Shernaz Pavri – Senior User Experience Designer at LinkedIn
This week kicks off the first presentation for my Professional Topics class. Our first guest was Shernaz Pavri. She was incredibly fun to listen to and her story was both inspiring and fascinating. She is a grad from Sheridan’s New Media/Web Design program and worked her way up from there to be a Senior Designer for Apple and now she currently works for LinkedIn as a Senior User Experience Designer. After she graduated she worked as a designer for a few years at both Juggernaut Group Inc and Blast Radius, she then got a job with Ogilvy One in Toronto as an Art Director. These were amazing stepping stones as they gave her the opportunity to expand her portfolio and to further her connections in the industry.
With only a few minor technology issues while using Skype, it was really fun to get the chance to meet someone with so much experience in the industry. What I found most interesting about Shernaz’s story was her way of approaching Apple. She explained that one of her dream jobs was to work for Apple. In a passing conversation with one of her coworkers she mentioned that she would love to work there the coworker replied, “ well, have you applied?” This information seemed to hit me, why not apply? Those places I dream of working at could be a simple email away. Why am I putting that off? Before I get ahead of myself and start flying emails out into the industry I decided I too will make a list of 5 top places I dream to work at.
- Snowboard Canada Media (SBC)
- National Geographic
- Apple
- NASA
Shernaz said, “tell people what your dreams are and it holds you accountable”. I just told the whole world what my dreams are, now I am accountable.
Shernaz went on to explain her interview process with Apple which I found really interesting. They actually flew her to California for the interview and she said it was an experience of a lifetime. It sounded like the Apple headquarters is a really neat place. She mentioned that if any place wants you bad enough, they will make it happen.
Another good piece of advice that she passed along was how to use LinkedIn to get the job you are looking for. The biggest issue is making sure that your profile is up to date and full of information. She said to add in that extra information about awards, volunteer work, or organizations you are a part of. All of these aspects of your profile will in turn give you more of an advantage to be higher up when potential employers are searching.
For my first week presentation I am overwhelmed! Shernaz was so inspiring and I definitely appreciated that she was able to take the time out of her busy day to Skype with us.
To learn more about Shernaz Pavri, visit her website at http://shernazpavri.com/, or her LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shernazpavri
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MICHELLE FARLEY 