First-year MBA students spent four intensive days last month enhancing their career search and planning skills as part of their Career Immersion, a staple of the Penn State Smeal MBA Program experience.
This year’s Career Immersion agenda included hands-on workshops giving students the opportunity to perfect their cover letters, practice answering interview questions and learn how to employ Twitter in their networking and job searches.
“This year, the two-week orientation program back in August served as a quick start for students to gain tools for resume creation, networking, and interviewing,” said Michael Brown, director of MBA Career Services. “The Career Immersion week allows us to go deeper into the strategy of conducting searches for internships and careers, as well as focusing more on cover letters and digital networking.”
A number of notable alumni lent their expertise to students for Career Immersion week. Ian McFetridge and Elena Kholodenko Polansky of Pfizer talked about the connections between supply chain and finance careers. Jane Leipold, senior vice president of human resources at TE Connectivity, explained the role of human resources in the recruiting and hiring process. And Joel Myers, founder, president, and chairman of the board at AccuWeather, provided a retrospective view of AccuWeather’s 50-year history while underscoring the keys to entrepreneurial success.