Treks

Treks are organized group visits to employers in various U.S. and international cities for the purposes of education and networking across industries.

Questions? Reach out to the Career Development Office: som.cdo@yale.edu

Trek Goals

  1. Increase student knowledge by scheduling visits organized by an industry/function/theme/geography
  2. Assess various cultures across organizations
  3. Foster a stronger job search network by connecting students and employers

Why lead a trek?

Leading a trek allows students to showcase skills in communications, project management, and multi-stakeholder leadership, as well as commitment to the club's focus area. Additionally, trek leaders may benefit from forging relationships with desired employers.

How are visits organized?

Yale SOM professional student clubs take the lead in organizing treks. They work with the CDO to define trek goals, identify target organizations and determine optimal timing. Treks may be organized in cooperation with a particular employer, in conjunction with another business school(s) and/or based on student interest.

Scroll down to understand the planning process for treks:

  1. 1

    Assign a student leader for the trek planning and develop a list of potential employer hosts.

  2. 2

    Reach out to the CDO Employer Partnership Manager (EPM) to finalize employer outreach list and discuss ideal timing before any outreach occurs.

  3. 3

    Ask employers to host a trek, cc'ing the CDO EPM. Continue to cc the EPM on all employer communications related to the trek, from outreach, to planning, to post-event follow-ups.

  4. 4

    Align with host organization on trek visit format, content, and visit logistics and communications required leading up to the day of the trek.

  5. 5

    Manage all student marketing, registration, and logistics communications.

  6. 6

    Provide onsite trek management, including taking notes on visit and capturing names/ contact info for all student attendees and employer hosts.

  7. 7

    Follow-up post event, including thanking the host, sharing notes, employer contacts, and student attendees with the CDO. CDO will share notes and contacts in CMS.

Additional considerations in planning a trek:

Student capacity may be limited by the employer host; determine how your club will address limiting attendance (lottery, first come/ first served, bidding, etc).

Treks are open to all students. Club membership is not required to participate, and club members should not be prioritized over others.

There is no one set formula for visiting an employer; visits can be as simple as hosting students in a conference room for a presentation and Q&A, or as complex as giving a tour, panel presentation and networking session.

Day-long treks are typically offered on Fridays and multi-day treks are offered during school breaks such as winter or spring breaks. Students are not allowed to miss class for treks.

Trek planning takes a long time; as soon as you know you would like to organize a trek, reach out to your CDO EPM to discuss.

Costs vary based on location and duration. Students are responsible for their own transportation, lodging and meal costs. Historically, most clubs have required a fully refundable deposit (cost varies across treks) to indicate commitment to attending. (No shows forfeit their deposits, which stay with the organizing club.)

Trek Leaders & Guidance

Below are the roles and responsibilities for Trek Leaders and a description of what support CDO EPMs offers during the planning process:

CDO EPM

  • Guidance and partnership during strategic planning phase
  • Employer outreach list approval
  • Trek dates/locations approval
  • Ongoing relationship management with targeted employers

Trek Leader

  • Strategic planning with approval of CDO: Goals and organizing concept of the trek, location, target lists, timing, number of students interested, etc.
  • Initial company outreach, cc'ing CDO EPM liaison
  • Content/format of visit in conjunction with trek host, and cc'ing EPM liaison
  • Confirm student audience
  • Marketing, student registration, student deposit management
  • All additional logistics such as directions, security details, etc.
  • Supply gifts to trek hosts
  • On site trek management, including student attendance, capturing trek notes, and contact information of employer hosts
  • Thank you/follow-up with employer contact (copying EPM)
  • Share trek notes, student attendance and employer contacts with CDO, to share with future students, trek leaders, and employer partnership management

Trek Planning Best Practices

  • Pre-Trek Planning: Strategize Trek Targets – As Far in Advance as Possible

    • Determine which student/s will lead the trek planning process.
    • Involve club CDO Employer Partnership Manager in initial strategic planning. The CDO is your partner as you define trek goals, employer target lists, and timing.
    • Ask the CDO to approve the outreach list and the potential trek dates to avoid conflicts with recruiting and programming calendars.

