Shristi Khemka and Howie Chia started the ESSEC Master in Strategy and Management of International Business (SMIB) in 2022.

Almost two years in, their paths have diverged: Shristi, who is from India, opted for a two-year program that saw her start in France and end in Singapore. She is now preparing for her final internship.

Howie, a Singaporean who completed the SMIB program in Singapore, has taken up his first permanent position at BNP Paribas.

Despite their different SMIB milestones, the common thread across their stories is how the SMIB program has supported them and improved their job search skills at every step.

Support for the Job Hunt

The first way is through career services support. Within her first year, Shristi secured a job as a Product Manager Assistant at L’Oreal in France thanks to a contact she met at an ESSEC Career Fair.

Howie, who worked at DHL as a Key Account Pricing Analyst for nine months before moving to BNP Paribas, believes that SMIB students’ success in finding such positions is partly due to ESSEC Career Services.

“The Career Services team organized many coaching classes and networking events where we learned how to make our CVs stand out, build strong professional networks, and highlight our desirable qualities to attract recruiters,” he explains, adding that he has benefited tremendously from the personalized support.

He continues, “The career services team assisted with interview preparation and advice throughout the recruitment process. The ESSEC brand name also helped my resume stand out in the initial selection process!”

An In-depth Understanding of Business in Asia

The pair also believe that the SMIB study trip, where students spend a week visiting companies in another country, has helped them to broaden their understanding of the business world in Asia.

“This trip gave me an up-close look at how business is done in another country and what to consider in real life. It was enlightening to learn about the challenges the companies we visited face and how they overcame them,” recalls Howie, whose class traveled to Hong Kong.

These insights proved helpful at work, he says.

Shristi chimes in that the trip is also a good opportunity to network. Her group visited Dubai, and as an aspiring consultant, she was thrilled that four consulting firms, including McKinsey and Company, were on the program.

Through these visits, she learned more about the life of a consultant, which made her even more interested in this field.

Equipping Students With a Mentality to Achieve

But what is their biggest takeaway from the SMIB program? How has the sum of their experiences empowered them with the mentality to navigate uncertainties and manage workplace constraints?

For example, they both say that their internships went beyond simply boosting their professional qualifications to shaping how they work.

“The diversity of the office polished how I communicate with people, making it easy for me to interact with people from other cultures. I have also learned how to prioritize and get things done efficiently while balancing work and life,” Shristi confirms.

She adds that the program’s highlights, such as the Asian Strategy Challenge (ASC)—where students work as consultants for companies to solve a real-life business problem, were also valuable as they allowed her to work closely with real clients and as part of a diverse team.

“I learned how to define and stick to the project statement, as well as keep my team motivated,” she says, noting that these are valuable skills for any future career.

Howie shares this sentiment, emphasizing that his time at ESSEC Asia-Pacific has been a game changer professionally and personally.

“I believe that the opportunity to interact with so many different people from different backgrounds, along with the various professional and academic experiences that the SMIB program offers, has helped me develop a good understanding of how to approach the future,” he concludes.