Peer Career Consultant Blogs

Reflecting on the past four years, my career has evolved significantly. A personal motto of mine is to “make my younger self proud,” and I know the Ann of four years ago would be so proud of the opportunities she’s grasped and the lessons she’s learned during her time at SCU. Coming into Santa Clara, I knew I was interested in studying either Marketing or Management and that Leavey had wonderful classes, professors, and peers who would help me navigate this journey.

On campus, the Retail Management Institute has served as a great resource for my professional and personal growth, offering advice in pursuing a career in corporate retailing, hosting on-campus events with the likes of LVMH, Sephora, Gap, and other leading global retailers, allowing me to lead our student association and executive team, and allowing me to attend the National Retail Federation Student Program 2024 and 2025 in New York, NY. After attending the NRF Student Program 2024, I realized that I really want to pursue a career in retailing, especially in merchandise management and business planning. Additionally, being a Peer Career Consultant has taught me so much about building a personal brand, networking, and best practices for the job search. Brenda Versteeg and the PCC student leaders have organized such wonderful events with PCC alumni and leaders who have provided our group with great perspectives and lessons on career planning, inevitable career changes, and life after graduation. 

Over the past two summers, I have had the honor of serving as a Retail Management Intern at Nordstrom (Summer 2023) and a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Marketing & Business Planning Intern at Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (Summer 2024). I found both of these internships through LinkedIn, which is such a powerful networking tool, and it is important to maintain a consistent and professional presence on the platform. 

The recruiting process for corporate roles in the retail industry looks a bit different than other industries, like financial services and accounting. One most likely will not know their work plans very far in advance (6 months to a year, for example), since just-in-time hiring practices are more common in the retail industry. While this can create some uncertainty at times, the wait is well worth it. 

I frequently find some of the most important lessons I learned stemming from my Nordstrom internship. That summer, I learned so much from my Department Manager about what a great leader looks like, achieving sales metrics through hard work, mitigating human relations issues, and how to properly run a merchandise department (which is really hard work). While this internship was not what I initially thought it would be, it far exceeded expectations and is an experience I speak about all the time regarding my personal growth. 

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