Natalie Shuntich, MBA ’20
Coming back from winter break I quickly discovered that there are a number of meetings in the Spring Semester. While folks here at Kelley are very collaborative and accommodating, I have found that one of the hardest things is coordinating schedules. If you did not become an Outlook Calendar wizard during Core, I can promise that you will be one by the end of March! Some folks are still recruiting. There are many clubs & activities to choose from every week. And, for those of us who are first-year students, we are now taking classes at different times throughout the day.
How am I budgeting my time? Between balancing my time between interviewing for an internship, meeting with my team for GLOBASE and my team for my Academy Practicum class, and participating in club events—my days are packed. Interviewing is a special kind of busy, and it requires a lot of practice and effort. I probably could write an entire blog devoted to just that, but I will keep it short and simple.
For those of you who are curious about GLOBASE and Academy projects, I can attest that GLOBASE China and the Consumer Marketing Academy (CMA) project are both a lot of work! They probably make up at least 50% of my calendar each week. However, I am very excited about delivering my group’s recommendations for our two clients. My GLOBASE China client is a small hotel in Yunnan, China. They are rated highly on TripAdvisor but are looking to drum up excitement and awareness with a new hotel launch. In contrast, My CMA project client is a large Consumer Packaged Goods Company who is looking to reinvigorate an old brand. As a career switcher, I strongly believe that these two projects are going to help me the most with completing my summer internship. I have learned where to go to find both quantitative and qualitative research. Based on my experience so far, I believe that having a firm grasp of the subject matter is one of the first steps in gaining your client’s trust and being able to find unique consumer insights. I have also learned how to deal with ambiguity and using both marketing and consulting frameworks. One of the most important things I have been learning is how to settle on a team recommendation and bring your client along during that journey.
Outside of job hunting and school, I am also taking the time to interact with my peers and have fun (even if that means putting time on my calendar for club events). I just participated in two events that were an absolute blast! As an active member of the Wine Club and a budding mixologist, I had to go to the “Create Your Own Cocktail Night.” I also got the opportunity to participate in a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. During this celebration, I got to try some special Asian food items and learn how to play Mahjong, a Chinese game that I have been curious about for some time.