Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Dream Come True

For anyone who has been following my blog for the past year, you may be wondering what my next step will be after the MBA. After all, the sole purpose of getting an MBA is to land a job afterwards, isn't it? Well, I am happy to report that I have landed a dream position! I will be Operations Manager for bLife, a tech startup that focuses on health and wellness services. As the company is based in Los Angeles, I will be relocating in only a few days to begin the job soon.

The Importance of Networking
I am also happy to say that I was able to secure this position through my networking efforts. I met one of the co-founders of bLife in May while I was volunteering for C2-MTL and we kept in touch ever since. I know that I have often mentioned the importance of networking, but I cannot emphasize it enough.

In fact, I kept a spreadsheet of my job search process and I've recorded the successful methods through which I nabbed an interview. They include only the following: LinkedIn, HEC Montreal Career Management Services job posting, friends, and networking. While networking was not the only way I was able to score an interview, it was certainly the most fun!

Last week's McGill Young Alumni "Welcome Back" Cocktail

The MBA
You may also be wondering how much influence the MBA had on my job hunt. First of all, I had access to a wide array of resources and people (i.e. professors, Career Management Services employees, courses, etc.) who contributed to my job search and helped me to narrow down my focus. I had actually met with my Managing Products and Brands and Responsible Marketing professor Yannik St-James at the very end of the program to obtain insight regarding health-focused companies in Los Angeles. Due to my meeting with my professor, I was able to identify that bLife was a perfect fit!

Furthermore, during an interview process, I was asked to prepare one PowerPoint slide identifying my fit with the company. For this file, I was able to pull from a framework that we learned in Strategic Management II entitled the SAFe criteria (suitability, acceptability, feasibility). The MBA certainly provided me with excellent tools to synthesize information and better contribute in a business environment.

The Future
However, the majority of my lessons from the MBA will probably only become apparent in the future, once I am faced with major decisions and difficult situations. I am looking forward to approaching these realities in a more equipped way. Moreover, I know that the business cases, discussions, and lessons that were raised during the year will allow me to be a more well-rounded employee with diverse knowledge to bring to the office. I can't wait to step into this next phase of my life!

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