Sarah Zou is a second-year student at the IESE MBA. She has contributed a significant amount to the program, through her work with the Start-up and Entrepreneurship Club and participation in the Women in Business community. Over the summer, Sarah had an exciting intern role at Sumup, which she found through a key networking opportunity.
What is your background prior to the MBA?
Prior to IESE, I worked as an agile coach at various fintech and tech companies in Canada and Germany. I started my career in Sales & Relationship management, so I mostly had experience on the “soft skills” side of business and wanted to have experience in a more strategic role for my internship.
What was your recruitment experience like in first year?
My recruitment happened very serendipitously. I came into the MBA with the intent of doing the Summer Entrepreneurship Experience, but after the first term I realized that I wanted to gain first-hand experience in strategy to get a taste of that side of business prior trying to start something on my own. I took part in the Women In Business Conference and happened to be in a breakout room with SumUp. I introduced myself, asked them questions about their Diversity & Inclusion policies, and their plans for development in the upcoming year. Following the conference, the recruiters I met reached out to me on LinkedIn to set up a call because I seemed to fit their culture. They then asked me what my internship interests were, and various calls later – I had an offer for a Strategy internship on the International Expansion team. I think a benefit of working with startups and scaleups is that they’re often willing to craft the right role for you, rather than fitting you to a job description.
Tell us about your internship in Fintech
I was a Strategy Intern on the International Expansion team at SumUp. My main summer project was to help select the next wave of markets to enter, and what would be the best product-mix to enter with. I researched 5 different markets – looked into their macroeconomics, purchasing behaviours of the population, the payments landscape, the digital payments infrastructure, and the competitive landscape. Together with other members on the team we then came up with a prioritization criteria and ordered the 15 potential markets we had. Of the five we selected, 3 were the ones I researched – so that’s super exciting!
What would you advise to the incoming class looking to have a similar experience?
Don’t just stick to attending career fairs and other “traditional” recruiting events. Attend events that you’re interested in, share your background, and ask genuine questions. People will feel your passion and you’ll make a memorable impression.