Marcus Edelstein has been chronically unhappy with his internships. Edelstein, a spring 2022 graduate who studied statistics, worked at Tucker Green Consulting, Inc. during the pandemic summer of 2020 and enjoyed the internship, but was disappointed that it was an unpaid position. Edelstein was able to find another internship using Handshake, but was discouraged when he learned that he would have no mentor on the job.
Edelstein had first sought help at the Career Center during his sophomore year in the middle of the COVID pandemic. With the staff’s help, he was able to revamp his resumé, practice mock interviews, and finally learn what a cover letter is.
“I had no idea as a freshman and sophomore what that was,” Edelstein laughs. “I thought it was an actual letter that you had to put in an envelope and mail.”
Besides this new understanding of cover letters, Edelstein credits those Career Center visits with vastly improving his resumé.
“My resumé had a lot of strength, but I didn’t know how to word it correctly and give it more appeal,” Edelstein says. “They told me what to change and add. My current job was actually shocked with how well-written my resumé was.”
During his numerous visits to the Center, he met with internship coordinator Alyson Kavalukas, who gave him what Edelstein calls “the best advice.” Kavalukas told him to reach out to all of his contacts, to utilize his network in order to secure a position he would be happy with. Using this advice, Edelstein was able to land a job he loves: working as a Bully Pulpit Interactive Leadership Fellow.
“My mom’s friend is friends with the second-in-command of this company and she put in a good word for me,” Edelstein notes. “Alyson told me that the biggest thing in the job world is connections. You can have the skills but if 100 people are applying to the same job, one of the best ways to get you over that finish line is having that connection.”
At the Bully Pulpit Interactive Leadership Fellowship, Edelstein works in the insights team, analyzing surveys, polls, and other data points to try to figure out how the average American thinks. Edelstein describes the Fellowship as an advertisement agency that runs ads for corporations and political campaigns, and says his job is to figure out which ads should or should not be run according to the population’s interests.
Edelstein is finally happy with the job he is working.
“I’m doing things I like a lot, and I have a mentor that I meet with weekly,” Edelstein explains. “The Career Center can’t literally give you a job, but they can give you all the tools to get one.”
For Edelstein, this happiness is the definition of personal success.
“Success to me is about whether or not you’re happy with where you are currently. I’m making enough money and I’m doing what I like to do. These past four years, there have been times where I was worried if I was going to be successful or not, but in the end, it worked out. Students worry if they’re going to be what their parents want them to be, and the only way to do that is by working hard.”
With this hard work, Edelstein has high hopes for his future, despite it being unknown.
“My end goal is to be a political consultant or advisor,” Edelstein expresses. “I don’t know exactly what my future looks like, but my goal right now is to continue what I’m doing and continue to thrive. We’ll see where my path leads me.”
