Success Stories: Nino

The Career Center taught me the importance of following-up, sending professional emails, and building strong relationships with my growing network.

How have you benefited from using the Career Center services?

I credit a large amount of my success at TCU to the services that the Career Center offered me in my time here. Over the course of my junior year, I learned the importance of networking and building strong relationships. The Career Center did an incredible job preparing me for interviews, public speaking, and overall just staying on top of my requirements which set me up for success.

How did working with the Career Center impact your internship/job search?

I utilized the Career Center services more than most people. I would always be in the office asking Consultants if they could fill me in on any networking events, or just great opportunities to learn on campus. It came to the point that my weekly visits were expected and the Consultants in the Career Center never lacked useful resources.

What was the most helpful advice given to you by the Career Center?

My Consultant, Kathryn Bishop, told me early in the year that it never hurts to just reach out. As simple as it may sound, it was probably the most useful thing I’d heard. It’s true that the worst thing someone could do when I reached out to them via LinkedIn is just not responding, so I attempted to expand my network all semester. To my surprise, most people I contacted were more than happy to talk on the phone, offer advice, and some were even eager enough to help me in my internship application process. Through this, and the help of the Career Center, I learned a lot on how to properly reach out to people on LinkedIn or via email.

What challenges were you facing and how did the Career Center help you solve them or motivate you to solve them?

Early in my internship application process, I managed to receive a lot of first-round interviews, but initially wasn’t getting very many follow-up interviews. I went to the Career Center to ask what they think I should do. They taught me the importance of following-up, sending professional emails, and building strong relationships with my growing network.

What advice would you give others facing the same challenges you did?

Embrace the interview struggle! Do not get put down if you aren’t receiving offers right away. Treat every job application and interview as a learning experience. Assess what went well and what you think did not so that each time you go in for an interview, you do just a little bit better than the last.

Where there any specific events you went to that were beneficial? If so which one and why was it helpful?

The networking events I went to allowed me to grow my network and learn how to interact with recruiters. Also, the Career & Intern Expo offers not only a great opportunity to meet representatives from large companies, but it also gives students a chance to learn about companies they may not have originally known about.