Great Questions: How to Make the Most of Your MBA and Stand Out in a Crowd

By Allison Rein 

March 15, 2025 

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Smith School of Business MBA Discover Careers Day. This is one of my favourite events to attend, because it occurs just two months into the one-year MBA, when students are really just figuring out what they would like to do post-MBA and are open to discovering possibilities. The students in this year’s cohort asked particularly great questions, so I thought I’d share a few of the top questions (and my answers) here! 

What should I do if I’m at a Networking event and there’s no one there who works at a company that I am interested in working at? How can I still make the most of my time? 

This is such a great question and something I found challenging in the MBA! Beyond this, you may be at a networking event where there is no one even in the industry you are interested in! Don’t panic, you can still find value.  

Strategy 1: Look for companies that would have roles similar to roles you are interested in – ex. Want to be in a Medical Devices company? Why not consider a CPG company? There could be someone who is in a Product Manager role, and you can ask them all the generic questions about what product management is. Interested in sales – look for anyone at any company in sales. It helps if you’ve done your research in advance.  

Strategy 2: Ask the entering the workforce questions. For recent grads, you can ask about their MBA experience, tips and tricks, how they landed in their first post-MBA job. For less recent grads, you can ask about interviewing suggestions or how to stand out in a flood of MBA resumes.  

Strategy 3: Worst case scenario, look for the people at the event who are either busy, or not busy. With busy people, you can just go listen, maybe add a question if something comes up. With people who aren’t busy, ask them what they do and then tell them about yourself and what you are interested in. You never know, they may know someone they can refer you to or maybe their last job was more related to your interests. You can always ask the strategy 2 questions!

Whatever you do, do not leave the event early or just talk to your classmates. Talk to people, you have nothing to lose.  

What are the top things to do or avoid in the MBA (green flags vs red flags)?  

Academics

Do: At the end of each course, write yourself a one pager with the key learnings and things you want to remember from that course. In a few years, you won’t remember everything and you’ll be grateful to have a binder of 20 pages with everything you need in there! Do ask questions in class, and volunteer to lead projects outside of your comfort zone. You are here to grow and learn, and pushing yourself will result in that.

Don’t: Get behind. Everyone will have a course that they struggle with – get help before you get behind. Speak with the professor, your MBA team, or your classmates. Ask the office if they can set you up with a tutour. The MBA moves quickly – if you get behind, it’s much harder to catch up. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.  

Extracurriculars

Do: Volunteer to run a club or be a club executive member! Having clubs enhances the experience. Volunteer at a club aligned with where you want to go, not what your background is. If you have a finance background and want to get into the consulting world, volunteer at the consulting club. Do also attend the events that others organize! These are the events that will make your MBA memorable and help you build close friendships with your peers. Someday, your MBA peers will be your most powerful network, if you build those friendships.  

Don’t: Sign up for events and then not show up. The organizers will be looking for you, will have accounted for you in their numbers. Sign up, show up, and have the best time. Don’t stretch yourself too thin either – the MBA is all about honing your time management skills, and you don’t want to over commit yourself.   

How can I make a positive impression at a networking event?  

Be yourself! It’s highly transparent when a student is networking too hard or is putting on a front. Be honest about your background, your interests, and your questions while showing an interest in the person you are speaking with.  

One of the most memorable students for me from this last networking event was memorable because she ate lunch with me. I had run a session that morning on healthcare, and when the session was over, we all left the room. One of the students found me at the lunch line, then came and ate lunch with me. All of the other students ate together. This showed me that this student was genuinely interested in speaking with me, but also, could read a room well. This was highly memorable to me, and that student is the first I would recommend for a role.  

Also, if you enjoyed a conversation with someone, be sure to add them on LinkedIn that day or the next. Send a note with your connection request. If you want to talk further, ask if they have time to connect in the next month or so. If you just want to add them to your network to "save for later" send a note thanking them for their time and ask if you can reach out in a few months when new questions pop up. 

Be sure to follow up with any of those people that you really connected with over the next 6 - 8 months. If you wait a whole year, it's likely they won't remember you anymore, and you'll have to start over from scratch. 

If you do all of these things, you are guaranteed to make the most of your MBA and your networking opportunities. Scrubs to Suits community – what are some of the best questions you have been asked at networking events, and how did you respond?