If you’ve ever felt intimidated at the BYU, Zach knows how you feel. But he also knows how to turn that all around! Because Zach is wise. And caring. And dashing. Basically, Zach is a winner. And he wants to help you win too.

What was the absolute best part of your Marriott School experience?

I remember the first day of supply chain core. Everyone was talking about all these supply chain experiences and internships they’d already had. And I didn’t have any of those things. I just looked around and thought: I don’t belong here.

Now fast forward. I was able to take what I learned from school and wow my boss day one at my internship. That proved to me how well the Marriott School prepares you. It wasn’t because I was a great employee. It’s because I was well trained.

Wow! Can you tell me more?

Sure. I got there to work the first day and my boss debriefed me on my assignment. He needed me to put together these different scenarios in order to make a decision about whether we should outsource to Mexico or not.

I thought back to this project that I had done in the supply chain core, and I decided that I could probably apply it to this project. Once I put it together, he was quite impressed. And I remember thinking: Well look at that, school works. Then, he took it around as an example and showed it to people who had been working there 30 – 40 years. It was cool! And it came from what I had learned here, in class, in clubs, in case competitions, etc.

How did you get that internship?

Through the supply chain club. They do a case competition every year and it’s a great opportunity for students to get real business experience, make a difference, have hands on experience, and learn how to present yourself as a business person.

How exactly did that case competition get you that internship?

My team of buddies from class got the case and we met every day for a week — some days were more productive than others. We didn’t know what we were doing! Once we presented, we thought we just did awful. So we were shocked that we made it to the second round.

We did the same thing as the first round, but this time it was with Orbital. And we presented to the VP of supply chain for Orbital this time. And when I was finished, I got the guys card and let him know that the competition had been a great experience. He told me to feel free to reach out, so I reached out and I got an internship right through that.

Any tips about the interview process?

1. Make sure that they know who you are. When you go to the interview sessions, you need to make time to go and talk to the presenters.
2. Make sure your resume is polished. My career advisor here, Eric Doman, is just a rock star. Everybody in Supply Chain just loves him, and he can really help you get your resume ready.

Once you talk to the people in the info sessions, once they say yes that you can have an interview, the Business Career Center (BCC) takes care of everything. It’s just the hub for getting any kind of company interaction, which is so invaluable.

Wow, the BCC must be fantastic! What else helped you out here at the Marriott School?

1. I used the bridge for applying to internships and doing interviews through the bridge. It’s a great resource. Plus, anyone that comes to recruit on campus uses the resumes from the Bridge.
2. CareerLaunch is super valuable. Students who aren’t exactly sure what they’re getting into or what they want to get into, CareerLaunch can tell you about prospective jobs and salaries for specific majors. If I had had that, before applying to the programs I would have known what I wanted to do a lot sooner.
3. Students come into the advisement center and essentially say, “What should I do?” But, we can’t tell them what to do. Our answer is always: Go to the clubs. Go to the clubs. Then all of these doors can open to the Marriott School. That’s the door to everything I’ve done.

What is one of the biggest mistakes you made?

If you want a normal answer, the biggest mistake is not using the resources sooner (i.e. not making myself familiar with the clubs as a pre-management student, not taking advantage of any of the mentoring stuff that happens here, not getting engaged soon enough). That’s the normal answer, I’ve done plenty of other dumb stuff, but that’s fine. [Laughs]

What advice would you give another student?

Get involved earlier and better. It’s getting harder and harder to get into the Marriott School with just grades. Much more often they’re looking for club involvement. They’re looking for work experience. Get involved so you know what your program is looking for. If you don’t talk to anybody and you just apply, your chances aren’t very good compared to someone who’s been to the clubs, who has a job, who’s prepared. Get involved early and often.