Attending an Early Career Event at McDonald’s HQ in Chicago
I am a computer science major at DePaul University, and I had the privilege of being invited to attend an early career event at the McDonald’s global headquarters in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The event was really cool and I learned a ton about both working in a corporate environment as well as what it takes to start a career at McDonald’s HQ.
I would not have been invited to this event if I was not a student at DePaul. A recruiter, pictured to the left giving our group a tour, reached out to me on Handshake and invited me to apply for the event. If you’re unfamiliar, Handshake is essentially a LinkedIn-type networking platform but strictly for college students. Being a DePaul student, I often get reached out to by recruiters from various companies for all kinds of reasons, but this opportunity was very enticing to me as they were placing a special significance on tech-related students. Additionally, McDonald’s has always been on my mind as one of the top companies I might want to work for in the city. The schedule of the event was as follows: Introductions and an explanation of what opportunities McDonald’s has to offer, a tour of the headquarters, a presentation from a current employee about his journey within the company, and finally a Q&A panel with former interns who had returned as full-time employees.
The McDonald’s headquarters is truly quite impressive. It’s designed in a way that is both modern and welcoming, and the amenities were amazing. They have a gym, free McDonald’s coffee anytime, countless amazing work spaces, and just a general great vibe inside the building. Additionally, and what I think might be the most important aspect to consider, the employees seemed to genuinely be happy about their jobs. Between the recruiters, employees we talked to along the tour, and the interns who answered our questions, everyone was very excited to talk about their experience. They all had a lot of good things to say and seemed to really convey that McDonald’s was a great place to work. I think I was most interested in that aspect going in, and I am definitely satisfied. I am going to do my best to try and work there at some point, whether that be an internship this coming summer or ten years down the line in a full-time position.
I think that these types of events are really valuable for your early career growth as a college student. As I mentioned previously I am a computer science major, and so I am mainly looking into tech roles, specifically relating to software engineering. There were around 40 students in attendance at this event, and about half of them were interested in some sort of tech-related career path. McDonald’s knew this, and made sure to give great explanations of what opportunities they had available in the tech realm. They also showcased many employees who are actively working in tech at the company and had them give an explanation of both what they do and how they got their position.
Overall, this was a great experience for me and was highly beneficial to my career growth. Not only did I get to express my interest in McDonald’s as a company and get valuable face-time with recruiters and current employees, I also learned a ton about what it’s like to work in the industry and what I need to do in order to achieve my career goals. These types of events are being attended all the time by DePaul students, and I think are one of the major benefits that come with being located in an amazing city like Chicago that is home to hundreds of companies.
~Jeff