Anwarul Abedin (left), with Tom Kim, assistant dean of the Career Management Center, has interned with Texas Instruments, is enrolled in the Jindal School’s Professional Program in Accounting and is scheduled to start an internship with Ernst & Young in January.
Anwarul Abedin had modest goals when he transferred to the Naveen Jindal School of Management from a local community college.
“I used to work in a farmers market with no office work experience,” Abedin said. “Dreaming of an internship or an office job was quite hard.”
Now, he has interned with Texas Instruments, is enrolled in the Jindal School’s Professional Program in Accounting and is scheduled to start an internship with Ernst & Young in January.
“He did everything right,” said Tom Kim, assistant dean of the Career Management Center (CMC) at the Jindal School. “He took full advantage of every event.”
Kim lists Abedin’s other smart moves: He didn’t go to a CMC event just once, but went several times on the same topic; he developed confidence in his communications skills, especially important since English is not his first language; and he volunteered with — and got selected to serve on — the center’s leadership council, which gave him the opportunity to talk with corporate recruiters in more casual settings.
“He learned networking skills, such as not just asking questions but how you ask,” Kim said.
Abedin moved from Bangladesh to the U.S. in 2010 and initially attended Richland Community College before transferring to UT Dallas.
“At the beginning, I did not know anything about the CMC services,” Abedin said. “But I would always see the (CMC) glass door and its tagline, ‘Don't settle on a job, launch a career.’ Also, seeing my friends dressing up professionally and waiting for interviews in front of the office made me curious to find out more about it.
“Before I went to the first (CMC) workshop, I was not confident at all about stepping into the professional world. The workshop was an eye-opener for me,” he said.
He said that Neil Johnson, CMC’s assistant director, explained the center’s services, which include résumé writing, networking, preparing an elevator speech, interview strategies and professional dress.
“His overview about CMC’s services inspired me to attend those, and that boosted my confidence level,” Abedin said.
Since Kim’s arrival at the Jindal School in 2011, CMC events have grown and now regularly draw 75 students. On any given week, events might include a workshop on résumé writing, a panel discussion on accounting careers or using social media to land a job. Kim said CMC interacts with thousands of students every year.
With its growth, the CMC has moved into a much larger area on the second floor of the new Jindal School addition.
“Based on the lessons that I have learned from CMC, I got admitted to the Professional Program in Accounting,” Abedin said. “My advice for the students would be to visit CMC if you haven't done it yet. I would recommend that students think ahead about their careers and use the enormous resources that CMC and UT Dallas have and attend the maximum number of information sessions you can.”
This story was reported and written by freelance contributor Jeanne Spreier.