Tips from Bain, NFL, and Stanford Business: Breaking Into Corporate America

Life After Summer Camp

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity

Mario Del Cueto hits you with 5 practical action steps you can take right now to break into corporate America

I am testing a virtual cohort for 18-22 year olds thinking about what's next. I'd love you to think about joining.

Mr Business goes to Camp

What I admire most about Mario is how hard he runs through walls to expand the surface area for luck.

I met Mario at a sweaty camp in Texas in 2022. He was sorta a fish out of water. Stanford MBA, working at a big 5 consulting company, former NFL intern, wanting to run a camp? This guy!?

Mario grew up working at a day camp in California, played football at UPenn, and was on the fast track to all conventional success. In 2022, he decided he wanted to run his own camp. In 2024, he made it happen.

He did 3 things I love:

Hedged His Bets - Didn't immediately quit. Instead he kept his corporate job and used the cache from his resume and the flexibility he had to build a network in the camp world.

Stated His Goal - Yelled from the roof tops about wanting to run a camp so everyone he met could help him if they wanted to. It's scary to say what we want.

Was a Learning Machine - He constantly took notes, asked intense questions, and devoured every resource put in front of him. Every time I talk to him he is insanely smarter than the last.

Get a remote business & marketing internship with Mario. Let him make your resume sign.

You are going to love this one!

- Jack

If you like this newsletter, would mean the world to me if you told a friend about it. "I get this email every week about former camp staff giving career advice. Check it out. Life After Summer Camp"

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Meet Mario

^^ Mario at Stanford Business School explaining the power of what you did this summer. Listen to how he makes it relatable, true, but also professional

Hi!

My name's Mario and I'm the Director and co-founder of Mountain Camp Marin, a Bay Area day camp. In a previous life, I was Mr. Business.

I spent 6 years as a management consultant at Bain & Company, received degrees from Stanford and Wharton, supported several Ed-tech start-ups, and was a strategic analyst for the National Football League. I've leveraged these professional experiences to launch my own camp consulting business and meet awesome camp professionals, like Jack!

5 tips for 2024 summer camp counselors looking to craft a career in corporate America

Have a Clear Vision (Bluffing If You Must): Articulating a specific, audacious, and attainable goal can be the biggest unlock in your professional endeavors. Your network wants to help you, so help them out by clearly stating where you want to go. Even if you're still figuring it out, speaking with confidence about your desired next steps can be a differentiator vs. your peers. And remember, it’s okay for your goal to change—no one will fault you for having a new specific, audacious, and attainable goal.

Nail the Basics: Make sure your LinkedIn is polished, your resume is up-to-date, and your cover letter is templatized & adaptable. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity… do the preparation.

Know Your Story Inside and Out: Whether it’s a networking event or an interview, you should be able to deliver your "elevator pitch" in under 90 seconds. This pitch should hit a few key points:Who are you?

What problem do you want to solve?

Why does this problem hold importance for you?

What's your ideal next step in helping you achieve this goal?

Establish (Digital) Breadcrumbs: Both mentors and potential employers need to see that you actually care about what you claim to care about. Start a blog, intern for an interesting company, or attend a relevant conference.

Expand Your Camp Responsibilities: Going back to camp can be an accelerant to your corporate dreams. Discuss with your Camp Director how to craft next summer into something that best positions you for your desired corporate role. For example, I'd gladly entrust one of my high performing counselors with leading our camp social media account, running data analysis on our enrollment data, or managing our Google Ads initiatives.

Don't forget about the virtual cohort

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