Academics

Workshop provides tools for Penn State Smeal MBAs to convey their stories

A Penn State Smeal College of Business first-year MBA student shares an anecdote as part of a storytelling workshop that is one of the highlights of Career Immersion. Credit: Penn StateCreative Commons

When so many job applicants look so similar on paper, making a lasting impression can be challenging. A workshop on storytelling during the recent weeklong Career Immersion for first-year Penn State MBAs aimed to prepare students to more effectively stand out in a crowded job marketplace.

“The art of weaving together the elements of a strong story can generate positive results for students,” said Director of MBA Career Services Mike Brown. “Employers want students who have a clear career goal and a story that links together what they’ve done before and where they see themselves headed for their next position.”

“The Leader as Storyteller: Connecting and Influencing through the Power of Stories” was facilitated by Quinn Bauriedel, founder and co-artistic director of the Philadelphia-based Pig Iron Theater Company.

Through a series of group and one-on-one exercises, students learned how to tell an engaging story and what to emphasize to create the greatest, most-lasting impression.

“I think it’s interesting that it’s taught from a business standpoint,” said Sunayana Iyer, a first-year student concentrating in supply chain management and marketing. “It’s very important because recruiters look for candidates that stand out in their mind.”

In the session’s first exercise, students paired up and, evoking as many descriptive images as possible, described to each other the best meal they had ever tasted.

Another exercise centered on the language diversity of the MBA class. In each group, a student told a story in his or her native language and the others in the group tried to interpret what they had observed.

“Body language and creative gestures can help give your story the kinds of details that make an impression in an interviewer’s mind,” Bauriedel said.

Finally, students were asked to chart their lives related to a straight line on a piece of paper. Peaks above the line represented successes or positive experiences. Valleys below the line signaled failures or negative experiences.

“I could have told my story in a different way and it would have gone terribly,” said Derek Bartlett, a military veteran who is concentrating in finance and innovation and entrepreneurship. “Knowing those tops and bottoms and the transition period, being descriptive, showing exactly with your hands how you experienced it—it’s incredible. It really changed how I told that story.”

Storytelling was one of several sessions during the Career Immersion week, which is designed to reinforce many career-related topics that were first introduced at the August MBA orientation.

“Career Immersion is scheduled during the break between Mod I and Mod II,” Brown said. “It gives us an opportunity to re-engage with our first-years and provides the students with an opportunity to jumpstart their search activities.”

Last Updated November 12, 2015

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