Trekking to San Francisco
In late February, the Career Strategies and Engagement Center of Brandeis International Business School organized the San Francisco Industry Trek for graduate students who are passionate about innovation and interested in working in the Silicon Valley area after graduation.
I was very excited to attend this trek since this was my first time visiting San Francisco! It was also an excellent opportunity to learn about the leading companies that we were scheduled to visit, specifically about their organizational culture and advice on building a career in tech.
The Trek was all of three days, one of which was spent exploring the city and its well-known heritage. For many of us, this was our first time in San Francisco, so we planned to visit popular sites like the Golden Gate Bridge, Palace of Fine Arts, Legion of Honor, Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman’s Wharf and some other sites.
On day 2 of the Trek, we began with an early visit to Adobe, a company famous for its multimedia and creativity-focused software products. We were given a full tour of its headquarters in San Jose, which is an amazing site with many uniquely designed spaces and offices. The beauty of Adobe’s campus came as no surprise to me, after all, you’d expect a company that specializes in multimedia design to have a very fashionable office.
After leaving Adobe, we got to enjoy lunch with some Apple employees, where we had the chance to network and ask specific questions about their career paths. We also spent some time visiting the Apple Store close to Apple’s famous ‘spaceship’ headquarters.
Later that evening we attended a networking event with Brandeis alumni working in different industries in the Bay Area. Most of us were interested in exploring professional opportunities in the Bay Area after graduation so the networking night was a great avenue to build meaningful connections and gain industry-specific knowledge!
Day 3 began with an early visit to Google’s headquarters. While there, we had an Alumni Q&A panel where we got great career advice and suggestions from Brandeis Googlers. Then we had a tour of Googleplex and got some swag at the Google Store as well.
The last company on our schedule was an energetic start-up, Algolia. We got to learn about the company’s search-as-a-service platform, other exciting initiatives they were working on and various career opportunities available there.
Overall, I learned that communication is an essential skill for career development because each trek visit was an opportunity to ask meaningful questions, network, and build knowledge and connections. For me, the goal of this trek was to come back with new ideas about how to approach my career, a better understanding of the range of opportunities available to me across various industries, and expand my network with individuals who can provide insight as I embark on my future career.
©️ Selim Blliku, MIP Fellow 2019-2021, MBA at Brandeis University, Boston
