I met with Joe Drake, Assistant Director of First & Second Year Advising at Loyola University Chicago, for an informational interview and learned about his career path. Unlike some of the other advising staff I met with, Joe worked in the private sector before moving into the field of higher education. He worked in political event planning for many years, before moving to Chicago to purse an M.S. in Learning & Organizational Change. From there, he began working at Loyola University Chicago, where he has moved up into his current position. He said that he really enjoys the work he does at Loyola, making connections with students, working with the university administration, and advocating for his staff. Throughout my internship, I have noticed that the office culture in First & Second Year Advising is more open and personal compared to International Programs. Joe told me this is in part due to the open physical space of their office, but also the culture he works hard to create. He said that as an Assistant Director, he is always available to answer any questions for any staff member and encourages a very collaborative work enviroment. I admire this style of leadership, and it has been interesting to compare my internship culture to my full-time work culture throughout the past semester. Joe also had a lot of interesting and insighful advice for me, as I begin to look for jobs, possibly in the field of academic advising. As someone who leads the hiring process for his departement, he encouraged me to make myself stand out. He said that they will easily recieve 100-200 applications for a single position, so it's really important to write a cover letter that will differentiate you from the crowd. His most important advice to me was to trust your professional instincts and "fail fast and fail quickly." By this, he meant that if you find yourself in a position that is not a good fit, it's okay to move on from that, but do it quickly so you're not wasting your time and energy. This advice is contrary to you sometimes hear, but it resonated with me where I am in my current job search. Joe encouraged me to pay attention to my instincts as I'm interviewing and to seek out a position that is the right fit.