Kunal Mahajan, Finance Alumnus

My job search process at the University of Maryland was an adventure to say the least. I remember entering my freshman year with my eyes set on obtaining a job on Wall Street, yet I had no idea what that entailed nor how to go about getting in the door. What further complicated this issue was that I was always a very nervous kid, which did not help my chances and none of the banks recruited at the University of Maryland which made it even worse for me.

The second semester of freshman year I sat down with an advisor from the Career Center and explained to them my dilemma. That was when they informed me of the all of the great resources they had for my disposal such as resume help, virtual mock interviews on a computer, mock interviews with a career counselor, and the various job networks. I immediately scheduled an appointment for resume help and sure enough my first resume had red marks over the entire page at the end of the session.

I spent the next few years of college getting involved and trying to build up my resume by joining a fraternity, joining clubs on campus, and seeking out various finance and accounting internships. At the same time, I was continuing to network in anyway possible with Maryland alums at the different investment banks to learn more about what they did and to develop relationships with them. In addition to all of this, I was also practicing interviewing with the career center while reading the Wall Street Journal daily, studying finance and accounting concepts, and talking to as many people as possible about the intense Wall Street interviews.

By the time my senior year finally came, I was able to get interviews at many of the investment banks I could have only dreamed of interviewing at in the past. With years of practicing with the Career Center and studying on my own, I thought that I was finally more prepared than ever for these interviews. Although I thought I aced many of the interviews, I never seemed to be getting any emails other than rejection emails. With my confidence beginning to deteriorate, I began to open up my scope and interview for any business-related job. I remember one day in specific where I had six interviews in one day and I was literally going back and forth across campus, only to receive six rejections at the end of the day. I was on the verge of giving up.

Hanging with very little hope, it was really the University Career Counselors that helped me bounce back and encouraged me to continue to keep trying. They helped me work on the aspects of the interview that I needed to improve on and helped me restore my confidence. I began to realize how much I had to offer to any corporation and a few weeks later I found myself in a final round interview with a bank in London. Sure enough, two hours later the bank called me to offer me the job and I found myself speechless and fighting to hold back tears of happiness. I had changed from a young nervous kid who had no way to enter into Wall Street to a confident young man who landed his dream job and get a chance to work abroad.

I know that without the help of the University Career Center, I would not be where I am today. Thank you Career Center for contributing to my success.

 

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