Welcome to University

Studies one, Module 6.1, the College to career transition

revisited. So in this module, we're here to just revisit everything that
you kind of learned and that we've discussed in this course. So we'll be discussing
some key takeaways and the College to career transition
in general. We'll also be discussing some exercises to
kind of support you as you navigate
the transition that will focus
on your values, your strengths, and building your own
personal team. We'll also share
some myths and realities of the college
to career transition in hopes that it
will hopefully help ease maybe some of your worries that
you might have. And also, we'll
brainstorm what's next? What are some
different steps and things that you
can think about doing to support you
as you move through your undergraduate
studies and into life beyond UCLA? So once again, we're going to
define the college to career transition once more, which is
the emotional, social and professional
transition, college students experience
as they navigate the change in their
identity from a student to a
working professional. So this is a
developmental shift in your identity that
you will experience, where often it can feel like there's very
little support, but it's a very
important part of one's independent
and social development as an adult. So while it may be an interesting and uncomfortable
and exciting, so many different
emotions, time, it's a very important
part of you and your development as an adult and as
a human being. Once more, these
are the three key developmental
areas that we kind of
identified as being the most impacted by the college to
career transition, which is the
emotional piece, the emergence of
unanticipated feelings that come about with
this transition. The social piece, having to reidentify and redefine your social support and
your identity as you navigate your identity from student to
professional, and also the
professional kind of sense of self, which is really about demystifying career
expectations, but also adapting to professional
environments and having a clear understanding
of your skills, of your experiences,
and how they translate into
the workplace. So throughout this course, we've discussed many
different things that we hope will support you as you're navigating not only the college
to career transition, but as you're
continuing, right, through your
undergraduate studies, and engaging in various
aspects of that. So we discussed
transferable skills, which just the value of studying at a
research university. Even if research
is not something that you are deeply
interested in, there are so many ways
that you may engage in research that
can hopefully support you in your
personal endeavors. And also focusing on the transferable
skills that you'll gain through
your experience. So remember, it's through those
different immersion, which we'll talk about with an intentional
engagement, but of co curricular and extracurricular activities that will support
you in building those transferable skills. Sense of a belonging is really important,
in general, right? Not just during
your time at UCLA, but really being
able to reflect on who you are as
a human being, right, through your
undergraduate experience, and who you hope to kind of be as you grow and evolve into your
life beyond UCLA. So it's really
important to take moments where
you can self reflect and think
about how you belong in any space
that you're in, whether it be here at UCLA or in the future in certain professional
work environments or other programs
you may engage in. Intentional engagement, we touched on
very briefly. But the significance of intentional engagement, thinking very
thoughtfully about what it is that you
hope to engage in, to support you in creating a meaningful
undergraduate experience is just so important to
kind of think about. So you've worked so
hard to get here. Obviously, your
academics are important. But just give
yourself that time to really go inward and think about who you
are, what you value, what you're interested in, and what sorts
of things you can engage in to help support and bring out kind of the best in you. The exploration
of the
major self and career. So talking about the
major, you know, what you're majoring
in, but that it doesn't necessarily
define, right? Who it is that you'll become and what it
is that you'll do. But finding kind
of the connection between the
three and how it supports your
academic, personal, professional self
will support you as you're navigating and thinking about opportunities
post graduation. In last but not least
career readiness, it's never too
early to engage in career engagement
and career readiness. I know Andree MJ shared so much wonderful
information with you all about what the career
center has to offer. But just thinking
very thoughtfully about how you can
support yourself, your professional
sense of self as you're in your
undergraduate studies, so that it'll help with your transition
beyond UCLA. So we have a couple
of exercises that we hope will
help you in kind of digging a bit
deeper and identifying not only things that
you might be interested in to kind of support your post
graduation goals, but also to help
you kind of build that support
and preparation for the college to career
transition itself. So the first is a
values exercise. Our values Gosh. I can't tell you how
many times in my career, that I've leaned
on my values, and just in general,
like, as a human being. They send a very
clear message about who we are, what it is that
we want to do, what paths we want
to take in life. And it's just a very personal
part of ourself. So we invite you to
think about how do your values in form and support your post
graduation goals. So here we've only listed a handful
of values. We'll include a list of values to look through, and you can
always, of course, create your own on the
Brew and learn site. But we're hoping in that you identifying anyth you thoughtfully
about your values will help you to connect
more with yourself, and help you learn more
about your interests, what type of environments
you want to be in, what type of work you
want to be doing, which will helpfully
inform some of your post grad goals. We also invite you to consider building
your team. So building your team
of social support, as you identify who
you can count on as you're navigating
the transition into your post grad life. So just think to those that are
around you now. Who is a key source
of social support? Who is someone that you value their
perspective? Who is a source of
encouragement for you? These are all people who you hopefully will be able to lean on as you're
navigating the
ups and downs, right? And the shifts
and changes from being a student to
being a professional. And last but not least, we have a strengths exercise, which we hope
will allow you to discover and connect
with your key strengths. Now, I don't
know about you, but I have a
hard time with identifying my strengths. So this exercise was
really helpful for me, and it was very
eye opening to be able to reach
out to people who I'm close to, who see me, right,
in their light, and from their
perspective, hear from them, what they feel my
strengths are. So we invite you to reach out to people that
are close to you in your life or that
know you well and ask them what they think your greatest
strengths are. It could be three,
it could be some. Whatever comes to
mind. And meanwhile, we invite you to also
write down what you believe your three
greatest strengths are or some strengths are. And from there,
kind of looking and seeing how they relate, was there something
that surprised you? Did someone share
something about you that you didn't think
of from yourself? It can be a very eye opening kind
of experience. And personally, for
me, also, I think, validated some
of the things that I thought of
to be a strength, but wasn't entirely sure, and also helped
in guiding me into possible areas
or professions or fields that are kind
of motivated by those strengths
that I wouldn't have before had I not done this exercise. So
this is my favorite. The myths and realities
of there's so many. I mean, this is just four. But there's so many, and as you navigate life, there'll
be so
many more myths and the realities
of things. But the first myth
that we wanted to share is that you're supposed to have it
all figured out, which, hopefully, by
the end of this course, you've realized,
absolutely not. You're not supposed to have it all figured out, and you may never.
And that's okay. Like I said, I'm still
figuring myself out and learning and growing as I move on in my life, and my career and different
aspects
of my life. If you think about some of the most famous people or people who are incredibly
successful now, took them some time to get to where they
wanted to really be. And even then,
they're still growing and evolving
and changing. But the most important
thing I can say about this myth is to not compare
yourself to others, that no two pads
are the same. And your experience is
unique to yourself. The second myth, no one
around you is feeling sad or anxious about their post graduate plans. You're definitely
not alone. Even those who
appear to have it all together are
probably mourning, you know, the end of a wonderful
era, you know? Their identity
as a student. Once again, there's
so many shifts in transitions happening at this point
in your life, that it's okay to
have mixed feelings. It's okay to be excited, but also feel nervous. It's okay to be super
happy, but also sad. So don't forget to just kind of lean
on and turn to friends family to share how you're feeling, cause
you'd be surprised. Many are probably
feeling the same way. Your first job should
be your dream job. Absolutely not. Because with each professional
experience that you have, you will learn so much. Even from the ones that aren't the
most positive, you will learn a lot from what you don't like. And once again, I know I've shared
this
previously, but I personally don't believe that there's
just a dream job. I believe that there's
a dream job for where you are
in your life, like, in that point
of your life, and what's best for you at that point
in your life. And last, you should
have a job lined up before you graduate.
