Smith Holds Undergraduate Networking Night

The Office of Undergraduate Studies at University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted an Undergraduate Networking Night on October 12, 2010. The event was organized to put the undergraduate students in touch with employers from top recruiting companies and alumni. Distinguished alumni and speakers from many top companies – Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Capital One, McKinsey, UBS, Constellation Energy, Northwest Mutual, Lockheed Martin, and First Annapolis – attended the event. The diverse backgrounds of these guests helped students to learn about different industries and functional roles in corporate management, wealth management, entrepreneurship, banking, operations management, accounting, risk management, and consulting.

The night started off with a panel of speakers addressing the general topics involved with internship search process for students. Speakers shared their insight from their own internship experiences as well as recruiting processes. They talked about different ways to find an internship and explained what recruiters look for in a candidate. They also had some useful suggestions on how to make the most out of these internships.

Students and alumni then moved to Van Munching Hall’s Executive Meeting Space for speed networking. Students could rotate among the tables where the alumni were stationed, allowing every student to speak to the guests in the most convenient manner. The alumni and the other notable guests from top companies stressed upon the importance of networking and offered their personal insight into internship process. Students had a chance to talk about their concerns and make some useful connections with this prestigious group of professionals.

In addition, here are some of the general takeaways that students left with after the night:

• Online resources are instrumental and useful for networking, like reaching out to alumni through LinkedIn and HireSmith Networking Group.
• Experience and internships are crucial for landing jobs after graduation. It is great to have an ideal internship but even the internships that do not look great at the outset actually help in the long run. Professional and communication skills, networks and team work, which are integral part of almost all the internships, help the students hone their skills and thus improve their candidacy when applying for jobs.
• Start looking for internships right away. Students who land their dream internships are usually the ones who start looking for them early.
• Once at internships, students should work hard, be proactive and seek out work and assignments. Impressions at internships are very important for getting a full-time job offer, even if a student is not looking to work for the same company in future.
• Just as employers are assessing if the interns fit appropriately with their job requirements, students could also use these internships to find out if this is the functional role or the company they want to work for after graduation.
• Make use of connections and networks you establish at the internships. Stay in touch with them with frequent e-mails updating them with the recent progress and achievements. At the same time, spamming them with e-mails every week is not recommended.

Nabeel Jawad, MBA Candidate 2011, Smith Media Group