Is it easy to find an internship/job coming from BYU?

I mentioned in another post that the one thing I think incoming students can do to prepare for their MBA, is to begin the career search now. The first semester of school is a huge refining process for most MBA’s in terms of their job-finding skills, and gaining an understanding of the process early on, as well as answering some fundamental questions about personal career goals, can make a big difference and give you a leg up.

Is it tough to get hired out of BYU? It really depends. You’ll hear from our recruiting teams that these are hard times, that employers have cut back, that even students at top 10 schools are having a more difficult time finding internships due to economic pressures. Though true that may be, I really get the sense that BYU has always had a challenge approaching top-tier employers. Now, that’s more true for some tracks than others – tracks = fields of business study such as finance or marketing – but generally speaking, top employers tend to skim from the top around here (if you catch my meaning). A lot of students seriously struggle to find work in the areas and at the companies they’re after. Now, typically if they’re willing to adjust their goals, they’ll find a world of opportunity before them. It may really just depend on how ambitious you are, how prepared you are, and (admittedly) how gifted you are.

That was the not-so-great news. Here’s the good news: many top companies take BYU very seriously, and we always seem to place people in some of the most coveted jobs year in and year out. If you’re prepared, have the right experience, and generally fit the bill, you’ll have a solid shot at just about anywhere you want to go from here. It may take a lot of work. I can guarantee you’ll need some solid networking (relationship-building) skills and maybe a little luck. But students do it every year. And just remember this when you get your dream job: your co-workers likely paid multiples of the cost of your MBA, and you’re getting the same pay as they are!

-Merritt Aho, Marketing, Class of 2011