Not true at all. On average, it takes about three to
six months for college graduates
to secure their first position, full time position.
And it's a journey. Remember, it's
not so much just about the destination
of securing that job. It's the process, right? Going through and
finding a job, being intentional about
what it is that you apply for, what you
want to engage in. So it's a really
great opportunity to engage self reflect and explore
opportunities that allow you to continue to grow
as a person, but also as a
professional. So what's next? We invite you to set
realistic goals. So be very intentional as you set these goals, and we say realistic
because yes, it could be great to have a goal to work for a
specific company, right? But that's a very
big, lofty goal, and there's tons of different goals
in between there. So set realistic, small goals that
you can attain. It feels good to be able to kind of check
something off the list, even though we're trying to get away from list. But setting those kind of
realistic goals will
help you in feeling like you're moving forward and that they're achievable and that
there's movement. Don't be afraid
to ask for help. Change is constant,
as mentioned, reach out to people
for support, whether it be friends, family, an advisor,
a former professor. We're all here
to support you. Be proactive.
While there's so many campus resources, and here at UCLA, they won't necessarily
solve what's to come with the challenges related to the college
to career transition, but they can
certainly help to inform you and
empower you. And don't be afraid
to seek them out, too, right? Reach out. And if you're unsure
of where to start, don't hesitate
to reach out to an advisor or a
career educator, or someone that you know
to help connect you. And last but not least,
you're not alone. The transition is this is a shared experience that almost all of us
have gone through. And if not this
specific experience, we've all experienced transitional
periods in our life where we've had an
existential crisis of some kind and have been forced to kind
of look inward and really identify and
think about who we are and what it is
that we want or we're looking
for in life. So, once again,
we've shared these resources with you
time and time again. Don't hesitate to reach
out to any one of us. As mentioned,
we're all here to support you as you
navigate your journey. And we hope you'll stay
connected with us. All of the University
studies instructors, myself included. So if you ever want
to chat or meet, feel free to e mail me and we can
set up a time. And for the last time,
you've got this. You're not alone. That's
all I have to say. Like, you really aren't alone in this experience. We're all here
to support you. And just remember
that your journey is unique to you, and that even if it's windy or there's some
twist and turns, it's uncomfortable, you
will move through it. And one point at one
point in your life, I promise you'll look
back, and you'll be so grateful for the experiences
that you've had. So to mark this
module as completed, please take the
short quiz on Bruen Learn and then submit the self
reflection. And then you can move on.

So welcome to
University Studies one, A the College to
Creer Transition. This is the sixth
module of the course, and we are here with some amazing UCLA
alumni to talk about their
experiences with the College to
Creer transition. Once again, my name
is Shala Meno, and I'm one of the instructors
for the course. And at this time, I
would love our panelists to briefly just introduce themselves by
sharing their name, their major, what
year they graduated, and what you're currently working in or doing. So we'll start
off with Matt. Hi, Ron. My name
is Matty nose. I graduated from
UCLA in 2011. I majored in
architecture studies, and right now
I'm actually in operations engineer
working for a medical device company that prevents strokes. Wow. That's very
impactful work, man. How about you, Lexi? Hey, everyone.
My name is Lexi. I graduated UCLA in 2022, and I majored in human
biology and Society. I'm currently working
as a program lead in the field of
public health and resident education
specifically. By happin to answer
any questions. Thanks, Lexi. And bu. Yep. Hi, everyone. My
name is abu Mahenre. I was an international
student at UCLA. I graduated in 2017. I entered as a mechanical
engineering major, graduated with an
economics degree, and last five years, I've been actually
working as a software engineer and product manager across various startups
in the tech space. Most recently, I was with a start Hall outlast, where we were building a
marketplace for
recyclable metal. And the next move
for me is IHD going to be transitioning
to a student. I'll be joining London
Business School from my MBA in a
couple of months. So exciting. And last but not least
a wonderful Miriam. Hi, everyone. My
name is Miriam. I am 22,007, not even
20, 2007 graduate. And I majored
in economics, minored in
political science, and I am not doing at
all what I studied. I am currently working at in partner
marketing and regional marketing
in a start up for cybersecurity. I've been a part
of a few start ups over the past
course of time, and it's been a
fun transition. And proof that
your major doesn't define your career
trajectory, right? It's really more about kind of what
you do with it. So I've shared
previously a bit with the pianlist about the college career transition and the intention
of this course. But once again, we're
really hoping that through this course,
we can normalize, the experience that the
transitional period, and experience
that one will go through as they
navigate graduating from their undergraduate
studies and moving into life post UCLA. So really looking
at the social, emotional and
professional sense of self and how it
may be impacted, right by this transition, and thinking about
ways in which they can not only prepare
and kind of just, I don't want to
say prepare, but you know what I mean, kind of get themselves ready for this transition, but also
just kind
of set themself up with regard to
resources of support, and just knowing that this is a part of life, right? And there's so many
transitions that
will navigate. And so I'm really
excited for you all to share more about
your experiences. You're all wonderful
people and have done so much. So thanks again for being here and sharing
more about yourself. So the first question
that we have is, if you wouldn't
mind all kind of briefly sharing what your personal
experience was like with the college Yeah, College DC transition from UCLA to the real world. If
you could list
some words maybe that come to mind
when you think about that experience.
Feel free to jump in. I can go. I think when
you first graduate, it just is so
overwhelming, everything that you
could be doing. I mean, I thought
I was going to be in some kind
of politics, and then I learned
about politics. And I'm like, No, pivot. So I then came into a
career in sales and then found my way
into the career like with emerging
technology products, placing them with
[Link] or Best Buy, and then went
through channel, Cloud, and all and found my way to
startups and tech. But I'd say, don't be afraid to
try new things and don't be afraid to
take your first job. But if it doesn't
feel right for you, just it's okay
to transition. Like, my first job was in sales for advertising, and I just did
not like that. I just was not
that person. So I'm much happier
where I'm at now. Just just be true to yourself and
know what is right, what is wrong, and it's okay that you don't get it all perfect in the
beginning. It's okay that You don't know
at all, even though you graduate
thinking you know it all because you just graduated this
really tough thing and that was your
whole world, and then now you're
in the real world, and you're like,
Wait a minute. There's so much
I don't know. Yeah, I guess, for me, first words I think of, like, felt very rough. A little lost, a lot of
reflection
on what to do. There's also a lot
of rejection for like interviews,
job process. I also felt like
I had to restart. I was studying
architecture, but I did at least try to see if I wanted to pursue that career for a year. But then I
thought, Oh, this wasn't
really for me, wanted something a
little bit more hands on and learn more
technical background. So I went back to school for mechanical
engineering. So I had to restart. But even finding that, I had a lot of options. I think I want to do a
lot of different things, whether it was like
film industry, set design or something, but I kind of
just slanted that because thought I
still young and, you know, go
back to school. So that's what I did and ended up going
for that path. And so, yeah, there was a lot of ups and
downs, for sure. Something that kind
of resonates like between the two of your stories is
that, you know, you learn a lot from
your experiences, even if it's not something that is the most
positive, you know, but you can learn a
lot just by knowing, I'm not really into sales, or this is the type
of work environment I want to be in
or I'm sure Matt for you it wasn't easy to make that transition
out of architecture. But I'm sure you've grown, a lot from that
experience. Thanks for sharing. Y, I can share next. I mean, I totally relate to what Matt and
Miriam shared. I guess, the first word that
comes to my mind, looking back at my
graduation day, you know, entering the professional world
was challenging. It was a difficult time. You know, I would
love to say that I was a star
student that had everything
figured out and I had a shiny job lined up on the day of graduation. That's
not the case. It took me about a
month month and a half. Solid recruiting to
land my first job. And it wasn't something that that was
my top choice, you know, but
like Miriam Sher, that there's so much
value in experimenting, trying out what
comes your way. And there's
always something that you learned from
that experience. From my first
job, I guess, the biggest thing
that I learned was how to be a
professional, how to show up on time, how to manage work
relationships, how to manage
expectations. And yeah, since
then, you know, like I shared, I studied economics, like Matt. I wanted to pursue
something in technology. I enrolled into a
software boot camp and thus began my software engineering
journey. But all this to say
that it's okay to not have it all figured out on day one, post graduation. It's okay to
experiment, try. And yeah, I just want to add one thing
that keep at it, you know, believe
in yourself, and things will
definitely work out. You know, they
say on average, it takes three
to six months for someone to find
their first job, which is that would
feel so nice to hear. That's an undergrad.
