Conversations on Careers and Professional Life, from the Foster School of Business office of MBA Career Management
Host Gregory Heller has conversations with University of Washington and Foster School faculty, staff, alumni, executives, current MBA candidates and other experts relating to career development, planning, and resilience. If you're navigating a career change, pursuing your MBA, or looking to develop a resilient mindset to help you with your job search, this podcast may be for you!
In the second part of the conversation, Josh Mastromatto, co-founder of Rego, shares insights on how his experience as an athlete has shaped his approach to building a startup. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on what you can control, learning quickly, and surrounding yourself with people who can help you improve. Josh shares what he looks for an values when hiring. As a first-time founder, Josh's biggest learning curve was navigating the fundraising process, and he shares the importance of reaching out to experts, identifying patterns, and continuously acquiring knowledge through books and audiobooks tailored to the current stage of the business. This is part 2 of a conversation with Josh Mastromatto. Find part 1 in the podcast feed.
In this episode of "Conversations on Careers in Climate Tech," Gregory Heller and Jonathan Azoff are joined by Josh Mastromatto, co-founder of Rego, a startup addressing waste management in urban apartment buildings during move-out periods. Rego aims to reduce waste by diverting discarded items from landfills to more sustainable destinations where they can be reused. Part 1 of a this two part discussion covers the the inspiration behind the startup, the pivot from their original idea, fundraising and growth. Josh also shares the challenges of being a first-time founder and the support received from accelerators. The episode concludes with insights into Rego's potential growth and impact on sustainability in waste management.
Gregory Heller and co-host Jonathan Azoff continue their conversation with Steven Zhang, the founder of ClimateTechList.com, a comprehensive job site dedicated to climate technology roles for both technical and non-technical professionals.
Gregory, Jonathan and Steven discuss strategies for job seekers aiming to enter the climate tech industry. They talk about Fred Wilson’s “bits versus atoms” framework, emphasize systems thinking, and explore the sector’s diverse roles. The conversation highlights the need for a systematic job search approach, the value of networking, and the importance of aligning personal values with career choices. They also discuss leveraging one’s current position for environmental initiatives and provide resources for job seekers. The episode is a resourceful guide for those looking to make an impact in the climate tech space.
On this episode first episode of the “Conversations on Careers in Climate Tech” mini series, Gregory Heller and co-host Jonathan Azoff speak with Steven Zhang, the founder of ClimateTechList.com, a comprehensive job site dedicated to climate technology roles for both technical and non-technical professionals.
We explore what drove Steven to create the listing, the technology behind it, and how he orchestrated his own pivot to working in climate tech. Steven talks about the importance of networking and informational interviews to map out the industry landscape. We cover the complexities of the climate tech job market, where job titles aren’t as standard is in more established industries.
This is part 1 of a 2 part conversation. This first part focuses on Steven’s journey to creating ClimateTechList.com. Part 2 includes more advice to jobs seekers.
The Conversations on Careers in Climate Tech mini series is made possible in part with support from SNØCAP.vc.
In this episode I am joined by cohost Jonathan Azoff of SNØCAP, and we talk with Gabriel Scheer, Director of Innovation for Mobility and Energy at ElementalExcelerator. Recorded on December 12th, 2023, the conversation covers Gabriel's fresh insights from his first attendance at COP28, offering valuable perspectives for MBA students and professionals interested in climate innovation and sustainable careers.
Gregory Heller speaks with Jonathan Azoff, an experienced tech leader who transitioned into a mentor and investor role with a focus on sustainability. Jonathan is a GP at SNØCAP a VC firm that invests in early-stage, profit-oriented platforms that directly and indirectly solve the climate crisis. Jonathan's journey began with a strong interest in environmentalism and computing in high school, leading him to Silicon Valley. He worked in various tech companies like Disney, Zillow, and WeWork before moving into roles more aligned with his passion for sustainability, including involvement in a nonprofit focused on agriculture, food systems, and waste systems. Jonathan talks about the intersection of technology, sustainability, and business, emphasizing the importance of grit, luck, and a strong business foundation in successful ventures, especially in the evolving field of climate tech.
Gregory Heller interviews Alexandra Iljadica, an investor with BHP Ventures, in this episode of "Conversations on Careers and Professional Life." Alexandra discusses her journey from running a youth-focused nonprofit in Australia to becoming a key figure in venture capital with a focus on sustainability. She talks about her path through various roles, including setting up the 5G Innovation Lab at T-Mobile, and emphasizes the importance of networking and relationship-building in career progression.
