What advice would you provide to an incoming student about first semester fall?
- Take time over the summer to reflect on your goals for the MBA program – time moves quickly once you start!
- Understand the timeline for the industry you’re interested in and how that industry typically recruits. Understand how two different timelines might interact throughout recruiting.
- Depending on the career that you want to pursue, recruiting intensifies much faster than people might anticipate. Have the mental preparation and try to meet as many friends as possible before everything else picks up.
- First semester fall is very overwhelming, with the adjustment to being back in school and taking classes, recruiting, and figuring out which clubs you want to get involved in. It’s important to think about your priorities and take a step back to remember why you wanted to come to business school in the first place. Try not to let the pressure to join recruiting in the fall get to you if that’s not what you want to do. Everything will work out, and you will get a job! And don’t forget to have fun and sleep too – be sure to take care of yourself amidst everything going on.
- Don’t over-commit to too many clubs. Execute well the things you commit to (club leadership, learning teams, etc.).
- This is going to be your most overwhelming time at SOM. It is easy to get caught in the race of the more [structured] industries and functions. As you go through recruitment in Fall, take a step back and evaluate if you’re on the path for yourself or because you’re being pressured by the ecosystem to join the bandwagon.
- Don’t be afraid to say “no” to certain events and meetings. Feeling overwhelmed is pretty normal at first and personally, I think its fine to “try everything”. However, know your limits and don’t stretch yourself too thin.
- Use the fall wisely to be ready for the spring. Focus on case preparation, resume edits, creation of your target list, and on networking with SOM alumni, 2Ys and industry professionals.
- Remember why you came to business school while being open to new opportunities! Balance is key to not be overwhelmed
- Pace yourself! It’s a very busy time and you need to take it at a sustainable pace.
- You don’t need to have your career path all figured out – but if you are curious about consulting or banking, I would go to these clubs’ meetings to discern if you want to take these recruiting paths seriously. I stuck to my convictions about what I was interested in and sought contacts who could push me towards [that] direction.
