Why I’m writing about career navigation for college students

Through College to Career, I’m hoping to (1) encourage talented college students to take a learning approach to career and (2) level the playing field of recruiting, especially for students who lack guidance/mentorship.

My name is Vince, and I’ve decided to start sharing my thoughts on career navigation — specifically for college students.

A few quick bullet points on who I am:

• Born in South Korea. Went to middle & high school in Canada.
• BSE in Ops Research & Financial Engineering ’11 at Princeton. MPA in International Development ’17 at Harvard.
• Former McKinsey Business Analyst. After consulting, worked at a healthcare nonprofit in Tanzania and at a venture builder in Colombia. (LinkedIn)

I am no expert in career navigation; I am just a few years out of college and am navigating early career challenges myself. But I do think a lot about careers and frequently have in-depth discussions on the topic with my peers, mentors, and mentees. And given the recency of my college years, I hope I can offer perspectives that resonate well with the challenges that soon-to-be-graduates are grappling with.

I plan to write on a range of topics, such as my philosophy around career navigation (e.g., why I think “passion finding” is not the right goal, the importance of taking a learning approach to careers), my experiences across sectors and geographies, as well as more tactical pointers (e.g., how to make your resume stand out, how to leave an impression in an interview). I also may profile friends and acquaintances who are trailblazing unique, interesting career paths.

I am open to suggestions, so feel free to leave responses. I want to make sure I write on topics that are helpful.

What got me to begin writing on this?

In general, I like thinking about issues related to human capital because I believe people are the most important societal resource and the most meaningful part of life. Therefore, career navigation — which is critical to harnessing human potential — is a natural area of interest for me.

Through my own recruiting experiences from both the job seeker and the employer sides as well as through my own primary research on the recruiting space, I’ve observed 4 key problems students face in career navigation:

1. Students feel pressured to “find and pursue their passion” — and I don’t think this is the right mindset
2. Recruiting is subjective and error-prone, and many talented “gems” get overlooked
3. For many students who lack the right backgrounds and connections, recruiting is a stressful “black box” they find hard to navigate
4. Existing career resources are not sufficiently addressing the students’ needs

I discuss each of these problems in more detail in a separate post, 4 major problems college students face in career navigation.

In light of these problems, I hope that sharing some of my learnings through College to Career will:

• Help students think about their careers in a less deterministic and more exploratory way
• Level the playing field of recruiting, especially for talented but disadvantaged students who can really benefit from another pair of guiding hands throughout their transition into the real world