3 Things I Learned at the Women's Leadership Initiative Professional Development Day Conference

By Leslie Quan 

I wrote this article for Saint Joseph's University Her Campus blog on February 29, 2020. However, due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this article never got published. (Although it was on the verge of being posted on October 15, 2020.) Nevertheless, I decided to post this lost treasure here since I learned a lot at the Women's Leadership Initiative's Sixth Annual Professional Development Day 2020 and I still would like to share my experience at this pre-pandemic networking event.

On February 22 this past year, the St. Joe’s Women’s Leadership Initiative held a professional development day for female students of all majors and graduation years. This conference taught students how to navigate networking events, job interviews, and careers. At the end of the event, there was a mock-tail where students could network with alumna, professors, and companies local to Philadelphia.

Here are three things that I learned while attending this event!

1.    Your 30 second pitch

While it doesn’t have to be exactly 30 seconds, your pitch should be brief and include your first and last name, major, graduation year, one or two activities that you’re involved with that relate to your major, and your overall goal for participating in this networking event. Make sure that when you introduce yourself you give a strong and confident handshake to the other person!

Example: *Strong and confident handshake* Hi! My name is Leslie Quan, I am majoring in Communication Studies (not any more though! Check out this article if you're confused), and I will be graduating in May 2022. On campus, I am a writer and photographer for The Hawk newspaper, and a writer for Her Campus! I’m looking to strengthen my photography and media skills by seeking out internships in the Philadelphia area.

2.     Dress to be you and express yourself!

Nicole Brown, the Human Resource Specialist here at St. Joe’s, spoke about how to dress for networking events and job interviews. She expressed the importance of shopping for what fits YOUR body and YOUR style. While professional dress should be followed, you shouldn’t have to give up the style that you feel comfortable in. Even though a women’s power suit may be the most appropriate form of professional dress, this style is based off of male dress standards; so change it up a bit and style an outfit that you vibe with!

Natalie Walker Brown, Director of Inclusion and Diversity Educational Achievement (IDEA), also mentioned that it isn’t necessary for women to prescribe to one ideal way of dressing. In other words, as women, we dress a certain way because we think that we should dress that way, but that is completely false! As women, there are an infinite amount of ways to style a professional outfit; whether it be adding a pop of color or a standout piece of jewelry, there is no reason for all women to dress the same. Your clothes are an expression of who you are, so don’t let blazers and suits hide your personality!

3.     Post-Grad life

At the conference, there was a panel of four St. Joe’s graduate students who talked about their current careers and discussed how they are navigating through post-grad life. Rhys Cox ‘19, a previous linguistics major and French minor at St. Joe’s, talked about the decision they made to join either the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps, and how their current job wasn’t everything they had hoped for, but they felt comfortable. In the end, they decided to align their career with their own personal ideals.

Ana Faguy ‘19, another graduate from St. Joe’s talked about how sometimes you can’t be picky with a job. Even though a job might not be the right fit for you, when you’re trying to earn money and experience, sometimes you have to tough it out and do something that you may not fully believe in.

Post-Grad Pro-Tip: Keep your student ID after graduation! When you go out shopping, always ask for a student discount and have your old student ID handy to rack up sweet deals! 

These are the three most important things I learned at the WLI Professional Development Day. Hopefully, this advice will help you land the job of your dreams! So what are you waiting for? It’s time for you to get out there and jumpstart your career!

HCXO,

Leslie Quan