Point A to Point B

Since October, it feels like I’ve applied to thousands of internships.

Internships are pitched as an essential part of the MBA experience- a chance to get your foot in the door of your new career path between the two years of the program. Many internships turn into full-time offers, allowing students to relax a bit in their final year of school. From the time we walked in the door in August, we have been refining our resumes, practicing interviews, networking with alums and recruiters, and shooting our shots for these opportunities that could make or break our post-graduation goals.

Today I finally checked how many ‘thank you for applying’ emails I’ve received, and it turns out to be around 250. Not thousands, but still an average of more than one application per day for the last 7 months. Of those, I’ve gotten five requests for further information and one interview- for which I received a rejection a day later. Many internships start in June, and applications are still open for some opportunities, which leaves me in a holding pattern for the next couple of weeks. Classes are over, and now I’m waiting with bated breath to see if an internship opportunity will still come through.

I want this blog to be an honest reflection of my experiences in my MBA, both the good and the bad. I know many other people are in the same boat as me, and I want to share how I’m thinking about this challenge and focusing on the things I can control.

I knew I might have a tough time with internships. I have an unusual background for an MBA, and my school doesn’t have a strong connection to my target industry. Still, part of the appeal of this degree was that it seemed to offer a straightforward path from point A to point B- it’s designed for career shifts, after all. Maybe it was an especially competitive year, or maybe I should have done something differently in the application process, or maybe it was pure bad luck- whatever the reason, an internship might not be in the cards for me. And if that’s the case, I want to make sure I have some good alternatives to pursue this summer.

The way I’m thinking about it is this: how can I spend the next few months to set myself up for success upon graduation? I want to do something that I can make meaningful progress on in a few months; is tied to my target industry or role; and gives me an opportunity to demonstrate skills, leadership, and passion. Thinking about it this way has come with a sense of relief- I am not afraid of hard work, and I know I can create or start something worthwhile in this timeframe. I’ve watched my classmates start all kinds of interesting projects and companies this year, and I recently got to work with a founder who launched his multi-million dollar company as a side project in college. It’s inspiring to be surrounded by people tackling work they care about, and I can bring that same passion to a project of my own.

Here are some ideas I’m noodling on: create and ship a project or demo; produce someone else’s project; start a company doing the work I want to do when I graduate; start a creative studio with friends. Each of these would give me a chance to network in the industry, learn on the fly, and put a wide range of skills to use. More importantly, I’m very excited about each of them. And I’m not waiting to get started- I’m working on a script for a short film, researching specific industry roles and problems I could solve, and connecting with fellow creatives and entrepreneurial folks to support each other as we build things this summer.

I’m still hopeful that an internship will come through- I’ve applied to some companies that I would be absolutely thrilled to work for, and where I know I would learn a lot over the next few months. But now, I’m just as excited about what it means if I don’t get an internship. I feel inspired and prepared to make the most of this time, no matter how it unfolds. My path is not straightforward, but I’ll keep marching ahead and learning more with every step along the way.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next month with an update about how this is all shaping up!