Being a mentor has been one of the highlights of my personal and professional life. It’s not just about sharing experiences, but challenging each other to think differently, fostering an environment of growth & resilience, and having some fun while doing it.

Thanks to Promise Nkhono and Drexel University for inviting me to speak at a recent Power Lunch where we talked about navigating career decisions during uncertain times.

Prepared questions and responses below

Once you graduated in 2006, you faced some challenges early on in your career. Can you tell us about how your early experiences shaped the way you approached your career? How did you navigate those initial challenges?

My first co-op in the fall of 2002 prepared me for not having a job immediately after college.

While most of my friends got placed in the A and B round I got hired in the final C round.

It was tough seeing my friends get excited about their new roles and it didn’t feel like I had much going for me.

I expanded my search parameters and was able to find a role as a sales associate at a small IT consulting firm outside of Philadelphia.

It wasn’t sexy, it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do, and it certainly wasn’t what I had imagined I’d be doing.

However, out of all three of my co-ops, my first one was the most rewarding. I did everything at this company, from cold calling local small businesses, creating managed service agreements, and in person sales calls.

There were a few times during the co-op that I wanted to quit, but I had a great support system that helped me look at the bigger picture.

I learned that early in my career that where I was working wasn’t the most important thing, it was what I was doing and how that would serve my future roles.

Fast forward to 2006, I graduated and moved back to my parents house in New York. Here I was again again.

While many of my friends had jobs lined up, I did not.

Weeks went by, then months. I wasn’t having any luck with any of the entry level roles I was applying to.

I decided to dig deeper into my contacts and reconnected with someone that I did a market research project for while at Drexel.

He was in New York City and needed more help with market research in the financial and social network industry.

I relied on a past relationship to secure my first job after college, and I’m still using lessons learned from that role today.

I also met one of my favorite mentors there who even after 20 years is still part of my life.

You may not always know exactly how impactful a job is to your future career when you’re in it. Don’t discount your early experiences and keep track of skills learned and accomplishments achieved to refer back to when you take your next steps.

You’ve had multiple instances where initial rejections turned into offers after following up. Can you share a specific example where persistence paid off, and how do you suggest students and recent graduates should approach rejection?

The job that moved me to California is my favorite rejection turned offer.

After 3 years as a marketing analyst at Experian, creating and presenting online competitive intelligence reports for pharmaceutical, financial, and technology companies, I was ready to take the next step in my career.

I had checked in with myself to learn more about what I really wanted, and I knew whatever it was I wanted to work in tech. What better place to do that than the Bay Area.

I started looking for roles in the fall of 2010 and there were countless rejections. I even changed my search parameters (roles, companies, etc.) and thought i wouldn’t be able to move to California.

One of my cowokers at Experian that I had a good relationship with announced he was leaving for a medium sized performance marketing agency in New York. Before he left, he shared a job req for an analyst position, however this one was much more technical than I thought I was qualified for. He pushed me though to atleast reach out and meet with the hiring manager.

Me and the hiring manager met over breakfast, I made it through two rounds of interviews, and then got rejected. After all the rejections and this most recent one, I was spent and decided to take a break from the search.

A few months later, I was at the gym and that breakfast popped back in my head. I decided to email the hiring manager using the thank you email thread so it wouldn’t be a cold email.

I asked how the search was going and if there were any other roles that I might be a good fit for. Within a few minutes I got a reply asking me to come back in to their new york city office to meet with the head of sales and head of client accounts.

After that interview, I got feedback that my persistence really paid off and that the team could really feel my passion for the career. It was then did the hiring manager ask if it would be possible for me to relocate to California. I couldn’t believe it, and after reviewing the paperwork and securing a relocation bonus, I moved to California the next month.

I moved to California in july 2011, in November Adobe purchased that company and my career really took off from there.


I had to check in with myself and define what i really wanted out of my career. I created a reputation, even with those not on my immediate team, as someone that would be a valuable addition to a company
I kept track of applications, correspondence, and checked back in with hiring managers, because often times a rejection could just be a “no for now” instead of a “no forever”.


Networking has been key to your career development. Can you discuss how building relationships has contributed to your success, and any strategies you would recommend for students just starting to build their professional networks?

Understand who you are and what your goals are
Be able to communicate these clearly to people at your level, on other teams, and up the management chain. Each group cares about different things, learn more about what people care about and give them what they want to hear.

Be ready to share ideas and show, rather than just tell people about what you’ve achieved

Be boundaryless when it comes to networking, don’t feel constrained to just keep to your immediate team.

Understand how companies are organized, what their goals are, which teams are responsible for what, and what role you can play in reaching those goals.

Over time, you can think of your network as a deck of cards. That deck will get bigger and bigger over time, but you may only be holding a few cards in your hand at one time. Check in on your network by broadcasting updates as well as 1:1 updates, understand that everyone else has their own deck of cards too. Just like you would move cards from the deck to your hand, so do others.

How has mentorship shaped your career, and lended to your journey towards attaining long-term success?

One of the highlights of my career has been mentorship. It may seem like something that takes a lot of energy, but surprisingly I get more energy from mentoring than I thought I would.

How many times have we told our selves, I wish i knew back then what i know now?

This is the opportunity to share experience with someone who may be able to see things differently, or learn something.

It also helps with me developing myself as a leader by holding myself accountable. How many times have we not taken our own advice?

Lastly, as a mentor I get to expand my perspective and staying current with how young professions are approaching their career and their challenges.

What’s one piece of advice you would like to leave us with for students and alumni?
No one else is going to care more about your career than you.

Keep an up to date inventory of what you’ve accomplished, what you enjoy, where you see yourself in the future, and do this on a regular basis.

Meet people that have the roles that you think you want, learn about their journey, and ensure you have similar skills that helped get them where they are.

Don’t be afraid to pivot, remember you have lots going for you