It was a long time since I posted my last publication, which was about the core section of the program. This time I’m going to touch the topic of electives module and that of internship and job search.
Electives
There was a great variety of elective courses to choose from this year. It covered a broad range of topics such as finance, marketing, supply chains, business law, general economics, entrepreneurship, and many more. To me, that part of the program was enjoyable. I especially liked such courses as Applied Value Based Management, Supply Chain Management, Managerial Economics, Climate Change & Rise of Renewable Energies. I would say that most of professors turned out to be real experts in their fields, actively engaged with respective industries. I think we had a higher number of guest speakers during that module, while their level of expertise and overall “quality” were absolutely outstanding.
In terms of intensity, I wouldn’t say that electives module was any less demanding than the core part. Of cause, there were gaps between courses and in general, we were enjoying more flexibility. But with very few exceptions, one would spend a week attending a course itself and then another one, if not more, preparing all the deliverables, so usually all those gaps were filled with writing essays or doing calculations. At the same time, most of us were actively applying for jobs and internships, which is a very time-consuming process, as you may know. Considering all that, I would characterize the second part of the program as just as intensive as the first one, but with a little bit of flexibility built in.
Internship
Unlike some of my classmates I didn’t apply for full-time or internship positions too much. I was rather focused on finding a right fit and on quality of applications. That approach seemed to have worked out because eventually I got two internship offers (both competitively paid) – one in the Netherlands and another in Switzerland. The first one came through our career services and the other one directly as a result of my taking one of elective courses. The choice wasn’t easy though since both projects were neatly aligned with my longer-term plans and interests. Eventually, I opted for a Swiss one and started a week after completing all studies. I won’t go into many details and won’t even specify the company and content of the project (must honor a non-disclosure agreement). What I would mention though is that my current job is just as demanding and exciting as the MBA program itself. Interestingly, I’m not performing some dubious peripheral work. Right from the beginning I was involved with what is central to my department’s overall success, and it’s safe to say that my personal efforts have already created some tangible results. I believe, I’ve found a perfect match for myself, and there are early indications that the company would also want me to stay. What is absolutely amazing is that the content of my would-be job perfectly matches my long-term goals as described in one of my MBA application essays. Therefore I can say that for me, everything goes according to my initial plans.
How to make it work
As you can see, finding a great job, which was one of my main post-MBA objectives, is currently being materialized for me. Looking back though, I should say there are some things that I would have done differently and although those were not a big deal for the most part, I thought it could be helpful to some of you if you take them into consideration. Firstly, when I started applying for jobs for the first time during the program I realized how important it was to have a well thought-through and thoroughly polished resume. I spent days, not just hours, on mine and eventually came up with a decent product. But doing all that work before starting a program would certainly help since time is something that you really are going to be short of once you’re in the game. I also would recommend spending a few dollars, francs, euros or whatever on a good resume and cover letter writing guide. Unless you read one of those you won’t realize how many improvements you can make to your resume or a cover letter, which is equally important.
Another piece of advice would be to give a good consideration to your long-term objectives, define a career path for yourself on early stages, and focus on that throughout the program. That especially applies to those who plan making a career switch. You would argue that it’s better done during the program, while I would argue that you won’t be able to capture all possible opportunities by visiting every single event or shining on every company’s presentation. If you stay focused, on the other hand, and target a specific industry you’ll have more opportunities of advancing within that area. My mode of actions was skewed towards that strategic approach, but I saw some people acting rather randomly with no great success. Being realistic in your expectations is also very important. Trying to become an investment banker at Goldman Sachs after spending the whole life as an engineer is probably not the best idea. Talk to the career services when in doubt and do it as early as possible.
Lastly, I’d recommend everybody putting a lot of emphasis on networking. We’ve had a lot of opportunities for that during the program, but for my part, I can say I wasn’t always using them wisely. From my personal perspective, I would say that making the most of your time while having industry people in class, attending corporate presentations and other events, and (a very important point) having professors aboard in your job or internship search present the most opportunities for establishing good contacts within your industry of choice. And you’ll need those contacts to help you secure a good position since being well connected makes all the difference, especially here in Switzerland. I know that many people in our class have found their jobs or internships specifically through networking. Therefore, for some of us, attending a particular event or managing to involve a professor meant all the difference between being already employed or still being in the process of looking for something.
To conclude, I’d say that for me, the whole MBA experience so far felt like a single big dash. I’ve learned a whole lot of new things and in general, progressed significantly – all within a relatively short period of time. I wish everybody from the incoming class just the same and I’m positive that you will enjoy your journey, however challenging it might be.
