We asked W. P. Carey Alumni: What is the best career advice you have ever received?
Here is what they shared:
- Harness Your Passion
- Interview the Company Too
- Leverage Career Services
- Value of Career Mentorship
- Uplift Through Association
- Embrace Lifelong Learning
- Compete with Confidence
Harness Your Passion
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.” – Oprah Winfrey
Embracing your passion transforms “work” into a joyful endeavor. When you genuinely love what you do, each day is filled with excitement and new possibilities. Passion empowers you to overcome fears, stay centered, and pursue meaningful projects. By creating a deep connection between your work and your heart, you find fulfillment and success in every moment. It might take time to find what you love, but when you do, never let go and allow it to fulfill your life with endless happiness.
Zoe Jirgens, BS CIS ‘20, Marketing Associate, mberry
Interview the Company Too
The best piece of career advice is to remember that you are also interviewing the company; they are not just interviewing you. It is a two-way street. This is important to remember when aligning on culture, values, and ethics.
Allison Smith, BA Business Communication, Sr. Content Marketing Manager, Netradyne
Leverage Career Services
You’ve spent all this money to attend one of the world’s greatest universities; you should make sure that you are getting the most out of your money spent! The resource that has been the biggest help in furthering my career has been the W. P. Carey Career Services Center.
The Career Services Center is designed to help students and Sun Devil alumni transition from university life into professional life. They offer services such as job searching, resume writing, and sharpening your interview skills.
Matthew Johnson, BS Marketing & Finance ‘20, Paid Media Manager, MWI
Value of Career Mentorship
The best piece of career advice was given to me by a faculty member who recommended that I have mentors throughout my career. I took his advice and had mentors and coaches who helped me develop the skills and relationships I needed to shorten my learning curve and advance in my career and community service.
Fred Amador, BA Psychology ‘91, MS Counseling ‘95, Counseling Faculty, Phoenix College
Uplift Through Association
The best piece of career advice to pass down to students and recent grads is to surround themselves with people who are where they want to be professionally and personally. This uplifts their own standards, knowledge, and aspirations.
Jim Rohn, the famous business philosopher and one of the biggest influences on many lives, says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
Success is not something you pursue, but something you attract by becoming an attractive person in terms of skills, knowledge, and character. Therefore, investing in oneself for both personal and professional growth is crucial.
Joe Forte, BIS Communications & Small Business ‘10, Co-Founder, D-MAK Productions
Embrace Lifelong Learning
Keep learning as much as possible. Ask questions, not just about how your company does things, but why they use these methods.
Our teams are only as strong as each individual member, so every tool that you add to your kit not only helps you professionally but is a major asset to the team you are on. If your supervisor has the capacity to act as your mentor, this can also provide an immensely beneficial learning opportunity for you to continue to learn and grow as you work.
Nicholas Robello, BA Interdisciplinary Studies ‘13, Content Marketing Manager, SimonCRE
Leverage Career Services
You’ve spent all this money to attend one of the world’s greatest universities; you should make sure that you are getting the most out of your money spent! The resource that has been the biggest help in furthering my career has been the W. P. Carey Career Services Center.
The Career Services Center is designed to help students and Sun Devil alumni transition from university life into professional life. They offer services such as job searching, resume writing, and sharpening your interview skills.
Matthew Johnson, BS Marketing & Finance ‘20, Paid Media Manager, MWI
Compete with Confidence
The best piece of advice I ever received was: no matter what background, financial status, or competition you face with someone who has a degree from a more established university (i.e., Yale), the moment you graduate, you have every right and clout to compete in the job market and get the job you deserve.
No matter the school, you have earned your degree through the same processes, research, and hardships that other people have gone through. Intimidation of other applicants and their school backgrounds should be the least of your worries. You worked as hard as they did, so you can sit alongside them in the office lobby waiting for your interview time slot.
Jacob Monka, MA Communication & Media Studies ‘21, Marketing and Communications Coordinator, California Foundation for Independent Living Center
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