Workshops and Experiences

The Career Services and Corporate Relations team works to provide the best opportunities for you to hone your professional development skills and achieve your career goals. You’ll benefit from their individual approach to your specific development needs, as well as the resources of Penn State Career Services and the University’s central placement office.

Workshops

Smeal hosts numerous professional development workshops addressing resumes, cover letters, networking, working a career fair, interview skills, salary negotiation, and other topics. The small size of our program allows us to keep these workshops highly interactive and include individualized feedback, role playing exercises, and real life case studies.

Student Organization Activities

The MBA Association and other student groups routinely host guest speakers, professional development seminars, networking receptions, and visits to company sites.

Simulated Interview Training

Returning alumni will help you become market ready by conducting simulated interviews and providing you feedback on your performance. These sessions are recorded so you can see firsthand where you need to improve.

Student Job Search Teams

You can participate in peer teams facilitated by Career Services that provide training, feedback, and support to students as part of the job search process.

Executive Speakers and Interaction

Throughout the year you will have the opportunity to meet with corporate executives who regularly visit the Smeal College as part of various speaker series and interaction programs. Recent visitors have included:

Joseph Amado
CIO, Philip Morris USA

Joan Amble
Executive Vice President & Corporate Comptroller, American Express

Edward Babcock
Group Vice President and CFO of Business Markets Group, Level 3 Communications

Paul D. Bell
Senior Vice President and President of Americas, Dell

Jason Bristow
Treasurer, Amazon.com

Robert Burlinson
President and CEO, NanoHorizons, Inc.

William Christopher
Executive Vice President, Alcoa

James Clifton
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Gallup Organization

Peter Cocoziello
President and CEO, Advance Realty Group

Frank D’Amelio
CFO, Lucent Technologies

Dan S. Henson
Chief Marketing Officer, General Electric Company

Edward R. Hintz
President, Hintz, Holman & Robillard, Inc.

Jeff Kleintop
Chief Investment Strategist and Vice Chairman of the Investment Policy Committee, PNC

Richard H. Lenny
Chairman, President, & CEO, Hershey Foods Corporation

Sherri Lombra
VP of Finance and CFO, Global Apparel, Accessories, and Footwear, Disney Consumer Products

Julie McHugh
Company Group Chairman of Global Virology Business, Johnson & Johnson, Inc.

Clark Ponthier
Director of DAO Demand/Supply Planning and Configuration Management, Dell

Walter Rakowich
President and COO, ProLogis

Joseph Riggs
Group President, K Hovanian Homes

Art Rooney II
President, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ron Schnur
Vice President of Strategic Sourcing, Coors Brewing Company

Matthew W. Schuyler
Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Capital One

Andrew Seck
Vice President for Corporate Affairs, Shell Exploration and Production

Steven Sheetz
President and CEO, Sheetz, Inc.

Joseph M. Solimando
SVP Global Operations and Technology and CIO, Disney Consumer Products

James Stengel
Global Marketing Officer, Procter and Gamble, Inc.

James Turley
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Ernst & Young

Don Wallace
Senior Vice President, Robert W. Baird & Company

Gary Weed
Vice President & Downstream Controller, ExxonMobil

Patricia Woertz
President and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland Company

Lizabeth Zlatkus
Executive Vice President and CFO, Hartford Life, Inc.

Note: Some interactions took place off campus or via video-conference.