Tag: COVID-19

Get the Offer: Navigating an Uncertain Job Market like a Boss with Julian Parra

Categories Business, College and CareerLeave a Comment on Get the Offer: Navigating an Uncertain Job Market like a Boss with Julian Parra

Career help is waiting for you.

Despite being so young, Julian Parra has a life’s worth of experience learning about how to discover your passion, navigate the job market, and land your dream job. 

Screen Shot 2021-04-30 at 8.44.58 AMBorn and raised in Hawthorne, New Jersey, Julian attended Babson College in 2016, where he quickly became interested in career development, when he became a career ambassador for the college’s Center for Career Development (CCD). As a career ambassador, Julian met with hundreds of undergraduate students a semester to help them with anything and everything career related. Julian’s experience working at CCD helped to shape his own career path as well, as he learned an incredible amount from mentoring others as well as interacting with the career advisors within the office. 

Julian’s first internship was with Ernst and Young, where he interned within the tax and audit department. Through this experience, Julian learned that he was more interested in finance than accounting, yet he used this newfound knowledge to pivot, taking more finance classes the semester after. In doing so, however, Julian found that he compared himself to the other finance students in his classes, who were more passionate than he was. That same semester, Julian was also living in Babson’s computer science and coding community, which got him interested in working within business and tech. 

The next summer, Julian had the opportunity to be a part of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, a program that helps minorities connect with fortune 500 companies. Through this program, Julian was able to connect with IBM and got offered an internship working for their enterprise performance management team. After his internship, Julian was offered a full time position and gladly accepted. 

Screen Shot 2021-04-30 at 9.06.55 AMDuring quarantine last year, Julian found himself with a bit of free time between graduation and starting his full-time job. This time got him to reflect on the skills and knowledge that he learned both at CCD and through his job search. During quarantine is also when the popular social media and content creation app TikTok began to flourish. Julian has always been interested in content creation, having started a YouTube channel and Instagram account in which he provided professional advice and motivational content before. What captured Julian’s attention about the algorithm being used by TikTok is that anyone can have a piece of content go viral as long as they optimize watch time and shares, among many other tactics. Soon, Julian’s TikTok account @youknowitjulian, offering professional advice to young adults, was formed within a perfect storm. 

Julian quickly started noticing his videos and TikTok content going viral, confirming his hypothesis that there was a real need for an end-to-end resource for navigating the job market that was digestible and provided advice on a high level. Julian recently formalized this content into a course that takes individuals through every phase of the job search process, from realizing their passion to salary negotiation. Julian took inspiration from his own experiences as well as his TikTok and Instagram audiences when developing the program. 

Julian notes that young professionals, current college students, or even those who recently graduated and are interested in landing their first job or internship are perfect candidates for the course. Julian also sees those who are feeling lost, especially in terms of how to navigate the uncertain job market, or those whose employment status has been affected by COVID-19, really benefiting from his program. 

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When making this course, Julian emphasized his desire to be value-first in the course, highlighting only the useful facts, as well as making the content interactive. For example, Julian hosts a resume walkthrough, getting specific with what should go in each section and how this information should be formatted to maximize efficiency and readability. Julian does the same with both cover letters and your LinkedIn profile. Additionally, taking a popular segment from his TikTok channel, Julian has an interview role playing segment where students can get practice answering tough job interview questions. 

In paying for the course, job seekers also gain access to resume, cover letter, and email response templates- really everything you need to network and nail an interview. Through the program, members even get access to an exclusive professional community, which Julian is also an active participant of, to debrief any content from the course or answer any questions members might have. 

When asked about what his favorite aspects of the program are, Julian responded that it was hard to pick just one, but, if he had to, it would be the personal branding section. Julian views personal branding as being an important step to establishing your own personal identity that sets you apart from others in the job market. It is also an opportunity to be creative.

“You just need one person to look at your content to give you the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Julian. 

When asked why should someone take this course and what Julian hopes his students will walk away with? Julian noted that he hopes his program will help job seekers view the employment process as not being as overwhelming and as intimidating as it often does. Julian hopes that those who take his course are able to navigate the market with ease and have an open space to have their questions answered. The overarching goals is to inspire confidence and better clarity on where seekers see their career trajectory going.

Whether it be related to their career, goals, or life aspirations, the world is any job seeker’s oyster and Julian’s program is the sand that generates the pearl!

Where to Find Julian:

Career Course (Enroll today!)

Website

Instagram

 

Lauren MacArthur on Being a Recruiter and Advice for Job Seekers

Categories Business, College and CareerLeave a Comment on Lauren MacArthur on Being a Recruiter and Advice for Job Seekers

Equipping you with the tools to land a job during challenging circumstances.

