Saygin Yag - Product Management at IBM
What brands or accounts were you working on?
IBM`s Data Warehousing Offerings
What was your biggest learning?
Never underestimate the power of networking. It can do wonders for your career.
Can you share a cool customer or consumer or category insight?
Databases in the market are still not as efficient as we want them to be
What was your favourite part of the internship?
We went glamping (glamorous camping) with Canadian Extreme Blue Interns at Algonquin.
What was a typical day at work?
We always started with coffee and scrum. But other than these, there was no daily routine which was one of my favorite parts of th internship.
What skills are important for this job
Leadership – I was the business lead of the project, which entailed a great deal of communication with other units at IBM.
Presentation – We pitched the project 6 times to executives, the last one in New York HQ. To reach perfection, we practiced the pitch for over a 100 times.
Networking – Creating the buy-in from people I networked with provided great support for our project.
What did you least expect going into the internship?
We all know IBM is transforming but it was interesting to see how all employees adopted the culture of innovation. This was particularly clear to observe as everyone we reached out, regardless of seniority or position, made time to discuss our project with us.
Any advice for first-year MBA Students?
Know that networking is not just coffee-chatting with specific people, it is how you communicate with all the stakeholders
What did you do before your MBA?
ASELSAN Electronics - Operations
Philip Morris International - Brand Management
What are your post-MBA goals?
I am taking on a role in Product Management at IBM Toronto Labs. I am excited to go back to the Big Blue as a change agent.