禁漫天堂

Skidmore students got an inside look at the professional networking platform LinkedIn in two distinct ways this semester 鈥� by hearing from one of its top executives during the 40th annual Harder Lecture and by visiting its New York City headquarters over winter break.  
  
Skidmore's Career Development Center arranged the January visit to the LinkedIn and Google offices in Manhattan, where students were able to network and learn about company culture, opportunities, and expectations. Then, in March, the Management and Business Department鈥檚 Harder Lecture brought Greg Willis, vice president of global sales for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, to campus to share key lessons he鈥檚 learned at LinkedIn as well as with Procter & Gamble, Hewlett Packard, PepsiCo, Infosys, and Samsung. F. William Harder Chair of Business Administration Matt Lucas's connections with LinkedIn made both events possible. 
  
This holistic approach to educating students and preparing them for professional opportunities is uniquely Skidmore, with its expansive alumni network, extensive career services, and relevant courses.

Keeping up with a changing world

Willis, an expert in global market development, marketing, technology, corporate governance, and sales, delivered his lecture 鈥淎re You In鈥� on March 20 in Gannett Auditorium, telling students that success boils down to three c鈥檚: competence 鈥� the skills you build; confidence 鈥� knowing who you are and who you are not; and courage 鈥� the ability to make decisions based on what鈥檚 right for you. 
 
Skidmore鈥檚 hand and mind tradition teaches students to think critically while offering them practical skills to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time. 
  
鈥淭he world keeps changing, and your skills must evolve with it,鈥� Willis said, citing statistics about the growing prevalence of AI in workplaces and an increased emphasis on skills-based hiring.

The more you learn, the better equipped you will be for the road ahead. Continue to challenge yourself. Continue to be curious."

Greg Willis

vice president of global sales for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

He also emphasized the value of being present and introspective. 
  
鈥淚 want to stress how important it is to be in the moment,鈥� Willis said. 鈥淏e purposeful in your decisions. Ask yourself, 鈥榃hy am I here?鈥� It helps you make intentional choices. It keeps you from drifting. It helps you attract maximum value from each experience that you鈥檙e in. It helps you find motivation to get you through those difficult times.鈥�

Preparing for perpetual learning

At the LinkedIn offices in January, Samantha (Sam) Fassak 鈥�14, senior insights program manager, and four of her colleagues discussed their career trajectories and work environments, sharing their advice to current students throughout. 
  
鈥淟inkedIn is very focused on skills, both in the products we develop and in how we think about our career journeys internally,鈥� said Fassak. 鈥淚鈥檝e been on the Insights team for six years and I鈥檝e learned more every single year, with every new role I鈥檝e come into.鈥� The Insights team does data reporting, working hand-in-hand with the Sales and Customer Success teams. 
  
Skidmore鈥檚 liberal arts education really helped to prepare her, she says, because she was able to explore so many disciplines and develop skills for continued learning.

Learning how to learn is such a valuable thing to cultivate."

Samantha (Sam) Fassak 鈥�14

senior insights program manager at LinkedIn

鈥淓ven if you come to a job with a super robust background and you hit every single mark on that job requisition, you鈥檙e still going to have a huge learning curve. So having the confidence that you know how to learn is important.鈥� 
  
After graduating from Skidmore, the psychology major with a business minor became an associate for Sibson Consulting, where she learned to build analytical models. There, she developed an interest in project management, which took her to a role at Ernst and Young. After a few years, she longed for hands-on analytical work again but in a more robust way, which led her to LinkedIn. 
  
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any of us have had a very fixed 10-year plan that we followed meticulously because it鈥檚 almost impossible to do that,鈥� Fassak said of herself and her colleagues. 鈥淭here are unexpected things that come up and it鈥檚 just hard to know what direction your interests will evolve in once you鈥檙e in different experiences. So once you鈥檙e in an experience, take the time to reflect about what is it that you really like about it and how you can develop that out further.鈥� 

Fassak says she learned a lot by taking advantage of the resources offered by Skidmore鈥檚 Career Development Center, including job shadowing through its extensive Skidmore College network and resum茅 coaching.

She also participated in Skidmore clubs and organizations, such as Peer Health Education. 鈥淎ny experiences you can get will develop skills,鈥� she told the visiting students. 鈥淵ou can get leadership experience and go deeper on your domain expertise.

鈥淚 think it is extremely important to cultivate and make time for interests that have nothing to do with your profession but just bring you alive inside. That will give you sustained energy, even if you pick a really ambitious career field.鈥� 
  
To truly prosper in your career, Willis says, you have to embrace your unique identity as your greatest strength. 
  
鈥淵ou have to identify and leverage your unique perspectives. Your background, your faith, your family 鈥� whatever makes you you. That adds value to every conversation, every decision, every strategy, every move that you make. Don鈥檛 minimize your story.鈥