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From Cornell to Career

From Cornell to Career -- Posted by MosheW on 07-09-03 21:07

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From Cornell to Career
Author: Karin Ash

Karin Ash is the director of the Career Management Center at the Johnson
Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Ash has a long history
with Cornell, dating back to her days as a PhD candidate studying educational
psychology with a concentration in organizational behavior. She led career
services at Cornell's School of Industrial & Labor Relations from 1985 to 1999
and ran the greater university's Career Services Center from 1999 to 2002. She
took the reins at the B-school in July.

In the last 11 months, Ash has created the comprehensive Career Management
Program to help MBAs find internships and jobs. She was also recently appointed
to the board of directors for the MBA Career Services Council, an international
organization of MBA career-services professionals. On June 4, she spoke with
Mica Schneider, BusinessWeek Online's management education reporter. Here are
edited excerpts of their conversation:

Q: Your résumé covers a number of roles in career counseling. How does your
work with MBAs compare to the years you spent at the undergraduate level?
A: It feels like a different world. At the MBA level, most of the students have
had four to five years of work experience. Even though they may not know
exactly where they fit in the business world, they know they want to be in
business. Some know that they want a position related to marketing or finance,
but they may not know exactly what they want to do in those fields. We help
them clearly define their personal statement and their brief synopsis of work
experience, and [teach them how to communicate] that to an employer.

Rather than reaching out to new and current employers, we spend more time on
the students. They have to be primed before they can reach out to employers.
Not every job they want is listed in a classified ad, so [MBAs] have to search
for it through networking. But if students are unable to convey what they want,
their success level is lower.

Q: You've got a good vantage point across a number of B-schools as a board
member of the MBA Career Services Council. How do Cornell MBAs stack up against
the competition?
A: Mostly, I'm familiar with the top-25 schools, because we e-mail each other
frequently. We're right on par with those schools.

MBA recruiting has been recessed, rather than depressed, in most areas of the
country. California was hit the hardest two years ago, so that area stands out
as being the biggest challenge for students. But most metropolitan areas are
recovering to a degree, and that's where the jobs are.

Q: How has the MBA careers office changed under your direction?
A: The office used to be based around on-campus recruiting. Because it's a
time-consuming affair to host employers, there wasn't room in the schedule to
do much else. Now, we're spending much more time preparing students to do an
independent job search and not to rely too strongly on on-campus recruiting.

The most effective way to find a job is through an independent job search:
going after what you want, where you want it. I don't, in any way, want to
diminish on-campus recruiting, because it's wonderful. But most of the
companies recruiting on campus are large companies, and not every student is
interested in working at a large company.

Q: You seem to put a lot of emphasis on preparing MBAs for their job hunt.
A: We have a career-management course that begins before the MBAs arrive.
Beginning at orientation, we hold a weekly [careers] class through the fall
semester. Although not all of the sessions are mandatory, we strongly encourage
students to participate. The majority attend most of the classes, but halfway
through we begin to lose attendance with the onslaught of exams and papers.

In the past year or two, more recruiters -- not only ones from consulting firms
-- have begun asking case-type questions, whereas in previous years recruiters
focused more on behavioral-based recruiting. Students can rehearse their
responses to behavioral questions, because they are presenting examples from
their experiences. For instance, in a behavioral interview, students would be
asked, "Tell me about a time you solved a complex business problem." In a case
interview, the recruiter might state, "Here's the situation (described in some
detail). Tell me how you would solve this." The students are being judged less
on their experiences, and more on their critical-thinking abilities.

So, next year we're adding sessions on analytical problem solving. We're
encouraging students to practice problem solving, case-type presentations for
their interviews. Students need to understand the frameworks for solving
problems. They also need practice in presenting how they would approach a
problem, even if they don't have a solution.

Currently, the students' skills in handling case interviews are varied. Some
have consulting backgrounds and are well practiced. Others who have worked in
technology development or implementation, for example, are practiced in solving
technological issues but not in framing solutions to a complex business issue.

Also, in the 2001-02 school year we implemented a blitz initiative. The career
center staff, a few faculty members, some associate deans, and the dean sit
down with students, one-on-one, to assess where the students are in their job
search, their strategy, and where they need help. These blitz sessions are in
addition to the regular one-on-one appointments advisers have with students to
review their résumés, help them assess their career focus, and refine their
interviewing skills. Because the Johnson School is smaller in size, we are able
to provide this type of individual attention.

Q: What different skills are MBA recruiters looking for in this market?
A: They're not looking for different skills, but different levels of
experience. So a recruiter may say, "We're seeking students who can start day
one in a high-level job and hit the ground running." In peak [recruiting]
years, companies would take any bright students and train them. Now, there's no
one left at companies to train the [MBAs].

Q: In 2002, just 67% of Cornell's MBAs had a job offer by graduation. How will
the class of 2003 compare?
A: Right now, 65.2% of the graduates have found jobs, though 70.4% of our U.S.
students have found jobs. Just 52.1% of our non-U.S. students (30% of the
class) have found jobs.

For first-year internships, 83% of U.S. citizens have offers, vs. 67% of
international students.

At the beginning of this year, we were predicting that the job market would be
off-mark, a little tougher than last year. It turns out that it was difficult
for the class of 2003, but this summer there were more internship opportunities
for first-years than in 2002.

