So I’m currently in Minneapolis just finishing up an interview with Target. This is my third final round interview in the last month, and I have another set up for January. Yes, it is early to be interviewing, but the earlier you can secure your Summer internship the better, especially in this economy. You may ask, how in this economy did I manage to get three interviews. Well, the truth is being well prepared helps, but the economy is also helping, even as grim as it is. More and more companies are cutting back on their full time hires, but still love the less expensive, temporary Summer intern. So back to being prepared… There are two major conferences that take place in the Fall, the National Black MBA Association Conference held in September, and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs Conference which is held in October. Both of these conferences provide great opportunities to network with other MBAS, and to be the face of the Freeman School for a lot of companies that do not recruit on Tulane’s campus (none of the companies that I’ve interviewed with recruit on campus). The great thing about Tulane is that they’ll actually pay for your travel and hotel costs to go to these conferences. And no, you do not have to be Black or Hispanic to attend, but you do have to be ambitious. There are several thousands students that come to these conferences from some of the best MBA programs in the country. So your goal is to make yourself memorable to recruiters and stand out from the masses. Easier said than done. But if you start early and stay late you will ultimately find some prospects. The conferences are exhausting though because you are constantly giving your “elevator speech” over and over for roughly 6-8 hours. So, my internship advice to incoming first years is: start early, attend the conferences, know your target companies and reach out to them first. The added bonus about the conferences..you get to road trip with your classmates very early in the year which not only makes for some great memories, but also starts some great friendships.
Amina