Community Spotlight: Asking for Help

By: Zoia Kozakov / April 13, 2020

Community Spotlight: A new series highlighting Aspire to Her community members and their experiences early in their careers.

Your internship was unfortunately cancelled due to the recent coronavirus outbreak. Can you share more details on this experience and the steps you've taken for your career since then?

I am graduating from my masters at Columbia University this fall and had an internship lined up with an innovation management consulting firm. Once COVID-19 broke out, unfortunately, the company decided to cancel their internship program because they felt that they would not be able to provide the experience virtually in a beneficial way. While completely reasonable, it was emotionally difficult to lose an opportunity I had worked so hard for, as well as a source of income I had planned for. However, the company let myself and the others know very early on, so I felt lucky to have the time to figure out my next steps, which is exactly what I did! Since the experience, I have put aside the notion of being afraid to ask for help, and very honestly shared my situation with my mentors, advocates, and professional network. This gave others a chance to help me with new connections, opportunities, and create conversations with companies I never even had the option to initially speak with. While a lot of companies are on a hiring freeze, and I have since decided to focus on getting a full-time job for the fall, the conversations have been productive and gave me a whole new realm of future opportunities.

What's your advice for anyone who has recently lost their internship or job during this time?

Pivot Fearlessly - It is easy to feel defeated and give up, but truth is, with everything changing so rapidly in this climate, you have to make quick decisions and continuously pivot instead of "waiting it out". Nothing is guaranteed and nothing is certain but you can create a plan B, C, D, E, F for yourself and adapt for each part of the disruption, one-by-one.

Plant Your Seeds - In times of a storm, it is best to retrieve (quite literally, stay home!), re-assess your strategy, and start laying out a path so when times get better, you will be the first person the companies will call. This is the perfect opportunity to create a truly meaningful network by just having conversations and exploratory phone calls and re-introduce who you are to the world without asking for a job. Once the crisis is averted, there will be lots of needs to be filled, and being on the candidate shortlist before there is even a list will go a long way.

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