The few weeks immediately after you land an internship will be a ‘honeymoon period’. Life seems perfect – the world is a rosy place – everyone is your friend. The biggest mistake an MBA student can make in this period is to sit back and relax and believe that the hard work is done. One of the things I forgot is that the RBC position is an internship – not a full-time job. I still need to be out there, attending events, networking, meeting people, impressing people, putting my best foot forward, acting composed, professional, and cultivated.
I am proud to be one of the lucky seven to have landed a summer internship in March. To the best of my knowledge, we have one (myself) in the Royal Bank of Canada, three in Deloitte, two in Research in Motion and one with Accenture. Pretty impressive, even if I do say so myself. Best Buy will most probably hire at least two people, and Orbis will certainly take one. The internship search is surely a humbling experience. Everything you believed about yourself, your skills, your marketability, and your value is put to the test. The strangest thing is that for those of us coming from South Asian countries… a foreign MBA is such a big deal in our countries. Our families back home believe that jobs will be lining up from the very day we set foot in the land of opportunity. ‘You have always done so well in interviews’, says my mother. ‘You have US experience and a US bachelors degree and a stellar track record with an international bank. You will have more offers than you know what to do with,’ says an Uncle who works in tax back in Pakistan. Naïve – but hey, didn’t I believe that myself just eight or so months ago? Not quite … but somewhat.
The fact of the matter is that you have to work really, really hard. And as stressful as it is, it really is kind of fun. Exhilarating fun – meeting people, tackling situations, selling yourself, managing all those relationships, and a network that grows exponentially. I find it helpful to draw a tree. For example, a hub would be CFA Vancouver, and the branches coming out of it will represent each person I met, their designation, and one interesting fact that I uncovered about them during our chat. I find it helps. The best part is when the branches end up converging to a few very active people, who you seem to run across at every event.
The best advice I can give is – during the MBA, throw all your inhibitions out the window, break through your comfort zones… this is no place for shy people or those who don’t have the utmost faith in their abilities. Those who are not flexible, not resilient, and not responsive to quickly changing situations – probably wouldn’t get much out of it either.
Hurriya Burney is a full-time MBA student with Sauder, specializing in Finance. She has three years of experience in Asset Management and Banking and has lived and worked in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Her most recent position was as a Corporate Relationship Manager with Barclays Bank Plc.
Hurriya Burney can be reached at hurriya.burney@yahoo.com
