What was your first job at UCB?
JK: I came to Cal five years ago as the Assistant Director for Parents and Student Development. My role was to run the senior gift campaign (to help members of the graduating class give back to Cal and learn about philanthropy) and to build a parent fundraising board.
How did you find out about your first position?
JK: I was a lawyer for IBM at the time and had been fundraising as a volunteer. I enjoyed that work so much, that I began to schedule informational interviews to determine if I might like to work in the field.
My hiring manager (and current manager) was one of the people with whom I scheduled the informational interview. A few months later, she called and invited me to apply for the open job that had not existed when I first met her. The more I went through the interview process, the more I got excited about Cal and the work.
How did you find out about your second job?
JK: I have been promoted to three positions at Cal, all under the same manager. So, at each point of career step, she was working with me to find the next challenge that also met her business needs to grow our program. Now, I direct the fundraising programs focused on raising gifts in the $5,000 to $50,000 range. These programs engage alumni and parent volunteers to invite their peers to make a gift to Cal.
What do you do to keep up to date with the developments in your profession/field?
JK: I regularly attend CASE conferences, conference call education sessions (these are great for low budgets) and network with peers at other colleges. I try to read the available materials on my field and keep close to the academic programs at Cal.
What tips and/or advice would you give to someone who is exploring possibilities for career change, lateral, or advanced position move, at UC Berkeley?
JK: Really, get a sense of the skills required for the positions that interest you.
- Ask a few people you trust for contacts and spend 30 minutes (no more) interviewing someone in that position about how they got into it, what skills they think are most important, career steps, salary ranges—everything. You want to use this opportunity to ask questions you might not ask in a job interview, and to really understand whether your favorite skills to use are also the ones you would use in this job. I found informational interviews to be incredibly helpful.
- Remember to prepare though. People giving these interviews expect you to drive the information requests. They are not interviewing you and generally do not want to spend more than 45 minutes or so.
- If, after hearing what they had to say, you remain interested, ask that person if he or she knows any other contacts that might help you with a similar interview
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