After starting her career as a lawyer, Song Kim (Yale SOM, ‘20) enrolled in the MBA Program at Yale University to build a social impact career. During her time at Yale, Kim participated in numerous experiences at programs at Yale, including serving on a non-profit board, and numerous activities with a variety of student clubs, which gave her skills and experiences that …In this interview, Kim shared her journey to Yale, the impact of participating in these programs, and her advice for individuals aspiring to build careers in social impact.
MBAschooled: What did you do before business school, and why did you choose to pursue an MBA?
Before business school, I was a lawyer working with survivors of forced labor. I worked with men, women, and youth who had experienced severe forms of exploitation. We helped stabilize our clients’ immigration status and litigated cases in federal civil courts to help them access justice against their traffickers.
I decided to pursue an MBA for mainly two reasons. Having worked closely with marginalized immigrant communities, I wanted to explore ways to sustainably finance grassroots movements. Recognizing that direct services and advocating for beneficial government policies were not enough, I became interested in applying the on-the-ground knowledge from my work to inform business-centered solutions to labor exploitation in global supply chains.
MBASchooled: What resources, clubs, or programs does Yale SOM offer for careers in social impact?
SOM has a huge ecosystem of social impact related clubs, including the Economic Development Club, Impact Investing Club, and the Education Clubs, to name a few. I am one of the Co-Leads for Net Impact, which we have reorganized this year to serve as an umbrella student group to bring together all the different impact-focused clubs to help foster a strong community at SOM. The club provides a streamlined flow of information and different forms of support for students who want to enter social impact careers after work or are simply interested in learning how to bring a social impact lens to their work in the corporate sector. The career development office also works with social impact clubs to organize events like the social impact networking night as well as job treks to prospective employers. These are all great resources for people interested in a career in social impact.
MBASchooled: What did you decide to pursue for your MBA summer internship, and what was the recruiting & interviewing process like?
I spent ten weeks of my summer at Robin Hood (the anti-poverty organization) in NYC, and two weeks at Impact Experience in the Bay Area. I went into recruiting knowing full well that there was no structured recruiting process for social impact and that I would have to be willing to be patient to find the internship that would be the right fit for me. I took advantage of different opportunities, such as conferences and job treks, and tapped into our alumni network to start getting a feel for the kinds of opportunities out there.
My recruiting process for Robin Hood started at the CDO’s social impact networking night, where I had a wonderful conversation with one of the managing directors of Robin Hood through which I felt like I was able to get a real feel for the values, direction, and culture of the organization. Once I applied, I received an invitation for an hour-long phone interview, and then about a week afterwards was invited for a half-day interview at their offices in New York City. For Impact Experience, I ran across the organization when I was looking through the list of Echoing Green Fellows for the year. I was inspired by their model of co-creating solutions with the communities impacted, and wanted to learn more. I reached out, and after several conversations with members of the team, committed to spend time with them as well.
MBASchooled: What activities or initiatives are you working on in business school related to social impact?
One of my favorite social impact-related activities I’m involved in is serving on the board of a local nonprofit serving refugees in New Haven, IRIS, through the Nonprofit Board Fellows. It’s been a way to be involved in a meaningful way with the local community in New Haven and contribute through my past experiences and my learnings from school directly and immediately.
Another activity that has been significant during my time at SOM is research with Professor Kate Cooney and the former Ambassador Lou CdeBaca on supply chain transparency laws, which fit in perfectly with the questions I wanted to explore when I came back to school. I felt fortunate that my time at SOM has given me the opportunity to be involved with and learn and grow into the causes and issues I care most deeply about.
MBASchooled: What’s something you’ve learned, or skills that you’ve built in business school that you feel will help you as you pursue a career in social impact after you graduate?
I’ve learned so much in my time at SOM. I had absolutely no business background, and even the most basic things like learning to use Excel (!) thanks to friends who took time out of their days to patiently teach me to use it will have far-reaching dividends
I strive to become a “systems entrepreneur,” who builds bridges and facilitates collaboration across sectors. Towards that goal, I think something that changed my way of thinking and that I will certainly bring into my work is to fail early and often, which is a sister concept to not letting the perfect become the enemy of the good. I’ve learned a ton about innovation and ways to become more creative, nimble, and sustainable, which is important for most efficiently and effectively coming up with innovative new solutions.
MBASchooled: Now that you’ve been in business school, how has your own view on how MBA’s can build a career in social impact evolved?
Business school has reiterated my belief that there are different avenues for creating meaningful change to make the world a more equitable and fairer place. I’ve had eye-opening conversations with leaders in their field about what creating positive social impact can look like in a nonprofit organization, through philanthropy, or even at a large corporation. It has given me a new perspective on how to align my values and skill sets to hone my own personal theory of change, and opened up a world of possibilities for my post-MBA career that I had never thought of before, such as social entrepreneurship.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for students interested in pursuing an MBA to pursue a career in social impact?
Business school is a special place where you can experience and learn things you hadn’t even yet realized you wanted to experience or learn. It’s also a place where you can tailor your experience to gain skills and seek out and speak with people who inspire you and experiment to find that sweet spot where your interests and skills align.
My advice is to go in with as open mind as possible and don’t be shy about taking advantage of all the resources at your fingertips, and enjoy letting unexpected adventures find you!