External Opportunities & Getting the Jobs Most MBAs Miss

1. External Opportunities & Getting the Jobs Most MBAs Miss Donald Asher Asher Associates (415) 543-7130 don@donaldasher.com

2. The Only Three Things You Need to Know • You get jobs by talking to people • You need 100 leads at all times • Look for work in channels Watch for the pink bathrobe story

3. The Three Pillars of ‘B’ School • Academics • Connections • Job Search

4. Why to Network While a Student • You’re supposed to; it’s part of the educational process! It’s part of why you are in school! • Everybody loves a student • The economy could get worse, especially this year and next • Career exploration now creates job leads later

5. This Is Easier than You Think… • You can call or email anybody and ask, “May I know the name of your MBA recruiter?” Undergrads would ask, “May I know the name of the person who hires new college graduates?” Then, you email that person and ask, • “How can I best get consideration by your company? What are you most looking for?”

6. Respect Hiring Cycles! • How can I submit my resume, and when will you review them? • When do you expect to begin interviewing? • When do you expect initial offers might go out?

7. Stages of Job Search • Identify job targets (industry, function, title) • Identify raw leads (companies, people, ideas) • Identify names of specific people • Turn a name into an appointment • Sell in the interview • Stay alive through the selection process • Close the deal

8. The Four Dynamic Tensions… • Job • Salary • Location • Effort If one is really important, you have to be flexible on the others…

9. Where’s Your Next Job? • On campus interview cycle • Self-directed search • Your old employer Don’t blink, because There is NO other source

10. Everybody Needs a Back Channel • Top-half complacency • It’s practice for the future • Maximize benefit of your contacts • The best students gain benefits from multiple offers • Nobody wants to come out without an offer

11. International? • Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States • Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries(3 vol. set) • www.goinglobal.com

12. Who Hires Internationals? • Anyone who wants one bad enough, especially for OPT, also • www.foreignmba.com • H1Base.com • bilingual-jobs.com • H1visajobs.com And the U.S. DOL: • http://ows.doleta.gov/foreign/about.asp • http://www.flcdatacenter.com/casesearch.asp

13. The Guru Mark B. Rhoads Attorney at Law Immigration Practice Group McCandlish Holton 1111 East Main Street, Suite 1500 Post Office Box 796 Richmond, Virginia 23218-0796 804-775-3824 mrhoads@lawmh.com

14. Internationals – How to Get Started • Same as everyone else: Alumni, Family, Friends, Faculty (more on this soon) • Call all your old countrymen and women who have ever lived in U.S. • Go to all the receptions and info sessions, even undergrad • Register on social networking spaces • Find alumni from your home country

15. Why Multiple Channels • At most MBA programs, about half do not find internship through on-campus interviewing • Don’t fail to work multiple channels: • On campus • Self-developed external opportunities • Career fairs • Etc. • Top salary offer (by design) – bottom offer (by default)

16. Identifying a job target • Interest alone may not be enough, but… • Friends can open doors that skills and experience cannot • Remember: Recruiters are not paid to be creative

17. The Diamond of Success(But You Don’t Need to Go Obvious Until March)

18. Want something new? • On campus interview cycle • Recruiters may accept raw skills and genuine interest • One of the only ways to get easy access to recruiters • Good practice anyway • Aggressive informational interviewing and self-directed search • You find the right people and you get them to talk to you

19. Three to Five Goals • “Something to do with green business or exporting” vs. • “Broker for industrial-level recycling of post-consumer electronics, as in container loads or larger, and global trade in such materials”

20. Undecided? • You cannot afford to leave this room without a direction…

21. Building Target Statements • Industry • Function • Title

22. Building Target Statements • Industry • Insurance • Commercial real estate • Electronic components manufacturing • Global commodities trading • Plastics extrusion Industry is hardest to change, so do it first.

23. Building Target Statements • Function • Operations management • Logistics • Finance • IT & systems • E-Commerce leadership • Sales, marketing, business development

24. Building Target Statements • Title • CFO • CIO • VP Business Development • Pick a next job, rather than ultimate goal Titles reveal you as an industry insider • Assistant Editor vs. Editorial Assistant

25. Industry Function Title Values Location Commute Dress Hours Travel Autonomy Tele-work & flex-time Supervise New / Old / Large / Small Compensation Risk Opportunity / career path Building Target Statements

26. Alignment • Your goal must match your plan, your skillset, your experiences, your personality, and the real world • The movie industry is in L.A. • Broadway is in New York • There are no part-time jobs for beginning investment bankers • And you can’t become a ballet dancer now…

27. Your Targets for This Year for first years -- • Dream Internship • Backup Plan you need 100+ iterations, which means you will be doing research

