Career Fair Advice
Somehow, I have managed to fit in a trip to Anaheim for the NSHMBA Career Fair somewhere between my Applied Corporate Finance midterm and my Marketing Research midterm. The event is organized by the National Society of Hispanics, targeted originally for Hispanic MBA students, but has grown to become a major MBA recruiting event. I have heard about this event from my famous Thunderbird friend, Marcus. He was right about the event. The recruiters there were desirable companies to work for and I did get a chance to talk to representatives from many top-notch companies. Marcus, however, gave me a very ambitious goal that I did not attain. He told me to set up at least five interviews before I arrive. With my current course load, I was unable to put in more time to submit more applications. I arrived with a total of zero interviews set up. After spending some time exploring and studying the behaviour of recruiters at the career fair, I do have some advice that I wish to pass on to any inexperienced job hunter wishing to attend an American career event.
1.Know the visa. This is mainly for non-American residents or citizens. American companies will usually tell applicants that they will not sponsor visas. Before submitting any applications on any corporate website, research on visa agreements. I have a friend from China who was issued a visa which allows her to work in America even though she only applied for a tourist visa. Under NAFTA, Canadians can apply for a TN visa which allows them to work in the USA without sponsorship from any company. Many companies will not consider applicants who are not eligible to work in America.
2.Submit applications early. Marcus did not tell me to do the impossible. It certainly would have made more sense, and look better, if I had been able to meet recruiters from companies that I had already submitted my applications to. At least, it would have given the impression that I am organized or serious about my desire to work at that company...
Boon Hoh is a 2012 MBA candidate at McGill University. She completed her first year in the McGill Tokyo program while she worked as an events project manager. She has worked with the governments of over ten different countries and traveled to over thirty countries. When not studying for her classes, she likes to study exchange rates of JPY/EUR to determine the factors that cause the changes. After graduation, Boon wishes to find work in marketing.
Read full article: Financial Post, October 20, 2011