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Student Case Study
Client
MBA student, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business - Sarah Huang (name changed for confidentiality) was an international student from Shanghai, China. In 2001, Sarah was a second year MBA student at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business studying Finance, Accounting, and Strategic Management. Upon completion of her MBA degree, Sarah hoped to obtain a position in a US based investment bank to gain valuable experience in America before returning to China.
Challenge
Sarah contacted us in the Fall of 2001 after having a very difficult time during her first year in business school. Due to the downturn in the economy, investment banking internships were at a premium and were given to candidates with both exceptional analytical and communication skills. Sarah told us that the feedback she had received from recruiters was that she was extremely talented in the analytical skills, but needed quite a bit of work on her English communication skills. In particular, one interviewer told her "off the record" that he could not understand over half of their interview due to her heavy accent. Sarah came to us with hopes of improving her accent, overall English communication skills, and most importantly her confidence.
Impact
With only two months before full-time interviews began, we began working with Sarah intensively to rebuild her confidence through a series of customized programs. First, our Speech Coach assessed her existing status and found that she was indeed making a number of errors in her English pronunciation. Secondly, the coach designed a program where Sarah would practice specific sounds in the context of practice interviews. This tailored service allowed Sarah to not only practice her pronunciation, but also helped her gain the confidence of conducting mock interviews over and over again. The program also built in a number of American business idioms, so that Sarah could speak in a more colloquial manner and excel in her informal networking skills leading up to her interviews.
At the end of the intensive program, Sarah interviewed with five different investment banks. She received offers from three investment banks, and decided upon her top choice in New York City.
For more information about the University of Chicago GSB please visit their Web site.
For more information on our Student Services contact us at
Student@communicorpinternational.com
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