Adam Sussman is a first-year dual JD/MBA student who participated in the Rowe Rumble over the weekend. Originally from Toronto, Adam studied Business Administration at American University in Washington, DC, before moving to Halifax. The ability to pursue a corporate residency in conjunction with the dual degree was a determining factor that brought him to Dalhousie. Adam has already started to get himself involved in the school community, becoming CRMBA 1st year academic representative on top of participating in many case competitions.

This winter, Adam will be working at QuantRes for his 8-month MBA residency. A trading firm that focuses on using scientific methods, data analytics, and mathematical modelling to exploit market inefficiencies. Adam was attracted to this unique finance opportunity due to the tangible financial skills and the ability to participate in such a highly competitive field.

To secure this placement, Adam approached QuantRes for an informational interview even before commencing his interview preparation. Adam extensively researched QuantRes online as well as utilized class resources and his classmates to simulate mock interviews. In these practice interviews, Adam and his peers rotated, playing the roles of both interviewer and interviewee to help hone their skills. Even before the interview, Adam was setting himself apart from the pack. Prior to the interview, Adam had engaged in numerous exchanges over both email and phone with his interviewer to continue building rapport and learning about the firm.

In these exchanges, he learned about the company’s values and needs, which in turn helped guide his responses and thought the process in the real interview. Adam highly recommends a proactive and eager approach that can truly differentiate yourself from other candidates. A quick email or LinkedIn message is a great way to do this. Balancing a job search and class obligations is challenging, but the CRMBA has implemented ways to help students balance the two. Adam took advantage of his PPE class (BUSI 5000), which applied job search lessons as part of the course content throughout their summer semester. On top of this, formal interviews are concentrated into an interview week in September to really focus his time on securing his residency position.

Adam’s goal for this residency is to learn as much as he can about money markets before coming back to continue the Law degree aspect of his degree. Adam is confident all of these experiences will contribute to his personal development and aid in his pursuit of a career in corporate law.

To follow Adam’s adventure and experiences his LinkedIn here or his Instagram is @adamsuss24.

To learn more about the JD/MBA program click here  or contact CRMBA@dal.ca