“Why did you choose McGill?”, is a question I’ve been asked in many interviews. I’ve developed a pretty good answer, which always ends with “… and so far, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
McGill has helped me realize my potential in so many ways.
I, Surya Sood, would like to take you through some of the key milestones of my MBA journey thus far. In the first year alone, I experienced so much personal development; learning and growing with the incredibly diverse cohort in the MBA program has given me a global and pragmatic perspective on life along with a better understanding of myself.
Prior to the MBA, I worked in IT Infrastructure for four years and discovered that, despite achieving various awards and an accelerated promotion, my overall career growth was far slower than I would have liked. This realization prompted me to decide to pursue an MBA. McGill University’s brand recognition, the amazing Montreal culture, and the lower cost of living in Montreal versus some other major Canadian cities made the Desautels Faculty of Management an obvious choice.
And thus, I embarked on a life-changing journey to earn an MBA at McGill. The first month of the program was a transformational period as I encountered a plethora of new cultures, and began forming professional goals. I arrived expecting to work towards a career in Operations, but soon found myself intrigued by Management Consulting.
The ‘Consulting Preparation Program’ at McGill helped me realize that cracking business cases was not just something I was good at, but something that I really enjoyed. Therefore, I decided to pivot my focus towards consulting, and more specifically Technology Consulting, given my longstanding passion for technology.
An important milestone was in January 2017, when my team won first place in an annual case competition, the Desautels Cup. It was during this competition that I managed to impress one of the judges, a partner at a Montreal boutique consulting firm, who eventually offered me a summer internship in Management Consulting at Pivot Strategy. During this internship, I was staffed on a strategy consulting project for one of the biggest pharmaceutical distributors in North America that was looking to enter a new line of business in Canada. I was tasked to work with the partners to build a market entry strategy and an execution road map.
Not only was this my first foray into the field of professional consulting, it was also my first taste of the professional culture in Montreal. It took weeks to adjust to this new work environment and build a reputation within the firm. It is only when I began taking ownership of different areas and approaching colleagues for feedback that I could fully put my skill set to use in contributing to the project. By the end, I confirmed that consulting was the career for me. Just two months after completing my summer internship I landed my dream job: Technology Consultant at Deloitte Digital, Toronto.
I found that the key to nailing job interviews (for any industry) was self-realization. Knowing exactly what I want, what I am good at, and understanding the culture of my target companies were crucial elements to tailor my ‘stories’, that helped form a connection during interviews.
Mind you, getting to a place where I had a clear concept of what I want and what I am good at came from months of case and interview practice with classmates. In the end, I had my story laid out in a way that helped interviewers better understand me and what I bring to the table.
In short, this is what the McGill MBA program means to me: personal and professional development with a diverse, yet tight-knit cohort of like-minded peers.
It is for this reason that my answer to anyone who asks why I chose to do an MBA at McGill always ends with “…and so far, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
About the author
Surya Sood is from India and graduated from Visvesvaraya Technological University with an Engineering degree. After working a number of years at Cognizant Technology Solutions in Pune and Bangalore, he came to Montreal to do his MBA at McGill University, Desautels Faculty of Management. A member of the team that won 1st place at the Desautels Cup in 2017, this achievement helped him secure a summer internship at Pivot Strategy, a Montreal boutique consulting firm. Early in his second year, Surya secured his dream job: a Technology Consultant position at Deloitte Digital, in Toronto. Congratulations, Surya!
Desautels MBA Program
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