This week connected everything that we’ve learned over the course of the CLA program to the future of our careers. We learned how to write a great resume, we learned about how to effectively manage our finances and our credit, and we met with a group of professionals who helped clarify the possible paths we could take to a career in law, business, politics, or in anything we may be passionate about. In all, this week was an amazing way to begin wrapping up an amazing program.
The resume workshop with Jason Song was particularly interesting, especially as I apply for jobs. Because I have worked so much on my resume and applied to a bunch of different positions, the resume workshop mostly solidified my confidence that I have a solid resume and that I am a great candidate, experience-wise, for any position that I may want to apply to. Still, there were places where I could definitely improve my resume. Selling and emphasizing the CAUSE internship as well as my work at Congressman Adam Schiff’s Office were the two most important takeaways for me. Even though the position of “Intern” may not sound too glamorous, I can emphasize the work that I’ve done and the experiences that I’ve had at both of these offices in order to better convey my strengths as a candidate.
DJ Erika Au spinning during the Mock Fundraiser.
In our finance workshop, we learned about the value of compounding interest and the power of starting savings and retirement accounts early in our careers. We also learned best practices for building credit and managing our credit and our money. We learned how important a good credit score really is if we want to make bigger life decisions such as buying a house or a car. The whole workshop really demystified the whole credit system and how we can use it to our advantage and how we can avoid making financial mistakes in our futures within the professional world.
We also met a bunch of industry professionals, learned about their stories, and learned about how their career paths intersect with our own and how we could follow similar paths to find a career that is right for us. It was helpful to see how everyone was able to get to their current positions, and they all had some amazing advice for our careers, whether we wanted to go into law school, graduate school, politics, the nonprofit, or the private world. I think that these people will be amazing resources for the cohort as we progress in our lives and our careers.
Through all of these sessions, we were able to connect our lessons and learnings from CAUSE to our futures in the professional world.
The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the views or positions of CAUSE or the CAUSE network.
Written by Coby Nguyen , Leadership Academy 2023 Intern.
The CAUSE Leadership Academy (CLA) for students is a nine-week, paid, internship program that prepares college undergraduates to lead and advocate for the Asian Pacific Islander community on their campuses and beyond.