Upcoming Events: March 2016

Workshops

MS Analytics Career Workshop
March 16, 2016
2:50 pm – 4:20 pm

If You’re Stuck In Job Search – MSA
March 21, 2016
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Cover Letter Workshop
March 22, 2016
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

LinkedIn Q&A
March 23, 2016
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Part II: Practicing Case Interviews
March 24, 2016
4:40 pm – 5:40 pm

SPRING TRAINING: Skills and Drills to Polish Your Pitch
March 25, 2016
9:00 am – 1:30 pm

Behavior Interviewing
March 29, 2016
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

MBA-Internship Panel- Returning MBAs
March 30, 2016
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

SKYPE with Simon Alum, Iulia Bejan ’10
March 31, 2016
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

 

For more information about any of these events including location, & registration details, visit SimonWorks.

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Apply Now for CMC Simon Career Advisor 2016-2017 positions

The Career Management Center is seeking Simon Career Advisors (SCA) who are passionate about making a difference with the first and second year students looking for employment. By becoming a SCA, you have the unique opportunity to positively influence the employment outcomes and career success of Simon MBA and MS candidates while honing your own mentoring, coaching, organizational, and personal interaction skills. This is a paid position. Applicants from the following concentrations are desired:  Finance/Corporate Finance/Accounting, Marketing, Consulting/Entrepreneurship and Operations.

For more information and to apply visit SimonWorks/Job Postings.

April + Patience = Good News

by Pete Handley

In the first quarter of 2012, second year Simon MBA Danielle Gossett had not yet secured a full-time position and was in her words, “freaking out”.  She had a great internship experience at Disney, but had not yet heard any information on a potential full-time offer from the firm. “I kept telling myself to be patient and to stay focused on getting the right job”. In April, Disney did reach out to Danielle and she is now a Product Manager with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online. What made her stand out from others and ultimately secure a full time role? “I really focused on getting exposure to different people in the organization during my internship. It was much more important to me to form quality relationships as opposed to quantity”. We wish Danielle continued success in Orlando!

 

Are you Distinct?

by Hannah Morgan

Personal Branding. Darn, there’s that phrase again! What’s the big deal anyway? Well, the big deal is that more employers are choosing known candidates (referrals) over unknown candidates. Actually, this isn’t all that new, but as job seekers, we have a heightened sense of awareness about how important this is.

Your personal reputation speaks volumes. Think about what your past co-workers think about you. Were you easy to get along with? Were you innovative, were you a task master, were you strong in your resolve to get things done? There are qualities and skills you are known for in the workplace and outside of the workplace as well. You are unique in your combination of these qualities and skills.  And you can influence what you are known for. You have to determine that message.

Focus! What makes you truly unique? What combination of knowledge, skills and abilities best represents you?

You don’t want just any job. You want a job that you’ll enjoy and be successful in. So where do you find such a job?

Before you go looking, you have to know who you are.

Career Distinction by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson leads you through their process of assessing and defining your personal brand and shows you how to manage your brand from this point forward. It is full on great information and even has an online workbook you can access! If you don’t have it in you to read the book right now, at least visit their website www.reachpersonalbranding.com and poke around. There are lots of great articles and videos!

This job search won’t be your last. It is worth it for you to start investing in yourself and being true to your values.

5 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand

STEP 1: What is your perceived personal brand?

Ask co-workers, friends, and trusted advisors what they think of when they think of you. What characteristics, skills, talents, and abilities do they associate with you.

STEP 2: What do you want to be known for?

This depends on the assessment of your values and your goals and where they overlap. What is it that you want to be doing next? Develop the wording or phrasing of what you want to be known for. William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson’s book “Career Distinction” has a companion website with a downloadable workbook to help get you started.

STEP 3: Begin spreading the good word

Make sure this wording appears on key marketing pieces.  Your business card, your resume, your email signature line, your LinkedIn profile, your Google profile, your Twitter account, everywhere you have your name online and offline.

STEP 4: Live your brand

You want your brand to be real, not just words on paper. You want people to believe what you are saying. You want to earn trust and that can only happen when you live your brand. Make sure you use as many of these as possible to help live your brand:

• Volunteer activities
• Professional associations
• Comment on blogs
• Start a blog or website
• Add Slideshare, Box and other applications to your LinkedIn profile
• Contribute to groups (LinkedIn or others)

STEP 5: Monitor Your Brand

Check in with your friends, co-workers and trusted advisors to make sure they are hearing the right message and that it makes sense. Is your online presence working? Where does your name fall when you Google yourself? Top of page one is your goal. How many times does your LinkedIn profile appear in search results? Is that more or less than before? If you want to see where else your work is being mentioned, you can create a no cost search using Social Mention AND Google alerts.

Career Distinction is available in the Career Research Center – borrow it today with your UR ID card.

For more from Hannah Morgan, check out her blog: www.careersherpa.net.

How to Reapply After a Rejection

By Marc Cenedella on www.theladders.com

Don’t give up! Here’s how to tweak your resume and try again.

