Alumni Spotlight | Rina Zattam, JCBE '17
Q: Rina, thank you for coming. Please introduce yourself and briefly tell me about your background, where you work and what you do.
A: Yeah, my name is Rina Zattam. I came here for school as an accounting major, and I currently work for New Canaan Impact Capital. I am the VP of administration as well as the executive assistant to the CEO.
Q: What year did you graduate?
A: I graduated in 2017.
Q: Oh, yeah, it was quite some time ago.
A: It feels like not too long ago, but it's been longer than it feels.
Q: Time flew by.
A: It flew by.
Q: Describe your career journey after graduation from the George.
A: So, while I was at The George, I had an internship for four years at a CPA firm locally. And I just... Hold on. Let me think about what happened there. Okay, yeah. So, after graduating, they hired me full-time for a little bit. And to stay there, you have to have your CPA. So, I was in the process of getting my CPA and realized that's not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So, I quit. Completely got out of accounting, left the country, self-development, came back, and found myself back at the CPA firm and for tax season. And they needed the help, and I said I would help them. And luckily for me, I stumbled across some networking opportunities there that led me to my next career, which basically was also an executive assistant to a CEO investor here in South Carolina. And I worked for him for almost five years. And then that's how I got the job I have now.
Q: Oh, interesting. Do you have some maybe challenges you overcame or some transitions throughout your career that you remember pretty vivid?
A: There were so many.
Q: Pick one or two.
A: One transition, I felt like was really difficult, is getting out of accounting. You spend your entire school career majoring in something and then realize that's not what you want to do. It's really hard to let that go. So, one challenge I'm a lot better at now than I used to be is letting go. I think that's super important is just knowing when to let go and to step into the next part of your journey. Because at the end of the day, it's okay if you, you know, quit or something happens in your life or life circumstances change.So, I think, you know, that's just one really big thing that I learned was letting go.
Q: What advice would you give our current students if they face something similar that they literally, for example, hit the wall and they realize, oh no, that's, I spent like four and a half years getting a degree in something like logistic and supply chain management, whatever. And they started to work and that's not what they want to do. And they don't know what they want to do. How can they tackle this?
A: It's okay. Just embrace it exactly. Life is hard, and there's gonna be challenges every single day, and you get to pick and choose what you want to face. So, be resilient, just take on the challenges as they come, don't be afraid of them, and doing that will actually help a lot with leadership skills as well.
Q: What are your favorite memories of being a student at the George?
A: The people. I had amazing classmates, professors were awesome. Being here until really late at night studying, actually in this room.
Q: Oh, really?
A: Yeah, so it just, you know, just being with everyone, it was great memories. Yeah, we were very, we were a close, close group of people that graduated that year, so.
Q: That's such nice.
A: Yeah, and you know, it's funny because after you graduate, you don't really talk to those people anymore. But the older I get, people are now reaching out like, “Hey, I heard you do this. I heard you do that.” So, the networking opportunities always come back.
Q: That's good. Yeah, so you definitely have to maintain this networking because otherwise it will be gone if you're not going with this.
A: Exactly.
Q: Can you share maybe some particular success story or proud moment of your career?
A: Well, I opened up my own business during COVID. It was actually pretty successful, but I did get burnt out. So, I gave, not gave up, but I decided to move on from that. But it was very successful. It was very hard. I mentored all the people that worked with me at the time. And I've kept up with those relationships. And I think they've moved on to more successful careers. And so, I'm very proud of that moment and journey in my life as well.
Q: I didn't know this, and since you touched on this, let's talk a little bit about your entrepreneurship. Was it scary to start your own business?
A: It was not easy. Yes, it was a little scary. Everything kind of falls on you, and you're responsible for everything and everyone. But at the same time, that can be very rewarding. It was kind of like I was like the mom of like my business and everyone that was in it and their families. You really become responsible for so many people in your life when you are an entrepreneur and people don't realize that. They just think, oh, they're doing it for the money or they're doing it for this and that. And that's not true. There's so many months that I've given up my paycheck just to pay the people that I care about to make sure their families were safe and everything, especially during COVID.
Q: Did you go all in? Did you leave your full-time job to do your own business?
A: For a little bit I did.
Q: Oh, and how did you manage all this?
A: It was hard.
Q: Why I'm asking that probably some students thinking about starting their own business and what advice would you give them like because in hindsight we're all smart and you already have this experience so maybe you could share some insights to prepare them for this. Like, it's a huge challenge to start your own business.
A: I don't think there's a good way to prepare to be an entrepreneur other than be resilient, be a leader, face the challenges as they come, don't complain, don't, you know, delegate too much because that's never a good idea either. So, it's just it's a long journey. It's a long journey for anyone who wants to do it.
Q: Okay.
A: There's also a misconception that you can't make a lot of money unless you do something by yourself. And that's not true. There's a lot of people you can work for, a lot of businesses you can work for where you can actually make more than the CEO.
Q: Like employee?
A: As an employee, yeah. And there's options out there. So, I think just really figure out what you really want to do before you jump into entrepreneurship. If it's for the money, don't do it.
Q: Yeah, I think starting your own business, you definitely have to love that idea. And it has to have a potential to be successful in the market. But usually, just a lot of things come into play. It's hard to predict how it will turn out. So, you never know will it be successful or not. So how did your time at JCB prepared you for your career? Maybe some skills, specific knowledge, network, or something else.
A: It definitely helped. Networking was a big part of it. You know, I've met so many people here. It made me more confident. What else? Being in class and having to show up every day. I don't know how it's like after COVID, but we had to show up every single day. And I think that's, you know, that helps a lot because you're already used to showing up every day and showing up for your career every day is huge. And you have to do it.
