50 panelists talked about their career paths and advice they had for upcoming students and students heading into college next year. Career Night was held on Thursday, March 21 and was run by co-chairs Gretchen Russell and Kristen O’Connor as well as many other parent volunteers. At Career Night, students had the opportunity to hear from speakers in a wide range of professions. This event is held every two years.
Ms. Russell sees career night as an opportunity for students to consider careers that they might be interested in pursuing beyond high school. “Career Night is designed to introduce students to a wide variety of careers and the important aptitudes and skill sets necessary to excel in different professions,” says Ms. Russell. “This is a really amazing opportunity for students to think beyond high school and start to explore a myriad of careers paths.”
Marty St. George, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer of JetBlue gave advice to the students attending the advertising and marketing panel. “Think about a Venn diagram. Find the intersection of something that you love to do, something you are good at doing, and something someone you will be paid for,” said Mr. St. George.
Mr St. George also responded to students’ questions about the job interview process. “Walk into an interview and make it clear that you are passionate about what they do,” Mr. St. George said. “You are trying to solve a problem, you want a job, they need one, convince them that you can solve their problem, selling them on your potential, work really hard and make sure you are passionate before walking into a job interview.”
Chief Executive Officer of the app Shazam, Rich Riley, gave students advice about starting off in the workforce. “99.9% of the time you start low in status in a certain company or work area, and you have to work your way up with dedication and passion for the product and company,”said Mr. Riley.
Having come from an entrepreneurial background, Mr. Riley knows what it is like to have tomove from company to company. “In order to make the jump to tak a risk, you need to have a backup plan but try to never look back,” Mr. Riley said. “It takes some grit and some passion to drive the company as far as possible.”
Mr. St. George concluded with a final thought about the most important skill that students should take with them into the workplace and beyond. “The most important skill for anyone is curiosity,” Mr. St. George said. “So much of what students do is not actually what you do, they need the ability to change and adapt because the world is changing around them as we speak.”