She was a senior human-resources professional who was laid off in summer 2009 from her job at large hospital in Texas. After the layoff, she did everything she knew from her years in HR would help her land a job. She woke early every day, put on her business suit, networked like mad, lunched with contacts … the whole nine yards.

Still, no job offers came; just those cold-as-silicon, automatically generated rejection letters. You know the kind: vaguely worded, anonymously sent e-mails saying they’ve received your application and will contact you if they see a fit. Keep reading How to Reapply After a Rejection.

2016 Conferences & Expos

Upcoming Career Fairs

June 3-8, 2016

Consortium (OP) Conference -2016 St. Louis, MO – http://cgsm.org

July 30-August 1, 2016

9th Annual Ascend National Convention & Career Fair – Disneyland, CA http://www.ascendnaamba.org

September 9-10, 2016

7th Annual Ascend NAAMBA Leadership Conference & Career Exposition – New York, NY  – http://www.ascendnaamba.org

September 28-October 2, 2016

27th Annual NSHMBA Conference & Career Exposition – Houston, TX  https://www.nshmba.org

Please note: The above events are not sponsored by the CMC. For complete listing visit SimonWorks – Resource Library.

Why does everyone from the Career Management Center keep talking about target lists?

Imagine you are planning a trip, to California. You pack your bags, jump in your car and hit the road. But you didn’t bring a map, never made hotel reservations and don’t really know what to do when you are there. Are you going to northern or southern California? Los Angeles, San Diego, or Santa Barbara? Do you even know how to get there? Will you pick a hotel to stay at based solely on the fact that there is a room available and it’s inexpensive? Does any of this sound like a good way to plan your next vacation? 

Now, imagine handling your job search the same way. It sounds crazy, right? But surprisingly, many job seekers do exactly this: They spend their time on identifying available positions at companies, submit an application for any job they might qualify for (never mind that they aren’t really passionate or excited about the job), and then they wait. And wait some more. They do this over and over again and then become frustrated and discouraged. It’s no wonder job search procrastination is so common! Think of a target list as the job seeker equivalent of an itinerary for a vacation or holiday.  For your search to be successful, you need to think about where you want to go and then develop a plan to get you there

Build your list in 3 steps

1. What attracts you? Who comes to mind when you think about your ideal company to work for? What is it about that company that appeals to you? Brainstorming on your own or with friends and classmates who share your career interests can help you to identify firms as well as develop your network. For many students, your desired function (what you want to do) and industry (the field you want to do it in) are not dependent on each other. For example, you might want to be a financial analyst, but for what kind of company? If you have a genuine interest in cars, your chances of successfully reaching your career goals will be far greater if you focus on the automotive industry than if you apply for every financial analyst position you find.  Love technology and aspire to a career in marketing?  Create a target list that combines both of these interests.
2. What industries are you focused on? Search for information to assess your top choice industries. You could use Google, but why not save yourself some time and take advantage of the resources available at the CRC and Business & Government Information library? Get started by looking at key industry publications. Industry directories, like NetAdvantage and MarketLine (available through the library website) can be great resources for finding lists of leading companies. For the companies you have already identified, be sure to look at competitor listings in Capital IQ. And don’t forget about professional associations – membership directories can be valuable for identifying companies.
3. Where do you want to work (be honest!) Do you have geographical constraints?  Many students will say that they don’t care  but at the end of the day, they have preferences (or at the very least, a good idea of where they don’t want to go). Including these preferences in your search will make it easier for you to focus on where you really want to be. Consider using resource that allows you to screen or create a search based on the criteria that is important to you – like country, state, or metropolitan area. Search for companies in a geographic area that operate within your ideal industry.

Next Steps

Once you’ve established a list of companies, you can begin to dig a little deeper and refine your list. Think about culture and fit and learn about recent developments at your target companies by reading business news and trade publications (using a database like Factiva, available through the River Campus Libraries site).  It might sound like work (it is), but it’s absolutely necessary in order to target the firms that are a good fit for your skills and abilities as well as your career goals.  Once you have done the research,  you can work on establishing good questions and begin to network effectively with contacts at these companies.

Need research assistance?  Check out the CRC guide to Resources for Building a Target List of Companies.

In like a lion, out like a boss!

By: Anu Mukund, MS Marketing ’14

Though it may not feel like it in Rochester, April marks the first full month of spring. Spring! Yes, we can now look forward to daffodils, the sun on our backs, and many dollars spent on Claritin and Kleenex. But, apart from enjoying the warmer weather (fingers crossed that will be sooner rather than later), for many of us the epic job search continues.

 

And as we all know, the job search isn’t always as simple as sending in an application and keeping your fingers crossed that you’ll get an offer on the first try. There’s the preliminary research to decide which companies are best for you, what qualifications you have that set you apart from other applicants, the phone interviews, the Skype interviews, the in-person and case interviews, and finally, the hopeful final handshake of employment.

