Rabmeet Singh, MBA’21 (Finance, Data Analytics)
I graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce, with an honors degree from Indian Apex University, University of Delhi. I was fortunate enough to be a part of the world's largest audit firm, KPMG, where I worked as an audit analyst for a year or so.
I realized I needed to have more global exposure so I decided to pursue an MBA. Brandeis came on my list as one of my mentors went there. It has been one of the greatest decisions that I've made in my life, and I'm really excited to be a part of the Brandeis community. I'm an MBA candidate concentrating in finance and data analytics. Fall 2020 is the beginning of my second year.
When the pandemic started, my experiences at Brandeis changed a lot. I'm someone who really loves to meet in person. So the fact that I am alone in my room taking classes virtually has been challenging. Before all this happened, I had the experience of meeting others and there were lots of opportunities to network with faculty and peers. That doesn't tend to happen in online classes. You may be in a class for one and a half or three hours, then your Zoom meeting shuts off. So that's the thing that has been challenging. But if you check in with your peers and your family members on a regular basis, you won't feel left out or isolated.
I’m using LinkedIn as a tool to master my networking skills at this point of time. I know there are no jobs. In fact, I got two internships at world renowned companies: Disney Fox Studios and Kronos. But due to this pandemic, I lost both of these internships. I reached out to people on LinkedIn and made connections to start building a great network through many video lectures and stuff. These are the things that keep you going, so when it’s time to look for a job I’ll have a good number of people to network with.
My advice to new students is: Keep an open mind. Always be willing to learn. Because you come from a place, maybe even a different part of the world, you will face different cultural barriers. If you don’t open yourself up to meeting new people and having new experiences you will not succeed.
You have to adapt yourself to different changes. These changes will be emotional and intellectual. So, keep an open mind to learn. And when you meet new people, ask about their experiences. Every experience can teach you something that might be beneficial for you.
Since networking events aren’t happening, utilize this time to reach out to professors in the Brandeis community because often they teach in the industry. Ask them what your future career possibilities are, according to what you like to study. Ask them if you want to go back to your home country, which classes should you take that could be beneficial in your country.