Eduardo Avendano, a rising senior in the Henry W. Bloch School of Management, is chasing a dream.
“I want to achieve big things,” Avendano says.
He is off to a good start. Avendano, who is majoring in business administration in finance, is a native of Brazil. Attending UMKC was the first step on the path toward a long-term goal.
“I decided to come to the U.S. for college so I could chase my goal of building my career closer to the biggest players in the financial market.”
Last fall, he interviewed with more than 30 companies in the United States for a summer internship. Avendano knew that the large New York-based firms usually hire interns from Ivy League colleges.
He was undaunted.
“I want to achieve big things.” — Eduardo Avendano
“I understood that the easiest way for the firms to sort so many people applying for the same position was to separate people by school,” he says. “I had so many automated emails saying I did not get the job.”
To change the outcome, he decided to change his approach.
“Not only was I applying through the websites, I started cold calling, adding connections through LinkedIn and sending emails.”
Using this method, he applied for 30 jobs and secured one interview at Ares Management Corporation.
“Out of more than 3,000 applicants, 100 people were selected for a phone interview. I told my story and clinched the in-person interview in New York two weeks later.”
Besides Avendano, four other candidates received an invitation to interview in person.
“You can probably guess their backgrounds. Two were from Wharton [School of the University of Pennsylvania], one was from Brown University, one from Cornell University. And then there was me.”
Avendano was not intimidated.
“Even though there were more than 3,000 candidates, the moment I had the phone interview I knew would get the job.”
He was able to visit the company before the escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak. The energy of New York City did not disappoint.
“I stayed in a hotel overlooking Central Park. I love the energy of the city. When I looked down from the 42nd floor, I knew I was making the right decision."
While the outbreak of COVID-19 has upset some of his plans, Avendano has remained positive even as he has been working at home in Kansas City.
“It’s still very exciting,” he says. “We are supposed be in the office in the next few weeks.”
"Even though there were more than 3,000 candidates, the moment I had the phone interview, I knew I would get the job." — Eduardo Avendano
Avendano would encourage anyone with a similar dream to be as tenacious as he was.
“I wanted to be where the best players in the market are. I knew some of the other candidates had more choices, but I knew I had the qualities to be as successful as they could.”
He recommends being tenacious in the search, even if something seems like a long-shot.
“It’s not an easy thing, but anyone can do it,” he says. “Just because you keep hearing ‘no’ doesn’t mean you’re not capable. You just better be prepared for the next ‘yes.’”