Q: It's a huge commitment. Yeah.
A: It is a big commitment. But so is school. So, if you can get through it, you can also, you'll be successful in your career.
Q: You mentioned that you had an internship. And that helped you to get your first, so eventually helped you to get your first position.
A: Yes.
Q: But did you have only one internship or several internships during your education at the George?
A: I had one.
Q: Oh, okay. Was it in an accounting?
A: It was an accounting.
Q: And doing this internship, you didn't get that's not the thing you would like to do all of your life?
A: Not really. You know, the stress of school and just doing my internship wasn't... enough for me to realize that's not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It wasn't until after graduation where it sunk in and I was like, oh my gosh, I'm sitting here, and I have to learn tax laws for like the rest of my life now. This is horrible. I don't want to do this. So, until that moment, I really, it didn't really click or hit me. Um, and so I guess that's something students overshadow, oversee, yeah. But I think if I didn't take the internship, I would have stayed in accounting longer before I realized that. But because I did the internship, I realized it a lot sooner.
Q: Okay, that's interesting, actually. But yeah, I think it's more like layering on each other. And probably because you had an internship, they gave you more responsibilities and you hit the real job sooner than you would have hit without it, probably because of this. What advice would you give our current students making the most of their time at JCBE?
A: Network as much as you can. Get an internship. I don't regret my internship just because a CPA route wasn't for me. I'm here today because of that internship, so at the end of the day, everything was meant to work out the way it should. And don't stress too much about the little things like your classes and things like that because just live in the moment, honestly. Just like live in the moment, take each day, day by day, just do what you need to do for that day. Don't stress too much or look too much at the little things and just focus on the bigger picture.
Q: How students can get ready for ever-changing job market?
A: It's going to always be changing. So, I think just realize that and just accept it and figure out ways that you can make it better.
Q: Okay. How important is the ability to continue learning all the time? Is it important quality?
A: It's very important because you are going to have to learn something new all the time. Even if you decide to change career paths, if you decide to work for a different company, if you decide to go off on your own, even within the company to move up, you're continuously learning all the time. It's key, it's key. It doesn't stop after graduation, that's for sure.
Q: What three, maybe more, things students should keep in mind to be successful in the real business world?
A: The three would be networking, professional development, and adaptability. Networking, so that you can keep up with your professional lifestyle, everything career-wise. Your network of people will either hinder you or make you better. You are the five people you hang around. You know, as they say, so picking like a good networking group that's professional is super important. Personal development is very important as well as professional development for the same reasons. You have to continue to better yourself in order to better in your professional life as well. And then the last one is adaptability. It's super important to be able to adapt in the workplace. Depending on who you're talking to, depending on the career or job you're doing. Things are always changing. So being able to just pick it up from where it is and continue with it because things will always change. You can't get stuck in a routine and expect your job to be the same every single day because 99.9% of jobs are not the same every single day. So being able to adapt is very important.
Q: Can you share maybe some tips or your life hacks for successful networking, like must-haves?
A: Confidence it's a big one. You want to approach people with confidence. Um… what else? Being yourself is also very important. You want to show, like, your uniqueness because you never know when someone might need that one day. even if it's not, like, right away.
Q: But maybe you have some advice for students, because a lot of people, especially when you're a student, I remember myself being at 20, you're a little bit afraid of talking to people you don't know, like how to overcome this, to not be afraid, even on a panel discussion that you've been attending earlier this year that we had in April. Students even like scary sometimes to ask questions, like to people who came to hear this question and answer for them. Maybe you have some advice.
A: Honestly, putting yourself out there helps. Um, I get nervous. I'm nervous doing this right now. So that's completely normal to be scared and nervous but just go for it. Do it. You know, that's the best way to get through it is like, just do it. Yeah. Just do it.
Q: Okay. What things students should keep in mind to be successful in their transition from college to their first job?
A: I think one main thing is don't give up. You're going to get a lot of no’s out there in life. And that's completely normal. I think college kids aren't used to that, though, yet. Getting used to. It can be, what's the word I'm looking for? Discouraging. It can be very discouraging. So, I would say just, it's okay. Like, expect those no's. Like, go ahead and put that in your head that you're going to get, you're going to be told no a few times.
Q: Maybe a few, maybe a lot.
A: Maybe a lot. It takes a while.
Q: Yeah.
A: It does take a while. You know, my first few jobs after graduating were accounting jobs that I didn't like. And I tried different ones just to make sure that that's not what I wanted to do. And after I decided to transition from accounting to other things in business, I was told a lot because my resume had all this accounting stuff. And they're like, well, you'd be great for this job because you have this accounting experience. And I'm like, but I'm telling you that's not what I want to do. So, I got, I was told no a lot.
Q: Yeah, I guess you had a hard time transitioning your career in another direction.
A: Yeah, it was very hard. Yeah.
Q: What advice would you give yourself, like when you were in college here at George?
A: I would tell myself to stop stressing so much. It'll all work out the way it should and to trust my intuition because there's a lot of times where I didn't trust my intuition, and that's probably the only thing I wish I did better.
Q: That's great advice, actually. Well, thank you Rina so much for your time and for sharing your experience and advice for our students. I think it will be really helpful for them and complement other interviews I took, especially in the entrepreneurship part. Because we have an entrepreneurship center and some students think and take really serious this idea of being business owners. And this is not an easy game, for sure. Not for everybody, 100%. Thank you so much.
A: Thank you.
Comments
Post a Comment