Career Chat with Alan Bersin

10 Tips for a Successful Professional Career

Alan Bersin, Assistant Secretary of International Affairs and Chief Diplomatic Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, visited OCS in March and April to meet with Harvard undergraduates. Alan addressed students’ questions in a casual setting, each visit punctuated by wit and wisdom:

1. Be bold and take charge of your life situation. Even if it’s a job you know nothing about in the beginning, burrow into it and learn about it. Never sell yourself short on the ground by saying that “I don’t know anything about it” or “I don’t have any experience with that.”

2. The only way to gain experience is to seek it out and to live it. Experience can be designed as well as dreamt.

3. Don’t telescope your life. The key requirement is to develop a background of general skill and knowledge, and a constitutional willingness to be flexible. The economy will dramatically change in the next three or four decades and there will be ups and downs to negotiate and adjust.

4. Get knocked down and rebuild yourself. You have to have the professional and personal core solid enough to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. You can only get there from failing periodically along the way.

5. True: experience is what you get when you’re looking for something else — don’t be afraid to take risks and make left turns.

6. Take an extra year or two before the outset of business or professional life to do something you want to do. In the long run it isn’t going to make a difference. Explore the world. Don’t be too harsh on yourself to budget time for travel on Robert Frost’s road not usually taken.

7. Remember that this is not about a linear path. Sometimes you make left turns, sometimes you zigzag, but you don’t get to write the novel before you live it. Young men and women do not make great biographies.

8. Follow your instinct with your education. Right now your education is about developing a way of seeing and forming a framework of perception. Don’t tell yourself “I need to major in this so I can do this.”  Follow something that can prepare you to become the most educated person you can be. Your major won’t foreclose any options.

9. But you do have to take care of paying bills. Graduate school involves adding debts to your life before you get to pay them off. You should make that fact a part of your career plan. Don’t be ashamed of saying that or of making money. That freed up half my career for public service.

10. Don’t be afraid to change your point of view when you realize you’re wrong. Don’t be afraid to be wrong.

 

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Julia Eger, ’14, with Alan Bersin

I was a Showbiz Intern!

There’s more than “Lights! Camera! Action!” to the show business industry, and panelists at OCS last week had the chance to share their work experiences in this field.

“It’s a pushing game – it’s a pushing industry,” Madison Greer ’13, a recent intern at Red Wagon Entertainment, said. “If you want something you have to really go for it. This is not one of those industries that really needs you. It’s all about personality. People want an intern with a smile on their face who can have fun and who is really engaged.”

Take initiative

“As an intern I was doing script coverage at Red Wagon, but also had to do things like wash dishes and staple lots of things too,” Madison said. “I think as an artist I was like, “I want to do something more creative!” and sometimes felt bored. But if you want to do something truly creative, you just have to be vocal about it with your bosses. I would ask, “Do you mind if I come see the scoring session for Halo 3?” And then I got to go.”

Since this is an industry about who you know, it’s helpful in the long run to meet people outside your department while in your internship. “In the middle of my internship, I made an effort to sit down and chat with every department and find out what they do,” Marlee Melendy ’14, an intern for the 2014 Super Bowl Host Committee, said. “And I’ve been able to keep in touch with people from different departments, which is awesome.”

Linxi Wu ’14, a past intern at SONY Pictures, echoed this statement. “People don’t always take the time to mentor you. In Hollywood you really have to reach out yourself. You need to be a self-starter.”

Size matters

Nicole Delaney ’14, who interned at Maven Pictures in New York City this past summer, liked working in a small office because it meant she had a greater daily impact. “I did script coverage every day, which means I would read scripts every day and write critical summaries of them to give to the development team,” she said. “It was really hands-on and nice to have the power to say “this is good” or “this isn’t.”

