How to Land a Job Before You Graduate

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Giselle Sutjiadi, BSBA Accounting

I’ll be an auditor at Ernst & Young in Los Angeles. An auditor checks ledgers, invoices, and financial statements for public companies or private companies. I’m basically like a homework checker. I make sure companies are telling the truth so when people like investors read these financial statements, they know that this information is reliable.

To land my job, I tried to use all the resources that USF has to offer. The Career Services Center is a lovely resource because they hold your hand in job-hunting. They revise your resume and they prepare you for interviews. But I feel like the most important thing is finding a job on campus that is relevant to your desired career path. This way you can gain practical experiences that employers find attractive, right? So for myself, I worked in finance and accounting in the Events Management office here at USF. It was an amazing experience, and it really honed my skills in Excel and financial transactions. I feel like that on-campus job is what landed me the internship at Ernst & Young last summer, and that internship led to an offer of a full-time job.

My career advice to students? Never let past rejection discourage you from future positions or opportunities. Just continue to apply and put yourself out there. I got rejected for many positions. You have to keep trying until someone opens the door.

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Koushal Modi, BS in Data Science and in Economics

I’ll be a fintech data analyst at American Express in Phoenix, Arizona. I'll be teaching machines how to clean and analyze financial data.

To land my job, I first did well in my classes on applied data science methods and machine learning. I learned Python, Java, and SQL. I learned from my professors — and I networked with them, too. I also went to conferences where you can meet the people who will be recruiting you. The San Francisco chapter of ALPFA [Association of Latino Professionals for America] sent me to the national ALPFA conference in Las Vegas last August, where I met a vice president at American Express. Then in October I received an email from American Express for an exploratory call. This led to two technical interviews, after which I was offered the position. I later learned from the hiring leader that my proactive approach and determination at the conference were key factors in their decision to consider me for the role.

My career advice to students: Never give up. If you apply, you will likely be rejected many times. Build your resume by participating in clubs and working as a teaching assistant. And do projects, because in job interviews recruiters will ask you, What have you done apart from your coursework? So find a specific interest within your field and go deep into it. Do data acquisition, data cleaning, machine learning, and data visualization. Ask your professors to help you. At USF we have wonderful professors in the department of mathematics and statistics including Steve Trettel, Cody Carroll, James Wilson, and Daniel Jerison. I’m especially thankful to Professor Daniel O'Connor for his support, which began even before I started my journey at USF and has continued through graduation.

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Yana Vaynshteyn, BSBA in Finance and in Accounting 

I’ll be a tax staff accountant at Withum in San Francisco, starting in November. To land my job at Withum, I interned at their San Ramon office last summer, and I really enjoyed my time there. I did my best to make connections, make myself known, always ask for work, ask for help when I needed it. And then I applied for a full-time position at their San Francisco office. I’m a San Francisco native so I wanted to work in San Francisco if possible. I got the job over the summer.

My career advice: Put yourself out there and apply for internships. Do as many internships as you can, whether they’re in your field or not. In my experience, internships are the best way to open doors. But if you can’t get an internship somewhere, at least try to make connections with campus recruiters, because whenever you have some type of an in, whether someone recommended you or you send in your application through someone at the company, you are way more likely to get the job than just going online and applying cold.

Also, stay on top of your classes! I had Professor Diane Roberts for three accounting classes. She used real-life examples and told us stories from her own experiences. Her stories helped me to picture what it’s like to work in accounting. Let’s be real: Accounting isn’t always exciting, but when you have a professor who explains that what you’re doing in class is actually what you’ll be doing in life, it makes you a lot more intrigued and willing to learn. It’s a really good push in the right direction.