Over the years, Kevin Ng, who has "always been involved in volunteerism and mentoring opportunities," decided to share his experiences in securing a financial job with current Jumbos through yearly "fireside chats."
"Every year around the winter break, I try to get a small group of very Wall Street-focused students from Tufts and try to give them a reality check," Ng said. "I try to give them a glimpse of what I do, and I try to break down the myths and realities of Wall Street."
"Tufts does not have a business school, and I'm not saying it should, but students lack the information of the major firms, how the industry works -- and there's no textbook that can teach you this," Ng added. "You have to meet people to learn. Hopefully, [students] learn from my experiences."
Ng's career advice for students of all majors is to work on their interpersonal skills through the many extracurricular activities offered at Tufts. "Your GPA, what school you go to -- that gets you in the door," Ng said. "But what gets you up the ladder is how well you work with other people -- your soft skills.
According to Ng, important soft skills employers are looking for are "communication skills -- can you speak with authority on a subject matter, are you comfortable with people, eye contact, body language, skills with following up with information, business etiquette," Ng said. "You don't want to be labeled as someone who is just book smart."
Ng has already seen results from these informal information sessions. At this year's event, two seniors who had attended Ng's fireside chat as sophomores returned to share their own experiences.
"For me it was gratifying because I've been in touch with these students who let me know how they're doing, and they come back two years later with jobs at leading financial firms," Ng said. "It really motivates me to [host the event] again."
