As I head off to China for spring break (with a whole group of Tuckies, no less), I have to say that I’m relieved to have made it through the Fall AND Winter terms. Excellent. If it’s even possible, winter went faster than fall. I played with the Tuck Women’s Hockey Team in Montreal, I went ice fishing, and I managed to make my way through on-campus interviews.
I’m very fortunate to have found an internship for the summer, and now that recruiting is over for me, for now, I’ve been thinking about the past few months and what a crazy journey it’s been.
When applying to business school, you need to have a plan – where you’ve come from, where you’re going, and how you will use your two years at Tuck to help you get there. For those who are in the midst of applying or gearing up to apply next year, you will get very used to writing and telling your personal statement, because it’s an important key to business school applications. And to business school itself. One of the (many) reasons for this, is that recruiting starts up soon after students arrive on campus. And if you don’t have a plan, you might be a little lost.
Coming in, I knew this. I had my plan, and I was ready to work hard at realizing it. But even though I knew that recruiting started off early and intensely, I hadn’t quite expected how long it would last – even knowing full well that it might not end until May. I am sure that the career office has said this at some point, but the job search really is a marathon, not a sprint. (Sorry for the cliché.)
An admitted student recently asked if we current students felt that, with recruiting starting in mid-September, there time to explore career options and new career paths. The answer to that is a resounding yes. It’s almost because of this that recruiting starts early. You need time to talk to companies, go on informational treks, network with different people, craft your resume and cover letter, and finally, interview.
True, some industries require intense focus from the start (banking and consulting clearly come to mind), but even then, exploring can be learning about differences between your target companies: what is the culture like, what type of projects do interns complete over the summer, what clients does the company attract – exploration is not limited to finding the industry you love.
So why do you need a plan then? I believe it’s essential, even if you do end up changing course. A well-thought out plan grounds you, it lets you know where to start looking, and can aid you in your decision making. Without a plan, I feel as though I would have been lost early on, and would have lost out on the opportunity to learn about different companies and industries, to talk to executives when they came to campus, and later feel confident in the choices I’ve made.
Really, the job search has been a bit of a personal exploration for me, as well as professional. I’ve developed time management skills, networking skills, and learned how to think on my feet. All things I thought I was pretty good at before coming to Tuck. Ha! I’ve come a long way.
Read the full article: Reflections on Recruiting