Spotlight: Meital Mendel

February 8, 2014

From the editors: Meital has great advice for newcomers, so we asked her to share her experiences with us in her own words, including her successful job search. 

by Meital Mendel

I moved to the US from Israel in August 2012. In Israel, we had a nice house with a small English garden, around 20 minutes’ drive from our parents’ houses. My first year at Boston was full of new beginnings, some were very difficult to deal with, but all made me much stronger.

Looking back, some things really helped me to get through that period, and I hope they might be helpful for other newcomers. 

Open your mind

MIT and the Boston area offer so many opportunities to learn, explore, and create. This is the perfect time to get involved in startup scenes, network with the sharpest minds, and listen to the leading lecturers in the world. This is particularly relevant if you are unable to work.

Open your heart

Being away from your family and close friends can be very difficult when you first move to another city. I found that my new friends at MIT are my family, and I made the closest friendships that helped me through good and difficult times.  Participate in MIT spouses&partners!

I participated in the Career Connect workshops offered by MIT S&P, and received amazing help and support. Jennifer was always so responsive and supportive in the job-seeking process, and helped me re-touch my resume, carried out mock interviews with me, and gave me very useful feedback. I found my job through my husband, but being part of the program helped me prepare for the several interviews I had, and helped me to adapt to the professional culture here in the US. I made a career switch in both industry and function.

Here are a couple of useful websites that can help you make your life a little more interesting and easy:

Eventbrite.com – for organizing meet-ups and events.
Peapod.com – online grocery and delivery service.
MITAC – offers dozens of events annually to the MIT Community.