CARDSTAKBUILDRELATIONSHIPS,NOTJUSTCONNECTIONS
MohammedGhasemzadeh,MIMS2016
SamudraNeelamBhuyan,MIMS2016
UCBerkeleySchoolofInformation,FinalProjectReport
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TABLEOFCONTENTS
Abstract...............................................................................................................................................2
Introduction........................................................................................................................................3TheProblem.................................................................................................................................................3CurrentSolutions.........................................................................................................................................4Oursolution.................................................................................................................................................7
UserResearch.....................................................................................................................................8Methods.......................................................................................................................................................8Findings........................................................................................................................................................9
Design...............................................................................................................................................13Version1....................................................................................................................................................13Version2....................................................................................................................................................14Version3....................................................................................................................................................15Version4....................................................................................................................................................16Version5....................................................................................................................................................17
Pricing...............................................................................................................................................19
Traction.............................................................................................................................................20
NextSteps.........................................................................................................................................21
Appendix...........................................................................................................................................22DataModel.................................................................................................................................................22SystemArchitecture...................................................................................................................................24UserPersonas.............................................................................................................................................25
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ABSTRACT
Wemeetnewpeopleeveryday-atanevent,orinanewclass,orforaproject.Whilesometimeswedoknowin
aninstantwhetherwelikethepersoninfrontofusornot,thatusuallyhappensonlyinmovies.Mostofthetime,
wewanttogettoknowthemalittlebitbetter.Andthatintoday’sworldusuallymeansaddingthemonFacebook
orLinkedin.
However,FacebookandLinkedinarenotdesignedforbuildingrelationshipswithpeopleyou’vejustmet.Thereare
manytimeswhenyouwanttopresentonlyaparticulardimensionofyourself,withouthavingtoexposeyour
entiresocialnetworkandpasthistorytostrangers.Atthesametime,youdowanttobeabletointeractwith
them,safelyandgettoknowthembetter.Andthisiswherepeople,eventoday,fallbacktoexchangingbusiness
cards.
CardStakgivestheuserscontroloverhowtheypresentthemselvestostrangers,whileprotectingthemfrom
unintendedconsequencesofmeetingstrangers.Itgivesthemtheabilitytogettoknowtheothersandbuilda
relationship,beforedecidinghowtoproceedwithconnectingonadeeperlevel.
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INTRODUCTION
THEPROBLEM
Whetheritisforpersonalgrowthorprofessional,meetingnewpeopleregularlyisalmostanecessityintoday’s
life.Variousstudieshaveshownthebenefitsofmeetingnewpeopleandhowthatshapesourlives.Somestudies
putthenumberofpeoplewhogottheirjobsthroughnetworkingashighaseven80%!Andit’snotjustabout
findingajob,peoplewhohaveastrongernetworkcanhirefaster,attachmoreclients(hencegeneratemoresales)
andaremorelikelytogetpromotions(ashighas95%morelikely1)withinacompany.Assuchvariousproducts,
channelsandorganizationshavesprungupinordertohelppeoplenetworkbetter-bothofflineandonline.
However,thecurrentdigitaltoolsthatallowustoshareourinformationwithpeoplewehavejustmetwerenot
designedforthatpurpose.E.g.Facebookwasdesignedforyoutoconnectwithyourfriends(andlater,brands),
whileLinkedinwasdesignedforyoutoconnectwithpeopleyouknewprofessionally.Bothofthem,whilegreatat
whattheyweredesignedtodo,nowhavealotofinformation(ourexistingnetworks,historicalinformation,etc.)
whichwedonotalwayswanttosharewithpeoplewehavejustmet.
Toaddressthisnewtusslebetweentheirdesiretonetworkandtheirdesiretoprotecttheirprivacy,peoplenow
usuallyareforcedtoadoptsomeversionofthefollowingoptions:
1. Choosingnetworkingoverprivacy:Thesepeopleadd(oracceptrequestsfrom)everybodytheymeet-
evenabsolutestrangers.Theygiveupontryingtomaintaintheirprivacyonthesesocialnetworkingsites.
Instead,theycuratewhattheypresentonline,sothattheycanprotecttheirprivacywhileatthesame
timeenjoythebenefitsoftryingtobuildarelationshipwiththeiracquaintances.
