Rob Hanlon

Rob Hanlon is the CIO of TreeHouse Foods. He came and spoke to us today about his experience in following career goals and how to reach those goals. Below are some of the main points that he made during his lecture.

• There are two groups of people when it comes to new technology
  
• nay sayers - those who think it will only cause harm
• those who hop right on board
• this is a gamble. you either hit it big are you lose big
• About 2-3% of a companies income should go into IT
• Rob told a story about how he spent $1.3 million on a system that saved the company $50 million ever year
• Your resume should be a story of your career goals
• Jobs
• For your first job, you should just get into the game
• After your first job, your resume changes from you GPA and courses to what you produced in previous positions
• You should do what you enjoy, and don't just take a job because it offers more money
• Don't have regrets
• Take chances on what you're interested in while you're still young
• Take the risk
• Courage has tremendous value in the marketplace
• Seek council often
• Don't give up on getting into a good graduate school
• Don't give up period.
• Don't hop quickly between jobs
• Never pay a recruiter, they are paid by employers to find you
• In all your great success, be respectful and humble. It will set you apart from the more secular employees.

In all the Rob Hanlon said, I found the most interesting to be his story about getting into grad school. It took him four tries to get in, but he never gave up. This courage to continue against all odds is both inspiring and reassuring.