As Austin cools down and fall descends upon us you start to get into the groove of being back in school as a First Year MBA student. Cramming late into the night all too frequently having no class on Fridays eating a lot of take out and having the occasional mid-week adult beverage becomes a normal way of life again. Just when you start to feel like you have this MBA thing figured out it hits you: I need an internship next summer because I’m going to have to pay off these loans some day.

Since mid-September my classmates have randomly been showing up to class dressed in their finest business casual attire rather than the t shirts and flip-flops that normally accompany the daily trip to campus (another big perk of going back to school…MBA Casual attire) so they can head straight from class to a recruiting event. Since I did not participate in a formal recruiting process as an undergrad the past few weeks have been an interesting introduction to me into the joys of this process and a good reminder as to why we are all really here. For those of you out there who may be new to this process as well I thought a brief overview of the process would be helpful as you try to imagine what life will be like next year as a First Year MBA at McCombs.

The recruiting process is intense and is something that McCombs puts a focus on starting in Orientation. Our 4th day on campus panels were held in different functional areas with recruiters from top firms sharing their insights to the newest Texas MBA class many of whom had been in Austin for little more than a week at the time. From there the fun begins in earnest with a wide variety of opportunities to network with a full spectrum of firms that encompass the varied interest of my peers at McCombs:

Brief & Meets – These events are held in the evenings after classes wrap up for the day usually on campus. Here the sponsoring firm gives a presentation about their company and their process for identifying summer interns. There is always a chance for questions and normally a sponsored happy hour afterwards which provides you the chance to speak informally with a number of current employees who are often McCombs alumni. A few of the firms who have hosted these events this fall include: Apple McKinsey & Co. GE American Express Bank of America Pepsi Bain & Company and Microsoft.

On Campus Career Fair – A one stop shop just as many people experienced in undergrad only a lot smaller. A cocktail party on Thursday night provided an informal networking setting while the Career Fair on Friday allowed students to stop by booths to interact with recruiters from companies such as: Amazon 3M Intel Chevron Deloitte Consulting Walmart HP and American Airlines.

Other Opportunities in Austin – Often times firms willb6a try to come up with a different way to meet and get to know potential candidates in a more informal setting. Recently both Exxon-Mobil and Dell were kind enough to sponsor our MBA tailgates before one of our home football games (What better way to woe a Longhorn to your firm than free beer and tacos on game day?)

Another great example of this was the small group sessions held by The Boston Consulting Group a few weeks ago which allowed students to meet with McCombs Alums from BCG in groups of 4-5 MBAs providing a great way for both parties to get to know each other.

Club Treks– One other way that McCombs students get a chance to interact with companies in their field of interest is through Treks. These are organized jointly between our campus clubs and the McCombs Career Services Office and offer a great way to get out of Austin and touch these firms on their home turf. A few examples of these Treks include:

Wall Street Trek – Held a few weeks ago after we finished our first quarter finals the Graduate Finance Association headed to the Big Apple. Please see Ryan Brown’s post about this trip for more information.

Houston Energy/Clean Tech Trek – In late September the Clean Tech Club and the Energy Finance Club hosted a combined trip to Houston where they visited the headquarters of Horizon Wind ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil.

Dallas Consulting Trek – In a few weeks the Graduate Consulting Group will head to Dallas to visit the offices of consulting firms like Bain & Company Deloitte Consulting Booz & Company and A.T. Kearney.

These are just a few opportunities that McCombs brings to the table when it comes to the process of securing a job after graduation. Whether it is the PLUS program groups like Venture Fellows and Marketing Fellows different challenges or alumni networking events McCombs facilitates countless opportunities to help you achieve your post MBA career.

Speaking of challenges the bloggers cleaned up the Deloitte Case Challenge last Friday with my team placing first and Kalin and Kevin’s team coming in second. More details forthcoming from Mr. Burke…