If you are currently navigating the job space, this article is definitely for you. If you aren’t, make sure to share this post with someone who could benefit from the wisdom of an expert in the recruiting space. Landing a job isn’t easy in a stable environment, making securing a position in our current circumstances an exceptionally difficult feat. My 6 month long job search was one of the most challenging and emotionally draining periods of my life. It can be a battle everyday to wake up with motivation to continue networking, emailing, and applying for positions with hundreds, even thousands, of other applicants. If you are someone who is looking for a job yourself, don’t give up! You are strong, capable, and resilient. A position will come along and, with enough hard work, you will be the one to fill it. Keep going.

I have shared this with someone who needs it!

A daughter, pop culture junkie, friend, movie lover, and fiancé, Lauren MacArthur is many things on top of being an expert recruiter at Veeva Systems, a cloud-computing company focused on pharmaceutical and life sciences industry applications. 

Screen Shot 2020-12-07 at 2.23.47 PMLauren graduated from Muhlenberg College with a Major in English and Minor in French and Creative Writing. When looking for jobs right out of college, Lauren always thought that she would work in public relations or publishing. While looking for opportunities in these fields, however, a staffing agency that she was working with mentioned that she would be a great fit for recruitment. Lauren had no idea what the profession of a recruiter looked like beforehand, yet, once she began investigating a bit further realized that recruiting could be a good fit. Lauren is a people lover at her very core and an opportunity to connect people with opportunities to help their personal growth sounded like an incredible role. 

When interviewing a candidate, here are some things Lauren looks for:

  • A team player

  • Passion

  • Flexibility

  • Innovative mindset

  • Comfortable navigating ambiguity

  • In-depth knowledge of company overall  

  • Self-starter

If she is recruiting for a client facing role, Lauren looks for a strong communicator and the ability to engage well with others. While, if Lauren is looking for a data scientist or a software engineer, she looks for someone who has a strong understanding of specific technical skills. 

For each role that opens up at the company, Lauren meets with hiring managers to get an idea of what they are looking for, what the process looks like, and to ensure she moves through efficiently. Then, Lauren interviews the candidates that have applied. Common questions that she normally asks are (subject to the role): 

“What are you hoping for in your next role?”

“Tell me about a time where you had to work with someone difficult and how you navigated that?”

“Tell me about a time when you had to build a product from the ground up?”

Lauren tries to avoid using yes or no questions, making the questions more situational and open ended in order to get the most qualitative information from the candidate. 

Having been a recruiter for some time now, Lauren notes that she has seen it all, including candidates who forget what role they are interviewing for or what company she recruits for. To avoid awkward interactions with your recruiter, Lauren recommends doing your research when it comes to the company you are interviewing with, enough so that you can have a thorough conversation about it.

“It’s always the best when someone has a lot of questions or fills the full 30 minutes. It is also great to see when someone is truly passionate about their work, where before you can ask them about a certain situation, they tell you about it first. Just be your authentic self.”  

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One of the most challenging aspects of Lauren’s job the push and pull between being honest with candidates in helping them on their career journeys while also valuing the vision of the business and what works for each group. Additionally, Lauren finds that, at times, giving feedback to candidates can be tough, especially when she connects with someone within the recruiting process. Those rejection conversations can be difficult, but transparency is the most important for the candidate experience.

In terms of advice she has for individuals looking for a job right now, Lauren mentions that persistence is key as well as maintaining the connections that you have in your network. It is a long game, not a short one. Any connections that you can make now are going to be beneficial so that when a position does open up, you will be first on their mind, says Lauren. 

One of the most rewarding aspects of Lauren’s job is seeing everything come full circle, when she ends up working with the individuals that she screened for hiring. Veeva is a talent partner based company, which really looks for individuals whose values align with the company, making true fits difficult, but well worth it. Veeva looks for individuals who are not only qualified for the position based on their skillset, but who also align with the values and vision of the company. Engaging with and learning from others on a daily basis is what really makes her job enjoyable as well.

Lauren has seen recruiting change over the years drastically, given that there are so many more platforms, such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Cardea, out there for job seekers. There are a multitude of places that you can get your applicants from. Diversity is also more important than ever before, as there is a greater prioritization in creating a more inclusive and equitable process. 

What does the future of recruitment look like to Lauren?

Lauren sees more systems and automation being incorporated into the process.

“I think in the future there is going to be a day when a computer reads and processes almost all of the information for prospective employees, where applicant tracking systems can help evaluate role alignment. Also, we will be able to have more data and metrics to track performance, productivity, and further perfect our process to attract talent.”  

