About Me: Originally from Orange County, CA, I’m a rising 2nd Year and thrilled to be back in Westwood as a Double Bruin. My passion for strategy and technology stems from a broad-ranging career encompassing brand management, entrepreneurship, and government. I currently hold the VP of Alumni Affairs for Anderson’s student government and am the Managing Director/Co-Founder of the school’s newspaper, The Anderson Exchange. I volunteer as an MBA Fellow and active alum of Anderson’s Riordan Programs. Follow along as I blog while spending my summer working with Google in Mountain View.
Day 1 of "The Internship": “Good luck…and by the way, you’re overdressed!” I hear the new roommate yell over my shoulder as I head out of my San Francisco four-story walk up apartment. I crack an uneasy smile looking down at my business casual pressed slacks and feel like the kid mom dressed on the first day of high school.
The last to jump on the Google shuttle to Mountain View, I get the ‘who’s the new guy?’ stares while I find a seat at the back. “They’re probably just admiring the slacks,” I lie to myself. Pulling out my laptop I can feel my hands are clammy - first day nerves are definitely settling in.
I take a deep breadth and a classic John Wooden quote pops into my head. “Trust your training.” Good ol’ Coach. My first year at Anderson has been tremendously transformative; however, it’s been particularly impactful in building confidence to run with the best of them in the “real world”. Reflecting upon a few of the takeaways from Anderyear 1, here are the ones I walked into Google with on the first day…
Learning How to Perform Exceptionally in Rigorous, High-Pressure Arenas.
If fall quarter and recruiting season proved anything, it’s that you will not only survive, but also thrive in challenging environments. At Anderson you’re surrounded by the best and brightest. Although exciting, for many students, including myself, this puts your will to the test. Whether it’s challenging yourself in unfamiliar academic courses or stepping into club leadership roles, you are pushed hard to raise your own bar of exceptional performance and you become comfortable with feeling uncomfortable as you learn and grow.
Networking is Now Second Nature.
Probably just as important as your cognitive ability is your ability to be a personable coworker who people want to be around at, or after, work. The multi-faceted social interaction that students engage in at Anderson teaches them how to effectively relate and build rapport with different personality types by bringing out their own unique personalities in professionally refined ways.
We’re All in This Together.
In my latest article for The Anderson Exchange, I wrote that investing in the happiness of others will create a lot of goodwill for you during the internship. Little things, like extending networking opportunities with senior leadership to other interns or just offering a helping hand on the project you weren’t originally assigned to, go a long way. This collaborative approach to work and teams is a distinctive aspect of Anderson’s culture, which offers us another way to stand out amongst the impressive set of MBAs from around the country.
My Support System Rocks.
I’m speaking of the support from Anderson, of course. I know that if things go sideways during the internship, Anderson has got my back. Here are just a few examples:
- Parker CMC: The career office is open all summer and makes it a point to offer us career guidance, crisis mitigation, and networking opportunities.
- My Classmates: One cool thing about my classmates working at all the top companies across the country is that I can ping them when I need subject-matter expertise on any industry imaginable. I’ve already reached out to one classmate for insight on my project at Google, which helped me impress my manager in the first week!
- School Resources: Summer internship projects can be complex, however, Anderson provides a myriad of resources to help knock those projects out of the park. Beyond the databases and technological resources available, the school can connect you with professors who can help you think through some of that complexity.
- Alumni: The network boasts not only breadth, but also the quality of individuals to help us make the most of our internship experiences. Connecting with alumni during the summer is a great way to build your personal brand and learn about the various opportunities available through the Anderson Alumni Network.
It’s been an awesome first week in SF and at Google. Stay tuned for more from me throughout the summer!
You can follow Zubin at
Twitter: @ZubinDavar
Instagram: @mr_zubs
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zubindavar
