The black MBA conference was held in New Orleans this past Thursday and Friday. It was an incredible experience, so many companies and so little time. There were banks, retailers, distributors, IT companies, software developers, and more.
I did not attend on Thursday as we had class (what’s up with that?) but Friday was a really busy day. After hours of waiting in line, doing 30 second speeches, handing out business cards and resumes, and dodging crowds I was tired, and my feet hurt. But was it worth it? Absolutely.
Coming from a technology background I went for the usual suspects. Dell, IBM, Microsoft, INTEL, EMC, among others. I got some really good leads and a couple of contacts. I could not get any interviews as all spots were filled Thursday (Note to self: Next time go the first day, and go early!!) but I got a really good lead at IBM and some names and e-mails so I can start the “offer me an internship” harassment.
Aside from the networking, since this was my first time “marketing” myself as a future MBA, I think that the biggest benefit for me was the experience of actually talking to recruiters. Now I just have to turn these initial contacts into an internship. Easier said than done.
Juan