Coffee Chats Vol 2: College Playbook to get a 6 figure Return Offer
When you're 18 going into college, eventually you'll scroll upon a TikTok telling you to start doing coffee chats. It's very important that you not only listen to that TikTok, but that you sit down and have a coffee chat with the influencer who told you to do it. Recently I got the amazing opportunity to sit down with Lathanial Wells, a UIUC graduate who got a return offer to work at Accenture! You might actually recognize Lathanial from his social media content around college advice. The funniest thing is that I used to watch his content long before we met while working at MathGPT together. Truly a full circle moment being able to sit down with him and get advice straight from the man himself!
Lesson 1: Network >> Perfect GPA. One of the biggest takeaways from my coffee chat with Lathanial was his emphasis on how important relationships are. He told me how, even though he had a 3.6, his "connections ended up being equal, if not better, than the people who were sweating super hard." As long as you hit a solid minimum GPA, your connections will take you so much further than grinding from a 3.9 to a 4.0 will. Even outside of the professional world, connections make your college life significantly easier too. Lathanial suggested that the second I commit to my transfer school, I should reach out to upperclassmen for advice, saying "the reason I feel like I'm successful now is because one of my mentors, when I was a freshman, he was a junior." That upperclassman helped Lathanial know which clubs to join, which programs to participate in, and which classes to avoid, streamlining the whole process. Adding onto the networking theme, one of his biggest regrets was not connecting with professors more. "One thing I really didn't do that I wish I did more was make an effort to talk to professors. The letter of rec means so much more than you think." Professors can easily hook you up with research opportunities and internships, or give you a letter of recommendation that could be the deciding factor in your dream graduate program. And nine times out of ten, your professor wants nothing more than to see you succeed, so make sure you connect with them.
Lesson 2: Business majors aren't cooked. If you're a business major, I'm positive you've heard the stereotype that you and the comp sci major will be battling for the McDonald's role post grad. But one of the best recurring themes in all of my coffee chats is the reassurance that I'm going to be just fine and I won't go homeless at 23. Lathanial told me "if you're studying business at a decent school, everyone around you is going to be doing fine." Hearing stories about his friends and his own personal journey has given me so much more confidence that things will work out. Social media will tell you business is cooked, finance is too oversaturated, and marketing is too volatile. But if you're willing to do your due diligence, a successful career in these industries is a lot more achievable than the internet makes you think.
Lesson 3: Match your career to the lifestyle you want. As a business major, a common sentiment you'll hear is "investment banking or bust," "tier 1 consulting or bust." But the truth is, not everyone is meant to work 80+ hours a week. Yes, the pay is fantastic, but everyone has a different lifestyle, and sometimes 150K at 23 is simply unnecessary when it means sacrificing your health. I told Lathanial I'm much more interested in earning less if it means I have more free time and I don't hate my job. He gave me legit insight into careers that offer work-life balance while still paying well. The stories I heard about his internships at very respectable companies like Schwab and Accenture were extremely encouraging. As he put it, referring to corporate finance, "you won't be bored, you don't have the stress, and you can grow your salary to six figures pretty easily."
Lathanial was truly such a pleasure to speak to, and he's someone I absolutely consider a mentor. So remember kids: network hard, business isn't cooked, and it's ok to meet your heroes.