Thesepeopleacceptthedilutionofthequalityoftheirnetworkascollateraldamage,andsacrificequality
oftherelationshipsforquantity.
1"HowtoNetworkYourWaytoaJobPromotion(andaRaise)."2015.5May.2016
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-corcoran/how-to-network-your-way-t_b_7981780.html>
4
2. Choosingprivacyovernetworking:Thesepeopledonotaddoracceptrequestsfrompeopletheydonot
knowwell.Theyusuallylockdowntheirsocialprofiles,andprefertoexchangebusinesscardsasameans
ofbuildingaconnection.Theythenconnectwithpeopleoveremailorothermediumfirst,andgetto
knowthembetter.
However,thisleadstofarfewerrelationshipsbeingbuilt,becausetheconvenientaffordancesofsocial
networkingsitesarelostinthiscase.Thus,theysacrificequantityforquality.
Whatisworse,evenaftertheusershaveadoptedoneoftheabovechoices,theystillhavenotachievedamajor
partoftheirgoal!Afterall,theirultimateobjectiveisnotjusttohaveahighnumberof“friends”or“connections”,
buttogenuinelygettoknowthenewpersonbetter!Forthattohappen,thecontextinwhichthepeoplemetis
importanttopreserve.
Asmoreofourlivesmoveonlinetothesesocialnetworks,itbecomesevenmorecriticalthatwedesignsystems
andmodalitiesofinteractionthatprotectourprivacy.
CURRENTSOLUTIONS
BUSINESSCARDS
Thisweaponofchoiceforgenerationspastisstillacriticalinformationexchangetoolintoday’sworld,andeven
moresofornetworkers.Theygivepeopleaneasywaytocontrolexactlywhatinformationtheyaresharingwith
strangersatsomeevent.
Whilecardsallowspeopletohavemorecontrolovertheirprivacy,itretainsthesameoldproblemsthatthey
alwayshad.Allthecardsthatonereceiveshavetobeorganizedandmanaged,manuallyandindividually.They
alsodonotsupportanyinteractionsthatwouldallowthepeopletogettoknoweachother.Instead,both
participantsintheexchangehavetoadoptsomeothercommonmediumofcommunicationforthatneedof
relationshipbuilding.
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Facebookoriginatedasawayforustostayintouchwithourfriendsandfamily,butmanypeoplestartedusingit
toaddtheiracquaintances.Slowly,atfirstandmorerapidlyastimewenton,thequalityofrelationshipsonthe
socialnetworksitedeteriorated.Soon,thenumberoffriendsonehadbecameastatussymboland“Facebook
userscastasidethemuchneededskepticisminfavorofgainingconnectionwithanotherseemingadmirer”2.
Butaddingthatrandomstrangeryoujustmetatanetworkingeventisadangertoyourselfandeventoyour
network.Simplybyaddingthatperson,youhavegiventhemaccesstopersonalinformationsuchasyourdateof
birth,emailaddresses,placeswhereyouwenttoschool,townswhereyoulivedinandsoon.Evenmore
dangerously,itexposesyoutoinformationleak.E.g.doyouregularlycheckinonFridayeveningsatapopularbar
downtown?Ordoyoucommentregularlyonafriend’sposts?Thesearejustacoupleofexamplesofthingsthat
canadduptoamuchmorecompletepictureofyou,builtfromsmallandseeminglyinconsequentialactivitythatis
sharedwithyourfriendcircle.Imaginethosestrangersbeingabletoputtogetheramorecompletepictureofyou
usingonlybitsofinformationthatyouneverthoughtwereimportant.Evenworse,suchlooserestrictionsonwho
youaddasa“friend”onFacebookcouldevenleadtomoreseriouscrimes,especiallyforvulnerableusers.
WhileLinkedinwasdesignedfortheprofessionalcontext,italsosuffersfromsimilarproblemsofpersonal
informationexposureandleakage.Theonlydifferenceisthekindofpersonalinformationthatisatrisk.