On this episode, Gregory Heller interviews David Woodson, the Executive Director for Campus Energy Utilities and Operations at the University of Washington. Woodson shares his journey from and undergraduate at UW to his current role as leader in sustainability with a proven record of making an impact. David highlighted the importance of being adaptable and ready to learn in any job. His journey exemplifies the value of being open to various roles and responsibilities, which can lead to unforeseen career paths.
David mentioned two books during our conversation:
Gregory talks with Charlie Donovan, a visiting professor of sustainable finance at the Foster School of Business. The discussion revolves around the integration of climate change and sustainability into finance and business education, drawing on Donovan's experience in teaching and in the industry. Key topics include the importance of understanding climate risks in finance, the transformation of industries due to climate change, the skills gap in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, and sustainable finance. The episode also covers a student study tour to Costa Rica led by Donovan, focusing on sustainability efforts and community-led development.
This episode features a conversation with Angela Shelley, the Assistant Director of MBA Global Programs at the Foster School of Business Global Business Center. We had an enlightening discussion about the global study tour program at the Foster School of Business, its objectives, and the transformative impact it has on students' career trajectories.
The global study tour program is an innovative initiative designed to expose MBA students to global business. The program takes students on a two-week journey to different countries, immersing them in local businesses and cultural experiences. These tours are led by faculty members, often accompanied by a staff member, and offer pre-departure sessions to equip students with necessary information and preparation for the trip.
These sessions cover a wide range of topics, from culture and history to the nuances of doing business in the destination country. While the study tours are optional for credits, they can fulfill requirements for the international perspective, the global business program certificate, and some ESG specializations.
The Study Tour Destinations: A Changing Landscape
The locations of the study tours change every year, with two exceptions. The Asian Capital Markets course includes a study tour to China and Japan every other year. The Global Consulting India project happens annually, providing consulting services to the Self Employed Women's Association in India. This consulting experience extends beyond the trip, as students continue to work on their projects both in India and back home in Seattle.
The Impact of Study Tours on Career Trajectories
Angela shared some insightful observations about the impact of study tours on students' career trajectories. While she didn't have specific stories to share, she noted a recurring theme of students being inspired to do more in global business after participating in study tours.
For instance, some students have shifted their thinking about sustainability, realizing that it should be implemented from the beginning rather than added on later. Angela also shared about a student who was inspired to pursue a career in global business after a trip to Israel and reached out to her for guidance on how to get started.
The Global Business Program Certificate: A Gateway to Exclusive Opportunities
Angela advises students to sign up for the Global Business Program Certificate, which encourages a more global experience and provides access to exclusive opportunities. She also mentioned other programs and events offered throughout the year, such as the Taiwan Business Conference and the Global Business Forum.
The Benefits and Opportunities of Participating in a Global Business Center Study Tour
Angela emphasized the importance of being open to new ideas and ways of doing business. One of the main advantages of these study tours is the chance to engage with difference and gain exposure to new perspectives.
She also highlighted the networking aspect of the study tours. Students have the opportunity to form deep connections with their peers, faculty members, and professionals in the industry. These relationships can be valuable for future collaborations and career opportunities.
Preparing for a Study Tour: Angela's Advice
Angela suggests being excited about engaging with difference and being open to new opportunities. She encourages students to take advantage of the network they can build during the tour and to make the most of unique experiences that may not be available in their everyday lives.
In conclusion, Angela highlights the transformative impact that study tours can have on students' personal and professional lives. She encourages interested students to reach out to her or other MBA classmates who have participated in the tours for more information.
So, if you're an MBA student looking to make the most of the study tour experience, take Angela's advice: take advantage of the opportunities available, stay connected through the Global Business Program Certificate, and be open to new perspectives and career possibilities.
The content in this post was generated using PodSqueeze.ai.
This episode was produced with editing and engineering support from Amelia Ngyuen, a student in the Communication Leadership Master Program at the University of Washington, and made possible in part with funding from SnoCap, a Venture Capital firm investing in early-stage, platforms that directly and indirectly solve the climate crisis.
On this episode, I speak with UW Foster Class of 2024 MBA Priyanka Natrajan about how she used Yoodli.ai to help her prepare for internship interviews. Yoodli is an AI powered speech coaching platform that will record and analyze your speech, transcribe it, provide objective metrics like speed, use of filler words or week words, and can even provide AI powered suggestions for rephrasing your speech. Yoodli has specific features for practicing interview questions (either from their own question bank, or questions you provide), and will analyze your answer and can ask follow up questions.
