OPPORTUNITIES – ASIAN MBA
This blog post was written by Aditya Gupta, a Graduate Affinity Conference Sponsorship recipient…
As an international student, I am always looking for opportunities that can help me meet new people, connect with companies, gather information about the industry and ultimately land a job. The ASIAN MBA Conference was one such amazing opportunity that I came across and was excited to be a part of.
As per the website, “ASIAN MBA Annual Conference is the longest running and largest event empowering future Asian American leaders and helping companies to recruit top talent” and I can vouch that my experiences at the conference were definitely enriching and valuable. The day started around 10 am with 30 companies setting up their booths and waiting to chat with excited pool of job seekers. Although, more than half of the companies did not sponsor visas, it was still great to know about the new trends in the industry and practice my networking skills. Among those who were open to recruit international students, PNC Financial Services, Uber, UCSF and SUEZ NA were of particular interest to me. I am grateful to have had the chance to network with the potential employers and convey how I can add value to the organization with my strengths and skills.
Alongside the career fair, there were speaker sessions and panel discussions from eminent corporate leaders and entrepreneurs. The talks were inspiring, where the speakers touched on topics such as challenges faced in starting your own business, cultural fitness and importance of training and development. Listening to the speakers helped me reflect on my experiences until now and inspired me to be persistent in the journey forward.
Apart from the career fair and the speaker session, another value addition was the networking opportunity with the fellow job seekers. I was able to meet students from different B-school and connect with them on a deeper level because of the common background, culture or experiences. Representing Babson was a proud moment for me in such conversations.
Overall, it was a great experience to attend ASIAN MBA. Some of the key learnings included reinforcement of the importance of networking, persistence, prioritization as well as staying inspired. I am happy to say that this conference was definitely an addition in my job search process and I thank Babson Graduate Affinity Scholarship team for making it possible.