Blonde MBADocumenting the life of a blonde MBA student in sunny California. Maybe some blondes DO have brains!

I’ve talked here before about the increase in my Facebook usage since joining the MBA program…just about every student is on Facebook or multiple social networks, and it is changing the way we interact (i.e. catching up with purposely forgotten classmates over a Facebook-planned 10-year HS reunion). NOW it is changing how we get a job…

Personal marketing has gone 2.0 with LinkedIn. I attended a workshop last week on using this professional social network, and learned the surprising statistic that more than 30,000 recruiters troll this network for job leads. While we can put crazy or incriminating pictures out on our Facebook, how we present ourselves in the LinkedIn setting is crucial for creating the right impression or “brand image” of ourself for potential employers as well as the professional network we have built via our “online rolodex.”

How do we do brand ourself then? We already brand ourself in the “real-world” in various ways, and  many of these be transferred directly AND improved on in our virtual world:

• From a resume & cover letter…to a complete profile
• From the 30-second elevator  pitch…to a 6-word headline
• From a business card exchange…to a reach extending way BEYOND six-degrees of separation
• From a pre-selected private recommendation…to an ongoing catalog of public recommendations
• From positive (but undocumented) peer respect…to a ranking of “expert opinion” based on votes for your answer to a LinkedIn question
• And finally…from pre-interview company research…to researching current & former employees (or the new hire that took the position you applied for)

While obviously your 2.0 brand is of increasing and necessary importance and LinkedIn has a number of great  tools that can propel you and your name farther than ever before, proponents all agree: LinkedIn (or any social network for that matter) is NOT a substitute for human interaction. To get your online rolodex, you have to network - in person.  To get a hold of someone important and convey your voice, you have to pick up a phone.  LinkedIn is just one part of your overall brand strategy!

Disregarding the fact that I have three midterms when I go back to school next week and it’s also tax time, I have been one busy MBA on this supposed-spring break!

Simply put? I’ve been focused on the search for the “perfect” internship that will give me the RIGHT experience for the career path I want to follow. When I first graduated from my undergrad, I see now that I really did not have a clue as to what I wanted to do and the goal back then (also during a recession) was simply to get a job that would pay off the pricey incurred school loans.

Part of going back for an MBA for me was to complement my background with the precise skills required to do exactly what I want to do (as I now know what it is, as well). That said, the “perfect” internship for me is not dependent on any sort of paycheck or resume-filling experience, but is completely dependent on gaining the experience that can propel my career forward on the right path.

So how am I spending my spring break?

• Networking - following up with past contacts to ensures quality relationships can continue; meeting new contacts that have diverse experiences, fresh insight, and quality connections; and building up my profile and network on sites like LinkedIn to best promote myself and “qualify” these connections.
• Reading & Researching- catching up on non-school related reading that promotes my understanding of my chosen field, the geographic business area in which I plan to work, and the information needed to connect and relate to prospective employers.
• Blogging - on this and other sites to put what I am learning and doing into writing to provide a relevant log of activites (in this case) and to show prospective employers my level of understanding in terms of my chosen field (in other cases).

These are just a few of my current activities…I’ll try to throw some beach-time and relaxation in there, but for now, catching up to get ahead is probably the most beneficial thing I can do!

It’s that time…starting (I mean REALLY starting) the MBA internship search! An internship, for me, is 8 months out still, but it’s what most full-time MBA students come into the program already thinking about as our objective. The internship is a crucial part of MBA success, as it not only boosts our technical skills & experience, but is often the path to a full-time job upon graduation!

As I said, I’m just getting started…I’ve already been utilizing the resources of my career management center, getting my resume polished, attending networking events, participating in a mentor program, and attending professional workshops. This semester is also, for me, about widely “casting out my net” to research a number of industries & areas of interest, using Vault and online job postings, so as to narrow down my search and focus as I gear up to start applying next semester.

As I “cast out my net,” I’m not worried so much about what’s on my resume and my past experience, but I’m looking for jobs or job descriptions that best fit what I want to do, i.e. looking at a job & saying “a ha!” that is what I want to do. Now, I don’t always have the requirements, but looking at a possible “future” job can help me see what areas of my resume I need to boost via an internship and other external activities. Plus, even if I don’t meet the requirements, I can learn as much as I can now about that job to at least speak confidently about it as I’m interviewing.

It seems that MBA internships are fewer & more far-between than many full-time positions at major firms. That being said, they are probably the most important step to getting the job you want, both by gaining some technical experience and contacts in your industry and by determining if that industry is the “right fit” for you ahead of time! Thus, they require a little more effort right now…

For MBA internship search tips for next summer (starting NOW), check out this article  “I Know What You’ll Do Next Summer.” In the meantime, I’ll keep you updated on my progress, and welcome any advice you may have to give!!

As an MBA likely graduating into a recession, you’ve got to wonder how it will affect the job market we’re graduating into. Of course, as estimates have recession MBA’s earning 20% less over their lifetime, perhaps we should follow “Laid off by Lehman Brothers: One Broker’s Story” as below, on ways to cut back!

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I probably didn’t say ‘Blonde MBA’ at the age of 5, but now that I actually AM a Blonde MBA, I have to start planning my career strategy for what I want DO with my MBA when I graduate in 16 short months…

My school’s Career Management Center is an integral part of the life of a full-time MBA. At orientation, they said that that 90% of MBA students say they know what they want to do when they enter the program, and 90% of MBA students are lying. Most of us really don’t know what we plan to do with our MBA degree (or will change our mind in the course of the program :)).

As if it wasn’t enough that I  made the decision to get my MBA, I have now taken 4 personality tests within 1 week of school starting to determine: my strengths, what type of thinker I am, how I best learn, and now, what career paths best suit me. Half of them are right, half of them not…I mean, I’m getting  my MBA to be a bus driver? Are you kidding me?

Obviously kidding…I can’t drive… but hopefully this career assessment (and meetings with the Career Management Center) will give me good insight on the various career paths that I might enjoy and help me come up with a good strategy for getting the job I want upon graduation!