Take the case of this email below. The writer of the message is a recent MBA grad from a European program who was weighing the decision to accept an unpaid three-month long internship at the United Nations. The position would cost her significant out-of-pocket expenses to complete and didn’t really align with her career goals. Also, the position would have her in Europe and she is actually more interested in working in the U.S. By the time, I was able to reach her message in my email queue, she would have finished the internship if she’d decided to take it. I went ahead and recorded a video reply for her because it was an interesting question, but I fear that I let this reader down. My bad.
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SK wrote:
Hi there Marquis!
Hope all is well with you and that you have been enjoying the holiday season!
I am a recent MBA grad from a top 5 international MBA program (in fact I graduated just this month!) where I studied in France & Singapore. I am a non-traditional MBA, in that my background prior to business school was in non-profit and government. Prior to joining, I worked in microfinance for 1 year with the Aga Khan Development Network in India, and after this, I worked for 2 years in the Ministry of Higher Education for the Ontario government in Toronto. My aim in joining the MBA was to develop the quant/ management skills to land a job in the private sector (i.e. consulting/ marketing) before transitioning back to non-profit work where I could make a greater impact.
Over the course of the year, I’ve narrowed my long term career interests into research/ advisory role in the education sector (I am very passionate about this) or economic advisory roles in an international organization such as the World Bank, or a top think tank.
Though I gained interviews, I was unsuccessful in landing a job with the top consulting firms (BCG, Bain, McK). My plan after graduating was to move to Washington D.C. to look for a job in boutique consultancy in the education/ public sector. Or, to look for economic advisory posts in above mentioned international orgs.
I have now been offered a 3-month internship with the UN in the OCHA. The internship is completely unpaid, and would take me back to Europe. The job would involve some use of my finance skills (but likely the substance of the work would not be more challenging than what I have done in the past.) Also, living/ flight expenses would put me out another $10 K. The main benefit of the UN internship is for the brand name and networking for a paid position (likely in Europe) which I would not take even if I was offered. I am hesitant about taking the internship because my short term objectives on graduating from b-school were to:
-gain pure business experience (to build on my MBA learnings)
-strong preference to working & setting down roots in North America (huge family here)
-pay off over $50,000 USD loan
I am currently back in D.C. and as I have not yet seriously started my job search, I limited sense of what demand would be like for my new MBA skills combined with my past public policy background. Do you think I should take the internship or do you think it makes more sense to stay in D.C., and focus on gaining the pure business experience I had initially aimed to gain post-MBA?
Thanks a lot Marquis! I look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
SK
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My video response:
Non-profit career advice for a recent MBA grad from Marquis Parker on Vimeo.
Key points:
– Important issues to consider (in my opinion)
–> Getting a post-MBA job
–> Building a career platform
–> Develop personal/professional brand
– Recommendation: Accept the three-month internship with the UN and, during that time, work hard to leverage networks and develop personal/professional brand with the goal of building a foundation for a stronger career in the long-term
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