Getting on the corporate radar at NSHMBA

As a W. P. Carey Full-time MBA student, you get the chance to attend a number of great conferences. In late September, I had the opportunity to fly to Philadelphia for the National Society for Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) conference. If you have ever been to a career fair, it wasn't much different from that except in terms of the scale.

As a W. P. Carey Full-time MBA student, you get the chance to attend a number of great conferences. In late September, I had the opportunity to fly to Philadelphia for the National Society for Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) conference. If you have ever been to a career fair, it wasn't much different from that except in terms of the scale.

Before the career expo opened, thousands of MBAs waited outside the doors to the conference hall, and once the ribbon-cutting ceremony concluded, we were all ushered in on a red carpet into a maze of company booths. There were hundreds of the biggest companies in the world with impressive displays, such as a 2015 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, the comfortable Microsoft lounge, and a bucket of M&M packages free for the taking at the Mars booth.

Making a good first impression

At the career expo, I walked around to my targeted list of companies and waited in line to engage with recruiters, hoping to land an interview by convincing them I was a worthy candidate. It was competitive and intense. The recruiters asked questions about why I wanted to work for the company and why I was a better candidate than the hundreds of others they spoke with. Then they always allowed time for a few questions that I had. That is probably the biggest thing that I learned was the importance of the "elevator pitch" and how it can be used to differentiate yourself. I walked around trying different approaches and tactics to generate interest and made some great contacts who seem like they will really advocate for me.

Keys to getting noticed

To prepare for such an environment, it is important to know the company well. The times I had success in getting information and really making a good impression were when I knew about the company and could speak to how I could help them. Another important point is to really know yourself well. It's important to know what you want and what changed your career path to want to get an MBA. Then, you need to be able to communicate that clearly.

NSHMBA was a great event for me as a first-year MBA student. It reinforced a lot of what we're learning from our career coaches about setting ourselves apart, and it forced me to get my story straight, do company research, improve my resume, and really focus on what I wanted for an internship. Events like this are a great next step in your development as an MBA student, and even if I don't land an internship from NSHMBA, I'll be that much better prepared the next time.