28. Where jobs come from • See the very sophisticated MBA diagram • The Stacey Factor • 2/3 are contingent (temporary, part-time, or contract) • You have to get ahead of the cycle

29. A Profound Difference • The Overt Job Market • Posted openings anywhere • Job seeker is not “first mover” • The Hidden Job Market • Jobs that are not yet posted anywhere • Job seeker is “first mover”

30. How Big Is The Hidden Job Market? • About half the people who are hired did not respond to a posted opening • So, about half the job market is the hidden job market • And only about 1/3 of jobs are posted online! • See “Sources of Hire”

31. Sources of External Hire

32. Why Is the HJM Preferred? Biggest reason: • Less competition The Stacey Factor Where Jobs Come From

33. 6 Sources of Job Leads • Networking • Research • Job Fairs • Internet • Active • Passive • Headhunters • Newspapers

34. Networking • It’s about information, not power • Types • Hiring authorities • Direct referral sources • Centers of influence • Uncle Bob and Aunt Claudene • Don’t forget receptions and job fairs, one of the only places on the planet to meet a lot of recruiters easily

35. Research • Business library experts • Industry directories & association lists • Hoovers or zapdata or D&B (10+ million) • Chamber of Commerce • State Department of Commerce • Drive by • Int’l students: see int’l student rep You don’t have to do this on your own. Get some help!

36. Internet • Active works the same as research • Find companies in your area of interest • Research companies before any interview • Passive works in limited cases (more below) • Post and hope • Use the career center lists!

37. The Problem w/ Job BB • Intensive competition, 250-to-1 is typical • You have to be perfect • Monster, CareerJournal.com and others like it • Always running behind the cycle • Secret: Trade press and specialty publications still a great source

38. Headhunters • Find people for jobs, not jobs for people • 1000+ is generally considered minimum effort • Go to kennedyinfo.com or look at the Directory of Executive Recruiters, aka “The Red Book” • How to field and/or deflect a HH call • Do NOT expect a recruiter to babysit you, give you friendly advice, or help you find any job except one she has an open requisition for

39. Leave no stone unturned! • I.D. 50+ companies that are “right on,” and 100-200 “2nd Tier” companies, minimum! • On-campus interviews and search training • Receptions and job fairs (Travel! It’s worth it!) • Alumni networking • Post on all MBA web sites • Plan holiday interviewing junkets • Remember Uncle Bob & Aunt Claudene

40. Overheads on Breaking Down the Door • See your handouts…

41. Interview Rules • You will call and confirm the day before • You will research the company before the meeting • You will arrive exactly 4 minutes early • You will know the plan for the day • You will look your best

42. Questions they’ll ask you • The Classics • Tell me about yourself… • Strengths, weaknesses, preferences • What would your former boss say about you? • Behavioral Interviewing Questions • Tell me about a time when…. • What would you do if…? • Case Questions

43. Classic interviewing questions • Tell me about yourself…. Tell a short business story that leads to the inevitable conclusion that you are just now perfectly prepared to contribute to this company

44. Behavioral interviewing questions • Answer the question! • Provide a specific example • Tell a short business story, hopefully one where you are the hero • Go from the specific to the general, that is, show that you understand the big picture after you answer specifically

45. Case Interview Questions • Mental gymnastics: How many golf balls in a 747 • Case questions: people, product, financials, may be verbal or written • How would you improve net revenues? • How would you design a succession plan for the founder? • See career center for practice and samples

46. Follow up questions • Does that answer your question? • Is that what you had in mind? • How do you do it at your company? • What approach does your company favor? • What are your plans relative to this?

47. Questions to ask them • What are your hiring criteria? Which skills and abilities are critical for success? • How many interviews do you plan? When will you be able to extend an offer? • What would you like to see accomplished in the first few months on the job? • What resources will be available to me to accomplish my objectives? • How will success be measured?

48. Salary Negotiations • Interns are not to negotiate hard for salary • Deflect the issue if it comes up • “Salary is not my first concern. I’m really more interested in the opportunity, especially for the internship.” • “As long as the summer comp is fair and competitive, I’ll be happy.” • Questions? See the career center

49. Staying alive • Send a prompt thank you letter by mail! • Hit their radar screen every week or two • What to do if you’re seventh choice… • 7th Choice?

50. Who Needs Aggressive Techniques • Entrants • New graduates • Dropouts • ADA-empowered entrants • Re-Entrants • MBA interns and graduates • returning parents and caretakers • returning prisoners (who knew you had so much in common?) • the idle rich • Career changers • especially career changers • In a downturn: Everybody