- First Job is not your End Job – Keith Moore
