During yesterday’s dinner with Tasnuva, we discussed her current job and some of her career interests. It was quite helpful to listen to her talk about the decisions she made about her education and career, and she had some good advice for us as undergrads. One of our fellow Rose Scholars was a communications major, and she noted how important it is to be a great communicator not only in academia but also in industry. She told us that being likable as an important factor in the hiring process, and that that presenting ourselves as a likable person (even if it differs from how we usually act) is important during the hiring process. Although this advice seems a bit obvious, I think that we often overlook this when searching for internships. We tend to focus on perfecting our resume and having many technical skills and noteworthy experiences, so much so that we often forget that we should also present ourselves as friendly human-beings. I totally agree with her sentiment because recruiters and interviewers are not only looking for an outstanding students but also people that will be able to get along with co-workers and be a team-player. 

We also talked about her education, career, and life in Silicon Valley, which was interesting. She told us about how her schooling in the UK was quite rigid, and there wasn’t much room to take extra classes, which reminded me that I should not only take my required major courses but also fun classes that can teach me some useful skills. Tasnuva also mentioned how she took a year off between undergrad and grad school and took up a job in a bank, which is totally unrelated to her major and career interests (she majored in materials science and engineering). However, she made this decision so she could save up money for grad school, and also mentioned how she learned a lot about managing personal finances. I thought this was a really well-planned decision. This showed that finding a job opportunity in a field unrelated to person’s major is fine because it can still be a learning experience. In addition, we also asked Tasnuva about her life in Silicon Valley, and it was really interesting to hear how the company culture can differ drastically. The working pace of a company can be determined by the age of their technology, and by their customer demographic. Some companies are more customer oriented. Because of the time zone difference of  international customers, the employees often had to work odd and long hours, from 12-16 hours a day. Other companies who work in older industries and place importance on 9-5 culture will prioritize working normal hours over accommodating their customer’s time zone. This really shows that choosing a workplace that suits your life and your priorities is quite important, especially in Silicon Valley. 

By the end of the dinner, I felt that I had gathered a lot of information about making academic and career decisions from Tasnuva. She gave us some very useful advice and overall I think I learned quite a bit from this talk.