The job market is tough, no thanks to the global pandemic. But recent graduates Daniel Wong, Gabriel Mejia, Manav Narang and Pitchpop Piamthipmanas were able to defy the odds and secure jobs even before they graduate.
The four leveraged The NUS MBA’s ecosystem and resources in arming themselves with the tools and skills to attract their employers. For instance, they joined networking sessions organised by the MBA Programmes office to widen their networks and worked with the BIZCareers team to secure internships that boost their skill sets.
The alumni also proved their adaptability, using opportunities presented by the pandemic to secure employment.
From left: Gabriel Mejia, Daniel Wong, Manav Narang and Pitchpop Piamthipmanas
Here are their success stories.
Networking’s impact
Gabriel Mejia networked his way to a job with Real Estate Analytics.
Adding to his existing industry knowledge, Gabriel made sure to familiarise himself with the Singapore property landscape by way of an internship with PropertyGuru Group’s strategy team.
The BIZcareers team helped prepare Gabriel for job interviews. “Gabriel and his appointed career advisor discussed the interview processes, work ethic, the real estate industry and related opportunities,” said Enna Tan, Head, BIZCareers.
Gabriel’s professor from his Real Estate class recommended him to the Real Estate Analytics team, which subsequently hired him even before he graduated in the middle of this year.
Like Gabriel, Pitchpop benefited from networking. The position of consultant with Roland Berger Thailand was referred by an ex-colleague when the organisation resumed hiring in October last year.
The challenge for Pitchpop was the rigorous five-round interview process, each featuring a business case interview test. As practice makes perfect, according to Pitchpop, his strategy was to rehearse the interview with his classmates consistently. “I reviewed more than 200 cases and used them as practice almost every night for three months,” he said.
Pitchpop also sought advice from BIZCareers on interview skills and overall job markets. “They even advised me on the options available when I was looking to graduate by the summer term.”
Internship: The starting point
For Daniel and Manav, their internships led them to jobs when opportunities are scarce.
Through internships, Daniel immersed himself in business-driven roles to develop his finance knowledge and gain more exposure in the investment-specific space. His experience raised his profile to the extent he was approached by a recruiter from GIC.
The BIZCareers team facilitated his learning journey, setting him up for internships with a venture capital firm and a start-up.
And his experience paid off in the end. “My MBA journey gave me the confidence and knowledge to take on an investment role even though I initially came from a scientific R&D background without any finance,” said Daniel.
Be nimble
Manav’s path to employment was a combination of networking and internship experiences. Manav’s internship at Hatcher+ started as a conversation. “We talked about the ideas I had about their business and how I could contribute,” he said.
“Astoundingly, that conversation turned into an internship,” said Manav. He was about to go on an exchange in the UK at the end of the internship, but the pandemic put an end to his trip.
Hatcher+ was so impressed with Manav’s planning and business development skills that they hired him as Head of Impact Investing.
“I was supposed to go to London Business School on an exchange so I never imagined I would work here full-time. So pandemic silver-lining, I was able to convert my internship to a full-time job because the exchange got cancelled,” he said.
The MBA alumni’s experiences show that opportunities abound even during a pandemic. One still needs to put the effort in areas such as networking and building on existing skills. “Things can change at a drop of a hat. So in terms of internship and job searches, move with the waves instead of getting caught up,” said Enna.
Gabriel is now giving back to Business School by arranging to have Real Estate Analytics hire NUS MBA students as interns. “We assisted in profiling candidates to Gabriel and his team,” said Enna. Real Estate Analytics has worked with four interns since August last year and are looking for hire more in the future.
