Just over a month ago, I attended the National Black MBA Association's (NBMBAA) National Conference in Los Angeles. As part of the conference, they had a two day career fair with hundreds of company's represented. It was massive. I took the opportunity to speak with as many company representatives as I could. Prior to attending, I made a list of my target companies (the companies I definitely wanted to speak with) to ensure I made my way around to those booths.
My strategy for approaching the target companies was one I learned from my internship this past summer. The company I interned for sent another intern and myself to attend two conferences and speak with company reps about their products. The other intern and I learned a lesson from the first conference we attended. Speak with non-target companies when we arrive so we are ready to speak with the target companies when the time arrives. What do I mean by that? We approached a company we had little interest in and asked them questions about their company and products.
This is the approach I used at the NBMBAA Career Fair. When I arrived I approached the closest booths and asked them questions about their products and services. I did this for a few companies and then started to weave in my target companies. I spent the majority of the day employing this strategy and talking with companies.
As I was leaving, I happened to walk down the aisle of one of the target companies I neglected to speak with during the day. They were packing up to leave and I was on my way out. I spent a couple minutes talking with them, left my resume, and took off.
A couple weeks ago, I received an email from this company asking for some followup information and this morning I had a phone interview with them. I spent a few minutes prior to the phone interview thinking back to the conference. I imagined, "What if I did not stop to speak with the company for the couple minutes I did?" I also spent some time reviewing my resume and the position I was being interviewed for to identify what I thought may be the key experiences and attributes they identified on my resume to want to know more about me. It turned out to be a good experience. I used some of the experiences and attributes I identified during the interview and hope to be able to move to the next round of interviews.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
About Me and This Blog
Currently, I am between my first and second years of b-school at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management. I agreed to write this blog to share my experiences during my summer internship, during my second year of the 20-month MBA program, and to share experiences I have living with my family in Malibu.
I am attending Pepperdine for many reasons. The class sizes are small, the teachers are world-class, the alumni network is large, and it is located in Malibu across the street from the beach. One of the main reasons I am attending b-school is to further understand business practice and theory from a management perspective. I received my B.S. in Psychology from Brigham Young University.
I have many career interests. This can be problematic when I am searching for internships and jobs. However, there tends to be a good deal of overlap between each interest. Some areas I am currently pursuing are: consulting, organizational development and change, leadership development programs, and operations. I have also mulled over the idea of owning my own business.
I have been married for almost 6 years now. I have a 3 1/2 year old son and an 11-month old daughter. I like cooking, fishing, playing pickup sports, riding my bike, spending time with my family, and going to Disneyland.
I am attending Pepperdine for many reasons. The class sizes are small, the teachers are world-class, the alumni network is large, and it is located in Malibu across the street from the beach. One of the main reasons I am attending b-school is to further understand business practice and theory from a management perspective. I received my B.S. in Psychology from Brigham Young University.
I have many career interests. This can be problematic when I am searching for internships and jobs. However, there tends to be a good deal of overlap between each interest. Some areas I am currently pursuing are: consulting, organizational development and change, leadership development programs, and operations. I have also mulled over the idea of owning my own business.
I have been married for almost 6 years now. I have a 3 1/2 year old son and an 11-month old daughter. I like cooking, fishing, playing pickup sports, riding my bike, spending time with my family, and going to Disneyland.
Friday, May 21, 2010
First Post
This week was a good week filled with two interesting experiences and two great opportunities. The first experience occurred as my family and I were heading to Barney’s Beanery in Santa Monica. We heard they serve good chili and eating a bowl of chili is one of my wife’s things on her 30 Before 30 list.
On our way there, we witnessed a three-car crash on PCH. The first car rear-ended the second car causing them to swerve into a third car. The second and third cars both hit telephone poles on the side of the road and pretty much totaled their cars. The first car pulled into oncoming traffic and barely missed a head on collision. Amazingly, the first car had no damage. If we left a few seconds earlier, we would have been one of those cars.
Being that close and seeing it occur, we pulled off to help. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. The driver of the third car was an older man. My wife quickly befriended him. We learned he was transporting a tabletop he made to give to his daughter in Santa Monica. Seeing he could not drive his car, we offered to transport the tabletop. He obliged and was very grateful for our willingness to help. As we were leaving, he had tears in his eyes.
The second experience occurred when I went to work out at Pepperdine’s gym on Friday. As I usually do, I left my phone in the car. When I checked it after, I noticed my wife had called several times. I thought this was odd because I had not been gone very long. As I talked with her, I understood why she was calling. My son had been playing with one of his friends at church the previous Sunday and we later found out this boy had Scarlet Fever. Some of the symptoms of Scarlet Fever are a cough, stomach pain, a rash all over the body especially in the groin and armpits, and a fever.