I remember just feeling so much
pressure of like, I need a job, right now. So a month and a
half is fantastic. Yeah. I feel like it's probably even tougher now, maybe more like six
months or more. But I would say
that my journey was a little bit
different in that I went to graduate school
and got my master in public health right after graduation from UCLA. I didn't feel like
I was directly exposed to the real world right after graduation. I still had two years of my graduate
program
to prepare for that. But following my
graduation in May, I would say that
the transition hasn't been too difficult, probably because
I had that graduate program
in between. But I remember
my senior year, I was very lost. I didn't know what
decision to make, whether to go
back to school, to get a job or to start work and then go
back to school later. But I feel like the
theme with all of our responses is that there's no wrong decision. I think every decision that you
make is probably just a starting point
out of college. And then you'll find your way back to
what you are really meant to do or what you really want to do
in your career. And so some words that I associate with
that experience is probably challenge,
but also liberation. And Lexi, not to put
you on the spot, but when you entered
UCLA, remind me, were you looking to
do medicine or right? Okay, I remember
correctly. And so I'm sure you all probably can relate to this
in some way, but do you mind sharing a little bit about
your major trajectory? And I don't know
about you, I mean, your major
clearly does not define your career
trajectory or whatnot, but what that experience
was like, you know, thinking that you were
going to do what like, I'm going to
major in this, and I'm going
to be a doctor. And so there was
those transitions and shifts for you, right?
As you were a student. Yeah. Yeah, thanks
for bringing that up. I entered as a
biology major. And I remember making
that decision. You know, you don't
put a lot of thought into making that
decision because you were in high school
at that point. It's kind of a big
decision to make. And so I was like
exploring all of the different
majors within the life sciences
department. I was really I
took a couple of classes in sociology
and public health, and that really interested me outside of, you know, just the basic
science majors. And so it opened up my eyes a little
bit to what that intersection
between public health and science could be, which led me to my
final chosen major. I was like I was looking through a lot of majors. I was like visiting
every advisor and department to try to figure out what
major I wanted to have. But Ultimately, I decided on something more interdisciplinary, which was
human
biology and society. And I was really
happy with my choice. And I think your
major doesn't really predict what your
future career is going to be in and what industry you're
going to be in, which is why I really like that
interdisciplinary major. I got to explore a lot of different things or a lot of different
careers within the life sciences or
Life Sciences field. And yes, I decide to pursue my master in public
health after, and I currently work in medicine and in
public health. But I wouldn't
say that door to medical school has
quite closed yet. So yeah. I think again, you
can't go wrong with choosing
your major and even if you major
in something, that's it's not going
to be determinant of what your career or
post grad options are. Right? And that pathways aren't so linear, right? Like, we think they are,
but we all have, I think our own
unique pathways to kind of where we get to
where we want to go. Thanks for sharing, Lexie. So when you think about the college de
career transition for you all and your
individual experiences, what did you find to be
the most challenging? And what did you
find also to be the most exciting or encouraging about
the process? So in the course,
we talk about, how there are
three, you know, senses of self that are impacted by the culture
career transition, the emotional, social and professional
sense of self. And, you talked about, like, in working
in your first job, you learned a lot, right about the professional
environment and adapting to that and building and developing work
relationships. I know, for me,
personally, the emotional was
the hardest and that I kind of
felt so lost and kind of alone in
the experience and unsure of where to go. So in thinking
about, I guess, your individual
experiences, what did you find to be
the most challenging? And in some ways, I guess, what was
exciting too about it? I think the challenge
is when you start out, you the
overwhelmingness of figuring it out or I think everyone when you
have a medical path, like you were going
to be a doctor, and then you were overwhelmed with
all the choices. If you want to
be a lawyer, like at econ degree, usually go into
consulting, and then you go
into finance. It's just like very clear. But when it's not clear, it's up to you to
figure that out, and that's a lot
coming from you know, a place where you
had to figure out obviously your courses and getting your grades, and like, everything
though was kind of in this one ecosystem. And now you're out with
this bigger world of an ecosystem that there's things that you don't even know you
could get into. So I think that's a big challenge
as you first graduate is
taking me back. I like those feelings. And I'd say though, like, Take it slow also. It's okay. Like
to your point, it took me a while to find a job and I was
freaking out. Maybe take a little
minute to relax. One of my biggest
regrets is I jumped right into
something and I could have taken some
time because you're always going to be working later in your life unless, hopefully you
won't be always, but work will be there, so there's no rush to like jump in and make
sure you're finding your career and
getting it all right and everything's
perfect and beginning. I always joke that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I
feel that way
too. So noice. Yeah, I guess just to add what Marian
set up about, yeah, just kind
of, you know, kind of feeling
overwhelmed. Yeah, you know, I
think challenging part is, like, Oh,
where to start. I had an idea of since I did study
architecture, like, Oh, that's just an option,
but I wasn't really 100% sold on that idea. So I was in the
beginning of my job process looking at different industries, film industry, even, like, retail
industry, just to try things or even just get
work experience. It took me time. It
took me actually. I think it took me
like six months. But at the same time, I guess one of the
most challenging was also making that career
transition from architecture to
something else. I guess I felt some, like, shame, but there was no shame in like, kind of,
like, quitting. So, you know,
it's, you know, worth noting that, you
know, just, you know, if you have an inkling
to try something, then you should go for
it, and, you know, you'll just learn so
much from that pathway. And, exciting. At
the same time, you know, it's kind
of challenging that there's so many
different things. I think it's
also exciting. I found that I
was like exciting to, like, research,
like, Oh, what does this
job do or h, how can I get this
