On today’s episode of “College Admissions Real Talk”, Dr. Legatt interviews Amanda Nachman, author and CEO and publisher of College Magazine, a magazine for and by college students. Together they discuss career development during COVID-19 and how students can find their most impressive qualities.
Transcript
VO: Welcome to College Admissions Real Talk with Dr. Aviva Legatt, a podcast for students seeking to get admitted to top-tier colleges. Each episode will feature an important tip for your college admission success, delivered with candor and love. If you’ve ever wanted to take a peek inside the mind of a college admissions officer, this is your chance. Have a question? Text Dr. Legatt at 610-222-5762. So, what’s your dream school?
AL: Welcome to College Admissions Real Talk. I am Dr. Aviva Legatt, founder and elite admissions expert at Ivy Insights, an author of “Get Real and Get In”. Today, I’m talking with Amanda Nachman. Amanda is the CEO and publisher of College Magazine, which is the trusted guide to navigating college and reaches millions of readers. Amanda empowers young professionals to achieve a career they love. She’s the author of the bestselling book “#Qualified, You Are More Impressive Than You Realize”, which has been featured on Good Morning America. Amanda has also helped hundreds of students using the same strategy that helped her to quit her boring day job and launch her dream magazine. Her graduates have gone into careers at places like NBC, USA Today, Vox, Washingtonian, Us Weekly, National Geographic, and more. Amanda is also a TEDx Speaker and host of the podcast “Find Your Passion Career”, which is found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. So welcome, Amanda. Good to talk with you.
AN: Thanks for having me my pleasure.
AL: So tell us about your book “#Qualified, You Are More Impressive than You Realize” and why you wrote it.
AN: Yeah. Aviva, I wrote this book because I wanted young professionals to see all the value that they have to offer and how their skills are transferable and that they’re not alone on their career journey.
AL: That’s great. So tell us about your experience with that being alone on your career journey. That sounds like a lot to bear. So where does that inspiration come from?
AN: Yeah. I think most of us set out to chase our dreams all by ourselves. But as you grow up, you realize there are people out there that have the blueprint to achieve the dreams that you want to achieve, and they are more than happy to share that with you and root for you and help you. And we call the mentors, right? And I hear a lot from students like, “How do I find a mentor?” “How do I find a mentor?” And it’s by realizing that there are people out there that want to help you on your career journey. You’re not alone, and you simply need to just reach out, ask for 15 minutes of their time so you can learn about their career journey. And I call this making a courageous connection because it’s scary to do this. It’s scary to reach out to a stranger, someone you don’t know. I mean, it’s partly why I have a podcast. It’s a great excuse to ask for an informational interview and connect with someone. But I think at the very core of it. It’s realizing that you don’t need to navigate this on your own, and you’re going to be better off if you ask for that help. And if you connect with other people.
AL: Absolutely. I love that message, and it resonates as well with what I tell students about making the most of their college process. What I tell students is that networking is part of your college admissions process, and it does a couple of things. One, it helps you to figure out if you actually would like to go to that school versus just looking at, you know, if you’ve seen the banners on my wall that I have in my office, it’s not just about the dream, it’s about the reality of being where you are and really knowing that. You can learn from networking conversations. In your case, if a job is right for you, and in my case for my clients cases, if their colleges are right for you, right? And then it also helps you if you’re going to go for a job or college, right? To articulate your case and to figure out how you belong in that space.
AN: I noticed in your book what was something I loved was that you reached out to a professor at NYU, and that was something that I hadn’t thought of when I was navigating college. It is something that I thought about as I’ve navigated my career, though. But I did have these accidental moments where I reached out to a student that went to that school or took advantage of that school’s program where you had, like, an overnight experience and got to get that firsthand experience of what the vibe was like at that school and what the students were like or if you wanted to be in a special program, like a Writers’ Program, what living in that writers, learning and living program was like.
VO: College Admissions Real Talk is hosted by Aviva Legatt, edited by Stephanie Carlin, and produced by Incontrera Consulting. I’m Caroline Stokes and this has been your daily boost of college admissions insight. Have a question? Text Dr. Legatt at 610-222-5762. For more information on Dr. Legatt and Ivy Insight visit www.ivyinsight.com. And you can pick up Dr. Legatt’s book, “Get Real and Get In”, at major retail outlets across the world. Insight out.
