#georgetownmba

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. 

Practice your TMAY (Tell Me About Yourself) 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. 

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).

Each cohort is specifically crafted by Georgetown’s MBA program office to ensure there is diversity of thought, background, and skills. It’s hard to fully comprehend what that looks like until you walk in and meet everyone on your first day. For example, my cohort includes a former Commanding Officer of a Coast Guard ship (and best public speaker I’ve ever seen), a former Aspen Ski instructor (who’s hilarious), an Auditor from Beijing, China (and accounting wizard) and a Staples Supply-Chain expert from Puerto Rico (and most organized person I know). Those examples don’t even scratch the surface of all the different types of people in each cohort at Georgetown. Yet, despite all these differences, each cohort comes together to become a support system. Especially in the first year, where we all take the majority of our core requirement classes, each cohort develops its own personality, helps each other with our coursework, internship recruiting, and daily life. This organically leads to real, lifelong friendships developing over the course of your first year. It may seem fast, but that’s truly how it happens!