The idea for a video podcast spotlighting alumni was already floating around the Career Services office in Fulton Hall before coronavirus. Amy Donegan, assistant dean for undergraduate management advising, and Andrew Barksdale 鈥�17, assistant director for undergraduate career engagement, envisioned successful BC graduates from across business sectors sharing their career journeys and insights in a casual interview format.
Then campus closed. Career Services transitioned to supporting students online through virtual presentations like and the , while many seniors braced for fully remote job searches. That鈥檚 when Donegan and Barksdale decided to accelerate the timeline for the video podcast, originally slated for the summer, and refined the focus of what would become the 鈥淔ulton Career Cast.鈥�
鈥淥nce Covid happened,鈥� Barksdale recalls, 鈥渢he idea evolved into talking with alumni who graduated around the last recession.鈥� Pitched as 鈥渃areer advice in a crisis,鈥� the series highlights alumni whose experiences are most likely to resonate with the Class of 2020: those who entered the workforce during and immediately following the 2008 financial crisis.听
Barksdale, who鈥檚 been recording the interviews over Zoom from his parents鈥� home in Ohio with the help of Assistant Director for Undergraduate Career Advising Madeline Cort茅s, deliberately sought out stories that were not always smooth. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 necessarily have to be the straight path of, you know, 鈥業 did banking, went from this to this, and I was good,鈥欌�� he said, 鈥渂ut instead, 鈥業 jumped around鈥� or 鈥業 took the opportunity that was out there.鈥欌�澨�
The Fulton Career Cast has posted 12 interviews on the听听since it launched in early April. Many鈥攖hough not all鈥攆eature alumni who graduated between 2008 and 2011. And each offers pragmatic advice and encouragement for this year鈥檚 graduates, as they navigate a climate of unprecedented unemployment and economic uncertainty. Here鈥檚 a glimpse of a few.
Other Ways Alums Can Help
New graduates aren鈥檛 the only ones worried about how the coronavirus crisis will impact their career potential. Summer internships for many Carroll School undergraduates have also dried up. Career Services is asking BC alumni to share opportunities for virtual short-term projects and 鈥渕icro-internships,鈥� so driven undergraduates can gain valuable work experience and skills remotely. If you or someone you know听needs help with a project and could use the help of one of our eager undergraduates, please fill out听. Projects can range from one week to all summer, can cover a wide range of needs, and do not need to be paid. For further details, contact Dean Donegan at听donegana@bc.edu.
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Hannah Beavers 鈥�09,听Executive Director, Freedom Communities
鈥淒on鈥檛 let somebody else decide what success looks like for you.鈥�
, a general management major with a minor in Russian, interned with an investment bank in London as an undergraduate. But when the financial crisis struck during her senior year, she was forced to shift her plan. 鈥淔rankly, a lot of the banks weren鈥檛 hiring, or didn鈥檛 exist, when I graduated,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o really figure out what I wanted to do, I had to take a couple of turns.鈥�
Those turns included volunteering in Tanzania and spending six years at GE before pivoting toward her real passion: nonprofits. She鈥檚 now executive director of Freedom Communities, which combats poverty in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her advice: 鈥淒on鈥檛 let somebody else decide what success looks like for you.鈥� A high-paying corporate job, especially in an economic downturn, will have its allure, she explained, but it may also mean sacrificing other things that are important to you. 鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid of the unknown. Consider it an adventure.鈥�
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Terence To 鈥�09, Sales Director, Excalibur
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to be flexible about adjusting the plan as things change.鈥�
also graduated from the Carroll School in 鈥�09, with co-concentrations in operations and human resource management. His story may sound familiar to some recent graduates. To had two job offers rescinded in spring of his senior year鈥攊ncluding one from Macy鈥檚, where he really wanted to work. 鈥淚t was tough. I ended up having to restart my job search from scratch a couple of months before graduation.鈥� Like Beavers, To emphasized that while having a plan is key, 鈥渨hen times are crazy like they are right now, it鈥檚 important to be flexible about adjusting that plan as things change.鈥�
Now a sales director at clothing manufacturer Excalibur, To never abandoned his aspirations to work in retail. He kept in touch with his Macy鈥檚 recruiter even after the job offer vanished, and when their hiring freeze finally lifted, To landed a job there鈥攚ithin the year. His big tip for new grads in a similar position is to build relationships, including with alumni. 鈥淏C is a great place to start.鈥� And, To notes, 鈥渢he best time to start developing relationships is when you don鈥檛 need something.鈥� Invest time and energy in building your network early, and don鈥檛 let those connections drop.
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Caitlin Mahler 鈥�11, M.B.A. 鈥�17, Brand Manager, Sabra Dipping Company
鈥淢y job is my dream job. You really have all the time in the world to cultivate what that is.鈥�
Coming out of 艾可直播 College in 2011 with a degree in communications and French, Caitlin Mahler thought she wanted to do media relations for a sports team. But as senior year drew to a close, job opportunities were scarce, despite several sports-focused internships on her resume. Mahler also came to see the downsides of a job in athletics, where starting salaries were low and the need to relocate was likely.
So Mahler turned to the 鈥渁mazing resources at BC.鈥� Her public relations professor put her in touch with a corporate PR firm, who called (during Commencement!) to ask her to interview. 鈥淚t turned out that the BC network was really there, and there was a job opening for me,鈥� she said.
Nine years (and one M.B.A. from the Carroll School) later, Mahler is brand manager for core innovation at Sabra Dipping Company, a CPG company most known for its hummus. While far from sports PR, Sabra鈥攁nd the food and beverage industry in general鈥攊s a great fit for her. How can 2020 grads feeling adrift find their fit? Think about not only听what skills you have, says Mahler, but also what kind of work you鈥檒l feel good doing. For Mahler, it鈥檚 representing products she believes in. 鈥淚鈥檝e been passionately plant-based since I was five,鈥� she joked. 鈥淢y job now is my dream job. You really have all of the time in the world to cultivate what that is, and it can absolutely change over the course of your career.鈥�
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