Technology and Operations Management

Interview with Hiral Ashani

Hiral Ashani Student Spotlight

May 2021

My name is Hiral Ashani and I am a junior studying TOM with an Operations Management emphasis. I am also the current VP of CSCMP CPP Roundtable. The plan is to land as many full-time roles as I can and begin my professional career. In addition, I’d love to take some time right after graduation to travel to either northern California or New York. I started my internship on March 1 st as an inventory management intern at Schreiber Foods, one of the largest dairy and dairy substitute producers and distributors in the world. The role is unique, in that it is a much longer term internship relative to summer-exclusive roles. I will be working on the Maintenance Excellence team to manage discrete inventory of parts and equipment and to create reports using data mining for several plants across the US. I will also be learning about the ERP system Schreiber uses and using it to create work orders. Lastly, I will be creating training videos that future partners will use to master several ERP processes. My current ambition is to land a competitive role in the enterprise software sales or supply chain consulting fields.

Advice:

  1. Your LinkedIn has to be stellar. Especially in times of COVID, recruiters are largely using LinkedIn to look for potential candidates. Write a strong bio, include a professional photo, use hashtags and make meaningful posts, and don’t hold back on your genuine accomplishments.
  2. If you land an interview for a job or internship, ask good questions. Never say, “No, I don’t have any questions, thank you!” -- that’s one of the worst things you can possibly do. Do your homework on the role responsibilities, the industry, and the people that are going to interview you, and prepare some specific questions that will show everyone that you are someone that is genuinely interested in this field, and that is coming in with a level of knowledge greater than others.
  3. Broaden your horizons. Put effort into schoolwork, but that is only one part of building your knowledge-base in your field. Build a strong foundation by relating classroom topics to news, articles, podcasts, and discussions with industry professionals. Spend time gaining perspective and incorporate this newfound knowledge in your classes, discussions, and interviews.
  4. Become a strong story-teller. Whether you are interviewing for a position or presenting in class, you must be able to tell a story that is succinct and engaging. Begin with a concise and direct answer, then provide structured details, and end with a brief conclusion to drive home the point.
  5. Just keep swimming. I applied to over 150 roles before I landed one. You feel like a loser, you feel like it’s never going to work out, you start binging on chips and ice cream… but all it takes is one more. One more application could change everything for you. One more message on LinkedIn. One more email. Think about where you want to be, and ruthlessly pursue it.