Walking the Straight and Narrow?

With Mod IV upon us, the internship is ramped up for some and neatly packaged for others. I know people who wanted to do brand management and are interning in finance. One of my friends was interested in technology companies and ended up in banking. So the question is: how narrow should you be about your job search, your summer internship, and your business education in general?

Keeping Up

One aspect of business school that I really think is crucial to success is being literate on current events in the business world. As a Young MBA candidate or applicant, it is never too soon to start this. Let me share with you a few anecdotes and tips.

Owen always sends us updates on the faculty’s research, and a ticker at the bottom of our web page features a particular professor. A quick polling of my friends tells me that not many people read this, but they’re actually really helpful in giving you conversation topics when meeting new people. On a recent flight to Dallas, I was seated next to the manager of a hedge fund.

Building a Network: Baby Steps

When everyone’s talking about “building a network,” it can be very intimidating to think that you are starting from the ground up. Since most of our friends are in entry-level positions and we have never held jobs, we are relying mainly on our parents and their friends to comprise our beginning network. This can be a valuable starting point for some, but expanding from this point is challenging, regardless.

I want to walk you through some pointers that have helped me reach out to extremely helpful professionals (Owen alumni and not)! The more prepared you

If the shoe fits…

In fear of being cliche, I won’t finish the above saying. But, I really started thinking about how much b-school “fit” over the holidays. Relatives were asking me how school was going, what my stock picks were, how many offers I had, etc … and I got really tired of saying, “I love it! It’s fabulous!” Fact of the matter was, I was burned out and trying to convince myself. See, I had this conversation with some friends right before school let out. It was exam time, so we were talking about grades. Here is the gist of the convo:

Hey, I thought I was still a student?

My feet have become accustomed to wearing heels. I have developed a personal relationship with my dry cleaner. I attend as many information sessions and networking events as study groups (well, almost). I have a business card case.

Does this sound like the life of a typical student to you? It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. I actually had more in common with my friend working in marketing at American Express than my friend starting her Master’s in International Affairs at Georgetown. The transition is obviously harder for those of us going straight through. We have a conception of school in our really recent memory and little experience with a formal workplace setting. Maybe this is business school’s way of making the transition easier for the traditional candidate who has been out of school for a few years.

Why now? … well, why wait?

Hello! It is fabulous to meet you! Thanks for checking out youngmba.net, a resource I definitely wish I had about a year ago. I have a list of columns I want to write that take you through the whole application/MBA orientation/new MBA candidate process, and I’ll try to post regularly. This is my first blog, so I hope you like it!

Let me tell you a little about myself to set up my decision to get an MBA right out of college.