Name: Nina Yau
Title: Management Recruiter
Company: Walgreens
Education: BS in Management and Marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago, 2006
Work Experience:
Walgreens is my first full-time professional job right out of college. What a great way to start off my career!
What I do:
As a Management Recruiter, I am in constant contact with many universities that fall under my responsibility. I help Walgreens get set up for career fairs, conduct information sessions and on-campus interviews, and general campus recruiting events. It’s a great position since it also allows me to travel to different regions of the country and meet new people. This helps me to gain a better perspective of what type of students are the best for our company, and it also allows me to help students find a career they will love!
How I got there:
I first began my career with Walgreens as a Retail Management Intern, now ironically one of the positions I help recruit for, during the summer before my senior year of college. I didn’t think I would end up to where I am now just from that initial summer internship. The experience has been great thus far and I look forward to many more years to come.
Skills needed:
In order for one to be successful in this position, there needs to be a good balance of time management, great communication skills, and a willingness to learn. The business world has surprises around every corner, just as in life, and one would need to learn how to work around these surprises in order to persevere through any challenges.
Where would I go from here?
This is just the start of my career and I believe I can go anywhere with the skills and training Walgreens has provided me. It’s a great company in which their values are my values, and they take good care of their customers and employees.
Advice:
Ensure that the company in which you want to work for has the same values that you believe in. It won’t last long otherwise. You can’t sell a company well without believing in the product and its people.
Biggest misconception:
Many students feel that companies are there to wait on them hand and foot. We do pursue good candidates but good candidates also aren’t the ones who are just going to sit back and relax! Prepare yourself as you would for any major exam. You wouldn’t want to fail the test just because you didn’t prepare adequately for it. Evaluate what you want in a company, do your research, and let them know that you truly want to work for them!
To succeed and enjoy this position, you need to:
Stay positive and use all your capabilities to do the best work that you can do! Don’t just strive for the bare minimum. Set goals and plan on obtaining them within a reasonable timeframe. Challenge and encourage yourself by utilizing your strengths and improve upon your weaknesses