Career Services Spotlight – Nabila Ibrahim, MPA ’17, NYC Office of Management and Budget, Administrative Agencies and Elected Officials Unit

As an MPA student at the Austin W. Marxe School of Public & International Affairs, my primary focus is to learn more about public management allowing me to positively effect a larger part of our population. During summer 2016, I interned at the NYC Office of Management and Budget in the Administrative Agencies and Elected Officials Unit, which handles the capital and expense budget of thirty NYC agencies including Mayoralty, DCAS, and DoITT. As an intern, I updated data within the Adopted Plan from the Executive Financial Plan and reconciled the budget of all thirty agencies. I also contributed to the creation of an Access Brief Sheet enabling the task force to easily keep track of all initiatives. This internship helped me to learn about the operations of various New York City governmental organizations and how to obtain the best results with limited resources. I was able to use my quantitative and analytical skills to conduct many budgetary operations. Overall, I grew my professional network as well as attained personal growth.

I have always worked with Career Service to prepare targeted application materials for specific jobs or internships. I also utilize mock interviews, which helps boost my confidence level for interviews. Lastly, I have built an excellent relationship with my Career Advisor, who helped me figure out my career goals. I recommend that students use career service at least once a month to create and implement an action plan fostering their career development. It is also beneficial to attend various Marxe career events providing a platform to learn more about the job market and network.