Additionally, Lauren mentions that talent marketing will continue to grow and expand, companies focusing on emphasizing their talent brand. Sourcing talent is great, but it’s always better to have job seekers coming to you to want to work at your company, Lauren cites. The prioritization of certain benefits has also become more popular, as people have started to care a lot more about work-life balance, benefits, culture, diversity, and resource groups, to name a few.

We live in an ever changing world that continues to require adaptation, resilience, and flexibility, qualities of every good employee. With a little bit of persistence and hope for the future, we will all make it through this challenging time. One day at a time! 

CEO Sit Down: Bert Cumming on Mijimask

Categories Business, Fashion, LifestyleLeave a Comment on CEO Sit Down: Bert Cumming on Mijimask

Inspiring individuality and identity, while covering up and keeping safe.

Masks have been on everyone’s mind since the beginning of the year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has become an increasing concern for people across the globe. The Center for Disease Control has advised mask usage in helping decrease the spread of COVID-19, as masks provide a barrier to prevent respiratory droplets from being transferred from person to person. For many Americans, mask usage is a new concept that makes expressing who we are difficult, because of the area of the face masks cover. Realizing this, Bert Cumming started a business during the past year that focuses on helping children show their personality and individuality with Mijimask.

Screen Shot 2020-12-15 at 6.08.24 PMBert! Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I am a junior, and recent transfer, at Babson College.  I am concentrating in finance and entrepreneurship with hopes to one day take one of my companies public on the stock exchange.  I consider myself an innovator and a doer, what I mean by that is that I love to create solutions to all sorts of problems and my motivation drives me to attack these ideas.  

Some hobbies include Jet Skiing over the summer, snowmobiling over the winter and day trading in between.

What is Mijimask and what was the inspiration behind the business?

Screen Shot 2020-12-15 at 6.23.55 PMMijimask is a customizable face mask designed for children of all ages. Our mission is to provide children the opportunity to “own the pandemic” by wearing a mask that represents who they are. It provides children the ability to customize their own masks thereby providing them a unique mask and gaining confidence. Mijimask allows kids (recommended ages 5+) to customize their masks with attachable and detachable Mijis making them unique to their personalities.  

My inspiration behind the business is to prevent kids from losing their individuality by covering their faces every day.  At young ages, children are susceptible to every little thing they are exposed too, and I do not want their creativity to be effected in the future years because of the pandemic that is happening at this pivotal time in their lives.

What excites you about the business and the business’ mission?

Screen Shot 2020-12-15 at 6.24.03 PMWhat excites me the most about this business is the direct correlation that comes from COVID-19.  In today’s marketplace supply chains are affected across the globe affecting businesses, and if I can learn to navigate the supply/product market in the hardest time in history, I will be more than capable of navigating the market when COVID-19 does not exist.  

My mission is exciting because I am working towards protecting the creativity of young minds, and this is important to me because I consider my creativity and innovative abilities to be some of the most important traits I have.

What makes Mijimask different from other masks on the market?

Mjimask is different from other masks because it promotes the personality and customization of face masks. Other masks in the market are extremely generic and mass produced with printed designs on them, limiting the rarity of the mask itself. Mijimask makes it nearly impossible to have the exact same mask as anyone else, promoting creativity when designing the mask.

What has been the most challenging aspect of starting and operating the business?

Screen Shot 2020-12-15 at 6.24.19 PMMarketing has been the most challenging aspect of operating my business.  This is due to the sole reason that I do not know how advertising and marketing work, and I have to spend a majority of my time studying and learning instead of actually doing something since it is costly.  I had previously underestimated marketing as a whole, and now have much more respect for that industry.

What has been the most rewarding moment of starting and operating Mijimask?

The most rewarding moment of starting Mijimask, MaskMate L.L.C. is demonstrated in the picture of the two girls below.  When I received this picture of the kids choosing their mijis to put on their mask, I knew what I was doing was for the right cause and my mission was chosen correctly. 

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are starting or would like to start a business during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Do it. Do not let COVID-19 delay your plans to start a business or intimidate you into not starting your business at all.  We do not know how long this will last and the longer you wait, the less passion you will have for your idea in the future and less of a chance to be successful.  Start your business not matter the environment around you, and learn as you go–like I am currently doing with marketing. 

What about the future excites you?