Use your network

Although many of the panelists said that they had found their internships through family or friends, Marlee found her internship working for the 2014 Super Bowl Host Committee through the Institute of Politics. “The IOP Director’s Internship is a great program because you know your applications are being read and that you’ll get a $4,000 stipend,” she said. Crimson Compass, the alumni mentoring website, is also a great resource for finding internships in the entertainment sphere – as well as programs like Harvardwood 101 and the Harvardwood Summer Internship Program.

In any case, don’t underestimate the scope of your network. “It’s a connections industry, but whether or not you have a family member in the business, there are plenty of kids at Harvard who have worked in this industry who are connections for you,” Linxi said. “Any connection that your close friends have is a really a connection that you have. Don’t be afraid to reach out – the worst that could happen is they say no.” 

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Julia Eger, ’14

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OCS invites you to network with non-profit and mission-driven organizations that span a range of fields — including government and education. Find a job or career that will make a positive social impact at all levels, and become an agent for change at the Social Impact Expo, open to all Harvard University students. In anticipation of the big day, we’ve highlighted ten organizations you don’t want to miss!


The Steppingstone Foundation
What it is: The Steppingstone Foundation prepares urban children for success in college; middle school students participate in a 14-month academic program, and are then given the resources needed to thrive in high school.
Fun Fact: Steppingstone alumni have attended over 110 colleges and universities, including Williams College, Yale, and Harvard.

Pearson
What it is: Pearson is the largest education company and largest book publisher in the world. Through curriculum materials, multimedia tools, and testing programs, Pearson’s mission is simple: “to help people make more of their lives through learning.”
Fun Fact: Pearson operates in over 70 countries and includes Pearson Education, the Financial Times Group, and Penguin Group.

Facing History & Ourselves
What it is: Facing History & Ourselves in an international education organization engaging students in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-semitism, and providing educators with the tools and resources to promote a more humane citizenry.
Fun Fact: Facing History & Ourselves recently launched an exhibit, Choosing to Participate, that has reached more than 400,000 people across eight US cities.

Plan
What it is: An international development organization, Plan works in 50 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Americas, with a focus on education, economic security, water and sanitation, health, sexual health (including HIV), emergencies, protection, and child participation.
Fun Fact: In over 30 countries, Plan empowers children to produce media—radio, music, and TV—giving them the opportunity to have their voices heard.

WGBH
What it is: A pioneer in educational media, WGBH generates more than two-thirds of PBS national programming, including NOVA, Frontline, and American Experience.
Fun Fact:  WGBH is credited with the invention of television closed captioning services.

The Work First Foundation Organization
What it is: The Work First Foundation sponsors job placement for the untrained or unemployed, homeless veterans, people transitioning out of public assistance or foster care, and others.
Fun Fact: To date, the Foundation has helped over 5,700 individuals.

Cradles to Crayons
What it is: Cradles to Crayons provides disadvantaged children with essential materials: clothing, shoes, books, and school supplies.
Fun Fact: Cradles to Crayons also operates the Teen Leadership Corps, providing middle and high school students the opportunity to serve other children in the C2C Giving Factory warehouse.

Scholastic Inc
What it is: An educational publishing powerhouse, Scholastic has also championed The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (the largest source of scholarship funding for teenage artists and writers in the US) and recently partnered with Save the Children to establish the Scholastic Education Recovery Fund, assisting children in Haiti and others in need.
Fun Fact: Scholastic has exclusive US rights to both The Hunger Games and Harry Potter book series!

Education Development Center
What it is: EDC produces programs that address education, health, and economic development. Working with teachers, they create resources and curricula that make “rigorous content relevant and accessible to all learners.”   
Fun Fact: President Obama recently visited a Palestinian Youth Center implemented by the EDC.

Tenacity, Inc.
What it is: Literacy, life-skills, and tennis! Tenacity serves Boston youth through school-year and summer programs.
Fun Fact: After three years enrolled in the Tenacity Middle School Academy, 8th grade students are scoring “35% higher ELA proficiency levels” than their peers.