![]() Though she might not have known it at the time, her internship, as well as the months of coffee chats, classes and career talks ultimately served as the perfect preparation for entering a competitive job market. “It filled a gap in my professional experience that I hadn’t noticed until someone had pointed it out to me.” How it all came together And feedback from one contact inspired her to pursue an internship at the Hatchery, a startup incubator run by U of T Engineering, which gave her experience in working in uncertain, fast-paced environments. And all of them shared helpful advice.”įrom the suggestions she collected, and after reflecting on her goals, she filled her schedule with communications and leadership electives, which she knew would serve her well in a career in consulting or strategy work. “Most people are happy to spare a few minutes of their time, especially when they knew I was coming from Rotman,” she says. She asked about which skills they valued most in employees and what they were working on. Beyond Rotman, she met working professionals at networking events or through her career coach. She spoke with Rotman alumni who had emigrated from Nigeria about how they found the adjustment and how they managed work and family responsibilities. She reached out to second-year students and asked them about how they had landed their internships, which classes they found the most useful and how they managed their time. “The most valuable part of the MBA was learning how to manage my network.” She approached the task with the same attention that she invested in her MBA classes and case competitions. Though she knew what she wanted in general terms - a position with growth opportunities, that involved strategic problem solving and was immersed in a positive work culture - Banjoko used networking to help her find focus. She encourages MBA students and working professionals not to approach networking as a job hunt, but as a way to gather information and learn about a new industry, sector or role. In her research and in the classroom, Casciaro discusses strategies for making networking more enjoyable and genuine. Casciaro - whose research on professional networking and power dynamics has been published in top academic journals and covered by major media outlets including The Financial Times, Forbes and Harvard Business Review - teaches in the MBA and executive programs at Rotman. She felt disingenuous when she reached out to people she didn’t know.Īn important turning point came when she completed a networking session led by Professor Tiziana Casciaro. The conversations always felt forced and uncomfortable. “The most valuable part of the MBA was learning how to manage my network.” Learning to love networking ![]() It helped me understand what type of organization I wanted to work for and it eventually helped me land and get comfortable with interviews,” says Banjoko, who’s now a senior manager with enterprise payments at CIBC in Toronto, a short commute from the suburb where she lives with her family. “It might sound obvious, but networking helped me figure out what was really important to me. But as a Rotman student, Banjoko had a real advantage: she was instantly part of a vast community that included fellow students, alumni, professors and career advisors willing to offer advice. As a new student in a new city, trying to break into a new job market, it was difficult. The real issue was knowing where to begin. After researching several top business schools and graduate programs, she felt that the Full-Time MBA at Rotman would give her the skills and connections to make this happen. She wanted to establish a career in Canada, where she hoped to eventually settle with her family, and take on positions that required strategic problem-solving. Though there was a lot of pressure to make the most of her business school experience, Banjoko never doubted that it would be worth it. She also stepped away from a career in auditing and a position at a major firm to return to school full time. She had moved to Toronto from Nigeria, where her husband and two young children, then one and five years old, were rooting for her. Mo Banjoko (MBA ’18) made sacrifices to come to Rotman. International Centre for Pension Management.Rotman FinHub- Financial Innovation Hub in Advanced Analytics.Canadian Business & Financial History Program.BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab. ![]()
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