Corporate Chats: Cultivating Connections
2020 has been quite the year so far — one none of us could have anticipated. No one could have expected we would go from late night study sessions in Kresge to Zoom University overnight. Yet, even with all these newfound challenges, we adapted.
The corporate scene is adapting too. Change can be difficult — luckily, we are here to navigate it together.
1. Mentorship
To mentor or to mentee? To be or not to be?
I owe a lot of my professional development to mentors. Whether a peer or a corporate mentor, they have introduced to me opportunities I had never previously considered. This summer, my mentor, even though online, scheduled me in meetings with professionals outside my department. She kept saying “oh if we were in the office, we would pass by their desk organically.” The keyword there was organically. We couldn’t just run into each other and have those “water cooler talks” organically happen. We had to make time for those meetings.
Schedule those weekly meetings, have goals in mind, turn that camera on, and put your learning cap on.
But remember to perpetuate that cycle of learning by passing what you know forward. If you are a seasoned college student, look to mentor first years. First years, look to help out high schoolers.
I would recommend checking out SWE’s mentorship program and our many outreach opportunities this year to get started.
2. Professional Development
My summer internship stressed continuous improvement. Whether it was evaluating a project or your own performance, there was always room to grow. You can apply that principle anywhere.
Think about every resume draft you have made — how far it has come from the original. Oh gosh, while I write this, I glanced at my high school resume. That was not it. But after getting second opinions, and third opinions, maybe fourth opinions — it got better.
Practice definitely makes perfect. SWE gave me a space to practice until I could improve. From resume help to interview tips, I got further in my professional development. There will still so many opportunities to develop professionally this year, even online. I would recommend checking out Professional Development Month (PDM), Evening With Industry (EWI), and Shadow an Engineer (SAE) this fall.
3. Networking
UC Berkeley gives you an instant connection to thousands of alumni. Even working remotely, I found a friend within my senior manager. On our first team video conference, and each subsequent thereafter, she would deliberately sneak in a “Go bears!”
In this cyberspace, every meeting is intentional. Utilize the time you schedule to the fullest potential. Have questions ready and maybe prepare a small elevator pitch. After a meeting, follow up with an email. Continue to keep in contact and to ask questions.
Most importantly, be open to learning more.
4. Learning Opportunities
Remember, you are not limited to your major. Seek opportunities to learn — anything and everything furthers your experience.
This summer, I was swept into a book club. It had nothing to do with my major, a book I normally would not pick up, but I learned so much. It was a reflective space, a place to hone those soft skills.
New school year, new me? I recommend taking classes outside your normal realm. I have taken courses from French to sociology, and still reference them today. I mentioned to a recruiter in November that I was taking French and that spurred a conversation with an employee who took global jobs/career paths within the company. I got insight into opportunities I had never previously considered.
5. Community
This summer, SWExecs and SWofficers (our unofficial official names) continued to meet, continued to plan, and continued to cultivate a community. UC Berkeley and UCLA SWE sections were even able to connect other sections with hundreds of other national members. The goal of all these Zoom meetings? To share and communicate, even in these unprecedented times.
Despite being physically separated, oftentimes by hundreds of miles, we did not want to limit the potential of this year. We continued to grow, learn, and develop, but together.
Even before I was an official student, SWE has been an instant community — an instant family. The best part? It’s never too late to join.
Go bears!
Samantha Torres
Vice President of Corporate Relations
Society of Women Engineers
University of California, Berkeley
