Monday, June 13, 2005
Well I finally have a job! Woo hoo!
I was lucky enough to get a job that I can do remotely, and I'm extremely grateful for that. It's a brand development job with a start up.
Now, you may be saying, "Brand development? Where the heck did that come from? Didn't you want to do investment banking?" After some soul searching and some research, I've decided to pursue strategy and product development.
How did I arrive here? Well up until April I pursued banking. I applied to boutique firms, and then I shifted my focus to public finance, thinking that my nonprofit financial background would find a friendlier reception. As the banking opportunities dried up, I looked into corporate finance at a corporation. But the positions seemed boring to me. But I figured since I've been a finance girl since undergrad I should continue to pursue that path.
Then it was time to pick out electives for next year. Because I was a finance major, I looked at the finance classes. I wasn't interested in many of them. And so I gave myself permission to switch majors. So based on the classes I’ve loved this year and electives that interested me most, I added Marketing to my majors. I may still try to double major in Finance.
Why Marketing? My favorite class this year was marketing strategy and what I loved about that class was the SABRE simulation. We had to make strategic decisions about product placement, advertising, channel promotion, product development, etc. I really loved the creative aspect of the project. And the creativity coupled with the analytical aspects of marketing are what interest me most. I initially picked finance in undergrad because I was good at it. Not that finance isn’t kind of interesting. But what really perks up my ears is creating and developing stuff. What I realize now is I can crunch numbers and be creative, too. Switching will allow me to do something that appeal to a more multidimensional me.
So I decided to pursue jobs in marketing and product development. The funny thing is, in comparison to my struggles to get a position in finance, an area where I have experience, seeking a marketing job has been MUCH more fruitful. I have my theories why- maybe because it was late in the recruiting season, maybe because I have quantitative skills, maybe because I was more passionate about these positions. I’m not sure why. But I do know that the interview process for these positions confirmed my switch. Not because I got more interviews, but because the interview questions were much more interesting to me. The interview questions made me excited about the projects I would potentially do this summer.
I’m glad I switched. I don’t know what this means for my full time job search. Hopefully it won’t be as rocky of a job search. But even though it was rocky, I wouldn’t change the experience. Because it allowed me to learn so much about myself and through the experience I discovered a better path for me.
So I have a job! Woo hoo!!!
I was lucky enough to get a job that I can do remotely, and I'm extremely grateful for that. It's a brand development job with a start up.
Now, you may be saying, "Brand development? Where the heck did that come from? Didn't you want to do investment banking?" After some soul searching and some research, I've decided to pursue strategy and product development.
How did I arrive here? Well up until April I pursued banking. I applied to boutique firms, and then I shifted my focus to public finance, thinking that my nonprofit financial background would find a friendlier reception. As the banking opportunities dried up, I looked into corporate finance at a corporation. But the positions seemed boring to me. But I figured since I've been a finance girl since undergrad I should continue to pursue that path.
Then it was time to pick out electives for next year. Because I was a finance major, I looked at the finance classes. I wasn't interested in many of them. And so I gave myself permission to switch majors. So based on the classes I’ve loved this year and electives that interested me most, I added Marketing to my majors. I may still try to double major in Finance.
Why Marketing? My favorite class this year was marketing strategy and what I loved about that class was the SABRE simulation. We had to make strategic decisions about product placement, advertising, channel promotion, product development, etc. I really loved the creative aspect of the project. And the creativity coupled with the analytical aspects of marketing are what interest me most. I initially picked finance in undergrad because I was good at it. Not that finance isn’t kind of interesting. But what really perks up my ears is creating and developing stuff. What I realize now is I can crunch numbers and be creative, too. Switching will allow me to do something that appeal to a more multidimensional me.
So I decided to pursue jobs in marketing and product development. The funny thing is, in comparison to my struggles to get a position in finance, an area where I have experience, seeking a marketing job has been MUCH more fruitful. I have my theories why- maybe because it was late in the recruiting season, maybe because I have quantitative skills, maybe because I was more passionate about these positions. I’m not sure why. But I do know that the interview process for these positions confirmed my switch. Not because I got more interviews, but because the interview questions were much more interesting to me. The interview questions made me excited about the projects I would potentially do this summer.
I’m glad I switched. I don’t know what this means for my full time job search. Hopefully it won’t be as rocky of a job search. But even though it was rocky, I wouldn’t change the experience. Because it allowed me to learn so much about myself and through the experience I discovered a better path for me.
So I have a job! Woo hoo!!!
