Joy Lin ’09 Shares Her Path from Cal to Career

Have you ever found yourself wishing you knew how to be more successful? Maybe you’re trying to improve your networking skills, feeling a little lost on your career path, or suddenly navigating a job search during COVID-19. Career coach and Cal alum Joy Lin ’09 has you covered. We caught up with Lin for some of the most sought-after answers about networking, job searching, and developing habits for success. Over the coming weeks, we’ll share her solutions to feel more confident and assertive as you navigate your career path.

From business fraternity to founder

Lin is a career coach with years of experience helping individuals pave their career path. As the founder of Quarter Life Joy, “we focus on helping driven, young professionals design a holistic career path that is aligned with their strengths and purpose,” she explains. “I help my clients answer the question, ‘what should I do with my life?’”

How did Lin find herself in the business of helping others with their professions? For one, it combines quite a few things she’s passionate about: personal growth, psychology, diversity and inclusion, self-expression, and mental health. Lin reflects, “Ever since I was little, I devoured Jack Canfield’s Chicken Soup for the Soul series, watched Oprah Winfrey’s show after school, and immersed myself in all types of music and film. All of these passions of mine infuse meaning into my business and influence the way I coach, the content I create, and what drives me to do what I do.”

At Berkeley, Lin studied economics and took classes at the Haas School of Business as well as in music, psychology, and sociology. Lin attributes her critical-thinking skills to her Berkeley education, and believes it gave her vital tools and perspectives to analyze, interpret, and interact with the world. “The history of the campus also instilled principles of social justice within me.” Lin says. “Although my work now is mainly at the individual level, I’d like to think that my ability to translate research into practical curriculum and create inclusive space for people allows me to innovate and impact the world at large.”

While at Cal, she landed her first internships, at GUESS Inc. and a San Francisco wealth-management firm, by doing what she now encourages students to do: talking to recruiters at university job fairs and tapping into the Cal alumni network. Lin also joined a business fraternity as a sophomore, which grew her network of classmates and eventual alumni.

(More ways to grow your own Cal alumni network include joining the Berkeley Career Network, a local or cultural alumni chapter, or the Cal alumni LinkedIn group; subscribing to the Cal Alumni Association’s career updates, and checking out upcoming networking events.)

Coming up

Next week, Joy Lin will cover tips and tricks for networking and go into detail about networking authentically by:

1. Finding someone who does it well to emulate.
2. Choosing a few go-to questions that you can use in any situation.
3. Not taking it personally if someone doesn’t respond to your outreach email.
4. Reflecting on the people you really enjoy talking to and learning from!
5. Doing it A LOT!

Stay tuned for the rest of our New Year Career Motivation series with Joy Lin. In the meantime, connect with Lin’s Instagram.