Interviews with KU MBAs regarding summer internships
Erin Gfeller, investments intern at Kauffman Foundation
How did you get connected with this position?This position was not listed on the KU business school’s Career Connections Web site, so I had to apply though the Kauffman Foundation’s website. I did some research on the position and the organization and found that this was the first internship opportunity that really piqued my interest, so I applied. A few weeks later, I was asked to participate in a phone interview with the Chief Investment Officer. A couple days later I had another interview with the Head of Marketable and Alternative Investments. After these two interviews I was offered the position in early February.
What’s your daily routine like—what are you responsible for at this position?I would arrive at the Foundation around 8 a.m. and eat a complimentary breakfast with the other interns. However, many mornings we would have breakfast meetings arranged with associates to learn about the programs of the Foundation. Then, I’d report to my supervisors in the Investments Department to get my assignments for the day. I was involved in every thing from due diligence for private equity and real estate investments to screening hedge funds to researching demographic trends. Usually, twice a week I would also have the opportunity to participate in conference calls with the Investment Committee or a number of our fund managers.
What are some keys to making an MBA-level position like this a success for you and the firm you’re with?I believe the reason that my internship experience was so successful was because my supervisors had a clearly defined list of projects that I was responsible for accomplishing during my eight weeks. There was never any doubt about what I needed to be working on, and I felt like I was actually contributing to the organization. Networking is also key—through breakfast meetings, over lunch, and during Happy Hours I was able to get to know several associates in different areas of the Foundation.
What do MBA students need to keep in mind when searching for that internship or first MBA-level job?When starting the internship or job search, I’d recommend approaching it with a very broad view. Open yourself up to firms, industries, or positions that you may not have initially considered. Then, once you start the interview process, you can be more selective. However, saying this, I would also not recommend settling for just any position because you feel like you “have to get an internship or job.” Find something that you think you might enjoy doing; otherwise, it could make for a very long and unsatisfying experience.
Jean-Marie Miller, marketing intern at Remel Products
How did you get connected with this position?I found this internship through career connections that is offered to the business students at the University of Kansas School of Business.
What's your daily routine like—what are you responsible for at this position?Customer segmentation for the pediatric clients had not been a focused effort at Remel, and children’s hospitals were not segmented in Remel’s customer hospital database. Part of my project was to target children’s hospitals with three different rapid diagnostic tests for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and rotavirus. I needed to research a list of children's hospitals in the United States that treated infectious diseases and would be able to use these products.
I did some background research on those three viruses and compiled two letters to send to the children’s hospitals that detailed the benefits of the kits. In addition, sales representatives were briefed about this initiative and sales will be monitored throughout the year with these three specific products with the hope of gaining new customers.
What are some keys to making an MBA-level position like this a success for you and the firm you're with?This position wasn’t specifically for MBAs, so I felt like I had something to prove. I have no previous marketing experience, so I tried to learn something from everyone I came in contact with whether it was people in Marketing Communications to Product Managers in the Marketing Department. I made sure I knew who to go to with questions, and everyone was always eager to help. When I completed projects I challenged my supervisor for more. Being attentive and extremely interested in the company as well as a team player made this a successful position for me as well as the company.
What do MBA students need to keep in mind when searching for that internship or first MBA-level job?I was a little discouraged because I have a microbiology background, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to get overlooked by many of the companies recruiting for internships. However, the science background helped get this position with Remel, so it worked in my best interest.
Figure out a way to leverage your background experience alongside your reasons for getting your MBA, and try not to get discouraged if you don’t hear back from a lot of companies. I applied for numerous internships, but the best fit for me was with the company that sold Microbiology products. Another thing to keep in mind is there are many people that the MBA students can seek out if they are experiencing difficulties in finding an internship and I suggest using those resources. It is helpful to talk to the Business Career Services Center and seek out second-year MBAs who might have connections with companies they interned at over the summer.
Aaron Meyer, human resources intern at Hills Pet Nutrition
How did you get connected with this position?I found the position by browsing the KU Career Services job postings and then pursued it further via the Hill's Pet Nutrition Web site.
What's your daily routine like—what are you responsible for at this position?I reported directly to the staffing specialist and performed many of the daily staffing functions necessary in the corporate setting. The daily operations consisted of communicating with potential employees, scheduling interviews, writing interview guides, and mining employee databases for potential candidates. In addition to the daily staffing duties, I worked on a quality audit of our applicant tracking system to insure EEO compliance and maintain a positive company image.
While the applicant tracking system quality review was probably my biggest project, I was also served on a team in charge of developing and improving our online and in-class training courses for Global Product Training. This project led to a part-time position this semester under Colgate's eLearning Specialist, a new position that I am helping to develop.
What are some keys to making an MBA-level position like this a success for you and the firm you're with?I think the biggest key to success in a position like this one to take advantage of every opportunity the company provides. Hill's has a wonderful intern program that exposes you to high-level executives and gives you vast opportunities to network with people that want you to succeed and are willing to help you reach your goals. I never felt like "just an intern" in my position because I approached my internship like a full-time job and did not treat it as a temporary position. My fourth day at Hill's I found myself with an opportunity to volunteer in the community with some people from my department. That experience really set the tone for my internship as I was washing Meals on Wheels vans in my slacks and experiencing my co-workers outside of the work environment.
What do MBA students need to keep in mind when searching for that internship or first MBA-level job?Don't narrow your scope too much. We all have an idea of what our ideal position might be but that opportunity may not present itself immediately, so it's important to be flexible and patient. If someone had told me when I started the MBA program that I would have a summer internship with a Colgate subsidiary and have a wonderful experience in a corporate environment, I wouldn't have believed them. I kept an open mind and it paid unbelievable dividends.
