College Experiences That Helped A Group Manager Product Marketing At Cisco Succeed
Stephanie's undergraduate experience included "internships as well as part-time jobs," providing invaluable experience in corporate environments and honing "managing up" skills—a crucial aspect of any career, regardless of seniority. This early exposure significantly eased the transition to a full-time corporate role.
Corporate Environment, Managing Up, Internships, Part-Time Jobs, Career Transition
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Stephanie Sosa
Group Manager, Product Marketing
Cisco
UCLA
N/A
Anthropology, Sociology
Technology
Communication and Marketing
Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. Take on internships and part-time jobs to gain corporate experience.
2. Learn to manage up; this skill is crucial throughout your career.
3. Early corporate experience makes the transition to a full-time job easier.
Transcript
What did you do in undergrad to set you up for success in your career?
I think what I can say is that I worked a nine to five. In all seriousness, I took on both internships as well as part-time jobs.
What that really taught me was how to genuinely work in a corporate environment and how to manage up. I think managing up is a skill that is really hard to teach and maintain, and that's something that does not go away in your career.
Whether you're early in your career or have decades of experience, unless you are your own boss, you will always have to manage up. Getting that experience in a corporate environment and during my undergrad years made the transition into full-time corporate work much easier.