Navigating career pivots with confidence
Sally Hu’s career journey has been non-linear. Before Kellogg, Sally ’25 Two-Year MBA Program transitioned from AI-powered marketing in New York to a sparkling water start-up, from a three-monitor desk in Midtown Manhattan to manufacturing plants in Asia, helping to develop the brand and its international products from scratch to launching successfully in the U.S. Costcos.
Despite these shifts, Sally’s passion for building products and consumer insights have remained her constant. This expertise has served as an anchor throughout her career leaps and as she embarked on a second major pivot at Kellogg into the tech industry.
Here, Sally shares her summer internship experience in product marketing at PayPal, reflections on navigating career transitions and finding one’s narrative in recruiting — in hopes of resonating with those who are navigating careers in non-native cultures or considering career pivots.
Pivots are hard, messy and often come with a fair share of self-doubt. But they also bring personal growth and provoke deep self-reflections. Reflecting on my recruiting journey, here are four key lessons I wish I had known as a first-year navigating internship search.
1. “I can’t be everything, and that’s okay.”
One of the first realities I had to accept is that I can’t be everything to everyone, and I shouldn’t try to be. When pivoting, it’s crucial to recognize what you don’t know. Rather than trying to cover up those gaps, acknowledge them and turn them into goals for growth. For me, the biggest gap in my skill set was working with engineers on product development — a critical part of landing a product role in tech. Despite prepping behavioral stories for interviews, I knew I couldn’t fake experience.
That’s why I made a key goal of my summer internship to be highly involved in product planning, either by spearheading projects or collaborating cross-functionally, so that I can feel confident stepping into a full-time tech role in a year. Setting a realistic goal with a long-term roadmap for the entire MBA experience in mind pointed me toward filling this gap with the summer internship playing a key role.
2. No one knows your differentiation better than you do. Own it.
When pivoting, it’s essential to identify and articulate your unique value proposition. No one understands your differentiation better than you do, so it’s up to you to make it clear. For me, my experience launching a product from scratch and marketing it to end consumers has been my anchor and defining strength.
While this was a key reason my team hired me, by the time my summer internship began, several months had passed. Few people recalled that capability without being reminded of what I could bring to the table.
Having realized the recency effect, I voiced my strengths in customer insights from a perspective of how to assist the ongoing work streams whenever there’s opportunity. This proactive approach led to a user journey mapping project beyond my initial work scope, which allowed me to work more closely with product teams than initially assigned.
3. Choose whose advice to follow — and forge your own path.
As a “pivoter,” I was often overwhelmed by the volume of advice I received; much of it conflicting. There were moments I found myself torn between different voices: “Why aren’t you recruiting for consulting?” “How many coffee chats is enough?” “Should I take that class for the major?”
A general guideline I’ve followed is, “Don’t take advice from someone whose life you don’t want.” This rule overall worked well to help me filter out noise and make unapologetic decisions in life before Kellogg. That said, one thing I learned at Kellogg was to take the maximum with a grain of salt when it comes to networking for a job because chances are, you don’t know if you’d want that person’s life yet.
For example, I initially considered product marketing management (PMM) as a backup option because I assumed the role is mostly responsible for the end stages of product development. However, a conversation with a career peer advisor opened my eyes to the fact that PMMs at some companies are deeply involved from the early stages of product development. Insights like this expanded my search beyond my original focus and helped me discover roles that aligned with my interests but weren’t originally on my radar.
In short, keep an open mind as you explore opportunities. Titles matter, but the actual work you do and who you work with can matter even more. Pivoting essentially comes down to creating your own path, at your own pace—so trust yourself to do just that and be open to adapting along the journey.
4. Build a support system for your career pivot
The leap would not have been possible without the abundant resources at Kellogg. The Career Management Center (CMC) and student-led resources helped navigate the roller coaster ride. The KTech interview prep group leaders (special shoutout to Mark and Sue!) dedicated over 30 hours to preparing us for tech recruiting and remained mentors throughout the entire process.
I also leaned heavily on Career Peer sessions, which crafted a narrative I could confidently bring into behavioral interviews, a voice that belongs to me and is valuable to recruiting teams — a balance I struggled to find when pivoting. The support I received for recruiting was not only practical but empowering, which is why I’m now paying it forward as a Career Peer myself.
Another inspiring component of my career pivot has been my classroom experience. A highlight in my first year as a Kellogg student was Professor Matt Groh’s course Human and Machine Intelligence which provided a comprehensive framework to understand artificial intelligence and machine learning (AIML) beyond buzzwords. We read Alan Turing’s early papers — a figure who is often considered the father of modern computer science, and I highly recommend watching “The Imitation Game” if you haven’t. We also delved into algorithm selection and biases and heard from several guest speakers including those from OpenAI and Spotify on challenges in ethically adopting and governing AI.
Not only did I get to use the knowledge from class in a PM interview, but it also inspired me to keep up with AIML development with a focus on the technologies that truly intrigue me, rather than around the broader concepts.
Nonetheless, even with all the support, imposter syndrome still lingers after the pivot. Being in a cross-functional role with a steep learning curve this summer was humbling, and the feedback from my team helped me grow in ways I never expected.
One of my goals for this year is to continue developing my public speaking skills. Knowing the “High Impact, High Empathy” collaborative Kellogg culture and the safe space it creates, I can’t wait to push myself outside my comfort zone again.