experience or skills? And so that was kind
of exciting, like, Oh, the ball in
your courting, you get to make it happen. It's not like you
have to follow everyone in, like, school. So it is in your hands, which can be
challenging or scary, but also exciting
at the same time. Like the world your
oyster in a way. Yeah. Y. Kind of looking back to my time right after UCLA when I was in the
recruitment process. I think one thing maybe slightly
differently for me was the fact
that because I was an international
student, there are certain
time frames or windows that I
have to work with to get a job. And I think at the time it was three months
post graduation, you have to have
a job, else you can't remain
in the US. I'm not going to get into the details of that, but if you're an
international student, I would highly recommend meeting the right team
at UCLA and bringing yourself up to
speed on what exactly are the laws and what time windows you're working because
I remember that, you know, that's why the month and a half thing for my first job worked out
because I was
working with like a three month shot
clock to find a job. So for me, yeah,
challenging for sure. I think a really
difficult thing was also just hearing so many rejections because I do think that sometimes, playing
the volume game
also helps in terms of the number of
job applications you send out right
after school, you know, when your
goal is to get a job. So yeah, you know,
be prepared. Not every application is going to have a
great turnout. That's totally normal. So please expect that
going into the process. But yeah, I think initially that
was difficult, having that
short clock and also just hearing back, no from a lot of
the applications. But again, keep at it, you, and you'll
be just fine. Gosh. It's like the added
layer of stress, right? For international
students, I know, like OPT and
everything like that. That's a lot of stress. I can't even tell you how many jobs I
would apply to. I think I'd tell
myself, like, I'll apply to three a
day or something, and it's like the number
I'd hear back from. It is discouraging,
but, you know, knowing that it's
common, right, it's normal to kind of go through
that process. Yeah, I think the most
challenging aspect for me was switching from kind of like a framework
and a mindset of grades and merit
and, you know, like scores and things into what is
actually valuable, I think in the
workplace, which is relationship building, negotiation, leadership. That was a little bit of a
challenge because for, you know, for how many years you've
been in school, that's kind of the framework that
you're working with, and then suddenly,
you have to learn all these new skills
that you weren't necessarily taught
or evaluated in. And then something
exciting, I think is knowing that or having better
boundaries with time, after 5:00 P.M. I can just not
think about work. I think that was
very liberating for me and to actually have pockets of your own time to do things that you would
like to do. I think that was
very different after graduating
because as we all know, during college
and grad school, those lines are
really blurred and I feel like
you don't have protected time after you would work into
the evenings or even on weekends, but I think that's
something that I was really excited
and looking forward to. Let's think I don't
know. I still work on. We think of that. I don't know if I shut
off after five, but that's good for you. We need to think of some boundary settings
for you, Mary. You guys share, about the challenges
you've experienced. Can you share a little bit about What did
you lean on? Or what did you find to be your source of support, as you navigated
this process? Because I know when I
went through it too, and Matt,
similarly, I mean, my transition
was not mine was from working in radio to wanting to
move into well, actually not
knowing what I want to do in the
moving to high, but I remember even
like my parents were super worried right and just kind of like, you need to get a job. And for me,
it was like, I want something
with meaning. I want to be
intentional about it, and that was hard. I totally relate to
that sense of feeling of shame or kind
of disappointment. But I then found, like,
I leaned a lot, like, on my social support, right to kind of move
me through that. So do you mind
sharing a little bit about who you found or what was
helpful for you, I guess as you
were navigating this part of your life
or your experience? Yeah, I think I fell
or I'll jump in. Yeah, I leaned
on my friends, my girlfriend or we
at that time, too. She was very supportive. Yeah, I think Yeah, even I think
during that time, you kind of
find, like, Oh, your friend group also
might get smaller, but you kind
of also found, like, who, you know, really supports you
when it's rough. Yeah, I had one friend
who, you know, just, you know, just a
simple, like, oh, I think you got
it the interview, like means the world or
even just help with, like, checking
out your resume. Things like that helps
you kind of move on. But also also
at a different, like I had some peers who are also struggling
to find a job. So without having
that community also helps saying, you know, you're
not alone, and also just want
to know that, you know, when you go
through this process, you're not alone, And it's important to find a
community of people that, you know, you can kind of, you know, work with each
other, collaborate, and give each
other advice on, you know, this process,
'cause it's tough. And everyone has also different
pathways, too. Yeah, I can share
some thoughts there. Um, you know,
one thing that I would say as
a precursor to, you know, who
to lean on in this time is prepare
well, right, especially if you're
watching this early on in
your UCLA life, make sure to take
care of your GPA, to focus on internships
and all of that. You know, the better
prepared you are, closer to graduation and your entry into the
professional world. I think everything is just going to be smoother. And I'm saying
that from, you know, personal experience. I wish I'd done more
of those things. But yeah, who do lean on? I would say,
um Definitely, like what Matt said,
your friends, right? You will have an entire
cohort of students who are basically going through the same
thing as you are. You know, share things that work that don't
work with your friends. Everyone's in the
same boat, right. Everybody wants to get
a really good job. So celebrate successes and also when things are
not looking to well, confide in each
other, strategize how you can move
forward together. Um, also, the career
center and and your career counselors at UCLA are a really
great resource. You know, they
have seen students just like yourself in the thousands or tens of thousands of students who've
been through the
same journey as you. So they will be a great resource
in terms of advice and actionable
steps that you can take, you know,
in this time. Shala, of course, is
a great resource, so please be in
touch with her. And lastly, I would say lean on yourself also, right, believe
in yourself. Uh I'm here to tell you that if
someone like me who who is an
average student at best can be okay, you will also
definitely be okay. So please believe
in yourself. You're so humble.
