For a day it was easy to forget that women are a minority in the MBA program and in the workforce. Everywhere I looked I saw women in business professional attire, shaking hands with recruiters and going in and out of the ladies room for a make-up retouch. I, along with other first year classmates, was at the National Women’s MBA Conference held in Stamford, Connecticut.
My day started at 8 a.m. where I met the national officers and talked to fellow members at the National Leadership Conference Breakfast. We spent an hour discussing the goals and initiatives of the organization and the value it has brought to women MBAs. By 9 a.m., it was game time. Armed with a bundle of resumes and everything I have learned – and practiced – in our career search preparation, I was off to cajole, woo and charm my target companies.
After hours of walking around and pitching my story to recruiters, I managed to secure a couple of interviews. While I am yet to land my dream internship, the conference was a great opportunity to hone my interviewing and networking skills and meet fellow MBAs who are as passionate as I am about developing myself as a future captain of industry — who can wear a skirt, heels and make-up.
-Margret E. Ortega
Penn State – Smeal MBA Class of 2010