PeopleperceiveLinkedinrequestsinoneoftwoways-eitherthedigitalequivalentofhandingoverabusiness
card,oranendorsementofyourprofessionallife.Tosome,itisalowcostandlowbarriertransactionmeantonly
asacollectionofconnections.Toothers,itistheequivalentofvouchingforeachother’sprofessionalexperience
andisthusahighcostandhighbarriertransactionmeanttobeprotectedandguardedagainst.Tothem,addinga
2"DoIKnowYou?FakeFriendsAddingFreshDangerToFacebook."2011.5May.2016<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/10/facebook-friend-request-spam_n_821584.html>
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completestrangeronLinkedinisgrantingthem“carteblanchetoyourprofessionalnetwork,whichtheywillbe
abletofreelysnoopin”3.ThisdichotomyiswhatmakesLinkedinfailasasolutiontoourproblem.
Source:https://twitter.com/williamPriceIII/status/646391108512165890
3"StrangerDanger:3GoodReasonstoRejectaLinkedIn...-Entrepreneur."2015.5May.2016<https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233176>
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OURSOLUTION
Initially,wehadstartedwiththeassumptionthatpeoplewouldwantasimplerpublicprofilethattheycoulduseat
networkingevents,insteadoftheirbusinesscards.However,basedonouruserresearchandtesting,werealized
thattheproblemwasmuchdeeperthanthat-peoplewantedwaystobuildrelationships,togofromstrangersto
acquaintancesandthentofriendsorcolleagues.
Oursolutionhandlestheproblemofrelationshipbuildingontwofronts:
● CardStakallowspeopletocreatemultiplemini-profilesthattheycanuseatdifferentevents.Byallowing
eachusertocreatemultiple“cards”,weenablethemtopresentadifferentversionoftheirselfaccording
totheirneeds.
● CardStakenablespeopletoeasilyexchangeinformationwithpeoplethattheyhavejustmet,andfocuson
theinteractionsratherthanthelogisticsofinformationexchange.Byenablingeasierandsafer
interactionsbetweenacquaintancesandstrangers,andplacingitsquarelywithinthenarrowcontextofa
singleevent,CardStakallowsthemtobuildamoretrustingrelationshipwhichcanthenbemovedtothe
nextstage.
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USERRESEARCH
METHODS
FIELDSTUDIES
Tostartoff,weattendednetworkingeventsandobservedhowpeopleinteractedwhilenetworking.Byclosely
observingpeopleintheseenvironments,weunearthedthevarioustoolsthattheycurrentlyuseasworkarounds.
Thesesessionsalsogaveusalotofrawmaterialforustoinformouruserinterviews.
USERINTERVIEWS
Weconducted38in-personinterviewsintotaloveraperiodof9months.Thebreakdownfortheinterviewswas:
● 12interviewswitheventplannersandorganizers
● 24interviewswitheventparticipants
SURVEYS
Aftereachevent,wesentoutasurveytotheusersaskingthemforfeedbackontheproduct.Thesurveyis
attachedintheappendix.
Wechoseasurveywasbecauseitwasnotpossibleforustoreachalltheparticipantsataparticularevent.More
importantly,theeventorganizershadsomereservationsaboutusapproachingalotofpeopleforfeedbackatthe
eventsthemselves.
USABILITYTESTS
Wedidalotofguerillausabilitytestingatevents,byshowingpeoplepaperprototypesandaskingthemtoperform
certainactionsandthinkaloudwhiletheyweredoingso.Thistestingduringaneventwasveryvaluableforplacing
thetestinginthecontextinwhichitwouldbemostused.
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FINDINGS
PEOPLECAREABOUTBUILDINGRELATIONSHIPS,NOT“COLLECTING”CONTACTS
Weweresurprisedbythenowobviousinsightthatpeopleactuallywantedtobuildrelationshipsandnotjust
collectcardsorhaveahighnumberofconnections.This,andhownoneofthecurrentplatformswasreallyideal
forthis,wasatopicthatcameupregularlyinourinterviews.