You're one of the most resilient
people I know. I want to ask a kind
of side follow up question that kind of touches on what Lexi
was bringing up. But the notion of, I
love how you said Lexi that your mind mindset
really shifts, right? Because when we're in
school, we're taught, right that success is measured by your grades, right, your GPA, what you get
in the
class and things. When in reality,
you're right, when you're in
the workplace, it's not really
about that at all. And so I guess,
would you mind sharing all a little
bit about what you've learned about
yourselves as you've embarked on different kind of work environments? And how did you
kind of How did you come about to
kind of figure out what that looks
like for you? What's your ideal work
environment or whatnot? Cause no one really
talks about that. No one really talks
about the importance of alignment, right? With work culture and positive work
environments, versus toxic work
environments, you know, like collaboration versus working more
independently. So I don't know if anyone has any poignant
experiences or things that they wanted to
share about what that has been like for them in terms of
finding that out. I think when I started, like, work from home
was not a thing. You just don't do that. You always go
into an office. So now that's
more of the norm, and I think there's
benefits to both sides. I think having the
hybrid is cool, but it makes it a lot more difficult
if you are in a remote world to keep the collaboration and make sure you build
that culture. That's been a
challenge for sure. I do travel a
lot for my job. That's also something
to consider. Some of these jobs allow
you to travel a lot. It could be very fun in the beginning
of your career, and then it
becomes a little tedious as you keep
going in your career, so it can take
some toll on you, even though it is fun
when you get there. So that's something
to consider. But the traveling actually helps me with the culture. So if I go a few months just
working from home, I actually don't
like that. Some people thrive in
that and love that. I like that interaction
with people. So you just have to be in tuned to what you like and what
you appreciate. Some people
absolutely hate the social part and just like to work and just, like, you know, be
on the computer, in the zone, don't really want to deal
with the social part. So I think
that's important to know how you are and
what you thrive in. Yeah, I can just quickly
add my $0.02 there. I totally agree
with Miriam. And I think that one
thing that can help you figure that out is
active experimentation. You know, only
once you've tried many different
work environments or different teams. Will you know where do you fit well the most
and what kind of managers do you work
well with the mot. So, yeah, you know, I've worked in New
York in person, in Bangalore, the
city in India. My recent job was
totally remote with 15 people all
over the world. Um, and only through very different
experiences, have I been able
to learn what resonates best with me? So my advice
there would be that maybe at the
beginning of your career, you might not have as
much either leverage to try a lot of different things,
but with time, know that you'll
be part of different teams,
different companies, and soon you'll see trends and patterns that
work well with you. And what I know
of you all, and like, for
example, like Mariam. Mariam and I've known
each other since before high school,
middle school. But yeah, she's just like
a social being, you know, a butterfly. So like I love that
that it's like really connecting with yourself
to see who you are, right, your values, and how 'cause you
spend so much time in your work. We
all do, right? Like, we spend
more time in our work with
our co workers, our colleagues,than we do with our loved ones. So yeah, like Mariam, I can't
imagine you being in a position where you're just kind of insulated and working independently
by yourself. I think. So yeah,
I love that. I think that's
so important to kind of reflect on
and think about. I can speak to
that a little, but I also started my current job
full time remote, and I think that was
very, very difficult, especially when you're working with so
many people. I have gotten
to learn that. I just don't like meeting people online because it feels like you're
talking to a bunch of floating heads and
not like a real person. And I feel like when I Ashley was able to connect with some of my
colleagues in person, that's when we were able
to build rapport or, you know, build
a relationship. And I think even if you do start
your work remote, because I know that's kind of a trend right now, you can find opportunities to
make it a little
bit more hybrid, if possible, like,
go into where your other colleagues are working or go in on
site on some days. Or go to, like, community
meetings, you know, things like that
to make it more of an experience that you enjoyed and can thrive in? So, is there anything that I
guess if
you could go back to your pre
graduate self, your undergraduate self
before you were about to graduate, I guess, what did you wish
you knew or if you could give
yourself a piece of advice or something
at that time? Like, what do you
wish that you knew prior to entering, I guess, the
professional world? Oh, go ahead. Go ahead, Matt.
Okay. Thank you. For me, I think
it was like your first job
is not the job. That's a forever job or
it's your dream job. It's kind of the
first job of a stepping stone
or you just learn part of your
experience of how you thrive in the
work environment, something we about. That's definitely
important that doesn't get talked
about more. But also just really utilizing the
career center, something that we
have mentioned that it really
helps to get internships just
to get an idea of what the
work culture is like or what kind of work culture
that suits you. And also if that's the industry you
want to be in. Really just utilize all
the campus resources during your time at UCLA will really help out. And also just reaching
out to alumni, All right, you know,
even us, just to get insign to
our industries, just so that you kind
of figure that out. I think I did
some talking to, like professors and some professionals
and helped out, but I wish I had more courage to just
talk out to more people, just be kind of, you know, taking more
initiative on that. So that's definitely
something I wish I had done is just having that courage to
just ask, you know, how does what is
your day to day work life like or what kind of work environment,
things like that. It's great you share
that cause I agree. Informational interviews. I think it's intimidating, I think to think about putting
yourself out there and reaching
out to people. But people love talking
about themselves. I feel like most people love talking
about themselves. The great part, I
guess about UCLA specifically is
that I don't know if any of you
are on UCLA one. But from what I've
hear from students, I guess it's
like UCLA kind like a Linked in version, but it's great because
it's intended for UCLA Lum and students and alumni can actually indicate that
they are open to mentoring or to being
contacted and stuff. So I think it
kind of makes disarms in a way and
it makes it a bit easier to approach and reach out to Aum
and just ask, like you said, like, I still don't know what the channel in the
cloud is, Miriam, but if I was in underg be great to reach out to Miriam and just be like, Hey, you
know, I'd love to hear more about
what you're doing, because she said there's so many different ways
in which that you can immerse yourself in different types of work environments
and spaces, and what better than to ask people.
So I love that. I have some
thoughts, but I'll wait for Miriam
to go first. Why me? You go ahead. Okay. I thought you were going
to share something. Okay, I think two
action items that I would definitely
do more of, you know, if I were
starting UCLA over again. I think the first
one kind of seems obvious, but
is internships. You know, internships are actually a recipe or just a strategy to get a job on the day
you graduate. Um, so a lot of my friends who
would intern at banks or at some
tech companies during one of the summers. Those if you get
an internship, it's almost a 90%, 95% chance that it converts to a
full time role. So again, it's not a very straightforward or easy thing to do
by any means, securing an internship, but definitely
worth a shot. You know, again,
focus on uh, the career service center, and talk to your
career counselors as well, and ask
them, you know, how do I get internships
at these five firms, and definitely go
down that route. And the second
thing that I would definitely do more of is I would definitely
talk to alums, like Matt said, especially those students
who are just two, three years out of
college, you know, because they have
lived this journey very close to you, where you are
right now, right? And so they know
what the game is like in that
time, right? Because they've
just recently been through what you're going to be going through. So just reach out to them. I'm
sure there is
an alumni club that you can make good use of. So these are two things
that I wish I'd done more of when I
was at UCLA. That's a great
perspective. I haven't even thought about that, but
you're right. Feel like things
are changing so fast that it's helpful, right to be able to
reach out to those that are kind of have done it before you but
more recently. I feel like as you're
talking about me. Yeah. I go to like. Yeah. I think two things that I wish I learned
about in undergrad. Probably negotiating and also advocating
for yourself. I think especially
negotiating in terms of like salaries
and benefits. Because to be honest, I learned some
of that through TikTok, you know, those career development like influencers
or whatever. But I think also
women in general, we've kind of
been socialized to be thankful for what has been given to us and to just kind
of accept that. And it comes a little bit unnatural to
me or a little bit uncomfortable when I
have to ask for more, but that's kind
of the reality of the workplace, right? If you don't advocate
for yourself, you can kind of assume
that no one else will, which is kind of
a sad reality, but it's true. So I think during my
time in undergrad, kind of knowing
that would have been would have helped my transition
a little bit. And, you know,
