Sanghvi selected as Princeton's executive director of Career Services

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Pulin Sanghvi

Courtesy of Pulin Sanghvi

Pulin Sanghvi, who led the Career Management Center at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, has been named executive director of Career Services at Princeton University, effective Dec. 1. The new position is intended to help broaden career exploration and opportunities for all students, and establish new relationships with employers and organizations representing a wide range of interests and fields.

Reporting to Vice President for Campus Life Cynthia Cherrey, Sanghvi will build on existing successful programs and further expand Career Services' engagement with students interested in the arts, nonprofit organizations and the public sector. He also will help increase the opportunities available to students for internships and employment across the country and around the world.

"Pulin brings diverse and extensive experience with innovative and multidimensional approaches to personal and career development, relationship building and the student experience," Cherrey said. "His role will allow Career Services to place greater attention on external outreach to new partners, as well as earlier and more sustained engagement with students from every academic discipline and during each step of their career exploration process."

Sanghvi said he was looking forward to promoting the values of a liberal arts education and encouraging students to think about a broad range of possible careers.

"Princeton is a university that shepherds the leaders of tomorrow toward lives of contribution and impact on the world, while encouraging a lifelong commitment to curiosity and learning," Sanghvi said. "The Office of Career Services can be an important part of that process."

As executive director, Sanghvi will set the overall vision and goals for Career Services. He will work with the Career Services staff to develop new strategies, programs and partnerships, including strengthening collaborations with other University departments and programs.

Career Services assists undergraduates, graduate students and alumni with all aspects of career planning. It offers resources and programs designed to support the integration of academic and career interests through one-on-one counseling, workshops, internship programs, panels and career fairs, online resources, on-campus recruiting and the Alumni Careers Network.

As assistant dean and director of the Career Management Center at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Sanghvi developed a Career and Life Vision Program to help students explore different opportunities and choose career paths consistent with what matters most to them.

"My focus has always been on helping students to think boldly and broadly about the career possibilities in front of them," he said

Before joining Stanford in 2009, Sanghvi founded and led a successful career advising practice, Ivy Strategy, for nine years.

At Princeton, Sanghvi will be charged with overseeing key initiatives including:

  • Developing and leading an advisory council that includes employers, alumni, faculty members, administrators and leaders in various employment sectors;
  • Establishing a partners group of students, faculty and staff to support coordination of career advising between Career Services and other University departments;
  • Expanding Career Services' online resources for all career-related opportunities;
  • Pursuing increased international career opportunities; and
  • Expanding on- and-off campus learning opportunities in the areas of internships and community service.

"Career Services is well-positioned to be a connector among our students, outside organizations and Princeton's diverse and committed alumni base," Sanghvi said.

Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, director of Career Services, said she is delighted to welcome Sanghvi to Princeton.

"I look forward to working with him on strategic initiatives that will benefit our undergraduates, graduate students and alumni," Hamilton-Chandler said.

A University interview committee including faculty, staff, students and alumni assisted with the search process for the executive director position.

Sanghvi earned a bachelor of arts in economics from Yale University and a master's of business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He serves on the advisory council of the Association of Yale Alumni Board of Governors; is an at-large delegate for the Association of Yale Alumni; and has been a Yale Alumni Schools Director, managing 150 alumni who conduct undergraduate admission interviews in Palo Alto and San Mateo County, Calif.

Sanghvi began his career as an analyst with Morgan Stanley. He also worked at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company as an engagement manager, where he co-managed the firm's employer recruitment at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and later as a McKinsey alumni consultant. His work included developing an expansion strategy for the nonprofit organization Positive Coaching Alliance, which focuses on changing the culture around youth sports. He now sits on the organization’s National Board of Directors.