“Igototheseeventstonetworkandgetahead.Butthatdoesn’thappenifyoudon’thavearelationshipwiththe
person.Ideally,whenyoufollowupwiththemlater,youwantthemtorememberyoufromtheevent.It’s
importantthattheycanputafacetothename,andhaveafewgoodinteractionswithyoubeforeyoumakethe
ask.”-HaasMBAstudent
IMPLICATION
Ourproductshouldmakeiteasierforpeopletobuildrelationships,andnotbeforjustcontactmanagement
THEREISNOUNIVERSALLYACCEPTEDFORMOFEXCHANGINGCONTACTINFORMATION
WITHANEWACQUAINTANCE
PeopleusedLinkedin,Businesscards,Facebook,handwrittennotes,variousappstomanagethecontact
informationofthepeopletheymet.Buteverybodywasusingtheseproductsandsolutionspurelyasadata
exchangetool.Whenitcomestotakingtherelationshipforward,theyusuallyresortedtoemailormessaging.
Andalmosteverybodycomplainedabouteverytool.Agreeingonwhichtooltouse,andonsubsequent
communicationetiquette,wasasourceofconcernformany.
“Iusuallyemailpeopleafteranevent,butI’mprobablyforgottentofollowupwithsomeonemorethanIhave
remembered.BetweenmyLinkedin,businesscards,emailsandnotes,Iprobablyhavelostmorecontactsthan
gained.”-Jobseekingstudent
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IMPLICATION
Ourapplicationneededtobebuiltontopofexistingtoolssuchasemailandbusinesscards,andfacilitatecross-
channelinformationexchange.
PEOPLEWANTTOKNOWWHOTHEYAREGOINGTOMEETATANEVENT
Peoplewereusuallyinterestedtospendatleastafewminutesresearchingthepeopletheywouldbemeetingat
theeventbecausetheydofinditvaluableanduseful,butit’seitherimpossibleorrequirestoomuchtimeand
effort.
“OnEventbrite,IcannotseewhoelseiscomingexceptformyFacebookfriends.OnMeetup,Icanseethe
attendees,butthentoresearchthemIhavetosearchforeachoneofthemonLinkedin.That’sjustapain!”-M.Eng
student.
IMPLICATION
Havingtheprofilesofalltheattendeesattheeventisamusthaveforpeopleespeciallybeforetheevent.
PEOPLEWANTTOKNOWWHOTHEYSHOULDBEMEETINGATANEVENT
Ataneventfullofstrangers,peopleusuallystarttalkingtoeithertheobviouslyhigh-valuepeopleintheroom,or
tothepeoplerightnexttothem.Ineithercase,thepeopleweremissingoutongettingtoknowmanyoftheother
peopleinthesameroombecausetheydidnotknowwhotheywere!
“HowdoIdecidehowtotalktopeople?Idon’tknow…whoeverissittingorstandingnexttomeIguess?Ofcourse
Irealizethat’sareallybadwaytodothat,butI’mkindashy.UsuallypeoplestarttalkingtomeratherthanIstart
talkingtothem”-Technologyprofessionalatameetup
IMPLICATION
Theproductshouldhaverecommendationsaboutpeoplethatoneshouldbemeetingattheevent.
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THEQUALITYOFTHEINTERACTIONSMATTERED,BUTSODIDTHEQUANTITY
Themoretwopeopleinteracted,themoretheytrustedeachother.Evenifoneonlyjustmetthepersonforafew
minutes,seeingthemagain,evenatthesameevent,madethemfeelfamiliar.Thus,moreinteractionsbetween
thepeopleincreasedtrustandmemorability.
“(onbeingaskedhowheknew“Ted”,withwhomhehadjustexchangedahigh-fiveashewalkedpast)Ijustmet
him10minutesago.Don’tevenknowhislastname!He’sjustafamiliarface”-MBAstudent
IMPLICATION
Theproductshouldallowuserstointeracteasily,andmoreinteractionsarecrucialtoitssuccess.
ACCURACYOFCONTACTINFORMATIONISCRITICAL
SomepeoplehadheardaboutCamScannerorothersuchappswhichscanacardandconvertitintoacontacton
thephone.However,mosthadgivenuponsuchappsbecausetheiraccuracywasnotashighaswasexpected.
Whenitcomestothecontactinformation,onewrongdigitoralphabetcanbreakdowncommunications,andthus
breakyourtrustintheapp.
IMPLICATION
Theproductshouldletpeopleentertheirowninformation,sothattheyretaincompletecontroloverany
informationtheyaresharingandanyerrorsinthecontactinformationisminimized.
