Five professionals in their mid-20s share how they landed their dream job

The Wall Street Journal spoke to five workers in their mid-twenties who pursued careers in fields ranging from engineering to entrepreneurship. Despite disparate goals and backgrounds, they agree that the key to any successful job search lies in relationships.

Here are tips from young workers who pursued their childhood passions in a professional manner, networked even when it seemed intimidating to them, and found opportunities where they never expected.

Sergio Santamaria, Data Analyst, Detroit Pistons

A childhood obsession with basketball led Mr. Santamaria to study sports management and data science. As an intern with the Houston Rockets in the NBA, he tracked stats, filmed games, helped with scout reports, and occasionally wiped the floor.

He says understanding the challenges facing the industry you hope to work in, and then positioning yourself as someone with the skills to tackle them, is key to landing a job in a coveted field.

“I was really aware that the NBA was moving more and more towards analytics and technology,” he says. “I knew these skills would serve me really well as a job candidate. “

Read more from Mr. Santamaria:An obsession with sports turned into a career as an NBA data analyst

Cheyenne Chapel, Technical Director of Scenery, Pixar Animation Studios

Ms. Chapel has always loved disappearing into the immersive worlds of animated films and games. Today, as a designer and dresser for Walt Disney Co.’s Pixar animation studios, she creates digital assets (buildings, vehicles, landscapes) that evoke living environments where moviegoers get lost.

She brings technical training to her job, but attributes the sense of awe she felt watching animated films as a child to maintaining her motivation for the job search.

“Keeping the same energy you had when you were a kid and translating it into the application process, although I know it can be tough and difficult, everything will work as long as you keep trying,” says Chapel.

Read more from Ms. Chapel: ‘Toy Story’ childhood love led to a job at Pixar

Josh Belinsky, Co-Founder, Slate Milk

Mr. Belinsky began working as a golf caddy at the age of eight, and after a series of internships and a job at a tech startup while in college, he was well positioned for a successful career in sales after the ‘graduation. Instead, he decided to start his own business in 2018, co-founding Slate Milk, which makes ultra-filtered, lactose-free chocolate milk.

He relied on his ability to build relationships when searching for a job and recommends that students and graduates, even those who may not have his gift for gossip, do so as well.

“Just start talking to people,” he says. “I joked in my cold emails to people, ‘I’m in third year in college and I’ve been in sales for 20 years. If you’re wondering how, it’s because I’ve been shopping cart since I was eight years old. Something like that, just a way to show your personality. You would be amazed at how willing people are to help.

Read more from M. Belinsky:Ready for a career in technology sales, he instead founded a milk chocolate start-up

Madeline Firkser, Special Projects Associate, JustLeadershipUSA

A college internship showed sociology major Madeline Firkser that she wanted to work in criminal justice reform, but the pressure of having a locked job after graduation led her to accept a role which turned out to be ill-suited.

“I’ve spoken to many trusted mentors and family members, a few people in the criminal law reform movement that I trust,” says Firkser, who felt embarrassed about wanting to quit a job she did. had recently started. “They encouraged me to keep applying for other things that would really be who I am.”

The relationships she built through her internship helped her find a job at JustLeadershipUSA, where she says the best part of her day is working with a large group of colleagues who are equally passionate about mitigation. the effects of the pandemic on people in prison.

Read more from Ms. Firkser:How a campus activist channeled her passions into a career

Gabriella Lanouette, full-stack machine learning engineer, Orbis International

At Orbis International, an international non-profit organization focused on the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye diseases in economically developing countries, Ms. Lanouette is part of a team developing algorithms for the telemedicine platform of the company. Clinicians in the field use this tool to diagnose eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

Inspired by her mother, a pediatric nurse, Ms. Lanouette has always known that she wanted to work in the health field. But it was a tech support internship that actually launched his career.

“Everyone needs help with their computer, whatever their job,” she says. “I was hired full time in the engineering department because I was able to meet people from that department. “

Read more from Ms. Lanouette: Pursuing a career in healthcare, she became an engineer

Write to Kathryn Dill at [email protected]