Welcome back to Moving from College to Career! In this space, we share practical insights to help you explore career paths and prepare for recruiting.
As always, our goal is usefulness over noise. If there's a topic you're curious about, just reply. We'd love to hear from you.
Today's Tactics: Things Worth Sitting With Before the Semester Really Ramps Up
The semester is underway for most of you, but before it fully ramps up, we wanted to share some of the themes that came up most consistently in our summer Career Discovery program. These are the things that professionals across very different careers kept saying, in very different ways.
What actually gets you a job isn't what you think
A lot of students assume that a good GPA and a strong resume are enough to land the career opportunity they want. Caitie Sullivan, a Rates Sales Associate at Morgan Stanley, pushed back on that directly.
"I was very naive and thought, okay, I went to an Ivy League school, and my GPA is pretty good, and I played a sport in college, and I can just submit my resume somewhere and get the job that I want. And it really is putting in the time to separate yourself from the pack, and make yourself more than just a piece of paper."
She also shared what she actually looks for when evaluating interns: "We're looking for someone that we will enjoy sitting next to, and that's gonna work hard. A lot of this information can be taught on the job. I would prefer to work with someone who may not know every single technical aspect... as long as they come every day motivated, they are personable, and they are clearly showing growth from day one to the end."
A useful habit to build now: in any new experience this semester, a class, a club, a part-time job, ask yourself whether you're showing up motivated and curious. That's what people remember, and it compounds over time.
The proactive ones win
Students who make things happen in their career search tend to be the ones who reach out, take risks, and get uncomfortable before they feel ready. Caitie framed it as a skill that compounds: "If you have six years of experience stepping out of your comfort zone and getting those reps in, it just will work volumes."
The bar for reaching out is lower than it feels. Now that you're back at school, identify one person whose career path interests you and send them a short note asking for 20 minutes to hear about their career journey and what they wish they had known starting out. Most people genuinely want to help students who ask thoughtful questions. The worst thing that happens is they don't respond.
You don't need to have it figured out
This one is worth saying plainly. Oyin Ogunlowo, a Senior Marketing Manager at Veris Insights, put it well: "Careers are also rarely linear, and that is not a flaw, it's a feature...itā€™s important to remain open to opportunities. Don't close doors, maintain relationships, and just keep the landscape open."
Christian Randolph, a Senior Portfolio Analyst at Brown Advisory, graduated from UNC as an economics major with no clear direction. Caitie Sullivan was similarly uncertain as a freshman and sophomore. Both found their paths through structured exposure to different careers and professionals early on, which is exactly what Introships is built around.
Getting in front of people across industries while you're still figuring things out is one of the most useful things you can do right now. Follow along here and on our socials for monthly career insights, and stay tuned for next month's newsletter on how to build a strong LinkedIn presence.
If you feel uncertain about the path ahead, try this instead of forcing a plan: write down three things you're genuinely curious about career-wise. Not what you want to do, just what you're curious about. Let that be enough for now, and follow the curiosity when you can.
Alumni Spotlight: Sometimes Knowing What You Don't Want Is Just as Valuable
Helen Dehnert (UNC Chapel Hill '26), now an Assistant Account Executive in Digital Health and Wellness at Burson, came away from Introships with a clearer sense of directionā€¦not just from the paths she was drawn to, but from the ones she ruled out.
In her words: "Introships not only introduced me to careers I was interested in, but also helped me discover paths that weren't the right fit. That process of elimination was invaluable in clarifying the kind of career I truly want to pursue in the future."
We hope you found this helpful. Feel free to reply with questions or feedback, and stay tuned for more from Introships on LinkedIn and Instagram!
Joe Fiveash & Sean Wetmore