REQUIRINGBOTHPARTIESTOHAVETHEAPPINORDERFORITTOBEUSEFULWASABARRIERTOADOPTION
Wewitnessedmanyinteractionswherethetwopartiesinaninteractionwouldnothavethesameapp.Rather
thanaskingonepersontodownloadanewapp,signupforitandthenuseit,bothofthemwouldmovetoeither
exchangingbusinesscardsoraddeachotheronsomesocialnetworkingsite,whichwasusuallyapoorerbuteasier
optionforboth.
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IMPLICATION
Theproductshouldworkwithoutneedinganybodytodownloadanyapp.Oncetheyhaveinvestedsometimeinto
theapplication,theycouldthenbepersuadedtodownloadtheappforabetterexperience.
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DESIGN
VERSION1
Fig:CardStakV1.Thiswascreatedasamockupandshowntopotentialuserstodeterminewhethercreatingsucha
platformwouldbevaluableornot.Emailsandphonenumbershavebeenblurredout
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VERSION2
Fig:CardStakV2-CustomstackbuiltasaconciergeforUCBerkeleyNetworkingevent
Fig:Cardv2-PostIntegrationwithLinkedIn
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VERSION3
Fig:Firstattemptatbuildingchatsystem.Thischatwasfilebased(ratherthanDBbased)andusedtoconstantly
pingtheservertodeterminewhetheranynewmessageswereavailableornot,makingitextremelyunscalable.
Thiscrashedmultipletimes.Thisalsodidnotallowprivateanddirectmessagingandchannels.
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VERSION4
Fig:Newdesignmockupwithemphasisonlargerphotosofmembers.Thebigphotoswereahit,thecolors-notso
much.
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VERSION5
Fig:CurrentdesignforStaks
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Fig:Currentdesignforconversationchannels
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PRICING
Basedonourcustomerdevelopment,wefoundthattheidealpricingmodelforthisproductwouldbeafreemium
onebasedonthenumberofcardsthatarecreatedinthatStak.Wewouldallowsmallereventstocreatefree
Staks,whichwouldserveasamarketingchannelforus,whilemonetizingsomeofthevaluecreatedbyour
productforlargereventswithmorepeopleandinteractions.
Tier Limitations Pricing
Silver Upto30cardsperstak Free
Gold Upto60cardsperstak $19.99perstak
Platinum Morethan60cardsperstak $49.99perstak
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TRACTION
SofartheplatformhasbeenadoptedbytheSchoolofEngineering,HaasSchoolofBusinessandtheSchoolof
Informationfortheireventsandincomingclasses.Somestatisticshavebeendepictedbelow:
Metric Numbers
Cardscreated 2500+
Cardssaved 500+
Stakscreated 150+
Totalpageviews 75,000+
Fig:Chartshowinginteractionpermonth.Interactionsinclude:CVviews,LinkedInviews,messages,hellosentetc.
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NEXTSTEPS
MOBILEAPPSONALLPLATFORMS
Whileappswereabarrierwhenitcomestoexchangingcontactinformation,theyareanassettopeoplewhen
interacting.Withthenewinteractionsmodule,webelieveitnowmakessenseforustobuildanappforallthe
majorplatforms.
FINDINGTHERIGHTPEOPLE
Wecanmakeiteasierforouruserstofindtherightpeopletobuildrelationshipswithby
● allowingpeopletofindotherpeoplethattheyareinterestedin,moreeasily
● providingrecommendationsforwhotoconnectwith
● allowingpeopletointroduceothers
TAKINGCARDSTAKOFFLINE
CardStakwouldbemorepowerfulwhenitaugmentspeople’sinteractionsintheofflineworld.Thiscouldbebetter
achievedbyenablingouruserstouseCardStakduringtheevent,e.g.bymakingiteasiertoaddsomeonethey
havejustmetusingprintableQRbadgesthattheorganizerscanhandouttotheattendees.
INTEGRATIONSANDPARTNERSHIPS
AmorerobustintegrationwithEventbriteandMeetupwouldcreateabetterexperienceforourusers,aswellas
giveusanadditionalsaleschannelthatcanbeleveragedforgrowth.
