With Kelley’s Me, Inc., you’ll develop an in-depth understanding of your personal story and how it connects to the next steps in your career even before your classes begin. Me, Inc. focuses on the individualized skills you’ll apply throughout your two years at Kelley and beyond. You’ll shape your personal brand, dive into career development and be on your way to understanding your leadership style. When you meet prospective employers during your first week of class, you’ll be ready.
The first step to leadership is understanding yourself
Me, Inc.
Description of the video:
Abby Koski, MBA student: Me, Inc. is a really fantastic experience. It’s a two-week long program where we sort of take a deep dive into ourselves and also how we work in teams and with others.
Robert McKeever, MBA student: It’s probably one of the most important things you’re going to do in business school because participating in it and really going in and being proactive in what you want to come away from it, you’re going to get so much more out of it.
Arsalan Qadir, MBA student: Me, Inc. is the buffet starting point before the MBA because it gives you all the tools and sets you up for success over the course of the next two years.
Alice Yi, MBA student: Me, Inc. really helped me be a little bit more introspective. Rather than focusing on what’s on my resume, it really helped me focus on personality traits and experiences I had that I could showcase as my personal brand.
Abby Koski, MBA student: We learn about our leadership profiles, our personality types, our values, and our motivators, and what’s really important to us. And then we spend a lot of time creating a story about ourselves. It’s uncomfortable to sort of force yourself to do these activities but the more practice you have at it, the more comfortable it becomes.
Arsalan Qadir, MBA student: Whenever we felt stuck, whenever we felt, ‘okay, this is not making sense,’ the faculty at every single point in time knew where to guide us. At the end of the two weeks, it all makes sense.
Robert McKeever, MBA student: To take two weeks and really look at those values and what you think is important in your backstory and say, ‘here is why I should be here,’ it will allow recruiters, it will allow potential people that are going to hire you an opportunity to really see that through.
Alice Yi, MBA student: Not only does it help you stand out within the crowd but being able to articulate your brand and your story to someone in a very succinct and meaningful way helps them understand who you are in a very short period of time.
Robert McKeever, MBA student: Two or three years from now, you’re going to be standing in front of boardrooms or clients, and you’re going to try and present yourself. That is going to matter. At the end of this, you want to walk away with the job that you want. Me, Inc. will be the start of finding that job.
Abby Koski, MBA student: You really just learn so much about yourself, so much about how you work with other people, how other people perceive you. It’s helpful, it’s exciting, it’s a really great experience.
Through Me, Inc., you will:
- Develop an in-depth understanding of yourself—your personal brand and how to connect your past experiences to your future goals in a way that resonates with employers.
- Build mentorship relationships through collaboration and teamwork—a hallmark of your Kelley education. You’ll work with first- and second-year students, getting honest feedback, starting lifelong relationships and taking ownership of your career path.
- Work one-on-one with career coaches, faculty and staff for personal, relevant advice on your MBA and career focus.
- Take a deep dive into your career development and get an introduction to our four-phase DNIP process—discover, network, interview, perform.
Breaking the ice
On day one, students meet each other and learn about the program’s expectations.
Life story exercise
Students tell each other about the twists and turns on their journey to Kelley.
Team huddle
Collaboration is a hallmark of the program, and students work in small teams to further develop their personal brand story.
Activate your brand
Students practice honing their personal brand stories through intensive feedback sessions with their peers.
Audience approval
Students celebrate each other’s performance in the arena of personal brand building.
Speed networking
In quick one-on-one sessions, students get a chance to meet each other, now with a polished personal story to share.
Coaching session
Me, Inc. facilitators provide coaching to each student to provide feedback on their brand story and personal pitch skills so they’re ready to face potential employers.
I framed my vision board from Me, Inc. and put it up in my apartment. That exercise allowed me to take a step back and understand how events and hardships in my life have shaped my outlook and goals. It created the pathway to my career aspirations.
Tony McNeal, MBA’19Financial Leadership Development Program, AT&T