Q: What's your outlook for the grads' job prospects three months after
graduation?
A: Last year, we jumped from 67% [job placements] to 78% by September. I'm
hoping we'll do the same or better this year.

Q: In 2002, graduates reported median starting salaries of $85,000. How will
that figure change in 2003?
A: Compensation packages are about the same as last year. This year, overall
salary averages are $84,432, but the average among U.S. students is $86,238.

Q: What are the options for international students?
A: Some of them are seeking project work in our project team initiative this
summer. This program places students at companies lacking the full-time staff
to do short-term assignments. Some projects aren't paid, but it gives students
a chance to get some experience and is offered to both the second-year and the
first-year students.

There were about 40 companies in the pool we e-mailed asking for possibilities,
but the companies that have posted [short-term summer] jobs are Advanced
Education, GenTek, Hearst Publications, Jane Street Capital, Museum of the
Earth, and Roche Vitamins. Most recently, we had two students placed with
Aramark.

Q: Aside from the summer projects, what advice do you offer international
students?
A: This year it has been an uphill battle to find a job in the U.S., but it can
be done with a lot of hard work. It's difficult because companies are
restricting their overall hiring and are less compelled to go through the
sponsoring process for a student to obtain an H1-B visa. The process is
time-consuming and there are costs attached.

The international students are a wonderful group, and we cherish the added
value they bring to Cornell, but they cannot count on a job in the U.S. Before
applying to a U.S. B-school, they have to think about the fact that they may
need to return home to work after graduation.

Q: How is Cornell's alumni network abroad?
A: It's good. Every spring, we hold an alumni symposium in Europe. The Career
Management Center's international student adviser travels to Europe annually to
visit alumni and employers. She coordinates a mentoring program, linking about
40 international and domestic students with alumni in Europe. We're about to
start a similar [mentoring] project in Asia.

Q: Just less than half of the class found jobs in finance or economics in 2002,
with an additional 17% pursuing jobs in marketing. Is it safe to say that these
figures reflect Cornell's strengths?
A: More than anything else, that was a sign of how the economy affected the
investment banks, consulting, and high-tech companies. We haven't broken out
the job placements by functional area yet, but I assume they'll be about the
same as last year.

Q: Johnson chooses 30 top students each year as Park Leadership Fellows. How do
the Park Fellows fare in their job hunt vs. the rest of the MBA class? [Park
Fellows receive full-tuition scholarships, stipends, and take extra courses to
develop their leadership skills.]
A: I haven't pulled that information out yet. Some Park Fellows highlight it on
their résumé. Some don't. I don't know that it becomes the leading factor in
every job interview, but it's something they're proud of.

Q: Your office went to great lengths this year to find jobs for MBAs. In March,
the school hosted an event called Just about Jobs, and flew recruiters to
Cornell's campus in Ithaca, N.Y., courtesy of jets donated by S.C. Johnson and
another alumnus. Will this become the norm when times are bad?
A: I hope that bad times aren't the norm, and that the economy improves. We'll
always try to do something special to help students when the economy isn't
thriving -- first, to help students with their job search, and second, to boost
morale, which we do by inviting the entire [graduate] school to embrace a
particular program.

Students participate and invite companies to attend, and faculty and staff
offer the names of their contacts. Alumni also were pivotal to the success of
the March event. This type of group collaboration helps combat the negative
mood so prevalent in the media, which quickly spreads among students facing
rejections during their job search.

The event was a great success and created buzz in the school, on campus, and in
the media. The MBAs were so appreciative, and MBAs aren't always the easiest
group to please. The companies were glad to be here and were extremely
complimentary of the students. As of yesterday, we had 24 job offers from the
25 companies that attended the event.

The recruiters flew into Ithaca in the morning and flew out the evening of that
same day. They appreciated the efficiency of the day, since typically
recruiters must commit two to three days away from the office, including travel
time, information sessions, and interviewing. (A Northeast company can manage a
visit in one to two days, but recruiters from the West Coast need two to three
days.)

Q: What advice can you offer people who are headed to B-school in the future?
A: There are three important elements of a successful business school
experience. First, you're probably going to have a more productive two years if
you arrive at B-school with a clear career focus. If you enter with a vague
idea of what you want to do, there isn't that much time before you have to
begin presenting yourself to recruiters. Employers hold briefing sessions in
the early fall and already at that time are making decisions on students who
are a good fit for their companies. Six months after entering business school,
students are interviewing for internships.

Compared to undergraduate education, there is a very limited amount of time to
explore [your career] options at a business school. If you're seeking a career
change and you're vague about what that career is, you will find that obtaining
an internship and ultimately a job is much more challenging than if you are
focused.

Second, know your passions. From the time you arrive at business school until
the time you leave, build a network of contacts with your classmates,
professors, and former employers to support your career aspirations. Focus on
why you're returning to school, what you hope to get out of the experience, and
how you can leverage your experience and skills. Know your passions. Employers
seek candidates who stand out because of their passion for the job function,
the industry, and the company. This ultimately becomes more of a deciding
factor than your academic grades or standardized scores.

Finally, you have to be able to communicate clearly. This is of primary
importance for all students and becomes very important for students who haven't
had much experience working with customers and clients. Excellent communication
skills will be expected in your next job. Companies are seeking the future
leaders of their companies, and leaders cannot inspire others unless they
communicate well.

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