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APPENDIX
DATAMODEL
Anaggregateof13tableshavebeencreatedandcapturealltherelevantinformationforusers,eventsand
activities.Themainthreetablesareshowbelowandthefulldescriptionandcolumnforeachofthe13tableshave
alsobeenprovided.
Fig:ThethreemaintablesusedforStaksmodule:cards,usersandstaks
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Fig:Datamodelforinteractionsmodule
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SYSTEMARCHITECTURE
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USERPERSONAS
CHRISTOPHERCONSULTANT
Age:27
Gender:Male
Education:BachelorsinCS,fromColumbia
Workexperience:4years,intechconsulting
Hobbies:HeisaNYGiantsfan,andcatcheseverysinglegameatalocal
sportsbar.
Reads:BusinessWeek,WSJ,Techcrunch,Wired.
Background:“Chris”hasasteadygirlfriend.Nowthathispersonallifeismoreorlesssettled,hehasbeenfocusing
moreongettingmoreoutofhiswork,eventhoughhashaddecentprofessionalgrowthsofar.Heworksinamid-
sizeconsultingfirm,whereheworksonprojectsthataretypicallylessthan2months.Hemeetsnewclientsand
colleaguesforanewproject,andonaveragehedoesnotknow60%ofthepeopleheisworkingwith.Hedoes
nothaveatechbackground,butfollowspopulartechnologyblogstokeepuptodate,becauseitsometimescomes
inhandywithhisconsulting.HereallylikesWash.iobecausehehateshavingtotakehissuitstodrycleanersand
thenpickitup.
Hedoesn’thavedirectdecisionmakingpoweroverthetoolsthathiscompanyuses,butheiscapableof
influencingthedecisionmakers.
Motivation:Heisaparticularlydrivenperson,andwantstobetheyoungestpersontobemadeapartnerathis
firm.Forthis,hewantstohavemoresuccessfulprojects,butalsowantstoestablishbetterrelationshipswith
everybodyheworkswith.
26
Hefeelshisteamwouldbemoreeffectiveiftheygottoknoweachotherabitbetter.Itusuallytakes2to3weeks
togettoknowthepeopleheisworkingwith,andbythetimehegetstoknoweverybodyinvolved,theprojectis
almostover.
RACHELRECRUITER
Age:36
Gender:Female
Education:MastersinEnglish
Workexperience:4yearsasarecruiter
withalargetechcompany,nowan
independentrecruiter(freelance)
Hobbies:Shedoesn’tgetmuchtime
fromher2kids(7and3),butshedoes
lovelookingatPinterestforinteriordecorationstuff.
Sheisalsoanoccasionalatalocalrecruitersmeetupgroup.
Reads:TechcrunchandAngelList(tofindoutwhichcompaniessheshouldkeepaneyeon),theMuse.
Background:Herhusbandworksasanaccountantatmid-sizedstartup.Shehas2kids(7and3)whomshelove
dearly.Shehasahappyfamilylife.
Sheisafreelancerecruiternow,afterhavingworkedfor4yearsasarecruiterforSalesforce.Nowshehasherown
recruitingagency,andnowgetspaid5kto10kUSDforasuccessfulplacement.Shespendsasignificantamountof
timegoingtoororganizingprofessionalnetworkingevents,inthehopesoffindingcandidatesforhertorecruitfor
herclients.Shewastesalotoftimeattheseeventstalkingtopeoplewhoaren’tinterestedinjobs.Sheislooking
foreasierwaystobetterqualifythepeopleshespeakstoattheseevents.
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Motivation:Shewantstospendmoretimewithherkids,whilestillmakingherindependentrecruitingfirmmore
successful.Shewantstobemoreefficientatherwork,soshecanspendmoretimeathome.Betterefficiency
wouldalsoleadtomoremoneyforher,whichisdefinitelyanimportantsecondarymotivator.
JOEJOB-SEEKER
Age:28
Gender:Male
Education:MBA2ndyearstudent-atatop15University
Workexperience:WorkedforFinancialAnalystforatoptierConsumer
PackagedGoodscompany(Kraftfoods)for5years.
