Eka Gigauri , MS '20 The GCMC has been my go-to destination since day one as a graduate student of finance. I regularly check-in with my career advisors to update them on my job-search and interviewing progress, share my doubts, ask “stupid” questions, because, yes, it is a safe place to do so. For instance, multiple times, my career advisor gave me invaluable guidance not only on oral communication with recruiters and professionals but also on professional email correspondence. One time, I was unsure about the content of an email with an executive that would maximize my chances of a reply.  However, I followed the recommendations from my advisor about the format and tone of the email and I heard back from the executive in less than an hour.   In addition to working one on one with the career advisors, the GCMC frequently hosts informational sessions with companies that enable students to not only learn about them but also to network with executives. Prior to these events...

Luisa Diez , MBA '20 After graduation in June 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, I realized that the job-hunting process was not going to be easy. I needed to do it strategically and decided to work hand-in-hand with my career coach at the GCMC.  I can highlight two things in this process:   First, understanding what I am good at and what roles I could be a good fit for is key. Not every position is for everyone, and I am not the best fit for every single open role. So what is a good starting point? Self-assessments.  The MBTI and StrengthsFinder tools provided by the GCMC helped me narrow my job search. It also boosted my confidence in answering behavioral questions, and now I speak with certainty about my strengths, work preferences, and capabilities.   Second, prepare, prepare, and prepare! I cannot count how many times I have told my elevator pitch to my career coach, yet it has helped me to be ready when the “tell me about yourself” question hits in an i...

Daniel Ambalu , MBA '21 The GCMC has been an invaluable resource to me throughout my time at Baruch.  Before I even started, I met with Jack Pullara , a GCMC Career Coach, who informed me what skills are most in-demand for my target industry and which ones I needed to build. Fred Burke , GCMC Director, taught me how to quickly expand my network on LinkedIn, and the walk-in sessions with different coaches helped me prepare for last minute interviews during recruiting season through practice interviews and questions to expect.   My personal career coach, Lindsey Plewa , deserves particular mention, as she guided me throughout my career journey.  Through the MBTI and Strengthsfinder Assessments, she allowed me to pinpoint my skills and leverage them to best add value to my teams, whether at my internship or through class projects.  She even went over a PowerPoint presentation I made as I vied for a promotion last semester.  The GCMC is here to help you – if I ...

Your career is an important part of your life without a doubt. I’m guessing it’s the reason you’re investing time and money in a master’s degree. As an MBA student at Zicklin, I remember the pressure I felt to get my career right. I had quit my job to return to school so that I could change careers and felt a lot of anxiety navigating the process. In retrospect, I realize I was making a lot of choices out of fear and compromising my values, which had consequences down the line. If I had the opportunity to go back to that student version of myself, I would approach my career very differently so that fear wasn’t the driving force behind my decisions. An approach that I’ve come to embrace and one you might appreciate is to take on the perspective of a tourist when it comes to the career process. For me, when I’m a tourist, there’s a childlike wonder that gets me energized and makes me feel I can take on the world. Here are seven ways that shows up and how it can apply to the your career a...

by  Yujie Sun (MS Statistics ’19) Finding an appropriate internship opportunity is hard for students. During my journey in finding an internship, many resources at the school were useful. Tools for Clear Speech helped me improve my English, and the GCMC Advisors helped me modify my resume and urged me to take steps that would help me get where I want to go. Attending the Graduate Internship Course Networking Sessions also helped me learn about internship opportunities from other students. Eventually, I got my internship opportunity by applying on Zicklin CareerLink. The company where I interned, Tal Solutions , is a FinTech company that provides insights to financial-services clients. My job is as a Data Scientist, not as an Investment Analyst. Therefore, it’s possible to be a Data Scientist in the finance industry even though you do not have a background in finance. My daily responsibilities are to train and tune machine learning models, analyze data provided by clients, a...

by Shokolatte Tachikawa (MBA ’20) I am a nontraditional MBA student with mid-career experience prior to my undergrad at CUNY Medgar Evers College. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Finance and Economics from Medgar Evers in January 2018 and came straight to study at Zicklin School of Business from June in the same year. Before college, I had worked mostly in finance companies such as Citibank, Merrill Lynch, and Bloomberg having only a high school diploma. My plan when I started undergrad was to go back to those finance companies because I was familiar with the corporate culture. I enjoyed studying finance and wanted to continue, but then I decided to pursue my MBA. I actually never thought I would every attend grad school in my lifetime. When I started my studies at Zicklin, my goal was still to go back to where I used to be but with an MBA degree. However, in my second semester, I realized that the MBA is not just about learning management or counting money. I met great ...

Now that on-campus recruiting season has winded down, I have been debriefing with students about their interview experience. As graduate students, many are looking to make a career change, and for some, this is their first time interviewing in the US. The one topic that keeps popping up as an area of development is questions candidates have for the interviewer. Here are some common questions that students have asked interviewers and my suggestions on how to make them better. Question 1: What are the day-to-day duties of the position? Oof. Why don't I like this question? Because you should know what those are already! A way to make this question better is to rephrase it. Say something like, "Based on my understanding of the job description, I would be working on X and Y. Can you tell me more about X and/or are there other important projects coming up that are not listed in the job description?" Question 2: Can you describe the company culture? I am sure either you ...