Alumni Directory

Mike Byrne

Director
Alvarez & Marsal

School Information

School: University of Michigan

College Major: Business

 Years at College Works: 2005 to 2008

Career Information

Working For: Alvarez & Marsal

Title: Director

Industry: Consulting

College Works Career Impact

In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?

College Works Painting gave me the real world experience to deal with real world problems

How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?

My degree got me the interview, my communication, skills, and experience from College Works Painting got me the job

What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?

Can’t remember names but beers and chatting at the end of the day was always nice

What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?

It’s just paint – mistakes will be made, paint will be spilled, there is nothing that can’t be cleaned up or fixed so take a deep breath and handle problems when they come up instead of panicking.

Advice

What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?

Put in the time. You won’t always see the success today but that doesn’t mean it won’t be there tomorrow

Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?

Put in the time. Too many people don’t put in the time, aren’t successful because of it, and quit because they aren’t seeing success that they would have seen if they put the time in to begin with.

What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?

Few internships give you the chance to do instead of watch. The College Works Painting experience may not be specific to your major but it will be applicable to any job you could possibly apply for.