Just finished with my follow-ups from the thank you’s I sent out after Round Tables. Now I have a new list of next steps:
And probably a million other things that I haven’t thought of. Girl’s got to work it!
Yesterday was a full morning of speed dating, er networking. We headed back to the convention center and were shuffled into two panel discussions. First up was marketing, with presenters from Walmart, P&G, Kraft and Target. Was an interesting combination of manufacturers and retailers so you can get a sense of their relationship and how they work together/against each other. Since the panelists didn't switch I then headed to the consulting/supply chain session. There were a few interesting companies but nothing that I was planning on pursuing.
Afterward we were herded upstairs to the real Round Tables. Each had a sign for the company some balloons and a company rep. And with any blind date one of the daters shows up in a blue shirt or with a red flower in the lapel, many companies showed up with a slew of products decorating their tables with their products.
I met with Target, Jewel-Osco, American Greetings, Kraft, Abbott Labs, General Mills, p&g and Kimberly-Clark. Everytime you really started to get into a conversation with a rep a cowbell would ring and we would all have to go to another table like a crazy game of musical chairs. I gained a lot of insight into how their internship programs were set up and came away with a few more companies to target during my internship search.
With no class for the day, we came back home had lunch and watched some Mad Men. Then I had a much needed nap and got to writing my thank yous and other networking emails. I made some pasta for dinner and then worked on my quant assignment before crashing at 12:30.
What most people will tell you makes an MBA program is the network you acquire (there are a lot more factors, but this is right up there in developing rankings, etc) and tonight was my first exposure to Kelley’s recruiting network. I was pretty impressed to say the least, 40 companies there to speak to the incoming class who has only had 3 days of school. Just mindboggling! Most of us don’t have any experience in the fields we are planning on pursuing post-grad yet we have people here that want to meet us, so cool.
So the day started out with management and econ, then some researching down in the lounge. At about 3ish we headed home, watched an episode of Mad Men and then did some more schoolwork. We grabbed a quick bowl of soup and then headed to Bloomington’s Convention Center to meet the company representatives.
I was a little nervous, didn’t really think i was prepared to meet them, but it ended up being a great experience. I met with reps from Nestle, Best Buy and two from various marketing functions within Walmart. I learned a lot and think I can add a few to my list of companies to pursue.
Then I wrapped up the night with some thank you notes and some webinars on networking for my LPCD deliverable.
All of our classes tomorrow got bumped to friday to accommodate more Round Table meetings (8 more companies on my docket) and seminars for us to attend. should be another adventure in networking!
