MBA Journal: Internship Recruiting June 3, 2010, 2:01PM EST

Harry Potter and the MBA Internship Search

"Since everyone's looking for internships, the cohort mentality helps by creating a support system, so you don't fall behind in your search"

Story Tools

"Harry Potter for the business audience?" was the dismissive response I got when first mentioning this journal idea. My friends' rejection of the topic reflects larger impressions about the world of business: conservative and a bit dry. Yet the more time I spend in business school, the more I realize success in today's business world necessitates insight, imagination, inspiration, and sometimes just a little bit of magic, too. I decided to press on—after all, my previous articles on the Potter phenomenon earned me the nickname "Harry Potter guy," and I do attend a school with a gothic tower that employs one Prof. McGonigle. Sometimes, you just can't resist.

Theory and Practice in Muggle and Magical Worlds

Work in Harry's world could not be more different than in ours. Author J.K. Rowling never mentions higher education, so a high school degree from Hogwarts qualifies wizards for all employment levels (no MBA needed—lucky them), while employees seem to stay with one company until retirement. What connects the magical world to business school, despite these differences, is a focus on experiential education, aimed at providing a specific skill set needed for work success. I've always respected knowledge for knowledge's sake, without a corresponding practical application. Now I'm in an environment seemingly designed for one purpose: to get us internships and subsequent jobs. Initially surprised at this switch, I have come to embrace the curriculum's constant return to real-life examples through case studies, enjoying my role as a would-be executive solving real problems.

This spring, I am populating my schedule with electives recommended by alumni and second years that support my interests in sustainability and renewable energy. I am taking Project Finance to learn how infrastructure projects are financed, Entrepreneurship to understand the mind-set of a newly emerging industry, Measuring and Creating Value to analyze how to sustain financial success. I also proposed an independent tutorial in Sustainable Operations to be prepared better for sustainability interviews. I am consciously choosing classes outside of my comfort zone. Even if finance still feels like conjuring money out of nothing, I decided on Measuring Value after hearing an alum talk about how he uses Excel templates from that class in his current job. In addition, I am supplementing the classes with independent projects with the Sustainable Business Network of Washington (SBNOW) and American Council on Renewable Energy. Similar to Prof. Lupin's obstacle-course exam in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, I know that success ultimately means relating theory to practice and testing my skills through experiential learning well before the internship starts this summer.

Destination, Determination, Deliberation

If you're a Harry Potter fan, you would have noticed that—apart, of course, from Hermione—the students never really panic about their academic exams. They do, however, freak out over the Apparition test, which they take at the end of Year 6 and which allows wizards teleportation license. Since the entire class takes the test together and failures are publicly known, the pressure to succeed creates tremendous anxiety.

After spending so much time at B-school, you'll start feeling as if you're in boarding school, too. No past experiences will prepare you for the curious feeling of a significant chunk of your world being engaged in the same activity: internship searching. Since everyone's looking for internships, the cohort mentality helps by creating a support system, so you don't fall behind in your search. On the other hand, constant questioning about summer plans can be terrifying for those who have yet to solidify offers. This emotionally charged environment has challenged even Georgetown's supportive culture: It's impossible not to feel a little bitterness when faced with a rejection.