Hobbies:Musicfestivals(he’sbeenaregularatCoachellaforthelast3
years),andfastcars(helovesTopGear)
Reads:CNN,NewYorkTimes,WSJ,
Background:HemajoredineconomicsfromUSC,withaboveaveragegrades.Heisgoodatbuildingrelationships
andpeopleusuallylikehim.Heisnotsuper-alpha,butisatthesametimeambitious.
HeisinterestedingoingtoInvestmentBankingbecauseheseeshisoldfriendsmakingalotmoremoneyinthat
industry.ThisiswhyhewentbacktoB-school.
Herealizesthathisgradesarenotthebest,buthewantstoleveragehislikeabilityandnetworkingskillstoland
opportunitiesinthefirmsheisinterestedin.Thisiswhyhegoestoallthenetworkingeventsorganizedbyhisb-
school.Hetriestoprepareforeacheventbyresearchingthepeopleattending,whenhehasthetime.
Motivation:Hewantstomakemuchmoremoneythanhewasearlierandmoreexciting,lavishlife.
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CALLIECAREERSERVICES
Age:31
Gender:Female
Education:UniversityofArizona,MastersinPsychology
Workexperience:3yearsasacareercounsellor.2yearsat
careerservicesatheralmamater.Now4yearsinUCSF.She
recentlymovedtoasmallschoolinUCSFastheDirectorof
Careerservices.
Sheco-foundedtheUCSFFacilitatorsNetwork-a
communityofpracticeintheareaoffacilitationtoteachskillsandprovideasupportivelearningenvironmentfor
UCSFstaff.
Hobbies:LikespopularNetflixseries.Sheusedtolikehiking,butwiththekidshehasnthadthetimetodosoin
thelastyearorso.
Reads:Careermanagementblogs-shefollowssomepopularinfluencersinherfieldonLinkedinandMedium.com
Background:Shelovesherfamily,andmovedtoCaliforniawhenherhusbandmovedforanewjob.Shehasa1
yearoldkidwhoistheprideofherlife.
Motivation:Shelovesworkingwithstudents,andhelpingthemachievetheirhighestpotential.Shelovesherjob,
andisquitedriveninherquesttohelpherstudentsgetthebestjobs.Sheorganizesalotofnetworkingevents,
careerfairsandresumeworkshops.Shemaintainsgoodrelationshipswithrecruitersofvariouscompanies,and
triestoconnecttherightstudentswiththerightcompanies.
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PRAVEENPREMIUM
Age:30
Gender:Male
Education:UCBerkeley
Workexperience:6yearsasasoftwaredeveloperatGoogle,
andnowisanengineeringmanageratCourseHero(theyhired
himaftertheirSeriesA)forthelast2years.
Hobbies:Likesplayingaroundwithnewtechnology-3dprinting,lasercutting,etc-andisanactgivememberof
theMakercommunity.
Reads:FollowsHackerNewsreligiously.Andreadsafewselectpeople’sblogswhowriteaboutdeeptechnology
issues.
Background:Heisintrovertedfellow,althoughheisbecomingbetteratmanagingpublicspeakingoverthelast
fewyears.
JoinedGooglestraightoutofcollege.Likedhistimethere,butjoinedAirBnbbecausehewanteddifferentkindof
challenges-especiallyingrowinganengineeringteam.
Hiscompanysendshimtorecruitingevents(careerfairs/infosessions)forrecruitingengineerstohisteam.Heis
alsorequestedtobeapartofpanelsathisalmamatersometimes.
UsedtobeactiveonStackOverflow-hasearnedlotsofprivilegesovertheyears.Heisn’tveryactiveon
StackOverflownowbecauseoflackoftime.
30
Motivation:Hereallywantstogrowhisengineeringteam,andgetthebestpeopleforit.Butthebestwaytodo
that,istomeetnewgraduatesandpresenthisengineeringchallengestothem.Soalthoughhedoesn’tlikeitvery
much,goingtocareerfairsandotherrecruitingeventsisanimportantpartofhisjob.Sometimes,hegets
overwhelmedbyallthepeopletryingtotalktohim.
Hewantstobeearlyadopterofdeeptechnologies,butdoesn’tconsideryetanotherapptobeexciting
technology.Atthesametime,hedoesn’twanttobeleftoutofhispeergroup.