My son had a cough and woke up a couple times in the middle of the night saying his stomach hurt. However, we thought nothing of it. He had been sick many times before and this was nothing compared to some other illnesses he had. On Friday, he developed a rash all over his body. It appeared worse in his groin and armpits. His temperature also started to rise. My wife called the doctor. The doctor said it sounds like my son had Scarlet Fever. The doctor’s office was about to close and they referred us to the emergency room. I volunteered in an emergency room for a long time and knew that if we went, it would take hours for the doctor to see us. My son would be a very low priority.
However, in this situation, something did not feel right. Each time he has been sick in the past, we could tell. He gets lethargic and whiny. This time he was whiny but he was definitely not lethargic. We decided to pray for him to get better and for us to know how to help him and then waited through the night. That was what he needed. His rash was all gone in the morning as was his fever. Lucky for us, we avoided a trip to the ER and all the bills that go along with it.
Now let’s get onto my great opportunities. For the first great opportunity, I have a friend who works for Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) in San Francisco. Recently, he passed on my resume to their recruiter. She contacted me and we swapped emails.
The internships they have open right now do not match what I eventually want to do. She offered to set me up with some of their Operations Professionals and I accepted that offer and am meeting with them in two weeks to discuss what it is like to work at PwC.
The second great opportunity is a chance to do some consulting work with a local non-profit, the Born to Act Players (BTAP). I came across this opportunity as I was searching for an internship. I met with them on Saturday and spent some time watching what they do. The basis of BTAP is bringing in people with disabilities and teaching them self-awareness and social skills through acting. Everyone was very nice and welcoming to my family and me. They were very excited to hear I was interested in helping them and said they did not expect anyone to respond until at least the fall. While I have not previously taken on an opportunity like this by myself, I am confident in my ability to help BTAP with their business operations.
On our way there, we witnessed a three-car crash on PCH. The first car rear-ended the second car causing them to swerve into a third car. The second and third cars both hit telephone poles on the side of the road and pretty much totaled their cars. The first car pulled into oncoming traffic and barely missed a head on collision. Amazingly, the first car had no damage. If we left a few seconds earlier, we would have been one of those cars.
Being that close and seeing it occur, we pulled off to help. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. The driver of the third car was an older man. My wife quickly befriended him. We learned he was transporting a tabletop he made to give to his daughter in Santa Monica. Seeing he could not drive his car, we offered to transport the tabletop. He obliged and was very grateful for our willingness to help. As we were leaving, he had tears in his eyes.
The second experience occurred when I went to work out at Pepperdine’s gym on Friday. As I usually do, I left my phone in the car. When I checked it after, I noticed my wife had called several times. I thought this was odd because I had not been gone very long. As I talked with her, I understood why she was calling. My son had been playing with one of his friends at church the previous Sunday and we later found out this boy had Scarlet Fever. Some of the symptoms of Scarlet Fever are a cough, stomach pain, a rash all over the body especially in the groin and armpits, and a fever.
My son had a cough and woke up a couple times in the middle of the night saying his stomach hurt. However, we thought nothing of it. He had been sick many times before and this was nothing compared to some other illnesses he had. On Friday, he developed a rash all over his body. It appeared worse in his groin and armpits. His temperature also started to rise. My wife called the doctor. The doctor said it sounds like my son had Scarlet Fever. The doctor’s office was about to close and they referred us to the emergency room. I volunteered in an emergency room for a long time and knew that if we went, it would take hours for the doctor to see us. My son would be a very low priority.
However, in this situation, something did not feel right. Each time he has been sick in the past, we could tell. He gets lethargic and whiny. This time he was whiny but he was definitely not lethargic. We decided to pray for him to get better and for us to know how to help him and then waited through the night. That was what he needed. His rash was all gone in the morning as was his fever. Lucky for us, we avoided a trip to the ER and all the bills that go along with it.
Now let’s get onto my great opportunities. For the first great opportunity, I have a friend who works for Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) in San Francisco. Recently, he passed on my resume to their recruiter. She contacted me and we swapped emails.
The internships they have open right now do not match what I eventually want to do. She offered to set me up with some of their Operations Professionals and I accepted that offer and am meeting with them in two weeks to discuss what it is like to work at PwC.
The second great opportunity is a chance to do some consulting work with a local non-profit, the Born to Act Players (BTAP). I came across this opportunity as I was searching for an internship. I met with them on Saturday and spent some time watching what they do. The basis of BTAP is bringing in people with disabilities and teaching them self-awareness and social skills through acting. Everyone was very nice and welcoming to my family and me. They were very excited to hear I was interested in helping them and said they did not expect anyone to respond until at least the fall. While I have not previously taken on an opportunity like this by myself, I am confident in my ability to help BTAP with their business operations.
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