This episode was edited and engineered with support from Amelia Nguyen, a graduate student in the UW Communications Leadership Program.
As you navigate the challenging waters of internship and job searches, your resume and cover letter become your primary ambassadors. But what if I told you there's a tool that can give you an edge? Enter GenerativeAI. Today, we'll dive into how this technology can refine your application materials.
First off, let's talk about the basics. GenerativeAI can be a game-changer in improving the grammar and syntax of your documents. We've all been there – after hours of editing, a pesky grammatical error slips through. With GenerativeAI, those mistakes can be caught and corrected.
But it's not just about grammar. Imagine tailoring your resume's language to mirror a job description or even a company's core values. GenerativeAI can help align your documents in such a way that they resonate more deeply with your prospective employers. It's like having a personal editor who knows exactly what the company is looking for!
However, with great power comes great responsibility. It's crucial to remember that while GenerativeAI is a powerful tool, it's just that – a tool. Ethically, you must ensure that the content it generates genuinely represents your skills, experiences, and qualifications. It can be tempting to let the AI do all the heavy lifting, but authenticity is key. Your resume and cover letter should be genuine reflections of who you are and what you bring to the table.
This brings us to some potential pitfalls. GenerativeAI, as advanced as it is, can sometimes get a little... creative. It might suggest details or skills that sound impressive but aren't accurate. And like all technologies, it can sometimes exhibit biases based on the data it's been trained on. It's essential to review and vet any suggestions it makes critically.
Now, I know some of you might be wondering about the technical side of things. The good news? You don't need to be a tech whiz to leverage GenerativeAI. There are user-friendly platforms out there designed for non-techies. So, whether you're a marketing major or diving deep into finance, this tool is accessible to you.
Before we wrap up, I want to leave you with a challenge. Before you find yourself in the thick of the application season, give GenerativeAI a try. Review your resume or cover letters with it. Experiment, play around, and most importantly, learn how to prompt it effectively. The better your prompts, the more tailored and useful the AI's suggestions will be.
Remember, in today's competitive job market, every edge counts. But no tool, no matter how advanced, can replace the unique experiences, insights, and values you bring. Use GenerativeAI as a complement to your skills, not a replacement.
So, MBA students, are you ready to give your application materials a boost? Dive into the world of GenerativeAI, and let's make those resumes and cover letters shine!
This episode was written with assistance from ChatGPT 4.0, and my voice was synthesized using ElevenLabs.
AI Career Resources:
Follow Jeremy Schifeling on LinkedIn. Without a doubt, Jeremy is at the vanguard of using Generative AI for career search and prep. He is posting great content, tutorials, tools, and even wrote an e-book about using ChatGPT as your career coach.
There are a wide variety of apps and services that have emerged for various career search related tasks from writing cover letters, to developing your resume, to preparing for interviews. I have not used any of them enough to endorse them, other than Yoodli.ai for interview prep. Listen to my podcasts with Yoodli's co-founder Varun Puri, and Yoodli user Priyanka Natrajan (coming soon).
My advice, is to start with the feely available tools from the likes of OpenAI, or Anthropic's Claude, and look for recommended prompts.
Have you tried meta prompting? (HT Matt Westgate and his book, Go Prompt Yourself), before your prompts, add, "What additional information, details or context would help you effectively run this prompt?" This will drastically up your prompting game!
Here are a few that I like to use for developing interview questions:
Act like a hiring manager interviewing a candidate for [insert job] and [company]. Our company values are [insert text from company website]. I would like you to come up with a dozen behavioral interview questions based on the following job description. [insert relevant portions of the job description].
Are you struggling with your resume?
Act like a career coach. Help me revise my resume to better match the following job description [insert job description]. Stand by for my resume. [Insert accomplishment statements from your resume]. ** My recommendation is do do this on statement at a time.
OR, as Jeremy Schifeling has shown on his videos, give chat GPT a job description, ask it to identify the job related key words in that description, then give it your resume and ask which keywords are missing. Then you can ask it to help you rewrite specific accomplishment statements using the missing keywords.