  • Pre-Trek Planning: Employer Outreach Process

    • Student trek leaders reach out to target employers to discuss potential trek, timing, and student audience, cc'ing the CDO EPM
    • Trek leader works with employer to confirm content/format, any student preparation required, attendance limits, and all other logistics with EPM on copy

  • Pre-Trek Planning: Managing Student Registration Process

    • As soon as date and location of trek is confirmed with CDO: Trek leader markets opportunity with students and shares registration, timing and deposit process: Define and communicate expectations for students to receive their deposit back at the end of the trek (i.e. arriving on time, being prepared with questions, properly dressed), determine deposit amount, & re-market trek to students as organizations are added
    • At least two weeks before trek: Collect trek deposits from trek participants ideally in the form of a check, or other pre-approved form of payment discussed with the Business Office (deposits signify a participant's commitment to attend). Submit payment to Business Office as they will store them using the Club Accounting Book "Payment Request Tool" in CampusGroups.
    • Trek leaders are responsible for all tracking associated with trek attendance and requirements
    • One week before trek: Close registration, collect résumés from students to share with employer and clearly communicate number of students attending the visit with CDO EPM on copy
    • Once the trek is completed: Trek leaders are responsible for final reconciliation (this includes returning, destroying or initiating deposit of checks as appropriate)

  • Pre-Trek Planning: Final Logistics – One Week Prior to Trek

    • Trek leader assigns a lead for each employer visit who is responsible for reinforcing these guidelines, tracking student attendance, taking notes of employer visit, and capturing employer host names and contact information
    • Employer visit lead provides student attendees with their contact information and communicates logistics for the employer visit via Outlook calendar invite to students (template included under Communication Examples). Include CDO EPM.
    • Encourage trek participants to research, research, research! Remind them the expectation is that they prepare to interact with and ask questions of the representatives for each trek visit.
    • Compile employer overviews for all organizations you'll be visiting (partner with classmates to save time and eliminate redundancy) utilizing the Your Research section of Your Career Development Guide.
    • Become familiar with names of leaders and alumni; in presentations employer representatives may use these names without providing context.
    • Craft talking points and questions to ask during the Q&A portion of the visit, prepare thoughtful questions, don't ask questions for which you can easily do a quick internet search.
    • Review if organization is currently hiring or has hired graduate business school students in the past

  • Pre-Trek Planning: Planning an Alumni Event (Optional)

    • We encourage trek leaders to connect with alumni in the regions they are visiting. Reach out to Alumni Relations as early as possible

  • General Tips during Trek

    • Arrive early, with proper COVID compliance and proper identification for security purposes. **Note: at some security checkpoints, particularly at government and multilateral organizations, international drivers' licenses will not be accepted, and international students must show passports
    • Reinforce the importance of being engaged, turning phones off, etc.
    • Assign a lead for each employer visit who is responsible for reinforcing these guidelines and taking attendance and will introduce self to employer hosts
    • Ensure trek visits stay on track so group isn't late to subsequent employer visits
    • Present small token/gift (if applicable) to employer representatives at conclusion of visit, such as Yale SOM memorabilia including mugs, pens and pictures of Evans Hall
    • Share feedback in a timely manner with individual students regarding behavior/dress that does not create a good impression to prevent repeat incidences in the case of multi-day treks or multiple visits

  • Post-Trek Activities

    • Send thoughtful thank you notes to employer representatives and alumni, copying EPM, within 24 hours of visit
    • Send contact information from employer representatives and notes from trek visits to CDO EPM who will continue to develop ongoing recruiting relationship
    • Compile trek information and put in centralized place for use by CDO and trek leaders in subsequent years
    • Confirm final attendance list with CDO, Business Office, and Alumni Relations (if involved)
    • Consider a blog post to share trek highlights with broader Yale SOM community

Sample Communication Templates

From: Trek leader
To: Contact at targeted employer
CC: CDO point of contact
Subject: Yale SOM students are trekking to Washington DC and would love to meet

Greetings!

The Yale School of Management Economic Development Club is organizing a trek visit to Washington DC on January 31 to learn more about the work of various organizations committed to all aspects of economic development. Students are very interested in learning more about IDInsights and we are hopeful we could schedule a visit to your offices on January 31. I am cc'ing my co-organizer Handsome Dan and our Career Development Office liaison Rebecca Lineberry on this request.

