HOW TO ROCK YOUR MBA INTERNSHIP

How to Rock Your MBA InternshipAlex “Al” Dea

@alex_deaUNC Kenan-Flagler

April 18th, 2016

WELCOME

Today’s objectives…

1. GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE ENVIRONEMTNAL FACTORS SURROUNDING YOUR INTERNSHIP

2. DISCUSS THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT COME WITH YOUR INTERNSHIP

3. SHARE LESSONS LEARNED FROM OTHERS WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE

4. PROVIDE ACTION-ORIENTED STEPS TO DRIVE SUCCESS IN YOUR SUMMER INTERNSHIP

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My Story

MY JOURNEY

ROCHESTER, NY

BOSTON COLLEGE

DELOITTE CONSULTING

UNC CHAPEL HILL

SALESFORCE

SHORT TIME PERIOD

LACK OF KNOWLEDGE COMPANY EXPECTATIONS

UNCERTAINTY

Some context on your internship…

HIT THE GROUND RUNNINGRead and prepare as much as you can before you start

SET EXPECTATIONS IMMEDIATELYDevelop a set of questions you would ask to understand the expectations from your manager

DEFINE SUCCESS FOR YOUDefine and set your goals and objectives for your internship

ADD VALUE IMMEDIATELYThink of key actions, responsibilities, or tasks your team might need, and be ready to do them

GET THE COFFEEDo it

KNOW YOUR STRENGTHSDo a self-assessment before you start your internship

PAY TO PLAY VS. UNIQUE SKILLSSpeak to other previous interns about what skills are important and valued

LEARN WHAT THE CULTURE VALUESSpeak to other interns about the culture.

Start asking around for names of people who are successful at the company

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORKSet networking goals, and put action oriented steps to achieve them

FIND MENTORS AND SPONSORSUnderstand the difference between the two, and strategize how to find them

WHEN BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, PUT OTHERS FIRST

Write down ways you can help other people, develop goals for doing it during the summer

GET YOUR OWN FEEDBACKDevelop a list of people you can reach out to for feedback on your work

KEEP TRACK OF WHAT YOU DO AND WHAT YOU LEARN

Develop a “learning book” to catalogue your lessons and key takeaways

OWN YOUR LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Brainstorm ways in which you can learn and develop throughout the summer

SHARE KNOWLEDGECreate a post-mortem that you can share with others

Consulting Marketing

General Management Finance

Presentation Building

Excel and Data Analysis

Relationship

Building

Verbal & Written

Communications

Presentation Building

Organization Expertise

Relationship Building

Verbal & Written Communications

Excel & Modeling Proofreading

Presentation Building

Research

Presentation Building

Excel and Data Analysis

Organization

Expertise

Verbal & Written

Communications

What Skills Did You Rely On Most?

It went fast. The summer flew by and was a bit of a whirlwind. It can be easy to get caught up in the sprint of the short 10-week internship and forget to actually

think about the experience and just go with the flow.

Going in, I was a little skeptical about how much they would trust an intern

with, but I ended up having an opportunity to develop their strategy for a major part of my organization's

business. This made me uncomfortable, but was also the source of a lot of learning about

myself and the business I was trying out.

Some people think that to have a successful internship and get a job offer,

they just need to put their head down and work harder than the guy next to

them. The truth is, to get a job offer you need to have advocates within the

company and you need to have built meaningful relationships.

It’s not so much what you are proposing or finding, but the way in which you do it. My

findings were not that earth shattering, but it meant delivering the message that a

particular person’s product was underperforming. Determining the product

was underperforming was easy, delivering the message in front of him was really hard!

Navigating the corporate culture was one of the biggest surprises. By the time I really learned the

culture of the company, I was halfway through my internship. Being new at the company and now

knowing who to ask and even who I COULD was a challenge.“

How much relationships mattered. I knew they were important, but didn’t realize that

the decision to give me an offer really hinged on how many people supported me.

You have to be the master of your own destiny. If you’re struggling, you need to put your hand up. If you’re interested in a project or subject, you

need to tell everyone who will listen. Staffing, networking, personal connections, and your entire professional development come down to

your ability to be proactive and manage your own career.

What Surprised You?

I set my own goals and did a good job of tracking them. I also

made sure that my team knew what my goals were, and as such, they were more than

willing to help me achieve them.

I didn't take the internship or the offer for granted; I was very clear from day 1 that I wanted to contribute during the summer

and earn a full-time offer. Getting the internship is not the end of the road, it's just

the first step.

