College Experiences That Helped an Operations Growth and Strategy Manager at Happy Returns by PayPal Succeed
Makai's MIT fraternity leadership roles fostered "holistic thinking" and teamwork skills, crucial for their current Operations Growth & Strategy Manager role. Further, internships and networking with alumni provided valuable real-world experience and insights into various industries, complementing academic coursework.
Leadership, Teamwork, Networking, Career Exploration, Internship Experience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Makai Cartman
Operations Growth & Strategy Manager
Happy Returns by PayPal
MIT 2015
UCLA Anderson MBA
Engineering - Mechanical
Technology, Transit, Transportation, Warehousing & Storage
Operations and Project Management
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Develop leadership skills through extracurricular activities like fraternities or clubs to learn to work with teams and manage people.
2. Seek internship and research opportunities to gain practical experience and understand what it is like to work with people outside of academics.
3. Network with alumni and professionals on LinkedIn to learn about different career paths and gain insights into various industries.
Transcript
During your time at MIT, what did you do in undergrad that set you up for success in your career?
One of the things that helped me was being in a fraternity. I held a couple of leadership roles, which I think contributed to my leadership skills.
This really allowed me to grow up a bit faster and take on more responsibility beyond just the normal coursework. I had to think not only about myself but also about all the other guys in my fraternity.
I had to plan things, organize things, and think holistically about others. I definitely think that experience helps me now when leading teams and managing people. It taught me how to listen and gather input, rather than thinking I'm the only one who knows how to do things.
The other thing that helped was my internships and research opportunities on campus. These really made me think about life outside of the school day-to-day work and coursework.
They showed me what it's like to work with real people, and that became a main focus. Even outside of those formal opportunities, I found people to talk to who were outside of college.
Whether it was old friends or alumni I reached out to on LinkedIn, I asked them to speak with me about their lives. Understanding that a little better set me up for now.
I feel I have a better understanding of things, and I don't necessarily need to work in a specific industry to have good insights into what it might be like. I think this platform is also helping with that. All great things.