Q. What lead you to choose the current I/O or I/O related field that you're working in/ passionate about?

I was excited about the complex problem-solving, travel, and client management that comes with being a consultant. After joining as an intern at Hay Group (now Korn Ferry) in 2014, it became very to me that my sales orientation and penchant for account management was a unique skill in high demand in the HR consulting world. I slowly shifted away from consulting and towards sales and account management, seeing that I could still do all the things I liked about consulting, but they happened before the project began. The switch to sales saw my career advance rapidly at Korn Ferry, receiving a promotion every year. At age 30, I now lead sales (and much of marketing) for RHR International, a 75-year-old Leadership Consulting firm that specializes in assessment and development at the very top of the house.

Q. Who at Baruch would you say was the biggest influence on your career, and why?

Three individuals had a big influence on my career. Lise Saari and Charles Scherbaum got me excited about the employee survey world, and their classes on employee surveys and advanced statistics helped me land my internship at Hay Group. Buddy Rosenbaum's course and mentor ship around interpersonal skills and client management has continued how I navigate challenging internal and external conversations.

Q: Tell us about one of your favorite memories during your time in Baruch's program.

My thesis team had an exciting research engagement that involved studying the impact of empathy on individual performance in the fast-food industry. Especially given that we had some interesting and significant findings, I loved the opportunity for our team to present and talk about our research.

Q. What advice would you give to students who are just beginning their time in Baruch's program?

The biggest opportunity to land the job you want is through informal channels. I got the interview at Hay Group because I missed my train home in favor of getting a drink with a friend of a friend who already had an internship on that team. I once went to a bike race in Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a partner at another firm would be there and I wanted to get time with him (and that got me an interview).

Very few I/O graduates want to be involved in sales. They want to focus on delivering projects and having impact with clients or on HR teams. But career advancement in the consulting world is a function of sales and politicking, and it's a big mistake to shy away from that business development element. Being in sales means you get to define the project, and that involvement with design is the best opportunity for impact.