#MBAchicTakeover – Ken Joseph takes us on an MBA job trek across London

On Thursday, we kicked off our #MBAchicTakeover series with Ken Joseph of CUNEF in Madrid, Spain (@kenintexas)! We had the unique opportunity to follow along as she and her International Finance MBA classmates participated in a job trek across London. They started the week in Canary Wharf speaking with global banks and continued to the City of London and West London to speak with the Spanish embassy and participate in talks about globalization and venture capital at the London School of Economics.

Many of you have never been on an MBA job trek so this offered a look into what goes on, and your questions and feedback were insightful and very helpful. Perhaps most exciting were the inquiries from those curious about hosting their own takeovers (do it!). We’ve got the entire video on our YouTube channel and embedded below!

#MBAchicTakeover

After hosting her takeover, we caught up with Ken to get her thoughts on the experience sharing her job trek across London…

What did you enjoy most about the job trek?

I loved seeing the alumni, who are only a few years out of my program. It made everything feel much more attainable. Also getting to meet the Head of Sabadell!

What was your favorite session/discussion during the trek? Why?

Our final talk on Friday was amazing. I don’t know if I have ever seen a speaker be that impactful – twenty minutes, no PowerPoint, just words. The topic was War and Peace in our lifetime. I can’t even put it into words, but I’ll try…basically how conflict is a human predisposition, and what we can do about that. I was floored.

What did you learn about the companies that you couldn’t learn while researching yourself?

As an American in Europe, there’s so much I have to learn. While at Sabadell, I asked what would be a good jumping off point to get myself more versed in European finance. There were so many acronyms, it would make your head spin. Let’s just say… I have a lot to learn.

What surprised you the most about the job trek across London?

The non-stop nature of it. I knew we’d be busy, but this was unreal. You’ll want to go out for drinks and hang out with your colleagues, but you have to be realistic. This is your shot to make amazing, lasting impressions. So looking like what the cat dragged in is not in your best interest. 

What was your biggest takeaway / advice that you’d like to share with our community?

BE PREPARED. There were so many people who hadn’t done the readings. Even if you don’t have time to read everything, at least skim over so you can have a few talking points. It definitely leaves an impression. If you want to maintain that connection with a speaker for networking purposes, they’re more likely to remember if you said something that was well articulated and showed some effort. I’m already planning to visit London again to meet with some of the connections I made. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! That’s what your speakers are there for.

Thanks so much to Ken for hosting and kicking off our #MBAchicTakeover series and for giving us such a great inside look at MBA job treks!

Join us and tell your story!

Are you interested in hosting a takeover, or writing a guest post for MBAchic?

Whether you’re an MBA student, applicant, grad or someone who has a story / content that can relate to our community, we’d love to have you share with us. Share a day in your life, take us along for a conference or another job trek across London, review your MBA program or courses, tell your personal MBA journey or challenges you’ve overcome, educate our audience on how to approach interviews with your company and more – we are happy to collaborate and brainstorm, especially as we launch and try different things.

Let us know you’re interested! Visit MBAchic.com/write and slide into our DMs or ping us an email, so we can get the ball rolling. Also FYI… guest posters have included their features within their resumes/CVs, and not saying there is a direct correlation but they went on to secure their top jobs in their industry post-MBA or in their next role post-publishing so… ????

Have you participated in a job trek with your business school program? How did that benefit your recruiting / job searching? What surprised you the most? Would love to hear from you!

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