taking a step back, looking at yourself
candidly and saying, Hey, you know, I
have a lot to offer. I have all of these achievements
and, you know, all of these educational experiences or, you know, other things that
no one really has and that's
something that you can kind of
bring to the table. Those are all
great. I mean, I double down on
all of those. And then one thing is to just to
reiterate on that, don't be afraid to engage your network and
your community, most people I mean, I think Sh you helped
me find my first job, even though you were
at the other school that we shall not discuss. The job that I found initially was through you, and
then that kind of navigated me to
find my own way. So if you have friends
that are in places, don't be afraid to
ask them to apply. I mean, honestly,
some companies actually give money to people to refer like referrals. Referrals are
the big thing. So if you have even, like, Lincoln is a huge, huge thing that I leverage
every single day. Pay the premium
subscription, trial it for a
month, like, see who you're connected with with the jobs
you're going. When I was first
looking for a job, after I realized
the sales part wasn't what I
wanted to do, and I lived in the
LA for seven years. I worked in the
channel and all this, but I knew I
wanted to take my career to
the next level. I purposely, like, had my vision of
going into high tech, and I had a whole plan, I would like sit and apply for ten jobs a week. I had
like names of companies I wanted
to work with. I would go and
research if I had any connections
through those companies, and honestly,
I just apply. So just I think if you are focused on
figuring out, like, I think once you
figure out what you are working towards, manifestation,
write it down, use your network, use
the tools at hand. So that's super helpful. And then on the
second part of negotiating your salary and
working things out, I think being
at start ups, you don't realize it's all funny money
until it's not. So if you are looking
to go to a startup, make sure you are asking
the right questions, you are trying to
get as much stock as you can initially. You're asking about the health of the company, your back
channeling
information. Sometimes in your
earlier in your career, like I highly encourage people to experience
a start up if you want to
have multiple I think it's something
that a lot of people are scared
about going into. And Gbo you probably can
elaborate into this. But once you're in it, you just learn so
much super fast. But it's an intense and an amazing
learning experience. I actually wish I started earlier in my career
at a start up because then it just pump just trajectories into way more opportunities
down the line because you have so many
hats you're wearing, so you can decide which
one you like best and then have that experience
to move it forward. Yeah, I just Go ahead. Go. No, I was just going
to say, totally agree and just to
quickly add on that. I think if you want to go down the
start up route, that's absolutely
very rewarding. And, you know, now that I have
clarity that I want to do product management moving forward
in my career, that's only because
I was at a start up, and they wanted someone to take on more product
responsibilities. And, you know,
at a start up, they give you more
responsibilities if you want to take them, and yeah, definitely agree with
that point, Miam. And this kind
of all circles back to what
you said, Matt, about your first job is not your dream
job, right? And I personally don't
believe in dream jobs. I think that we
have dream jobs at different points
in our lives. And then once
you get there, right like Mariam
was saying, you start to think
about, right, well, not to say, what's
my next step, but what am I
interested in? You might learn
about something new and then putting
it out there. I love that Maria,
manifesting, being very
intentional about maybe what direction
you want to go into. So I love that. And I think that
that's kind of a myth, right when I know
when I graduated, it was like, Oh, I have to find
the right job, and it's going to
be the job I love, and I'm going
to be so happy, and it was I quit
after a week, and I'm not proud of it, but like you
remember Mary. It was just remember.
Yeah, not for me. It just didn't feel right. So I appreciate you all saying that
because it's real. That's real. I think
that's real life. So I guess I have a, I'm going to ask like
a roge question, and we'll see how it goes. But I'm just
curious, like, I know Lexi, you're just
out of grad school. It looks like you
just recently you've started your
position and stuff. So I'm not sure how
you'll answer this, but how are you all
feeling right now with where you're at in your lives, and
your careers? So what are you Because it's not right
we're constantly evolving and changing
and growing, and we're going through different cycles
in our lives, and there's always
room for growth and there's room for
movement and change. I guess I want to
illustrate the point that we're constantly
transitioning, in our lives. Would you mind
sharing a little bit about how you're
feeling in this moment in
your careers or like you're
entering grad school? Maybe some challenges you're personally
experiencing and what you're looking
toward or forward to. To Rogue, I don't know I can say a sap about
that one first, I feel like we
eons thinking. I think for me, I'm at a good place
in my career. Actually was
recently promoted to senior director
even though we had a layoff in the
beginning of the year. I had, like, I'm probably
having five jobs. Now, I already had
three, so now I added two more jobs since the beginning
of the year. It's the constant,
like, figuring it out, tackling this,
decisioning that, solution, solving this. It it has been a lot. But I thrive in the
chaos, I guess. I don't know what it is, but I do like
the challenge. But for me, it's been
really hard to maintain that work life balance and make sure that
my brain like, see, I wish it could
shut off after five. It does not with the five jobs and
all the details that I have in my head. And so it's like finding that balance to be more present in
your day
to day and make sure that you're able
to unplug and not, doom scroll on your time off and get into this like to just really
enjoy your life. And so I think
that's the balance. And then also it's
deciding, ok, well, the next steps up, like, what do I
really want to do? It's like, do
I really want to become like a CMO or run go to a
smaller start up, or do I want to go into a bigger company where
I'm just siloed into this one little job at like a Google
or Amazon, which wouldn't
be bad either, or do I want to just
continue down that path? So right now I'm still at the start up, I
really like my job. I love my team. That's
the only reason why I've survived
over three years. So making sure you like
the person you work with and the team
that is around you. I think here it's been interesting
because even though everyone's
so overwhelmed doing so many
different jobs, everyone's leaning in to help each other and
you're all feeling like you're in it
together from the CEO to the co founders
down to the CMO. Everyone's doing
whatever they can to make sure we're
progressing forward. So but I do think having that balance and not being all about your
career and work, making sure
you're balancing it with your life, it gets hard when
you travel a lot. And so you give up a lot of your personal
time for that. Thanks for sure. I guess, for me, I'm also, yeah, right now, I
feel pretty content. Right now, I actually
went back from a manager to individual
contributing role, and I'm actually
pretty happy about that because during, you know, we worked for corporation,
there's some shuffling. So you know, something I wasn't as comfortable
being a manager, which I have actually no idea what I was
doing at that time. So I'm happy to be back in individual
contributing role, learning a lot more
about operations and engineering
because before it was more about equipment. And so kind of happy about that
and also kind of having this
satisfaction or that maybe when I was
younger, I thought, Oh, I'll be like
manager or director, but at this point
in time, like, Oh, it's okay to just go back to individual
contributing, gain more skill up skill and then go back
to managing. Something that I'm still
interested in doing, but just kind of this
path it's not linear, I could go back
and forth and just whatever also
opportunities that kind of
present itself. I love that, Matt.
I love that. And I think that it's so important
that people hear that because there's
just this conception of climb the ladder. Being in a
position where you manage or you supervise, and that's the
way you go, and it's like, No, that's not. That's not
necessarily growth. There's so many
different ways. And leadership exists in all different
areas, right? Like, it doesn't mean necessarily supervising. I personally was in
a supervisory role and I left Nils like, I'm never doing
this again. Like, it's just I want to be focusing
on my work. And then years later,
here I am again, it kind of just
came about very, like, kind of intentionally.
So I love that. I think it's so
important to look at the individual
and your path and what brings
you joy, you know, and it's not it's not like universal, you know, Y. I guess I can go next. It's so
funny you
say that, Matt. I just wrote down
my thoughts. And I also wrote
down content. So yeah, Char,
when you ask, how am I doing now
or how am I feeling? I truly feel content and dare I say happy, also. And I know this is not
going to lat forever. It's going to be like a roller coaster
up and down. And I'm really
grateful for all the people
that have helped me get to this point. And you're one
of them, Ch. And I also want to just
remind everyone that, I guess, for me, it was
not always like this. I didn't always
feel content with my career or happy
with where I was. My younger self at UCLA would have never
believed that I would have achieved half the things also
that I have now. So yeah, I just
want that to be a reminder that things
will get better, especially if you
find yourself in a position where
you're happy, you're not content with your
professional life. I'm here to tell you
that keep at it, you know, believe
in yourself, things will get
better for sure. And yeah, that's
my $0.02 there. Beautiful. I I
don't know if this is sill a thing.
