David Kim
- General Manager
- Dive Studios
School Information
School: University of Michigan
College Major: Other
Years at College Works: 2006
Career Information
Working For: Dive Studios
Title: General Manager
Industry: MediaWhat Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?
I leveraged my College Works Painting experience to stand out among candidates when I applied for internships, jobs and other positions during and post-college. Finally, I was offered a very prestigious, hard-to-get job at Samsung, earning more than anyone in my job level bracket.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
Great opportunity to realize personal and professional strengths and weaknesses, and unforgettable experience that I will recall in times of challenge.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
My College Works Painting experience provided me a chance to see how I would hold up during tough, challenging times. By making mistakes and facing failures, I was able to build upon those experiences to come up with professional skills such as negotiating, working with people, pushing through during rough times, etc. Immediately after graduation, I maintained contact with College Works Painting colleagues, realizing my career choices immediately after college would not be directly impacted by College Works Painting experience or network.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
Can’t recall client names (it’s been 7 yrs). But to all clients: Thank you for the 95% customer satisfaction references; you were a great first-step in my professional career.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Sales is everything, and everything is sales–and sales is nothing without the art of negotiation.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
Still keeping in touch, and great to see how successful people then are still successful people now in their respective industries.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Powerwash your college life with excitement and Prime yourself for post-college professional career.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
For potential College Works Painting participants, know that College Works Painting will be one of the challenging experiences you will encounter in your professional career. Be like a sponge and learn from EVERYONE in the program, especially people who have already gone through the program. College Works Painting is an accurate representation of any business in any industry, encompassing Management, Marketing, Sales, Strategy, HR, Finance, Accounting, Customer Service, etc.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Either choice is great, and you should choose the option that you are the most comfortable with. College Works Painting was great because I was able to find my professional strengths and weaknesses; it hasn’t directly impacted my experience in HR at Samsung.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
The War Room. Branch Managers would gather in an empty classroom once a week and share war stories and fail stories. We would also make cold calls together and have a lot of fun while doing it. We also watched ‘Boiler Room,’ ‘Glengarry Glen Ross,’ and ‘Wallstreet’ together and became a fraternity of young salesmen.
Last words of wisdom?
College Works Painting is a very difficult program because you are thrown in a war zone with a few week’s training and a small pistol(metaphorically). It’s your job to dig trenches, find better weapons and win battles. It is not good enough to merely survive; you must conquer. The only way you do that is by learning from others, asking questions and continuously trying, amid failures–because when you graduate, you’ll realize that there are bigger wars awaiting.