{"id":185,"date":"2012-02-09T14:28:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-09T18:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/2012\/02\/09\/an-imbas-experience-with-the-job-search-process\/"},"modified":"2012-02-09T14:28:00","modified_gmt":"2012-02-09T18:28:00","slug":"an-imbas-experience-with-the-job-search-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/2012\/02\/09\/an-imbas-experience-with-the-job-search-process\/","title":{"rendered":"An IMBA’s Experience with the Job Search Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

Post by:<\/span>
Brian Driscoll<\/span>
International MBA, 2012<\/p>\n

<\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s OK to Change Directions: <\/span><\/b><\/span>When I began the IMBA program in China in May 2011, my intent was to secure a position as a Product Manager but as my courses continued, I discovered that my strengths were more closely aligned with operations and process management than with marketing or consumer behavior. As you progress through the MBA, it\u2019s important to continuously evaluate the direction of your interests and be able to switch gears quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Develop an Initial Plan: <\/span><\/b><\/span>Develop your 30-second pitch early – people are always interested to hear what you want to do after your MBA and they will ask whether or not you\u2019re ready to answer. To develop your pitch, you\u2019ll need to reflect on your skills, previous roles, and potential career path <\/span>with target companies in mind. Be ready to tailor your pitch to your audience on t<\/span>he fly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Narrow<\/span><\/b><\/span>ing Search Criteria:<\/span><\/b><\/span> To keep the job search practical, it\u2019s critical to narrow down your list of target companies. Each application may turn into a life-changing decision, so prioritize your most important criteria. I searched based on location, manufacturing capabilities, industry, size, and revenue. This process also helped me develop my answer to the standard interview question \u201cWhy do you want to work for us?\u201d Even after honing in on a target profile, it\u2019s ok if your list of companies still remains broad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Job Search Success:<\/span><\/b><\/span> In January 2012 I proudly accepted a position with United Technologies\u2019 Operations Leadership Program. While having a BU MBA certainly breaks down barriers to get your resume on the desks of hiring managers, companies often expect more from MBA candidates t<\/span>han they do from others. But don\u2019t let this intimidate you, because Boston Universi<\/span>ty has more than enough resources to help you land the right job for your career.<\/span><\/p>\n

UTC Interview Phases:<\/span><\/b><\/span> The UTC Interview Process consisted of two phone screens, a weekend assignment, and a \u201cSuperday\u201d onsite interview. The \u201cSuperday\u201d involved an overnight stay, dinner with current OLP associates, presentations, team ne<\/span>gotiations, <\/span>and a panel interview. The sessions were intensely challenging but team skills, presentation skills, and operations concepts that I\u2019d sharpened through the BU MBA were critical to my successful outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

Support fro<\/span><\/b><\/span>m Feld Career Center and BU Professors:<\/span><\/b><\/span> I first found and applied to UTC\u2019s position through one of my weekly searches on MBA Careerlink. The Feld Career Center\u2019s Gary Bergman provi<\/span>ded excellent support and personal attention throughout my job search. His Career Management course, mock interview feedback, cover letter & resume templates, and advice in my negotiations were all critical to the successful progression toward my final offer. The pre-interview meetings I had with professors Janelle Heineke (OM726) and Nitin Joglekar (OM880) <\/span>were also extremely important for me to readily apply their course concepts in the scenarios I faced in my interviews. And most importa<\/span>ntly, I received a lot of helpful support from my classmates around the time of my interviews.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Brian is a<\/span><\/span>\"\"<\/a>n International MBA candidate with experience in startup companies and bringing product designs into product<\/span><\/span>ion. You may find him exploring around Boston with friends or studying at a nearby Starbucks.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bookmark<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Post by:Brian DriscollInternational MBA, 2012 It\u2019s OK to Change Directions: When I began the IMBA program in China in May 2011, my intent was to secure a position as a Product Manager but as my courses continued, I discovered that my strengths were more closely aligned with operations and process management than with marketing or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11742,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11742"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/questromgrads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}