Advice for college graduates newly entering the workforce

Labor Day weekend will be here before you know it. That means, it’s time to put away those white slacks and help get the kids ready for school. Or grandkids, whichever the case. I’m also reminded of recent college graduates who, post-summer, are nervously entering the workforce with their first “serious” jobs. Faced with today’s hot bottom issues, such as A.I. competition, cancel culture and college debt, what words of encouragement do you have to offer to dispel their anxieties? What follows might be helpful when talking to the young adults in your life who are on the verge of launching their professional careers. 

A little background first. Recently, I was one of two speakers at a “Power Talk” held during the annual scholarship awards ceremony for Les Dames d’Escoffier’s New York chapter. This an international, non-profit organization—of which I am a member—of female leaders in the food and wine world. One of our key missions is awarding scholarships to deserving young women in culinary and hospitality schools. This is serious business for us considering our chapter has awarded over 2 million dollars in scholarships since our inception 50 years ago.

My role in kicking off the event, which was held at New York University’s Maison Française, was to interview journalist, educator, and wine marketer Courtney Schiessl Magrini. Courtney was selected to be the guest interviewee for multiple reasons. First, she was a previous scholarship awardee. And second, because of her impressive professional track record within her field. And finally, as a bonus, she also happens to be one of our chapter’s new members. There was no doubt that Courtney’s story would connect on a personal, emotional, and intellectual level with the scholarship winners at the event. 

I jumped at the opportunity to guide the conversation that morning. Why? Because one of Courtney’s first jobs out of Fordham University was working at my agency, Cornerstone Communications. She was hired as a public relations coordinator to work with wine clients, our agency’s specialty, but an area completely new to her at the time. Fast forward and 14 years later wine has become her passion as well as the nexus of her highly respected professional expertise. 

When she left Cornerstone Communications one summer to harvest grapes in Portugal and later France, I wasn’t completely surprised. Here was an immensely curious young woman who appeared to revel in trying out anything and everything. One of Courtney’s greatest assets, which I noticed early on while at my company, was her resilience when facing new challenges. Extraordinarily little appeared to scare her. She knew her future success depended on self-belief, positivity, and her innate ability to adapt to challenges. 

After leaving Cornerstone, I casually followed her on social media tracking her amazing trajectory within the wine industry. From harvesting grapes in Europe, she went on to use her LDNY scholarship money to study wine at the International Wine Center eventually earning her WSET Level Four diploma. From there she parlayed her wine credentials into working as a sommelier at high-profile New York City restaurants such as Marta, Dirty French, and Terroir. Simultaneously, Courtney started free-lancing as a wine writer and educator. Before long she left her entrepreneurial existence quickly moving up the corporate publishing ladder to become editor-in-chief of two leading wine publications, Beverage Media and SevenFifty Daily. Did I forget to mention that along the way Courtney married, had a son, and is now expecting a second child? 

As you might have expected, our conversation captivated the aspiring young, soon-to-be professionals at the scholarship awards event. Eleanor Cunningham, winner of L’Etoile, LDNY’s top award of $20,000, later summed up the opening presentation. The speakers “shared powerful insights on women's success in the culinary and hospitality industries. They spoke about the importance of pivoting careers with confidence, recognizing when it is time for change, and embracing new paths with courage. They emphasized building on personal strengths and using those unique skills as a foundation for growth. Taking risks, even when the outcome is uncertain, was highlighted as a necessary step toward progress.”

Below are selected excerpts from our conversation that morning. Courtney’s responses appear in italics, while my questions are shown in bold.

You’ve always had a tremendous amount of self-confidence, drive, and resilience. What fuels these qualities?  What’s your secret sauce?

I don’t really have a secret sauce.  I wouldn’t describe myself as a risk taker either.  I like to be organized and prepared.  But also, when things come up, I am willing to jump on them.  I’ve always been driven to be the best and to be at the top of my game and I think I can be.

For me, being self-confident doesn’t mean that I feel confident all the time. Like many other women, I have moments of self-doubt and experience imposter syndrome periodically.  This is why it’s so important to have friends, family, and professional connections who serve as sounding boards. 

You now have a husband, a three-year-old son, Luccas, and a full-time job with substantial demands. Talk to us about how you manage your work/life balance.

I don’t know if I ever feel truly balanced, but given that I have responsibilities with work, a family, and a household, I need to set personal and professional boundaries.  I am no longer going to be working late into the night as I used to do in my 20’s (although I’m notorious for continuing to respond to emails when I’m on vacation).  Now that I have so much more in my life, I need to be more organized and focused during the workday. 

But also, having more going on in my personal life means that my professional pursuits are no longer as closely intertwined with my personal identity as they once were - which is a good thing. If something goes wrong in my career, it doesn’t impact my identity and self-worth. In a way this is freeing. You don’t need to rely on a certain job move.  You can test it out to see if it’s right for you. 

What are the three most important takeaways from your experiences you’d like to share with our next generation of culinary and hospitality leaders we are celebrating today. What do you feel would be the most beneficial strategies in setting up their careers for success?

Number One: Cultivate and maintain your network. Form authentic connections and maintain your relationships. Follow up with those connections even if you don’t have a reason. Some of these relationships will be between your peers. These are people you’ll continue to meet throughout your career, so focus on building bridges rather than burning them.

Number Two: Know what your goals are - there may be more than one - but also, be multifaceted and flexible. It’s good to have a goal, but don’t be afraid to change course if that feels right. Seek within yourself to see if that move does really feel right to you. For example, we used to always say, “When all else fails, you can always work in a restaurant.” However, in 2020 Covid turned that on its head. Nothing is certain. There are no assurances. But, if you are able to reinvent yourself with your skills and education, you will find something. 

Number Three: Champion yourself the way you would your best friend. We are often our own worst critics. There is a saying: "Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them".  Be bold. Don’t allow this confidence gap to hold you back. The worst thing that could happen is you do not get that job. 

And remember, if you would champion the heck out of your friend when he or she is feeling down, try to see if you can do it for yourself too.

Remarkably wise words of advice from someone so young. Ironically, while listening to Courtney wrap up her comments, I thought to myself, “I wonder if things would have been different in my career had all this wisdom been available early on.”  That question aside, the important thing was that Courtney’s reflections on her personal and professional life, resonated with our audience. You could easily tell by the beaming smiles and nodding heads in the audience. Yes, we were told that our conversation was a hit run! And what a great feeling it was to have had a positive impact on so many young, talent women and future leaders of the wine and food industry.