Peer Career Consultant Blogs

Looking back on my time at Santa Clara University, I’ve grown so much professionally – and a lot of that comes from the people, experiences, and support systems I’ve had access to on campus. As a Management Information Systems (MIS) major growing up in Silicon Valley, I always had a strong interest in technology. Both of my parents work in the industry, and I enjoyed hearing about the work they did. While I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do within tech at first, I was pretty set on the industry from the start of college.

One of the most important communities that shaped my journey was Delta Sigma Pi, one of the professional business fraternities. Taking on leadership positions and being surrounded by driven, like-minded students helped push me to strive for more. I learned a lot about mentorship, communication, and how to carry myself professionally. Being a part of DSP made a huge impact on my confidence and my ability to set goals and follow through.

Academically, my MIS courses played a major role in preparing me for the professional world. They gave me a solid foundation in technical skills, which helped during interviews, and the professors were always approachable and willing to support me outside the classroom. I also gained a lot from attending Leavey School of Business networking events, where I got to meet alumni and professionals who helped me better understand different career paths within the tech space.

Finding internships was a journey of its own. My first few roles came from networking, but eventually I leaned into online tools like Handshake, which turned out to be incredibly helpful. It’s tailored to SCU students and makes it easier to find roles aligned with my interests, like my internship at Synopsys. More recently, I secured an internship at Visa by checking the company’s early careers page directly, which taught me that it’s always worth reaching out to companies you’re genuinely interested in.

Tech recruiting tends to be a little more relaxed than other industries like banking or consulting. Most timelines start around August and wrap up by the end of the year. Since I was recruiting for product management, which is more people- and product-focused than purely technical roles, my interviews were largely behavioral and product-driven. I actually enjoyed the process and had a lot of positive interactions with recruiters and interviewers.

One skill I didn’t expect to develop so much on the job was research. During my internship, I had to conduct a large-scale competitive analysis for a product, and I quickly realized that at large companies, not everything is neatly organized. I had to be diligent, piece together insights from scattered sources, and get creative to find the answers I needed. It taught me how to navigate ambiguity, something I know will continue to be important.

If I’ve learned anything over these past few years, it’s that growth doesn’t come from having everything figured out right away. It comes from being open to trying new things, asking questions, learning from others, and staying curious. Every step, whether it brought clarity or revealed a new challenge, helped shape where I am today, and I’m excited to keep building from here.

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