To give more context on this trek visit:

Overview
The Economic Development Club at Yale SOM is a student-led club that puts on educational and professional events for students interested in all aspects of economic development.

Format
Trek visits can take many forms. Commonly a visit is 60-90 minutes, during which students hear from practitioners about their work and impact. Students also learn about the recruiting process from the recruiting team. If there's time, a tour is always welcome!

Student attendees
I estimate that 15-20 students would be interested in joining the visit. (However, if there are capacity constraints or room for more, just let me know!) Participating students will have a variety of previous work experience and many will be international students, making for dynamic discussions. All interested students will be earning a graduate business degree, although at various stages of their academic tenure:

• 1st year MBAs (seeking summer internships)
• 2nd year MBAs (graduating this May)
• MAM students (Master in Advanced Management students already have/are concurrently earning an MBA from a partner international business school and are earning this additional one year degree)
• GBS students (Master's in Global Business and Society students have less than three years work experience, already have or are concurrently earning a Master's in Management from a partner international business school and are earning this additional one-year degree.)

We are hopeful a visit on January 31st works. If this date doesn't work, we are happy to consider other options to connect.

Deposit Request-Example

From: Trek leader
To: All students attending visit
CC: CDO point of contact
Subject: [City] or [Industry] Trek – [Date] Trekkers!

Thank you for your interest in attending the Education Club trek to Boston on Friday, November 8th. We have a great list of companies lined up for the day including Education Resources Strategy (ERS), The Achievement Network, Mass Insight Education and NewSchools Venture Fund.

Treks are a great way for Yale SOM students to make a positive impression on an organization and to either start or strengthen a recruiting relationship. If you want to join us on the Ed Club trek, we're asking for a $250 deposit to signal your commitment. Deposits are due by October 17th and must be in check form payable to Yale University, in the memo line please write "Ed Club Trek". They can be submitted to [trek leader's] mailbox in the hub. The Business Office will hold the checks until after the trek and we will e-mail the people whose checks we receive each day. In order to have your deposit refunded, you must (1) attend the trek, (2) be present and engaged at all sessions, and (3) show up on time to all sessions.

We're really looking forward to the trek, and hope you are too! As always, get in touch with us if you have questions.

Best regards,

Trek leader(s)

Student Company Visit Confirmation (Outlook calendar invite) – Example

From: Student liaison to company
To: All students attending visit
CC: CDO point of contact
Subject: [City] Trek – [Company]: Confirmed, [Day & Time]

Trekkers!

Your visit to LinkedIn during the Yale SOM 2024 SF Trek is confirmed! If you're receiving this e-mail, it means that you signed up and are confirmed to visit LinkedIn on January 5, 2024 from 1:00 – 3:00 PST. Please keep in mind, you are committed to visiting LinkedIn, and cannot back out unless there is an emergency.

Action items:

• By 5:00 pm EST on January 2, send me a PDF of your resume in the following format for inclusion in the resume book. Company_LastName_FirstName_Resume.pdf

• By the visit, research LinkedIn and develop a list of questions to ask during the Q&A segment of our visit

Company: LinkedIn
Address: 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA
Visit Date & Time:  Monday January 5, 2024
1:00 – 3:00 pm; arrive 10-15 minutes early and meet in the lobby so we can enter as one cohesive group
Dress Code: Business Casual. No Suit.
Yale SOM Contact Info: Student Liaison
Employer Reps: Joe Smith – MBA Recruiter, Jane Doe – Senior Product Manager (Yale SOM '11)
Transportation Comments: 
• Driving time from downtown SF can be up to 1.5 hours with traffic, or 1 hour without traffic. Rental car recommended
• Train option: link to train schedule
• For trekkers visiting eBay prior to the LinkedIn visit, the travel time from San Jose to Mountain View is 20 minutes without traffic

Transportation Resources

• Ride Sharing: This Google doc will assist with ride sharing with a tab for each day. If you have rented a car and have extra seats, please offer rides to your classmates. It is recommended that you rent a car for visits to Palo Alto rather than taking public transportation, as there is no direct route.
• Company Visit Map: This is a map of all companies we are visiting during the week. You may also choose to carpool with people visiting nearby companies during the same timeslot, such as IDEO, which is also in Palo Alto.
• Cautionary Note: Please account for extra travel time given heavy traffic in the Bay area.