“Just listening and communicating, even if it takes some extra time out of your day, is extraordinarily important.” – Tarun Mahajan, doctor and BCG consultant
How this White House intern landed a job in the West Wing as Deputy Associate Director of the National Economic Council, and then founded a venture-backed company worth millions
“If you make a line from the Oval Office to people’s offices in the West Wing, and you measure that distance, there is definitely a correlation with IQ.” – Jonathan Swanson, former White House staffer
Why this engineer and beauty pageant winner left McKinsey to pursue acting and modeling (and how she got her foot in the door while working full-time at McKinsey)
“Acting for me is the craft of self-exploration, and it’s the study of human nature.” – Melanie Kannokada, actress and model
The biggest entrepreneurship lessons this science major learned in two failed attempts starting a company, before nailing it the third time with a multi-million dollar venture-backed food startup
“In a startup, there are many situations where you just don’t know what you’re supposed to do because you’ve never seen it before. But it’s also really exciting because you get experience you may never get in a traditional job.” – Kevin Yang, EAT Club
How this professional re-invented her career from non-profit to marketing at a tech company (oh, she’s also a professional symphony cellist)
“You can re-invent yourself during a career transition. Don’t be confined to who you were or what others expect of you.” – Stephanie Lai, marketer at Smule
How a recent college grad started with nothing but a vision, and in 4 years built one of the most prominent education NGOs in China (and convinced Teach For America’s founder to join her board)
“People don’t tell you how much the world is slanted toward ‘no.’ The number of times we heard ‘no’ when building Teach For China was huge.” – Rachel Wasser, co-founder of Teach For China
Why this entrepreneur started a non-profit to provide mothers in developing countries with an innovative infant warmer he designed after selling his startup for millions
“The idea wasn’t to start a company. The idea was to get this product out to everyone who needed it.” – Linus Liang, co-founder of Embrace
How an engineer and McKinsey alum found his career passion in global health at the Gates Foundation
“I’ve realized how important it is in interviews to craft a story that conveys how your career transitions fit into a larger plan.” – Wilson Mok, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
How this liberal arts major found a finance trading job by networking with female traders on Facebook, then left the industry to shoot a documentary and start a company in microfinance
“I think I felt I had to do certain things coming out of school, but quickly realized that wasn’t the life I wanted to live.” – Rachel Cook, Microlending Film Project
How this former investor has applied investing insights to running a retail business (and what he’s also learned about how much harder it is than he thought as an investor)
“This is the most creative job I’ve had since graduating college, and it’s definitely where my energy comes from.” – Vijay Brihmadesam, co-founder of Tava Indian Kitchen