Christian Tom

"My History degree from Stanford taught me how to think from the perspective of someone else."

Current Job:

Publisher & VP Sales, NowThis Media and The Dodo (I am responsible for advertising sales and revenue at two media companies)

First Job after Graduation:

Display Sales Account Manager at Google / YouTube

How did you end up pursuing your career? Do you have any advice for students contemplating similar career paths? What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were an undergraduate?

I got my start in digital media thanks to an internship my junior summer at Google. I advise students to think about a wide range of ways to apply your History degree. If you had asked me in 2008, I would not have know that Google hired people with my academic background! So keep your eyes open to opportunities -- and keep your mind open to them as well.

Has your History training helped you along the way - and if so, how?

I have always believed that my History degree from Stanford taught me three key things which are valuable to anyone, including me in my career: (1) how to think critically and analytically (2) how to take a disparate and voluminous amount of information and distill it down to craft a compelling argument (3) how to think from the perspective of someone else -- whether that is various historical actors or parties, or from the POV of a professor when writing a paper.

Do you have any particularly fond memories of the History Department?

Working with Prof. Richard White and Prof. Paul Robinson was always a dream. Prof. Mullaney was also such an amazing member of the Department. That being said, every interaction in the Stanford History Department was great including TAs and other faculty!