To Net Impact or Not Net Impact?

Of all the aspects of the first year of business school, perhaps the most challenging is the beginning of the job search. The Johnson School really gets its students going early on with thinking about the summer internship, assessing industries, doing research, etc. This is all fine and good, on the one hand. After all, I don't think I would have reached out to the several individuals, nor started making inroads into new industries that I have, without the outside prodding. On the other hand, it's overwhelming. The core is challenging and stressful in a totally different way than other things in my life have been challenging and stressful. One friend said that he had never had to make so many compromises -- mostly of his time, but also of his energy, resources, and money. You really do have to constantly be assessing your next move and its impact on your future. In many ways, it's just like the business world.

Which leads me to my current dilemma. Should I attend the Net Impact National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee or not? Well, looked at in purely economic terms, I don't have $1000 to spend on a weekend of anything. There just isn't enough of the green stuff coming in. But that hasn't stopped me from looking closer at the matter. I've established some of my own direction in the job search, but I'm far from decided or settled on my future career. The list of attending companies at the conference is formidable, diverse, and really interesting to me.

Connections made at Net Impact have led a number of second-years that I know to their summer internships with organizations as diverse as GE and the National Park Service. Not to mention that the event is attended by scores of like-minded, socially conscious MBAs from around the country. It could very well be inspiring and instructive to see what those folks plan to do with their degree, and compare notes.

This is definitely going to be a tough decision, and one that will be a challenge either way. It's just one of the many compromises that are growing to define my year so far.