Kicking off the New Term: Recruiting

It seems like I was just starting a new term yesterday in the fall. Crazy how fast time flies here at Tuck – but I guess the saying is true that time flies when you’re having fun. This term is a little bit different than most because the crux of the first year, recruiting, is in full swing for the majority of the T’12 class.

Many of my classmates are in the midst of on-campus and off-campus interviews on top of our Strategy, Marketing, Corporate Finance, and Macroeconomics classes. Needless to say there is a lot going on. However, there are very different paths for obtaining internships here at Tuck. For example, there are traditional on campus routes including investment banking, consulting, and marketing that come on campus to recruit Tuckies. A solid portion of the class is participating in that, and interviews are going on now as I type.

There are also a handful of people who do the non-traditional off-campus route. A number of people want to pursue careers in private equity, sports, retail, venture capital, and others. However, the infrastructure for these industries at times does not warrant a heavy recruiting effort (not just at Tuck specifically, but generally among MBA programs). These people have been pounding the pavement, reaching out to Tuck alumni in their industries of choice and doing their own diligence. While this is a bit more self-starting, it is for those who have a specific interest in something that isn’t as visible as banking.

There is a third set of people who have secured internships through other means. Several classmates have offers already from various conferences and through their own networking in industries such as private equity and consumer packaged goods. For me? I was able to secure an internship through a business school conference early on in the school year. I will be in strategy and business development at Cargill, the largest private company in the US, which focuses on agribusiness, financial services, and risk management.

At the end of the day, the internship process is very personalized, and, like anything else in life, it is what you make of it.