Landingadream job straightout ofcollege may seem like just that-adream.Some peoplearefortunateenough to see theiraspirationsturnintoa reality however,and such wasthecasefor me! 

Back inlate2017,I was in my senior yearatSan Jose State University, prepping for job interviews asgraduationneared.I remember hearing stories of alumniandclassmates getting great job offers from Cisco, and I thoughtof how amazing it would be if, somehow,I got an opportunity to work there as well.Then, Cisco Day happened.This day wasdesigned forrecruitersto come andtalk to studentsabout the culture of Cisco anddiscussavailablejob openings.Theevent hadpaved the perfectchancefor me to try outmy luck and possibly get noticed.  

Things happened to fall in place at the right time-I interviewed for twodifferent roles, and the rest, as they say, is history!Iwas offered a role at Cisco as aBusiness Analystin theirSecurity and Trust Organization(S&TO).

Coming in as anewcollege hirein 2018, I had heard plenty of good things aboutCisco, yetthere was stillacaptivating aura ofworking for a conglomerate tech giantwhichheld a door of endless opportunities that I had yet to discover.As a newbie, I'll admit, itwas overwhelming at first and I wasn't sure what to expect.Little did I know that I had lucked outin joininga wonderfulgroup of folks in the Data Protection & Privacyteam, where I would be presented witha variety ofvaluablework projects. This role would havehonestlybeen incredible at any point in my career, butthe factthat it was my first job out of college -I was grateful for the opportunity.  

At the helm of myaccomplishments and greatexperience at Cisco, was my leadership. As I was new to Cisco, and new to the workforce, my managerprovided mewith theabilityto explore multiple areas and get my hands dirty in different kinds of work to see what I liked doing and where I wanted to grow further. From working on digitization projects, looking for ways to improve business processes, developing Tableau dashboards to present metrics and even getting a chance to lead client engagement projects for theteam-no day was ever the same. I gainedvaluable skillsand was even able totravel multiple times(pre-2020)for cool conferences or to see fellow teammates across the country in ourRaleigh, NC (RTP) offices.  

I was exposed to so much of the business at a very early point in my career! 

Thisexposure through mywork priorities, travel, andour phenomenalpeopleis something I will forever cherish and not take for granted. I had no idea that someone as young and new as I was would get a chance to experience so much insuch ashort span of time. I'm amazed each day at what is in store for me to learn and discoverthrough Cisco's guidance and support.  

I was evenrecognized as theEmployee of the Month within Cisco's InfoSecOrganizationin Security & Trusta few months ago. As humbled as Iwasto have received the award, Iwasmore touched withlearningthe fact that you don't have to be a senior or have workedat Ciscofor many years to be recognizedat such a scale. Your impact is valued at all levels in your career.

For that, I will truly be grateful to my team and Cisco.  

As exciting of a journeythat it has been in workingwithdifferent groups in S&TO, all the wayfrom Data Protection, InfoSec, and the Privacy Office; I am nowincredibly excited to transition into another amazing part of Ciscowiththe AppDynamics team. Cisco has been a constant rock and supportthus far, and I couldn't be more grateful to be given a chance to growmy careerfurtherwith this tech giantin this new role. 

Whether you're a college student reading this now or a professional well into the workforce, my story exemplifies the fact that when you really work hard at something withgoodintentions, you canindeedachieve what you strive for.So, take that chance andnever give up. You never know what amazing things are in store for you.   

 Ready to join our team?Apply now. 

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