My First Job: Compounding Skills
Jon Kashmeeri (MSBA’23) loves numbers — and has built a career on learning how to make them speak.
In just three years, he completed his undergraduate degree in financial planning and wealth management with a minor in computational data science. Three months after graduating, he made a calculated decision to enroll in the M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) program at Georgetown McDonough. The program was still nascent, only in its second year, and Kashmeeri felt the opportunity to be a forerunner among program alumni was enticing.
“It was through Georgetown that I was able to find my job at IBM,” he shared. “I used the McDonough Career Center and followed through that education pipeline to connect with IBM staff, get referrals, and then land an interview.”
In his first year on the job after the MSBA program, Kashmeeri was assigned as an operations analyst to a team of 300 consultants supporting a multi-year Department of Veterans Affairs project. He describes his role as “the person in the backend making sure everything isn’t broken.”
Over time, those numbers grew more personal, and so did his role. As he built confidence, he took the initiative to reach out to his 50+ colleagues on multidisciplinary and technical teams.
As he reaches the two-year mark, Kashmeeri’s determination to excel and grow his skills is evident. His portfolio of business skills now includes being a Certified Scrum Master, Six Sigma green belt, and Project Management Professional. Even prior roles, he notes, were stepping stones – each one repositioning him a few rungs higher as he advanced into a senior consulting role at IBM. In turn, this has given him opportunities to share insights with prospective applicants on how to get their foot in the door, too.
“As you start to go higher and higher, you have to be confident in your skill sets,” he noted. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities in this role to talk to stakeholders, represent IBM, and present metrics that prove our ability to fulfill a contract.”
Kashmeeri now finds himself on both sides of the equation: delivering results to clients while mentoring others who are just beginning to map their own trajectories. “I feel a sense of accomplishment as I am fulfilling a more technical role in several areas,” he said.
His advice for anyone interested in working in a similar field is grounded in the same principle that has guided his own path: exposure compounds. Go to more in-person events and maximize your time by talking to people, going to conferences, and learning as much as you can – sooner rather than later.
This story was originally featured in the Georgetown Business Spring/Summer 2026 Magazine.