Most people don't know what to write in a cover letter. And some people think you can just say to ChatGPT, "Write me letter for the following job description." This will yield garbage. Add a meta prompt to the front, and then also include relevant information about yourself, your degrees, a few professional highlights, maybe a line or two about why you are really excited about the job. Ask your Generative AI to return a cover letter that is no more than 325 words. Then be sure to edit it. Once you have a letter you feel good about, give that back to ChatGPT so it can learn from you. Check out ALexandra Samuel's newsletter (linked above) for some great cover letter prompts.
How did I make this episode?
I prompted ChatGPT 4.0:
I am looking for is a plain text description of the text so I can use it to guide further writing. I don't want you to write anything other than a description of the style and voice of the text. How would you describe the style and voice of the following text sample [insert script from another podcast].
What additional information, context or details would you need to effectively run the following prompt? PROMPT: Using the writing style and voice that you have identified, please write a 500 word script for a podcast about how to effectively use GenerativeAI to improve cover letters and resumes.
I answered the 8 questions ChatGPT provided, which yielded the following prompt:
Using the direct, prescriptive, analytical, conversational, structured, credible, and empathetic writing style and voice identified earlier, craft a 500-word script for a 6 to 10-minute podcast aimed at MBA students engaged in an internship or job search. The podcast should focus on how to effectively use GenerativeAI to improve cover letters and resumes. Highlight the capabilities of GenerativeAI in improving grammar and syntax, as well as aligning language with that of a job description or a company's values/principles. Address the ethical considerations, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that the AI-generated content accurately reflects the individual's genuine work experience, skills, and qualifications. Discuss the potential pitfalls, such as the AI's tendency to fabricate information or exhibit biases. Conclude with a call to action, encouraging listeners to experiment with GenerativeAI for their resume or cover letter reviews and emphasizing the importance of refining their prompts to obtain optimal results.
I ran the prompt, took the script, did some light editing, and then fed it into ElevenLabs where I had already created a voice clone using some podcast monologues I'd already recorded and released.
The video above was generated using HeyGen, after using Insight FaceSwap to swap my face onto a still image from MaxHeadroom.
On this episode, I speak with Sean Dew, Foster MBA Class of 2024, about his experience as a ClimateCAP Fellow. ClimateCAP is an organization that focuses on sustainability in business and the MBA program experience across MBA programs. ClimateCAP also hosts an annual conference that brings together MBA students and alumni to discuss various topics related to climate change and business.
The fellowship provides support for sustainability projects and fosters a sense of community- among the fellows. Sean’s project involves installing solar-powered refrigeration units in homes in the Hopi and Navajo Nation. The fellowship has helped Sean grow his network with other Fellows and by attending a related energy conference in Boulder, CO.
Applications for the next cohort of the ClimateCAP fellowship are open now through November 1st at 5PM EST. You can learn more about the ClimateCAP Fellowship and the ClimateCAP summit at ClimateCAP.org
Some other resources we mentioned during out conversation:
On this episode, I speak with Varun Puri, Co-Founder of Yoodli.ai. I'm a big fan of Yoodli and have been using it basically since the day it became available. Many of my students in the MBA program are using it to practice for job interviews and other presentations. Full disclosure, I'm on the Yoodli Speech Coaches Advisory Board. I receive no compensation for this. I do it because I believe in the product and the power of public speaking skills to improve people's career opportunities.
Born and raised in India, Varun moved to the US for college and later joined Google. At Google, he wore many hats, from running special projects for Sergey Brin to being a product manager at Google X. Despite his fulfilling career at Google, Varun's passion for his innovative idea led him to take a leap of faith and start Yoodli.ai.
Yoodli.ai is an AI-powered speech coach that provides real-time feedback on speaking skills. It focuses on three key areas: delivery, content, and peer collaboration. As Varun demonstrated during our podcast interview, Yoodli.ai can alert users in real-time to adjust their speaking pace.
The platform has received an overwhelming response, with users worldwide comparing it to Grammarly and Duolingo for speech coaching. This comparison underscores Yoodli.ai's effectiveness in enhancing speaking skills.
Yoodli.ai has developed an everyday communication coach feature. This feature, available as an app, can be installed on a computer and used during calls. It provides real-time feedback on speaking habits, such as speaking too quickly or for too long. This feature allows users to improve their communication skills without having to set aside dedicated practice time.
Varun draws inspiration from fitness apps like Apple Health, which encourage progress in everyday activities, and aims to do the same for speaking.