Lexi is still a thing. I can share a
little bit. So yes, I started my first
full time position. I actually started
in November. I was working
full time and doing full time school, and that was a challenge. But I'm I'm very, very happy with
where I am at with my current job. And I think
something that is really inspiring to me
is that my colleagues, I work with a team of pediatricians and they are like
mentors to me, and I think that's
very important. And like I said before, that door to Med school
isn't closed yet. And it's just really nice to know that they are supportive in where
my career may go. That's beautiful.
Thanks for sharing, Lexie, and thank you
all for sharing. I know that was kind
of off the rail, but I think I'm so
happy that you're all in places where you're feeling good
about your work. And as you said,
it takes time, and sometimes
you go through hardships to get there. But then you realize
it's so worth it. And I just wanted to kind of illustrate that, right? That we're
constantly changing. And sometimes when you aren't happy, it
takes a move. It takes a big
move, right? And it really happens, I think at the end of
your comfort zone. Like, that's kind of
where the magic happens, even if it's kind
of intimidating. You all kind of
touched about. We had a question about like resources
and services that may have
supported you while you were at
the university. I feel like you
all kind of kind of touched on
the career center, obviously, like alumni, working with
alumni advisors. I don't know if
anyone had any additional types
of resources. I think in general, just
I think highlighting the importance of like co curricular and extracurricular
opportunities, and that it can be
hard, you know, especially if you are like a community student or, you know, you work or your
parenting student or
whatever it may be. I don't know if anyone has any experiences or, certain resources that were
really
helpful for them when they were a
student or recent Lum. I can speak to
that a little bit. So I think actually a lot of professional
development came from club experience
because if you think about they're kind of
like many corporations, and during my
time at clubs, like, I learned about
resume building, interviewing skills, teamwork, leadership,
all through my clubs. And I wasn't in any business clubs or
professional clubs, but just based on hearing from my friends,
those were really, really robust
and they were actually able
to connect with alumni through clubs and actually get land the first role out of college through a
connection
made through the club. So I think,
especially at UCLA, it's just very important to not limit yourself
to just academics, but also focusing
on clubs. Yeah. That speaks
to the notion of transferable
skills, right? And that so much
of what you learn, I think, is through those types of experience, leadership, teamwork, critical
thinking skills, negotiation,
things like that. Yeah, I guess,
just add for me the same experience, the extracurricular
activities, being a part of
club and even being part of a leadership
part of the club, you learned a lot of also kind of just communicating
with alumni. You kind of
learn how to be like simplify in your e mails. That's important. I think work skill is
to kind of be concise. And also, so those are some things you
learn how to arrange your maybe like meeting
minutes or notes and create like action plans and learn how to delegate. So those are just
additional skills that Alexi mentioned. So yeah, I definitely
like extra car cure is a great way to build
your skill set. I love that, even
just learning how to write an e mail and
write it commun. My first supervisor,
my old well, not my previous job, Hu is because I'm like
a flowery writer. I'd write, like, long, and he'd be like,
keep it tight, like a short melts down.
I'm like, Alright. Don't be afraid to use
AI for your writing. San Francisco girl. I only going to come
in more, you know, I know there's
a lot of talk about for recent graphs, like how AI is going
to take over jobs, and it can be scary. But honestly, we need
people to work with AI. So use it. Like T throw in your ideas and
chat CPT, have it. T throw you something, you're not going
to like it, you'll edit it, but
it's easier to edit. So use the tools
that you have. I would like to add a
couple of things here. The first one is slightly tangential to the
resources at UCLA. You know, we talked about a lot of
different resources. I want to say that, you know, these are things that the more time
you put into it, the more you
get out of it. You know, so it's very important to make use of all these
resources also, you know, so I would say, put it down on
your calendar every month or every
couple of weeks, build a relationship,
you know, with your counselors, with someone at the
career center, put it on your
calendar to go to some of the club
events, and so on. You know, the more
you put into it, the more you'll
get out of it. And the second
thing I would say, this is not
necessarily just at UCLA, but
now, you know, we're in a time
when you can learn pretty much anything
you want to for free on the
Internet, right, especially if it's
something to do with technology or any
other hard skills, like video editing,
photo editing, and stuff like that. Just remember
that you can go on to YouTube or even chart GBD and learn any of these
things, right? So there's a whole
other community to be found there to develop any skills
that you want to. And at the end of the day, I think any hard skill or any portfolio that you can
build on the site, of your work will help you tremendously in your job search and interviews.
That's great. Thanks
so much for sharing. I love the piece
about, you get what you put into it and
like intentionality, right, being very
intentional about you know that's what
we actually talk about with students
when we've done? We've revamped
our workshops to be about crafting your UCLA journey and really thinking
thoughtfully about not only
because students often come and they just
want a program plan. I want to know class
I need to take. And it's like, Wait, let's think big
picture here. Let's think about all
facets of yourself. Are you interested
in studying abroad? Like imagine to be able to study in a
different country and the experiences
that come from that,
internships, clubs. How do you really think thoughtfully about
how it works? Within your schedule.
I love that. You should just all
come and talk to students all the time. So this is our
last question. I think you all kind
of touched on it, so it may be a
little redundant, but I guess if you have
a piece of advice, I guess what advice
or what piece of advice would you
like to share with some of our undergraduate
students about this transitional
period in life and just in general, life after college,
and as they kind of explore their young
adult selves, I guess one thing
kind of related to the previous question
on services, but something I also thought when you
provided these questions was the psychological
services and even, like, therapy during
undergraduate studies or even during
that transition, I think is a
good resource to help for yourself
because we touched on like the
emotional aspect, and that really
helps for me, actually, it helped me in my first year working. I went to therapy
because I wasn't maybe acclimated in the
work professional. I got maybe too anxious. So, you know, I think
it's also definitely, as everyone
mentioned, putting a time and effort for
all these resources, but it's also making
sure that you put your me time
to sort out, you know, anything you're going on emotional so that you have other
means of support. And I think some other
things we touched upon was just yeah,
transferable skills. If your major is unrelated to care, it all transfers. So, you know, just and the
path is
might be scary, but, you know, just know
that it'll be fine. It'll work out. I'll
work itself out. Thanks for sharing that
about caps and just like psychological
services and therapy. I know that with
some, there's like often a taboo
associated with it, but I mean, personally, I've been working with
a therapist for years, and I actually find it T I found like it's kind of like learning a
lot about myself. There's a lot of
self reflection, learning about my values, kind of where I'm at. And it's really,
I think helped me just kind of
better understanding myself and drawing
connections between my work
and who I am. And I know at CAPs,
they also have groups, where they
actually touch on different skills or
different things that are kind of going on.
But also goal setting. Like, if you
like Mariam was talking about
manifesting, right? And like putting
those goals together, a therapist, you know, a coach, a career coach, there's all sorts of
things that really help you with that and
keep you accountable, but also be there
for you as you're kind of navigating
that path. I mean, I guess I'll
chime in again, just enjoy the journey
is one thing I'd say. It's your life, your
career is your life. I think at ECLA, we're also Type A,
over ambitious. People and be
kind to yourself, just know you're doing
the best that you can, and it's okay if you
have to navigate things. I'd say also be in
tune with yourself, step into your own power. If something
doesn't feel right, if you need to
voice something, there's been so many
times at a corporation where I can clearly see, like, why are we
going down this path? It's like a waste
of efficiency. It's not okay. Like, Moist it
to your manager, maybe bring a solution, try to be solution
oriented in your job, wherever you are,
I think it's just like one thing that
I say a lot at work, is it is what it is, or we will figure it out. Li you have the cards
you're dealt with, try to and be more There's always something
that you don't have. I might guess
more of a glass is half full. I try to be. Sometimes there's a lot
that you don't have, but you'd be surprised you have a lot that
you can work with. So just working
with what you have, being kind to yourself, and not being enjoying the journey as
you're going along your career and your life. I love that.
