Please read Part I below before reading this post.
What they say is true – if you come to business school knowing at least reasonably well what you want to do, you will have done yourself a great favor. Well, my process of self-awareness began right there. I knew I wanted to do at least one international assignment while at Tuck since all of my work experience has been in the US and in today’s world, international exposure is a pre-requisite. From a career point of view, I thought I wanted to be in venture capital. So it followed that most recruiting events didn’t make sense for me to attend. Out of the hundreds of presentations that companies do at Tuck, I must have attended five, maybe six.
Instead, I spent my time meeting visiting executives, making connections with alumni, getting to know school administrators and my professors, working with second year students, getting involved in different clubs, attending conferences, and most importantly, getting to know my classmates. That’s all I have done in the entire first year. No interviews on campus, no networking events sponsored by companies, nothing that didn’t fall in the purview of what I thought I wanted to do.
Over the course of the year, I realized I am a general manager at heart, and that what I really liked as part of being in venture capital is the opportunity to help companies grow. My summer internship in New York City just fell into my lap (it came about through a contact of my good friend and classmate) and just happened to be in that sweet spot – working for a private equity firm, turning around its portfolio company and putting it on a growth trajectory. It was a fantastic experience, and gave me unparalleled insights into how to run a company since I was involved at the highest level of the organization, while at the same time doing substantial on-the-ground restructuring work. Needless to say, it was an excellent learning experience in every way. (Continue to Part III above)
Read the full article: The path less traveled? – Part II