Making Public Speaking Fun and Engaging
Yoodli.ai also incorporates games to make the learning experience fun and engaging. The goal is to demystify public speaking and make it enjoyable, much like improv games.
Varun and I discussed the importance of practice in feeling comfortable and confident when it comes to public speaking and storytelling. Yoodli.ai provides “exposure therapy” and low-risk practice opportunities for individuals to improve their communication skills.
Varun emphasized that mid-career professionals, particularly those seeking promotions or leadership roles, can benefit greatly from the platform. He shared examples of users who have found success with Yoodli, including a non-native English speaker looking to improve their confidence in meetings.
I speak with Class of 2022 Foster MBA grad, Xiajin "XJ" Cai. XJ is originally from China, and started her MBA at Foster in the Fall of 2020, while classes and most activities were being conducted remotely. I was impressed with the way she engaged not only in the Foster community, through clubs, and recruiting activities, but also participated in case competitions beyond Foster. I wanted to have her on the show to talk about her experiences as an international student, how she handled internship and full time recruiting, and the experience and skills she gained through case competitions.
In late 2022, I had the opportunity to speak with four Foster School of Business MBA Alumni who are now on the other side of the interview table about what they are listening for from candidates in behavioral interviews.
This episode features:
Adam Schmidt at Accenture
Sam Ead at Google
Claire Herting at Walmart
Skyler Brown at Goldman Sachs
I talked to each one separately, but as you will hear, in this compilation of their answers -- across industries and roles, there are some very clear trends: authenticity, enthusiasm, preparation.
For more advice on preparing for internship interviews and job interviews, check out more episodes with interview tips.
On this episode, recorded in March of 2022, I spoke with two Foster MBA students, Connor Almon-Griffin (MBA 2023) and Doug Beach (MBA 2022) about their experience attending the ClimateCap -- The Global MBA Summit on Climate, Capital and Business in February of that year. ClimateCap, as you'll hear, brings together MBA students from around the world with corporate leaders in sustainability to discuss the 21st century's biggest business issue.
The past year has seen the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act and the Inflation Reduction Act, two pieces of legislation that will pump billions of dollars into renewable energy, decarbonization and other solutions to the climate crisis. IN the last few months, as headlines have covered layoffs in big tech, other headlines have told a different story of hiring by companies focused on climate tech, and sustainability. The Foster School has also rolled out an ESG Concentration within the MBA program. Interest in climate jobs is hot inside and outside of business schools.
Connor and Doug shared so much great advice in this episode, but the thing I want to underscore the most is the importance of networking, both within the program -- as Connor said, find your people -- and as Doug said, even after you have secured your internship or job. The economy has changed since we recorded the episode a year ago, and having a strong professional network is critically important to personal and professional resilience in times of economic uncertainty.
On this episode, I speak with Gabriel Sheer, Director of Inovation and manager of the energy and mobility portfolios at Elemental Excelerator, a nonprofit startup accelerator about the current state of the climate tech/climate solutions startup space at the beginning of 2023. Gabriel is also a good friend. We first became acquainted through his work organizing Seattle Green Drinks in the bid '00s, we later worked together at a sustainability tech startup in Seattle. Gabriel has had an interesting career leading up to where he is now, from the early days of car share working at Flex Car (and then Zip Car), independent consulting, product and strategy consulting, helping launch Lime Bike, and now working with Elemental Excelerator.
Gabriel shares advice for job seekers interested in working in climate solutions startups: build your network, do your research, find a team that you feel like you can trust. Working in a startup can be like riding a rollercoaster and you want to feel like everyone is all-in.
Gabriel shared some resources, and I've added a few more to the list below.
As a job candidate, it’s up to you to shine the spotlight on the skills and experiences you've had that are relevant to the job or company you are interviewing for. Too often, candidates prepare scripted answers and don't adapt them to the specific interview questions, company or interviewer. On this episode, I share some advice on effectively communicating during job interviews.
Take a moment
It is not enough to have a dozen well-rehearsed stories that illustrate examples in response to the interview questions you anticipate. Invariably, you will get asked a question that you haven’t prepared for. In a few seconds you will have to decide which story fits the question best and start your answer. The danger is that you will tell the story as you've prepared it without tailoring it to your audience or the exact question. Interviewers remember when a response doesn't answer their question. But they don’t remember that you took an extra few seconds before starting your response.
