Robin Soffer is a consultant specializing in training development and execution and business strategy for both large and small businesses. Robin’s clients include businesses in the airline industry, consumer products, hospital supply, medical products, and insurance.

Before becoming a consultant, Robin spent fourteen years at The Quaker Oats Company handling strategic planning, general management and finance. As the General Manager of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, then a Quaker subsidiary, Robin led her team to revamp the entire company through developing new positioning,products, advertising and packaging. The changes effective, she successfully moved the business from a loss to a significant profit. During her tenure her team also opened a new retail store, redesigned the flagship Ghirardelli Square store and modernized the manufacturing plant. Robin’s other roles included Vice President and Assistant Treasurer at Quaker’s headquarters, Director in the Acquisitions and Divestitures group and various positions in Corporate Strategic Planning.

Robin currently teaches undergraduates at Northwestern University, though her credits in academia include teaching undergraduate and MBA level courses at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dominican University, Concordia University, and Keller Graduate School of Management. She is also a co-author of a business textbook used in universities across the country and in Europe, including Washington University in St.Louis, MIT, Booth Graduate School at the University of Chicago, Texas A&M, University of Illinois at Chicago and Copenhagen Business School.

Robin holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, with concentrations in Marketing and Finance. She earned her  B.S. from the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana. She has received the Illinois Silver Medal for the second highest state rating on the CPA exam and the Elijah Watt Sells award for a nationally high-ranking score.

Our Conversation:

Robin’s experience highlight a few areas of particular value to students. First is that of networking. Never say “I don’t have a network,” because you do. The phrase reflects less of a situation than an attitude. “I have done the same many times before. Sure, I thought the network of my parents and friends were hard to tap or was non-existent. Although that path didn’t work out for me, I created my own network by reaching out to alumni as well as professionals in career fields I was interested in. I have to say, initiative and confidence is the key to networking success.”

For students just starting out on their internship search, tapping into friends and family networks is the best way to look for opportunities.

Even after your internship ends, the networking never stops. Always maintain good relationships with your former co-workers and employers. After leaving Quaker Oats, Robin’s first consulting work came directly from opportunities provided by former employers, which helped her launch her own consulting business. Never underestimate the power of the network you build over the course of your career. As Robin mentioned, many of her former students were able to find jobs and internships just through networking with her and the contacts she referred to them.

Another key point  from the interview is the importance of work-interest alignment. Internships can often be a great way to figure out whether the work is something you want to commit to for the rest of your career. Robin discovered that regular accounting work was something she hated early on through her internships.

Also, be aware that your interests may change. Once Robin started a family she realized she needed to travel less, and so the best option to continue doing the work she loves while remaining at home was to start her own consulting business.

Making these life choices isn’t always easy. After over a decade of established work, reputation, and network at a company, anyone would have serious second-thoughts before switching careers or even company. But Robin’s experience should teach us an important lesson: when your career and your values misalign, do something about it. Step out of your comfort zone and take a stand for who you are and your passions. Look at Professor Soffer today; she is exactly where she wants to be in life–balancing work, life, and interest (higher education) as a consultant, mother, and professor. How many people can say definitively that they are exactly where they want to be in life? Few. How many people can be brave and bold enough to change their careers when work and values misalign? Even fewer.

Contact:

For those who wish to network with Professor Soffer, she can be contacted at: [email protected]

Video:

This interview took place on 4/26/2011. Interviewer: Bill Wu. Production Team: Derrick Liu, Jared Cho, Bernard Wen. Video Editor: Derrick Liu. Article Editor: Ashley Darnall.