To get people up to speed quickly, I developed a one-page "road map" of the

project that I included in every meeting request and slide deck. The "road map"

evolved with the project, and it allowed me to talk about one specific aspect (e.g. internal communications) while also

referencing interaction with other elements (e.g. legal concerns).

My manager had a bottle of scotch he pulled out for impromptu happy hours. I pushed myself to stick around and learn more about my teammates personally and professionally. This and

other efforts at relationship building came in handy down the line, when I needed help discussing particularly difficult problems

or getting an introduction to people who could help me.

Set expectations. The very first day, I asked what the evaluation process was like, and

found out there was no formal one, so I proposed one I thought was fair and my

manager checked with HR and agreed to it.

Built authentic relationships and cultivated them. I am not at the company but still stay in touch with my team, manager, and

recruiter. I even referred a few friends who now work there and actually am working with my former company and manager on a

project right now.

I did my very best to build a strong reputation and to do so quickly. It started

on day 1 from volunteering right away to do some pretty menial tasks, but people

noticed and appreciated it. I think they much more willing to help/support me after I had

built some respect.

What Did You Do Well?

I wish I had taken ownership of what I wanted to learn. I was kind of expecting that the company would facilitate that

because that’s what I heard in the recruiting process. At first I thought it was because they didn’t like me, but in reality,

they were waiting for me to tell them what I wanted. Once I took the initiative to do that, they were very happy to help.

I wish I had taken more initiative and ownership earlier on in the

process. Managers are busy, and while mine was supportive, they expect you to really drive your own work. I figured it out, but

wish I did earlier in the summer.

I got a big project, and I wish I had worked harder to focus the problem statement into more manageable chunks. In the end, I felt like I attempted to boil the ocean

and did not really answer any of the questions with the depth they deserved. I should have prioritized based on my hypotheses about potential value.

I should have been more clear about my goals for the summer at the start of my

internship. You might or might not be able to influence the assignments you get or the

exposure you'd like, but you won't know unless you ask.

I wish I did a bit more networking around the company because I realized how small a

piece of the company I actually saw as an intern there. I had some meetings with other teams, but not enough to get a good view of the different teams and cultures available to

work within.

I wish I had been more creative in developing data to support my

conclusions. In hindsight, I relied on what my managers expected me to do, rather than brainstorming new solutions and

new ways to analyze data.

I wish I had built more relationships. As trite as it sounds, it is about who you know, and if the people who make decisions know

and like you, then it opens up your opportunities.

I wish I had spent more time reflecting and thinking

about the experience during the internship. I think it would have helped me

process what I was doing and learning and given me a

better picture of the experience.

What Could You Have Done Better?

Keys to Success

Key to Success Action To Take

1 Hit The Ground Running Read and prepare as much as you can before you start

2 Define Expectations ImmediatelyDevelop a set of questions you would ask to understand the expectations from your

manager

3 Define Success For You Define and set your goals and objectives for your internship

4 Add Value ImmediatelyThink of key actions, responsibilities, or tasks your team might need, and be ready to do

them

5 Get The Coffee Do it

6 Know Your Strengths Do a self-assessment before you start your internship

7 Pay to Play vs. Unique Skills Speak to other previous interns about what skills are important and valued

8 Learn What The Culture ValuesSpeak to other interns about the culture. Start asking around for names of people who are

successful at the company

9 Network, Network, Network Set networking goals, and put action oriented steps to achieve them

10 Find Mentors and Sponsors Understand the difference between the two, and strategize how to find them

11 When Building Relationships, Put Others First Write down ways you can help other people, develop goals for doing it during the summer

12 Get Your Own Feedback Develop a list of people you can reach out to for feedback on your work

13 Keep Track Of What You Do And What You Learn Develop a “learning book” to catalogue your lessons and key takeaways

14 Own Our Learning And Development Brainstorm ways in which you can learn and develop throughout the summer

15 Share Knowledge Create a post-mortem that you can share with others

10 things to do this summer…1. GET THE COFFEE

2. SHARE KNOWLEDGE

3. MAKE SOMEONE’S JOB EASIER

4. ADD SOMETHING THAT HASN’T BEEN DONE

5. CONNECT TO THE OTHER INTERNS

6. HELP THE RECRUITER

7. KNOW YOUR TEAMMATES

8. ORGANIZE A TEAM EVENT

9. FIND YOUR ALLIES

10. DO THE JOB NOBODY WANTS

Let’s Stay in Touch

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgdea

https://twitter.com/alex_dea

http://alexdea.com/

Alex.Dea@gmail.com

Alex (Al) Dea

UNC Kenan-Flagler, ‘15

Want a copy of my presentation? Leave your e-mail and I will send you one

http://mbaschooled.com

Thank you.