My National Black MBA Experience
Soon after you begin you summer job search course, you will learn about diversity career fairs. These national fairs mostly happen in the fall and give student attendees the opportunity to meet and interview with Fortune 500 companies well before the fall/spring recruiting season kicks off.
The National Black MBA conference is one of those diversity conferences and is widely recognized as the largest (in terms of companies that exhibit at their career fair).
It was during my first career coaching session that I learnt about the conference and made up my mind to attend. The following reasons played into my decision to attend:
Jumpstart my recruiting experience: I saw it as a great opportunity to flex my recruiting practice and if I did well, land internship offers early on.
Representation from the industries and roles I was considering: Although I was undecided on what exactly I wanted to do post-MBA, I was considering several options, all of which were amply represented at the career fair.
Diversity hiring: although the conference is open to all, the goal of National Black MBA as an organization is to promote under-represented minorities and most companies come to the conference specifically looking to hire these diversity candidates.
Following my decision to attend, next up was preparation. I learned from past student attendees that preparation was key so I did the following things:
Updated my (conference registration) profile with an approved resume. I also made my profile viewable by all, so that recruiters who would be looking through resumes could view mine. (And yes! They actually look.)
Applied for positions that were posted. Most companies looking to recruit at this conference usually post job openings, will review submitted applications prior to the event, and even send out interview invites.
Practice behavioral interview questions. Unless otherwise stated, most of the interviews at National Black are behavioral type questions. Prepare responses to questions and have several stories (from your accomplishment record) ready to demonstrate your skills and experience for the roles you will be interviewing for.
Research companies you are interested in or will be applying to. Gather relevant and unique information with which to respond to popular questions such as Why this company? Why this role at this company? Research the companies like you already have confirmed interviews, even if you do not, because you may land one while there.Â
Practice your TMAY (Tell Me About Yourself)Â and have different formats that are relevant to the different roles and companies you are interested in or will be applying to. You do not want to use the same TMAY for Healthcare and Financial Services, for example.
Lean on your second year and first year peers who have been through the experience for the unfiltered truth of what to expect.Â
In the end, I had a great experience at the 2019 conference. I was able to land four interviews before the conference and one while attending the conference. I also got invited to recruiting events for my target companies and met a good number of equally amazing firms that I did not know hired MBAs. The interviews were great practice for me, and I was able to convert three of the five interviews to internship offers that came later in the fall and spring.
There is usually a good representation of Technology, Financial Services, Healthcare, and CPG firms at the conference as well as Marketing, Corporate Finance, Strategy, and LDP roles. If you are considering any of these industries or roles, look through the line-up of companies for this year’s conference and weigh the pros to attending (thankfully, a virtual experience means you do not have to worry about travel or lodging expenses).
Chinonso Ndimantang is a second year MBA student at the McDonough School of Business. Prior to McDonough, she worked in brand management and marketing communications roles within financial services and non-profit sectors. Over the summer, she interned with Citi’s Global Consumer Banking Group in a marketing role and this fall, will be serving as a Peer Advisor covering financial services and marketing. On campus, she is actively involved with the Black MBA Association, Women in Business, Consulting & Marketing Clubs, and serves as both a Forté Ambassador and NBMBAA Fellow. Last fall, she participated in the Marketing and Consulting treks, visiting KPMG & Capital One in the Washington, D.C. area and Citi & American Express in New York City. She was also part of the Israel trek where she spent New Year’s Eve with classmates in Tel Aviv. She will be attending this year’s National Black Conference and participating in the Graduate Case Competition.
