For this “Meet the CSE Series” blog post, CSE Career Captain, Yuxuan Zhang, MSBA’24, interviewed Julie Miller, Director, Career Strategies Center.

Recruiting, Mentorship, and Recognizing Superpowers with Julie Miller

As part of the CSE Staff Interview Series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Julie Miller. I  especially enjoyed learning about her experience working as a career coach, as well as her past as a recruiter. In this interview, she will share more practical tips on how to keep up with mentors and her passion for dessert! Who doesn’t love that? Check it out now! 

– Yuxuan

Before you became Director of Career Strategies you were a Career Coach – do you feel like your experience in Career Coaching has helped you in your management role? What advice do you have for other people transitioning into management roles?

My career coaching experience helps me every day in different ways. I have a very good sense of the student experience, which helps with my management role by understanding their perspectives, what they need, what resources would be helpful, etc. 

I also have a deeper understanding of how department coordinator roles affect operation, and I have enormous respect for career coaches for their contributions. Being a career coach gives me a front-seat view to see how everything works together smoothly in the office. 

For people who train in management roles, the first thing is to know you don’t always have to be right. The ability to make mistakes and learn from them is very essential.

Secondly, when hiring people into offices and managing people, I think you need to be able to recognize people’s superpower and how it overlaps with their passion, rather than just sticking to their title. The biggest thing I’ve learned is to actively listen, and capitalize on the strengths and interests of each team member. People will be happier this way as well!

Tell us about the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance! What do you do as a member?

MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA) is a professional organization that brings together business school career service professionals with the employers who employ business graduates; it builds a bridge between the two entities. 

By being members, we exchange ideas and organize workshops, such as figuring out students’ graduation data. We can hear more about what other schools are doing, as well as what employers are seeing, such as trends in students’ behaviors in job interviews, so we can be more equipped with the knowledge and services students need. 

MBA CSEA has also established data reporting standards for how each business school reports career outcomes information, such as the design of our student fill-in graduating form, which is compliant with the CSEA form, which later helps us participate in the school ranking database.

In your mentorship blog post, you discussed the importance of finding a mentor. Can you tell us more about how to maintain relationships with our career mentors?

I’m so glad you ask this question because it is very important. Before answering this, I will say that it is essential to have more than one mentor, as each individual can offer mentorship advice and valuable information from different perspectives. 

Keep In touch. For example, when you reach out to an alum to get help on potentially working for their company:

After the conversation, during which the alum spent time and effort mentoring you, you should send out a “Thank you” note to thank them for their energy. But people usually slack off after the first “Thank you” – don’t do that!

I think that it is an unspoken courtesy to keep them consistently updated and in the loop of your job search if you took advice from them. Even without an interview, you can touch base with them by sending them messages, such as professional conversations you had with someone that reminds you of them, etc… Showing progress (where you are in the interview process) or results like updating your LinkedIn status can be very impactful and mindful. You will understand that once you become a mentor yourself as well. 

As someone who had previous experience in executive recruiting, are there any tips or tricks that you picked up from the recruiter side that students should keep in mind as they navigate their job search?

Absolutely. First, check your email frequently and respond promptly to recruiting emails. Make sure you answer right away as recruiters will go ahead and schedule the “first come, first served”. 

Additionally, make it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to schedule interviews with you. In my experience, you should give recruiters some suggested dates/times when you will be available, which give recruiters a place to start when scheduling conversations.

Third, make sure to study the position and the company. I had conversations recently with the head of a company, who said that half of the students he interviewed hadn’t done any research on the company beforehand. It’s important if you want to have a worthwhile conversation with the recruiter to study the job description. Think ahead of time about why you are interested in this specific position, and what you can contribute to the company. 

Lastly, learn to follow through and watch for communication after the interview.

What is your biggest piece of advice for students on how to be successful? What can students do now to increase their chances of being successful in the future?

The big picture is to remind yourself your career path can change later on. I feel like students always want to figure things out right away, but markets change all the time. The job you like might end up in short supply, and new career fields and opportunities open up all the time. I believe being open-minded when it comes to job hunting can be extremely beneficial. It can also be relieving for them to think one step at a time. 

Another thing is to recognize other people’s superpowers, focus on the positive side of other people, and work around their weaknesses. 

Finally, what’s your favorite small talk topic? If a student wanted to initiate a really fun conversation with you, what should they talk about?

Dessert! 

Yuxuan: That’s exactly me as well! I always look at Uber Eats and order dessert when it’s not necessary.

Haha, that’s like me! I think this is because I like to bake and it makes me happy when I know dessert’s coming during dinner. 

I love to ask people about their recipes for cookies and their favorite dessert type. I think it adds a bit of my elements to the conversation and it is always great to talk about little things you love!