College Experiences That Helped A Founder At The F Succeed
Paul, the Founder at The F, believes that undergrad was not well-utilized for career preparation, and in hindsight, he would have focused more on "networking" and securing an "internship"; rather, career success began in grad school by switching the emphasis to finance, joining clubs, and actively networking. Paul advises students to be "more well-rounded" and leverage opportunities to prepare for a career instead of solely focusing on grades.
Networking, Internship, Finance Emphasis, Extracurricular Activities, Career Preparation
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Paul Barnhurst
Founder
The F
Brigham Young University
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey earned MBA and Master of Science in Information Management
Business Management & Admin
Education
Finance
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Focus on networking: Paul emphasizes the importance of networking and wishes he had focused more on it during his undergraduate years. He believes his career took off when he started networking and sharing his thoughts.
2. Pursue internships: Paul regrets not having an internship during undergrad and stresses its value in preparing for a career. He actively sought out and secured a good internship during grad school.
3. Be well-rounded: Paul advises students to be well-rounded and take advantage of opportunities to prepare for their careers, rather than solely focusing on good grades. He suggests getting involved in clubs and activities to build a strong resume.
Transcript
What did you do in college to set you up for success in your career?
I'm going to talk about grad school because I don't think I did a good job setting myself up for success in undergrad. I would do it differently. I would have chosen a different emphasis and focused much more on networking. I would have also made sure I had an internship.
I feel like I did a poor job in undergrad. In grad school, one thing I did to set myself up for success was apply to a number of schools. I also really thought about where I wanted to be and switched my emphasis to finance.
Then, I made sure I was involved in several clubs and had a good internship. I made sure I had a resume that showed I was active, smart, and ready to be successful.
But I'd say most of what I did to set myself up in my career happened when I started to network, put myself out there, and share my thoughts. That's when my career took off and I started my own business.
So, if I could do it again, I would definitely approach college differently. I would have been more focused on internships and done a finance emphasis. I would have made sure I was networking a lot more.
I would have taken advantage of opportunities to prepare myself for my career, rather than just focusing on good grades. Not that you shouldn't get good grades, but the more well-rounded you are, the better prepared you'll be.