College Experiences That Shaped A Customer Success Manager's Career At A Tech Company
Reflecting on undergraduate experiences, the career professional found little direct correlation between their college jobs—including roles as a hostess and bakery worker—and their later career in tech. However, they emphasize the importance of attending career fairs, exploring potential career interests through internships in junior or senior year, and ultimately, not stressing too much, as "you will find your path."
Career Exploration, Job Search Strategies, Networking, Overcoming Challenges, Early Career Advice
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Liz Montgomery
Unemployed - previously Customer Success Manager
2024 Forbes Cloud 100 Technology Company
UC Santa Barbara
N/A
International Relations & Affairs
Technology
Sales and Client Management
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Although Liz didn't directly relate her undergraduate activities to her career, she emphasized the value of working in service roles (hostess, waitress) for life and career lessons.
2. She advises students to attend career fairs and to seek internships or jobs in their junior or senior year that align with their long-term interests to avoid the challenges she faced early in her career.
3. Her most important piece of advice is not to stress too much about career planning during college, as the path often unfolds organically, even if initial choices may not seem directly relevant later on.
Transcript
What did you do in undergrad to set you up for success in your career?
This question makes me laugh because I talk about this with my friends and my boyfriend all the time. Looking back on what I did, I would have, to be honest, done it so differently.
I had no idea what I wanted to do. In college, I had an internship at a clothing boutique and worked at Sandbar on State Street as a hostess. I also worked at a bakery at home. I did all these random little jobs that I think were important.
I think being a service worker in any capacity, hostess, waitress, whatever that may be, has so many phenomenal lessons – life lessons, career lessons. But if I'm being totally honest, there was nothing I did in college that correlated to what I did post-college.
And what I would say to that is it's not the end of the world. I ended up fine. I ended up doing really awesome things that I had a great time in my roles. I learned so much. You'll find your way.
But if I could give advice to anyone, it would be to attend the career fairs, do something that actually interests you versus just kind of having odd jobs. Find something junior or senior year that you think you might be interested in doing long-term.
I think I kind of floundered a lot at the beginning, where I had no experience from college and it took me a while to find that first job. So, it's not the end of the world. You'll be fine, you'll find your way. But go to those career fairs, find something that interests you, and just try it.
And don't stress about it. That would be another big thing that I would say. Everybody's so concerned in college about what internship they have and what they're doing after college. It's important, but no matter what you do, you will find your path.
So, try to do something that interests you, but don't stress about it too much. That would be my biggest thing.
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