PROFILE UPDATE: On June 2, 2008, Pasatiempo joined The Clarion Group as partner, working in their Kirkland office. Pasatiempo was formerly a partner at Korn Ferry International.

Posted: 07.01.08

By Chanel Merritt

“Don’t aim at one star at a time,” said Edward Pasatiempo (’77), a partner at Korn Ferry International. “Look into many things and have back-ups, know all the players, big and small.”

Pasatiempo received his bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Washington and then completed the Executive Management Program at Harvard. After Harvard, Pasatiempo held a series of increasingly demanding jobs that has led him to become partner at Korn Ferry, a leading international executive recruitment firm.

Starting his career at IBM, Pasatiempo credits the company with providing him with many opportunities to learn. During his 16 years with IBM, Pasatiempo was promoted many times and ended up director of country operations in Indonesia.

After leaving IBM, Pasatiempo held high-level positions at a number of companies, some of which include vice president of world wide sales at Mosaix, executive vice president of Traveling Software, chief operating officer at Versatile Mobile Systems and Pacific Northwest head of regional operations solutions for Electronic Data Systems Corp. He is also a member of several of boards, including WSA (formally the Washington Software Alliance), a trade association focused on helping Washington state technology companies succeed.

In late October, 2006, Pasatiempo attended a mentor lunch with Communication undergraduates. He talked to the group about careers and career strategies.

Know the landscape of the job, know the employers and show them that you are prepared, that you’ve done your homework on the company and the employer. People judge others by actions, not by their intent. Build a value proposal; what can you give the company, be specific, and narrow the gap of what you want to do. Pasatiempo

If students want to go into marketing, they should decide what kind of marketing they are interested in and learn about the specifics of the job. Internships are a great opportunity, according to Pasatiempo. “They give students real life experience, an opportunity to meet mentors and they look great on a resume.”

“You can look for a job, or plan for a career,” says Pasatiempo. He says the Department of Communication “was great; there was lots of practical experience.”

Pasatiempo told the students they should not be afraid to ask questions. “Make cold calls to companies to ask them what they look for in an applicant,” he said. This is not only informative, but makes the student look good as well. He explained to the students that it’s a good idea to anticipate where they and the company are going to be in the future, when planning for a career. “Is the company stable? Also, do you plan to travel or stay home and do you plan to have a family?” Knowing the culture of a company is also important. “Having a mentor can be a great asset,” said Pasatiempo. “Ask questions, those who are willing to answer are potential mentors.” He added that the most important quality to look for is someone who is going to be completely honest. “It is important to have someone who is willing to tell the truth about the company and how the student personally fits into that company.” That person does not have to be someone with a high-level position, just someone who knows something the student doesn’t.

“The mentor lunch with Eddie Pasatiempo was a very valuable opportunity,” said Desiree Wilson a Communication student. “I really enjoyed listening to him talk about his experiences as an executive and also his advice about the ‘sphere of opportunity’ that is available to us as college graduates.”

Pasatiempo spoke fondly of his days as a student at the University of Washington. He attended the UW on a baseball scholarship. “Being a student athlete was great,” he said. Having a coach that believed in him made a difference, and Bubba Morton, his former coach, did just that. He also remembers Al Black, his former sociology teacher as “The most dynamic professor I had. He taught me the power of passion.”

While studying Communication at the UW, Pasatiempo says he learned to communicate effectively and to think creatively and now likes to give back to the school. The department welcomes him back anytime!