Rene Poellinetz W'14

Email: Feel free to contact Rene Poellinetz at rene.poellinetz@outlook.com. 

What did you study at Penn? 

I had a more non-traditional concentration; I studied accounting and global analysis. I really wanted to do international business, and I wanted to study abroad. I was lucky enough to be one of the first people to do the Wharton-approved Barcelona study abroad program. 

What were you involved with as an undergraduate?

I was the VP of Finance and Director of Operations for my sorority, Alpha Phi. I was also highly involved in Wharton Women. I was the programming chair of Dollar Divas, now called Dollar Scholars, and I was the co-chair for the Annual Dinner one year. Because I had such a great experience with Penn Abroad, I became an Abroad Ambassador and helped with some of the exchange programs at Penn. Lastly, as an avid music lover and concertgoer, I was heavily involved in the Concerts and Jazz & Grooves arms of the Social Planning and Event Committee.

What was your favorite part of Penn/Wharton?

Studying abroad was such an amazing experience. Especially nowadays, with all companies being so global, it’s really good to have international experience and understand how other countries and cultures think about business. Because of the competitive nature of Penn and Wharton, study abroad is a great way to put everything in perspective. I’m still really connected with a lot of my exchange peers, and it was a really fun and rewarding experience. 

What has your career journey looked like?

I previously was in roles focused on financial analysis and pricing strategy. I worked in pricing strategy for a CPG company, and before that, I worked in healthcare doing pricing strategy for hospitals. I'm still leveraging a similar skill set of a lot of data analysis and consultative work. 

What do you do now and where are you based?

I’ve been in Chicago since graduating from Wharton. I grew up in the northwest suburbs and knew I wanted to come back, so I was lucky to find an opportunity in Chicago. I switched jobs during the pandemic, so now I'm working at Pinterest in Sales Strategy and Operations. It’s not my typical background, but utilizes a similar skill set. I always wanted to break into the tech industry, so I'm really fortunate that it worked out, ironically during the pandemic. 

What’s an average day in the life like for you? 

We have a hybrid role, so you can mix going into the office and working from home. I like going in sometimes to switch up the change of scenery from staying in an apartment all day. I go through emails, and we have a set of recurring processes, and then bigger strategic processes, and different projects that we work on. I work on Sales Strategy and Operations, so a lot of my work is monitoring sales metrics and trying to be proactive about identifying different sales trends and the underlying causes of changes to revenue and other sales metrics. I work with a lot of sales leaders, so I have check-ins with them throughout the day. We also work cross-functionally with a lot of teams, so I get to learn about different products that the company is working on bringing to market. 

What has been the proudest accomplishment of your career?

Getting contacted for this opportunity and knowing that I was able to cultivate both professional and volunteer experiences to help me stand out to recruiters and align with the career trajectory that I wanted. I spent a lot of my earlier career building that resume, and I feel like it paid off. 

What has been the biggest challenge of your career?

Battling imposter syndrome. Especially as Wharton grads, it’s important to remember that we got into this school for a reason because we are smart, usually quick learners, and have a unique perspective. It can be hard, but from my past experiences, I’ve learned that I am good at what I do, and I need to trust my own intuition, skills, and be confident and assertive. 

How has being a woman affected your career trajectory and workplace experience, if it has?

I’m sure it has, probably in the form of seeming generally less “likable,” but I try not to get too hyper-fixated on it. I was very involved with sports, especially in high school, so I was already comfortable with a competitive and male centric environment. For me, I try to just focus on doing good work and building trusted relationships with a diverse set of people at work so that one individual’s opinion of me does not have a significant impact on my overall career trajectory  Seems to be working so far!

What is the worst career advice you have received?

Someone told me that it wouldn’t be possible for me to switch industries. They told me not to take a new job because I wouldn't be able to switch out of healthcare. That's probably the worst advice I’ve received, and I approached it from the perspective of gaining a skill set that is transferable to other roles and other industries. 

How do you balance your personal life with your professional development?

I've been fortunate that a lot of the roles I’ve had have had a good work-life balance, so I haven't felt too constrained in terms of setting aside time. 

What advice do you have for our members as they begin exploring careers and internships? 

Be open-minded! At least when I was at Wharton, it was very investment banking and consulting focused, and I didn’t get one of those jobs right out of college. I had a healthcare consulting job, and it didn’t feel as prestigious compared to where everyone else was working. Because you are highly educated and a top business student, even taking a nontraditional career path, you will find your way to being one of the top performers. If you’re really focused on a goal, it doesn’t have to happen right away! I'd get super competitive about my friends and their promotions, but waiting one year isn’t a big difference in the greater context of a 40-year career. If you’re good at what you do and focus on doing the work well, you will get to where you’re supposed to be. 

What advice do you wish you had known when you were an undergraduate/something you wish you told your younger self? 

Go to office hours and do practice exams so that you do well on the real exams! And do not be afraid to reach out for help! Especially since I was so involved in extracurriculars, I think I could have been more “efficient” with my study habits early on at Penn.

What is/was your favorite thing to do in Philly? 

I also spent two summers in Philly, and I really enjoyed exploring different restaurants and different neighborhoods. 

What’s your favorite place you’ve ever been to? 

That’s tricky! I loved going to Tokyo, Mexico City, Barcelona, London, and New Orleans. Any good food city is always at the top of my list. 

What do you do in your free time? 

A lot of my hobbies center around big groups of people and traveling, so it changed with the pandemic – I love going to restaurants, attending concerts and sporting events, and volunteering. 

What kind of volunteer work do you do?

I’m on the Penn Club of Chicago board, and I’m an alumni interviewer. I got started in pro bono consulting and that’s helped me gain the confidence that I have the versatility and skill set that has helped me be successful with switching roles and industries in my career.