If I had to give an award to the unsung heroes of the MBA program, one would definitely go to the Career Development Office. The CDO really works on two fronts. First, they focus on brining great companies to campus to recruit Sloan grads. Trust me, it is not an automatic that great companies are going to come to a campus just because of a name or ranking. There are long standing relationship between the school and many of the companies that recruit here and the CDO helps maintain and build those relationships. There are companies on campus this year who were not here last year because the CDO enticed them to come and built that relationship.
The other primary function of the CDO is to make sure students are prepared for when they begin interacting with prospective employers. This takes many forms including: career counseling, resume reviews, mock interviews and presentations focusing on professionalism and other topics. With recruiting, being smart and talented is not enough, you have to be able to interview well and project enthusiasm and confidence. The CDO also helps organize treks to learn about different industries. For first year students interested in finance the CDO organizes a Finance Trek to New York in October to visit multiple investment banks and learn more about careers in finance and network with professionals in that area.
For me personally the CDO has been an incredible resource. In transitioning from working in elementary education to working for Goldman Sachs this summer, I utilized the CDO to help me prepare my resume, learn more about finance as a career and participate in mock interview sessions. Together with the assistance of the clubs and lots of work, I was able to secure an internship in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs. After the summer the CDO was the first place I went to speak with my career advisor after I realized I would not be going back to Goldman. My career advisor talked me back from the edge and helped me form a plan for breaking into another industry. This semester, especially in the past month I have been in the CDO almost everyday either interviewing, working on my resume or getting advice. It’s like my home away from home. They also have a candy bowl and often have free food after lunch so that doesn’t hurt either.
So here’s to the CDO, definitely a Sloan MVP.
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