Focus on what your audience wants to hear
The AIM framework from Lynn Russell and Mary Munter is a great tool to employ when preparing any communication, including job interview responses. The acronym stands for Audience, Intent, Message. The audience is the person or people receiving the communication. The intent is both your intent: what you want to happen, and the intent you want to create in your audience. The message is both the delivery mechanism and the content.
When preparing for any interview, take the time to really think about your audience. Are you speaking with the recruiter, or the hiring manager? These are two different audiences, and your intent will be different. For the recruiter, your intent is to communicate that you are a strong candidate with relevant skills; you want to advance to the next round of interviews. The recruiter needs to believe that you are the right choice for the role she is trying to fill. For the hiring manager, your intent is to communicate that you have the relevant skills, right fit with the team, and ability to do the job; in this case, you want to get the offer. The hiring manager needs to believe that you are capable of doing the job, fitting in with the team, and growing to be a valuable asset to the company.
Start with “the end in mind”
Reminding yourself of your intent before preparing, and before your actual performance (the interview) will help you shine the spotlight on the right facets of your experiences and respond appropriately to questions that you did not expect.
This starts with the most common interview question: Tell me about yourself. The interviewer wants to know just the relevant details about what you've done that led you to this company and this role at this moment. For example, the fact that you used to build Contact Relationship Management systems for nonprofit organizations may have nothing to do with the work you do today. Your ability to analyze voter data and cut turf for political canvassers? Irrelevant. Scrum Master and Scrum Product Owner certifications? Who cares. But throughout your career, maybe you’ve always been committed to helping the people around you and your clients communicate more effectively. BINGO. I might be talking about myself here...
When answering behavioral interview questions ("Tell me about a time when…") don't get sucked into the trap of sharing a very procedural (and generic) explanation of the situation, and what you did filled with every detail you can think of. Think about your intent: why are you telling this story? What does it demonstrate about how you think and work? What skill or competency does it demonstrate that is relevant to the role or company you are interviewing for?
It’s all about structure and focus
And remember that the human you are talking to is hardwired to look for structure. Stories have a beginning, middle and end. Gustav Freytag mapped out the classic narrative arch: Introduction, Initial incident, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution, Denouement over 160 years ago. People retain structured information 40% more reliably and accurately than information that is not structured.
When you are answering a question, make sure that the content fits into a structure and is relevant to the audience and the question. There are many interview answer structures or frameworks: STAR is the most common: Situation Task Action Result, but I like CAR: Context (or Challenge) Action Result. These are not the only two that are out there: sometimes you want to add a learning or a take-away (CARL or CART) at the end, or a summary at the beginning (SCAR).
Consider the level of detail, language and analogies that may be relevant to your audience. For example: if you are interviewing for a data analytics role, you might focus on the part of the story where you extracted insights from data. If you are interviewing for a role that focuses on interaction with customers and clients, you might focus on that part of the story where you determined what your client (internal or external) really wanted to know from the data and how you delivered the insights on-time. If you are interviewing for a role that requires cross functional collaboration, you might focus on how you worked with multiple teams to pull together the dataset you needed.
Think of these as different facets of a multi sided die. The die is the experience or story, but depending on what question you are asked and what role you are interviewing for, you will expose different facets.
That’s how you can shine the spotlight on the parts of your experience that are most relevant to your audience and, ultimately, land the job!
This episode features a conversation with Angela Shelley, the Assistant Director of MBA Global Programs at the 
On this episode, I speak with 
On this episode, I speak with Varun Puri, Co-Founder of Yoodli.ai. I'm a big fan of Yoodli and have been using it basically since the day it became available. Many of my students in the MBA program are using it to practice for job interviews and other presentations. Full disclosure, I'm on the Yoodli Speech Coaches Advisory Board. I receive no compensation for this. I do it because I believe in the product and the power of public speaking skills to improve people's career opportunities.
I speak with Class of 2022 Foster MBA grad, Xiajin "XJ" Cai. XJ is originally from China, and started her MBA at Foster in the Fall of 2020, while classes and most activities were being conducted remotely. I was impressed with the way she engaged not only in the Foster community, through clubs, and recruiting activities, but also participated in case competitions beyond Foster. I wanted to have her on the show to talk about her experiences as an international student, how she handled internship and full time recruiting, and the experience and skills she gained through case competitions.
On this episode, recorded in March of 2022, I spoke with two Foster MBA students, Connor Almon-Griffin (MBA 2023) and Doug Beach (MBA 2022) about their experience attending the 
On this episode, I speak with 