Articles by xuz118

At 6:30pm, Oct 22, 2009, in the atrium of business building, MBA students, staff and faculty lined up for the Indian food. Later on, Indian students, Americans, and other internationals, were dancing and singing in traditional Indian way.

A passerby asked me, “What is happening here?”

I replied, “Diwali party, which is organized and performed by current MBA students and staff.”

So, what is Diwali?

It’s an official holiday in India, a significant 5-day festival occurring between the end of September and early November. Diwali is also known as the Festival of Lights, when the adherents of Diwali-celebrating faiths light small clay lamps filled with oil to signify good over evil within an individual.

In a program that values diversity, international students represent about thirty percent of entire class, which not only provides different perspectives in the class discussion, but also brings lots of fun and dynamics to the packed MBA student life. The Indian Diwali party is a vivid demonstration of it.

This year’s Diwali party was a tremendous success. The food was delicious, and was suitable for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian preferences. The dancing and singing was awesome, and truly gave audience a real taste of Indian culture.

Laughing and applauding; camera flashing; video recording.

This moment is about fun.

This moment is about happiness.

This moment is about diversity.

This moment is about diversion, from busy MBA life.

This moment is about sharing.

- Zhang, Xiaoyu (Eric)
MBA Class of 2010

10:00am EST, Thursday, Oct 8^th, 2009, business building, University Park, State College:

A young man, with one knapsack and one carry-on case on the left hand, and one plastic bag on the right hand, rushed down the stairs, crushed into a car, and headed toward the airport.

10:45am EST, a small airplane took off from the State College airport, flying to Minneapolis, with two stops in the middle.

5:30pm Central Time, the young man finally set his foot on the land of Minneapolis, the city of thousands of lakes.

The young man above is me, a 2^nd year MBA student at the Penn State Smeal MBA program.

To make the trip to the National Society of Hispanic MBA Conference & Career Expo (NSHMBA) conference, the 2nd largest MBA career fair in this country, I changed the final exam schedules of my three finance courses.  I also had one finance course take-home exam due first thing the following Monday. Four 2^nd year students and three 1^st year students went to the NSHMBA conference. I said to myself – “ok, we will see. It could turn out not that fruitful. But if I don’t go, I will regret.” Actually, it’s my first time to attend this kind of big career fair.

9:00am, Friday, Oct 9^th, 2009:  My roommate and I waited on the line in the hall of the Conference Convention Center, to get our registration name tags. Then, with thousands of other MBA students, just like a school of fish, I crawled along to the companies’ booths, talking with recruiters and showing off my passion, interests and skill sets.

There were around 200 companies on site, offering full-time and internship positions in various corporate functions. So, preparation played a big part. I brought my target company list, which is grouped into 2 tiers.  The companies in tier 1 are my most desired companies. I went to the tier 2 companies first, as a way to warm up by sharpening my skills. After a while, I approached my tier 1 companies, with confidence and a smile.

Like I said before, there were so many MBA students from all over the country with various skills and backgrounds. How do you stand out from the rest of the crowd? First of all, conduct deep research on your target companies and the positions they are offering, so that you can find the common bond between yourself and the companies. Second, prepare the elevator speech to impress the recruiters in the first thirty seconds. Practice, practice and practice more. Third and most important, be yourself. Recruiters are smart people, and they have interviewed thousands of candidates. They can look through you and tell who you are and what you can bring to the table. So don’t lie and don’t hide, and tell what you can and should tell.

The 2-day NSHMBA conference was pretty exhausting. But at the end of the first day, you still need to gear up for the next day. The second night, I fell asleep at 7:00pm, and slept until the next day.

Oct 11^th, midnight, I landed at the State College airport. I was glad to be back, and put other things back on track.

What I can say about the MBA career fair is to make your trip there and try to get the most out of it.  The best part is that you can meet your targeted companies who will never show up in your school. When you are on the spot, you have to be yourself and show who you are and what you can add value to the companies. In this way, you can make some difference.

Zhang, Xiaoyu (Eric)
MBA Class of 2010