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I am excited for these vaccines to be released, and for things to go back to normal as soon as possible.  People keep saying, “our new normal”, but I do not want to accept a world wear wearing a face mask and doing work and school online is considered our “normal”.  The way we are currently living is a false reality and we need to do everything possible to return to the world we used to live in, where it was normal to gather in groups for holidays and no one needs to feel scared when a simple cough is let out. Mijimask is made to make these times easier, but it is not made to make these times acceptable forever. We need to wear our masks while we are told to prevent the spread, but we also need to accept the time when it comes to abandon these masks and return to our normal way of life, and I am excited for that day to come. 

Contact Mijimask

Website 

Instagram

Pamela Mukiza on Boston Real Estate and Buying during COVID-19

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To buy or not to buy, that is the question.

Although a native from Maine, Pamela Mukiza has been living in the Boston area for six years now, having gone to Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and is now working for a local commercial real estate development firm in the heart of Boston. When Pamela is not working on complex projects or looking into her next real estate investment, she is listening to music, obsessing over new skincare products, and planning on what to purchase next for the new condo she shares with her sister Monia. It must be in the blood because Monia also works in real estate, however she focuses on marketing, pricing, selling, and consulting on the buyer’s side of real estate- the two complement one another professionally. 

Pamela and her sister just bought their first condo, a dream of the two since they first started saving up after college. There are many factors that contributed to Pamela purchasing her first place, one being the current record low interest rates for borrowing, which means that you are paying a lower interest percentage on your mortgage. Pamela also had enough money saved up for her to feel comfortable with taking the leap into ownership. Additionally, Pamela saw that there were new properties hitting the market in developing neighborhoods that she viewed as appreciating in value over time. 

“If you think about renting,” Pamela starts, “you are throwing your money away by not building any equity. When you buy a place, you are still paying a monthly payment, but you are building your equity in paying off your home slowly over time”. Pamela views real estate as being one of the most stable investments, especially real estate in Boston, which is typically always appreciating in value because of limited supply.

Pamela and Monia’s new Chelsea apartment (below)

Trends in Boston Real Estate

Some current trends that Pamela indicated to me are increased concessions in buildings for starters. Boston is such an academic city, yet, because it is not receiving as many undergraduate, graduate, PHD, and MBA students, many buildings are struggling with a surplus of empty apartments. As a result, buildings have started to give concessions, such as the first three months rent free, on their apartments to incentivize renters to move in. Rents have also dropped significantly in order to attract renters in the area. “People who might have previously been on the fence in terms of buying or renting a place of their own are now jumping on board,” Pamela states. 

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Pamela and Monia, decided to purchase a condo in the Waterfront community in Chelsea, MA, which used to be a historically lower income neighborhood in Boston. Pamela notes that this was the first place that her and her sister saw that they could envision their lives in. Having to make an appointment for a time slot to view the condo due to COVID-19 restrictions, when Pamela and her sister left the place they immediately put in an offer. Pamela mentions that walking the neighborhood really sealed the deal in terms of convincing them to invest. They could see that a lot of investments were being made in terms of upgrading the T-station and new buildings going up that made buying the condo a good future investment, as the area becomes more appealing to others overtime. “You know a neighborhood is on the cusp of major developments when a grocery store chain begins its build or a new or upgraded T-stop is underway” Pamela notes. The easy 15 minute commute to work also didn’t hurt.

Pamela’s Advice for Future Investors

  1. Considering moving now? Do it! If you’re confident in your financial situation and have the money saved, go for it! It seems crazy and intimidating, but it’s not. There is a lot of paperwork, insurance papers, and lawyers involved, but it’s not as intimidating as you’d think.
  2. Look into federal programs offered in your city or states for first time home buyers. There may be some beneficial incentives that you can take advantage of. 
  3. Evaluate your situation with public transportation or personal car usage in terms of your needs (i.e. street parking, private parking, etc.).
  4. Make a checklist in terms of what you are looking for (number of bedrooms, hardwood floors, etc.).
  5. Talk to the neighbors if you can. Pamela and Monia ended up running into their future upstairs neighbor and spoke with him during their condo walk through, making sure to ask him about the neighborhood and to get a sense for who lived in the building.
  6. Come at night and drive around the neighborhood so you can to see all aspects of your future surroundings.
  7. Check the demographics online to get a sense of who lives there and how far it is from local amenities, etc. 
  8. Do some research on the condo board, read the condo documents, and make sure you understand all the legalities and fees associated with the purchase of your unit, who is managing it etc. 
  9. If you are in one, read your lease before you renew it and take into account where you are going to be in the future. 

*Condo (HOA) fees depend on how much it takes to take care of and maintain the building and all of the shared amenity spaces. The condo board is elected by the people of the board, takes care of the shared services such as snow removal, a common pipe bursting, etc. They also takes care of shared amenities, establish condo rules etc.