The Importance of Trying New Things
This article was written by Peer Career Ambassador Michael Horbowy ‘18
All my life I have loved to try new things: food, sports, cultures, etc. But for some reason, I did not apply this mindset to my career search. One day during my senior year of high school, I read a cool article on Investment Banking and decided that was for me. I did a lot of research on it, but I never considered anything else.
I continued pursuing that career, to the exclusion of all others, during my first year at Babson. As a result, I went to a very narrow range of events and had a network limited to one portion of one industry. The most dangerous aspect of my mindset was that I didn’t realize I was doing it. I convinced myself that I wouldn’t pursue other career paths simple because they were not Investment Banking. It was not because I was disinterested or had a different skillset, it just wasn’t my goal so I didn’t want to look at it.
Finally, during the summer between my first and second years, I realized that the only reason I was pursuing that career was because I didn’t know about many. How could I know this was the career for me if I didn’t look into any others? As a result of this realization, I came back to school with an open mind and attended every career related event I could go to. This greatly expanded my knowledge of business and allowed me to discover interests that I didn’t know I had (especially in marketing and operations). Now I am selecting a career path the correct way, by narrowing my career aspirations based on my skills and interests.
If I hadn’t learned about other industries, I wouldn’t know that I have other interests. I may have been happy, but I would always wonder if I’d be happier somewhere else. Although I haven’t decided on a career path yet, I know that when I do, I will be well informed and making the right choice.
I encourage everyone, especially if you are just finishing your first semester at Babson, to think about why you are working toward that career. Is it because you learned about a variety of industries and honestly assessed your skills and matched them to the job, or did you read about it in some article?