Job Interview Preparation in Business School

The SHARK TANK, hosted by Rady MBA alumni, is the mother of all job interviews. In just twenty minutes, I received a deep dive on what’s working and not working in my professional presentation, resume and elevator pitch. The feedback came from a panel of sharks, some of the school’s most accomplished alumni working in the industries and fields to which MBA students are applying. The sharks had already previewed my resume and were ready to pounce before I walked in.  Talk about intimidating!
In each shark tank, there were 6 sharks.  The first minute, we (the chum) gave our elevator pitch and the remaining 19 minutes we received feedback and answered questions.  After the shark tank, the chum moved on to 2 career counselors who were waiting to help me with additional counseling and feedback.
This was a great experience and I am really glad that I was able to swim with the sharks prior to my graduation in a few short weeks.  I really do believe that it was some of the best career advice that I have ever received and it only lasted 20 short minutes!  Here are some of the things I learned from the sharks:

1. Don't be afraid to reach out to alumni to network - they want to help!
2. Make sure you personality comes out in your resume and also the type of job you are looking for is clearly stated.
3. When giving an elevator speech, make sure you say what you are looking for first rather than at the very end. 
4. Look at jobs that you are interested in on linkedin and use words from the job description on your resume.
5. Find out your Myers Briggs personality type and use that to complete your resume.  For example, I am a ISFJ so I can include in my resume that I am proactive team leader, helper, motivator and encourager.  Find out more here.

Who can you ask to give honest feedback on your professional presentation, resume and elevator pitch? 
(Photo credit: USFWS)