Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

Advice for Class of 2019

This blog was written by Peer Career Ambassador, Gyda Sumadi ’18

Hey there Class of 2019, this blog post is directed specifically at you!

I want to share my recruiting story with you all…

This semester, I decided to be BOLD and sign up for a full class load while simultaneously working 25 hours a week, between my on campus job and part time internship. All was dandy until October.

I was under the illusion that I could properly balance classes, internships, and interviewing all at once, without compromising and rearranging my schedule. Boy, was I wrong.

I spent my September actively applying to finance summer internship positions, pursuing bulge bracket banks and brand name firms. When October came, I began receiving first round interview requests for almost all of the companies I was pursuing, and I was STILL sending out more and more applications- making sure I hedged myself and diversified the companies and roles to which I was applying.

I did not realize that companies would be calling me in for following second, third and FORTH round interviews. I had only ever participated recruiting with companies who had a one-shot first round interview process. Therefore, I was not aware of how extensive and long the recruiting process would take.

It all started to pile up on me. I had stacked my week to the maximum with classes and work- let’s not forget to mention that all my classes have a group project component- so that’s basically another part time job on top of it all.

My advice to you all is, if you know the industry you want an internship in recruits during a certain semester (for me, it was the fall as I am pursuing finance), try to make that semester on the lighter side for you. Meaning, fewer commitments.

I personally really struggled this semester in terms of working around my employers and my classes. It came to a point where I was rotating what responsibilities I needed to miss that week. One week I would call out from my on campus job while missing a class, and the next week I would speak to my internship employer and reduce my hours. It honestly is difficult to repeatedly feel like you are not delivering on your responsibilities and missing shifts/classes, especially when you need to negotiate around your boss. All of my employers were very understanding, but a lot of my stress this semester came from figuring out this rotating schedule of missing my responsibilities.

Looking back, I definitely would not have taken on working 25 hours a week and a full class load. Give yourself a break and focus on your long term goals, and do not over commit. Sleep is important too.

Stay tuned as I spend even more time negotiating offers, but it all pays off!