MISA Future Alumni Spotlight

Future Alumni Spotlight

An upcoming graduating senior: Jorge Pineda

Picture this: You’re an MIS student at SJSU, but you don’t have a clue on where to start, let alone navigate through your career path. It can be daunting at first to understand how to utilize the necessary skills to gain some new experience that would land you an internship or full-time job position.

My colleague and I took the opportunity to sit down with one of our own MISA members and graduating senior for this fall semester Jorge Pineda. Jorge has a strong passion for the technical side of MIS, specifically he enjoys learning about cybersecurity.

Outside of class, Jorge is currently working as a sales professional at a car dealer in San Jose, while previously working as an intern for Year Up. Upon graduation, Jorge hopes to land a job in the tech industry in the near future as an IT Manager, Quality Assurance Engineer, Business Analyst, or role that is related to cybersecurity. As an active member in MISA and LBSA (Latino Business Student Association), Jorge stresses how important it is for students to plan ahead accordingly on their time at college.

Alan Nguyen: “How can MISA members understand the importance of networking?”

Jorge Pineda: “I will give you an analogy on how important it is to network with people. Networking is like your credit score: you have to discipline yourself by reaching out to as many individuals as you can without going desperate. In today’s world, it’s who you know and who you can make connections with. Many clubs on campus like LBSA and MISA also do networking events and even taking the time to visit the career center can be effective in meeting new people, specifically the college recruiters. The MISA officers I’ve met throughout my time at SJSU will always give you a helping hand, especially when you don’t know where to start. It goes back to the credit score analogy by discipline to put yourself out there. By networking with the people around you, you will be able to find the position you’re passionate about in a specific job role or company you want to work for.”

“Networking is like a credit score.”

Alan Nguyen: “Is it a good idea for students to apply to a job/internship position even though they don’t have the necessary skills & what should they do about it?”

Jorge Pineda: “Yes, it’s always a good idea to apply for job roles that do require the necessary skills, but there is a catch to it. It’s true that some of my fellow students weren’t able to find an internship or full-time job role because of the fact that everything is competitive in the job market. I believe that students shouldn’t just focus on classes alone: they should always go above and beyond to take up leadership roles, case competitions, externships, certifications, and even Linkedin Learning. These are important skills to add to your resume, and it shows that you’ve acquired the necessary skills for the job position you’ve been wanting to apply for. I was fortunate to take MISA’s Externship Program over the summer to build new skills in project management and to tackle a business case solution. So it all comes down to taking the initiative to learn the new skills on your own and be able to present it once you land that interview. ”

“It all comes down to taking the initiative to learn new skills.”

Alan Nguyen: “What are some of the steps that will guarantee you to land an interview & a job offer?”

Jorge Pineda: “Landing that interview for the role you wanted can be difficult if you don’t know what to do. It goes back to the importance of networking and getting a referral from a friend or family member. You need to tweak your resume to match what the job position requires since you could be applying for a cybersecurity or project management role and they’re all different in terms of qualifications. You should also take the team to learn about the company beforehand such as the company’s work culture, their mission statement, and how that aligns with your career goals. When you finally get to the interview, you need to articulate your key strengths and weaknesses and find your core competencies. Practicing is key because more repetition during a mock interview can help you prepare for what is coming in a real interview. Bring up some of the new skills you’ve learned like class projects, certifications, leadership roles, etc.”

“Practicing is key!”

Sagar Kumar : “What is the biggest advice you can give to our MIS members?”

Jorge Pineda: “I can give you three valuable pieces of advice for students who are still pursuing an MIS degree. The earlier students recognize what they want to follow in a technical or business role later in life, the more time they can prepare for future careers like project management or systems analyst. The second piece of advice is don’t compare yourself to a CS or engineer degree. They are two different things. Please don’t do a job that you are uncomfortable with even though they look similar to one another. Also, don’t be too worried about rejection! It happens to everyone in life, so you have to make the most out of it when it comes to professional development.”

“Don’t be too worried about rejection!”

Sagar Kumar : “What has been the biggest shift from you being a student in college to you now working professionally?”

Jorge Pineda : “Let me get started with this, college and professional work are somewhat intertwined and very similar. Both require similar habits and what you do in college will represent how quickly you adapt to the workplace and how well you perform. College is a blueprint for you to take responsibility into your hands and also further progress your knowledge for the future. Your performance in college and your discipline towards the consistency of your good habits play a big role in professional work. Take me for example, I’ve worked in car dealerships for the past 6 years while also handling college classes. I’ve been working hands-on for tasks and in college finding what I’m passionate about as well as managing classes. The habits you make in college will translate to the habits you will make in professional work. It’s important to always create good circles and talk about success and positive life goals to push yourself to be better. I would recommend every member to create a more professional friend circle as well as join new clubs as they are what give you a small exposure to how life is during professional work. Finally, I want to say that the professional setting made me have to pay more attention to standing up for myself and what I want as well as stepping out of my comfort zone. I would advise that each member take initiative and step out of their comfort zone as well because it is one of the core shifts from college to professional work.”

“Step out of your comfort zone!”

Summary:

One of the best things about going into an MIS field is that students can take on a wide variety of different career paths. Jorge explains it very well in that it is up to students to find what they are passionate about, whether it is going into the technical or business aspects of MIS. It is also worth mentioning that they should also reach out to anyone in MISA by networking with them to learn more on how to become a successful student and eventually an employee for a company.

This article was brought to you by Alan Nguyen and Sagar Kumar, members of the SJSU MISA Alumni Committee.

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