At the end of February, the UP Marketing Group hosted an event where students met one of our Alumni, Sabrah de Voir. Sabrah was invited to come and share her experience and give students advice on networking, knowing how to turn weaknesses into strengths and how to choose between two great job opportunities. Here are her top 5 tips that will help you navigate the real world.
- Create a network of mentors who are excited about supporting your growth and development. Finding these people takes patience and time. You will need to follow up with a few meetings, typically it doesn’t happen after the first one. It takes time to build trust and display how you can be a valuable asset.
- Look for opportunities to volunteer for teams and areas that interest you. Don’t be afraid to offer assistance, even if it seems like a small task. These opportunities may lead to a connection that leads to a position you are interested in.
- Get comfortable with the areas that you are weak in. When you find something challenging, go ask someone how they learned how to do it. Ask for suggestions to become a stronger candidate.
- If you decide to move towards an opportunity, do as much research as possible. Know the job so well that you already know what you won’t like about it. That way you aren’t going into the process imagining a fantasy – really understand it.
- If you are caught between two opportunities, respectfully explain your appreciation for the one you aren’t choosing. You don’t want it to become anything personal, be gracious and professional. The last thing you want to do is give people a reason to talk about anything besides what a great teammate you were.
Sabrah told us that she is very excited to be moving from NIKE to an up and coming Swiss company called ON. She begins her new job in March. Congratulations to her on finding her dream job! We wish her the best of everything going forward. We thank Sabrah for her great advice! We had a wonderful time with her and hope she will let us know how things are going at ON!