And it reminds me of being flexible too, which also ins
openness too. Yeah, and certain
jobs are better if you like a structure
in a process. Certain jobs are
not great for that. Like if you feel like you're not thriving
in that place, there's another place
for you. It's fine. I guess, my final
advice would be that we just gave you a lot of
information, right? Clubs, resources, resumes, skills,
tech, everything. Don't get overwhelmed. That's not the intention. What I would say is
that don't look at job search or finding the right job as
a giant mountain. It's a series
of small hills, and you have time. Just make small
efforts every day. Come back to this resource throughout your
UCLA journey, I would say, and take one or two things
that you can work on. And find a good balance. So yeah, don't
be overwhelmed. You can do it.
Take small steps in the direction
that you want to go, and you will get
there eventually. I love that. Tangible
tangible things that can just
help you feel like crossing off that
list and like you're moving in a
direction 100%. Yeah. Actually, a lot of my friends are in this
transition period from grad school
to finding a job. But I think just
first things first, give
yourself grace. This is a difficult. I feel like economy too. So give yourself grace, be patient with
yourself, be kind to yourself,
take care of your mental health and your physical health
before anything. But also, like I think when we think
about networking, sometimes it sounds
very daunting. But it actually is kind of just like
phoning a friend or phoning a friend
of a friend or just like reaching
out to someone that you remember from your club who
is in a program that you are
interested in or is working in an industry that you're interested in. Reaching out to them, I think is
very helpful. It's beautiful. T
hank you all so much. I admire each
and every one of you well, for one, for taking the time to
share your experiences and your insight and your advice and
your challenges. But I'm so happy
for all of you, and I'm inspired
by all of you, because I know you all individually to
some degree, and just seeing where you've started and
where you are. I'm just proud to
know you, and I appreciate you
all being here, and I know that this
will have a positive, very positive impact,
and I appreciate you all for being a part
of this experience. So thank you so so much.

Welcome back
to the College to career
transition module. You're going to
be learning how to set attainable goals working towards your achievable career future. We're
also going
to be walking you through how
to understand the services and resources the career center
has to offer. As you begin to picture and brainstorm your goals, take a moment to pause and
reflect on your
trajectory and ask where you see yourself heading in
your career future? And remember, it
doesn't need to be a specific role or job, but overall, what do you see yourself
achieving? Next, you want
to think about your interests,
motivations, and values, and keep in mind
that these might change as you work through the career
development cycle. Lastly, who do you want to be in the
broader world of work? What do you envision your personal brand
representing? As you reflect and respond to these
questions, you could begin crafting
your smart goals. Setting a smart goal is a method used to support your day to day tasks
and leverage results. Smart is broken down
into the following. S is for specific. What action steps
will you take? You want to be sure
to be detailed and particular when
outlining your goals. M stands for measurable. How will you
measure this goal, and what data will you use to track this
goal as well? A is attainable. Is your goal achievable. Identify resources
and skills you will need or lean into to
accomplish this goal. And consider, how
can you leverage the resources here
at the UCLA campus? R is for relevant. How will the result align with your
career future? You want to make
sure this goal is valuable to you. T is for time bound, meaning it's go time. By when do you
want to accomplish the goal? So let's
plan it out. Now that you've identified all the pieces
to your goals, we can plan it out. Here is when you
want to begin to brainstorm and
craft your outline with action steps that incorporate smart
goal aspects. Although we may hope that all goals perfectly
according to plan, there are maybe some
unforeseen events that impede on our goals. This is why it
is important to critically reflect on obstacles that can
impact those goals. When exercising your critical
thinking muscle, identify methods
and strategies on approaching and overcoming
these obstacles. Let's review the career
and life action plan. We put together a
worksheet that's made to help keep you and your
goals accountable. You will notice
that you're indicated to add a
start and due date. These details are
important to you as you want to keep
yourself accountable, and, of course, motivated during
this process. There's a larger section right below for you to elaborate on a
specific details of your overall goal. You'll notice in
the example that this particular
Bruin wants to grow in the marketing
and communication field with their goal
of obtaining an internship or
an opportunity in the field and expand their network by the end of their junior year, making their
goal entirely attainable and timely. There are also sections
for you to build and outline your
action steps. Now, this is
where the aspects of smart goals
are integrated. You will notice each action step is
specific and relevant to what
needs to be done in working
towards their goal. The student has quantified certain things so they can measure their goal. You
will also have the
opportunity to note possible outcomes that
may impact your goal, but use critical thinking
below to plan for strategies on how to overcome those obstacles. We invite you to use this career
and
life action plan to help you get one step closer to who you
want to become. Now we're going to talk about the
career center, our favorite
place clearly. At the career center,
we strive to support every student as
they work towards achieving their
career goals. On our website, you
can explore a plethora of career resources,
like articles, career related
podcast episodes, job and internship
search opportunities, and more that pertain to our undergraduate
students. At UCLA, there's a
huge awareness for our various backgrounds, experiences, and
individuality, which is why we have incorporated affinity and identity resources for a wide range
of
student populations. Take some time to carefully go
through the site, bookmark and save
important information that is helpful for
you and your journey. A key resource each undergraduate student
needs to know about, and, of course,
save is handshake. Handshake is a
platform for you to not only apply to job and internship
search opportunities or even connect and communicate
with employers, but it's your connection to the career center. So your connection
to Andre and I. Through Handshake, you can register and attend
career center events, like our quarterly
fares. That's right. They happen at least
once a quarter. Our career education workshops like resume and cover letter workshops or even
interviewing
workshops, and career
professional panels, and of course,
so much more. The Career Center uses handshake to connect
with students. So be sure to book your one on one
appointment by logging into
the platform with your UCLA e mail. Click on the
Career Center tab and select appointments. As a friendly reminder, the Career Center posts
appointments every
Friday evening. So the best time to
check for appointments is between the hours
of five to 7:00 P.M. Students can also access support and guidance from the career center
by attending our weekly drop
in sessions. Explore our website for more information on our services and resources. As you get
acclimated
to campus, we invite you to the Career Center
and follow us on Instagram at
UCLA Career Center. Come over and meet us in the Strathmore building on the second and
third floor. So, M J, what's your favorite part of
the career center? Great question.
My favorite part and kind of like
a sneak tip that nobody really knows are the ten plus
interview rooms we have on the
third floor. That's where students
can go in there, rent a room for
even a day long, apply to jobs,
internships, do one way
interview calls, or even talk to
employers over Zoom. So Andre, what's your favorite part of the career center? Mine's the Iris
Booth. You could take your
professional headshots there and post
them on Linked in. You don't even have to
have an appointment to go right in and take
your headshot there. Sounds so cool. It's really cool.
So. Come on down to the career center. And meet us in Person.