Hosted by Veeva Systems
This fall, we will be featuring blog posts written by PhD students who participated in Career Services’ Career Exploration Fellowship (CEF), a program that helps doctoral candidates explore their career interests through networking opportunities with advanced degree professionals. Click here to learn more about CEF.
Describe your experience working with your host.
Kyra Levy was a fantastic host and insightful mentor. I was provided the flexibility to explore the topics and questions that I was especially curious about, but she balanced this with the structure needed to ensure that the experience was a fruitful one. She was very generous with her time, as we met several times throughout the fellowship, and she connected me with several of her colleagues to continue exploring career paths that are of interest to me.
What did you learn from this opportunity (about yourself, potential career fields, the job search, etc.)?
Being a Career Exploration Fellow provided me with more clarity on what my next steps will be post-PhD and has given me a blueprint for building the kind of career and life that I want to have. I learned more about what the day to day of a business consultant at Veeva looks like and gained actionable insights into the steps my mentor took to get to her current role. With this knowledge, I have been able to set goals for the remainder of my PhD training that will prepare me for an impactful career in consulting and beyond. I have also learned about the importance of networking and have been able to make valuable connections through the program.
How did your CEF experience influence your future career plans?
The CEF experience has injected me with the confidence I need to pursue a career in consulting and has opened my eyes to the possibilities that exist within consulting and beyond. My mentor has had a diverse range of experiences, and our conversations have made me more comfortable exploring paths that I was unsure of before.
What was the most valuable part of your CEF experience?
Kyra was incredibly helpful as I prepared for consulting bridge program interviews (through which PhD candidates are recruited for consulting roles) and gave me great feedback during our practice interviews. This proved to be very beneficial to my recruiting process. I also met with several of Kyra’s colleagues and learned even more about how their experiences led them to their current roles. In addition to the interactions with my mentor, I also learned more about how to effectively communicate my professional narrative and build connections in my industry through the workshops provided by Career Services, which were very well organized. Ultimately, the value of the CEF program came from the clarity, confidence, and connections that I developed throughout my experience.
Top reason PhD students should apply to the CEF program?
Hard to choose one, so I’ll give my top 3: if you are seriously considering a career outside of academia, want to expand your professional network, and are in search of actionable insights that will help you open doors to new opportunities post-PhD, this is the program for you! I am forever indebted to Kyra and the entire team at Career Services for their guidance.