 

The CMC is working to provide as many services to Simon students as possible that can better prepare them for post-graduation employment. After a successful Got Mock? event, the next occasion in line is Spring Training: Skill & Drills to Hit Your Home Run!. Spring Training will be hosted on Friday, March 25^th in the Rotunda. Students who sign up for this event will be able to improve their personal pitch for inevitable networking situations. The event will consist of two workshops and a round of Speed Networking to provide helpful tips for networking in the “big leagues.” A luncheon with authentic baseball fare will also be offered to keep with the event’s theme!

As the academic year comes to a close, make sure to make the most of all the wonderful services Simon offers to its students! Whether you’ve secured a position at a wonderful company or are still searching for what’s best for you, it never hurts to brush up on your networking skills. To sign up for Spring Training, or for more information about the event, log on to SimonWorks and RSVP under the Events tab. We look forward to seeing you on March 25^th or sooner! If you can’t make the event but would still like to work on your networking skills, feel free to stop by the CMC or make an appointment with one of our counselors. Happy spring!

Simon Resolution Solutions

By: Anu Mukund, MS Marketing ’14

Ah, New Year’s Day; it’s a peculiar time. After finishing the holiday season full of sinfully rich food and holiday sales, we know we must take a decision: what resolution will we claim we’re determined to follow to our friends and family? But apart from the usual diets and exercise regimes, Simon students can work on a very beneficial goal: finding a career path!

http://www.ncsasports.org

It seems like a daunting task and it might even take a lifetime to understand one’s ever-evolving career path. But here we are, at the beginning of each of ours, with many roads to choose from. The occupation we take after graduation could shape the rest of our journey. That said it’s also an exciting time! To choose what path defines you as a working professional and where you want to be. As we commence our Winter Quarter, those who are graduating in the spring must seriously consider how to best secure a valuable job. Actually, the same goes for those who will still be in school next year and are looking at different internship opportunities.

So where to begin? Here are a few tips to get the old wheels in the head a-cranking.

• First ask yourself: Where do I want to see myself in 5-10 years? Weigh in the personal with the professional. Try to balance all your needs and find career options that are compatible with all aspects of your life.
• Make a timeline with specific dates of when you want to accomplish the tasks to reach your end goal: employment. If you set certain deadlines, you’re more likely to meet them rather than continually give yourself two-week extensions.
• Where do you want to work? Do you want to stay in the US or are you global bound? Usually people think success only lies in the big cities. And though that may be true in certain cases, smaller regions are also very successful with large companies. Take, for example, the RTP (Research Triangle Park) region of North Carolina. It’s booming with offices of well-known and respected companies such as Credit Suisse and Cisco Systems and yet it is situated in an active suburban environment.
• Create a list of companies that you would be happy to work for. Add as many companies as you can; the more the merrier! A good number to shoot for could be 50-100 companies. Make sure you know why you would be happy to work for these companies, beyond the fact that perhaps it’s a Fortune 500. You can be sure the interviewers will want a concrete and well thought out response.
• Use LinkedIn to meet with people related to the field/company of your interest to gain better insight about the field and career options in that company.
• Apply, apply, apply! To the companies on your list! At the end of the day, a good word put in your favor may only get your foot in the door. From that point onwards, it’s up to you to plug away and land your first job. Put your Simon education to use! Showcase your skills via LinkedIn and/or your resume and get your potential interviewers know why you are the best candidate for that position.
• Make use of the CRC and CMC! We’re here to help YOU! And we love to hear about your job search journey and its happy ending. Stop by the CMC today to schedule an appointment to just to talk about how far you’ve gotten in your job search and how you should pursue the next step. Can’t make it in person? Email us or check out our website for more information.
• Breathe. You’ve worked hard and that will pay off (pun intended).

http://www.chrysalisbp.com

Good luck in the coming months in school and enjoy your time at Simon! We hope to see you soon!

Available in the Career Research Center

 

 

Big Data, by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier. Featured on Strategy+Business, Fortune, Financial Times & Goldman Sachs, & InformationWeek lists.

The Billionaire’s Apprentice, by Anita Raghaven. Featured on FT/Goldman Sachs list.

The Click Moment, by Frans Johansson. Featured on Booklist.

Decisive, by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. Featured on InformationWeek List.

Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg. Featured on FT/Goldman Sachs, Booklist, and Inc. lists.

The Alchemists, by Neil Irwin. Featured on FT/Goldman Sachs list.

The Everything Store, by Brad Stone. Featured by FT/Goldman Sachs, Inc. and Inc.

To Sell is Human, by Daniel Pink. Mentioned by Strategy+Business

The Circle, Dave Eggers. Featured on Inc. list.

Being well-read can help your job or internship search in a variety of ways. It can be  a way of “demonstrating your up-to-date knowledge as well as dedication to (an) industry. And studying up on current shifts and trends will also prepare you for entering the job market and effectively handling those tricky interview questions.”

Occasionally, interviewers will ask you what book you are reading.  If this happens to you, wouldn’t it be great to respond with a book that is relevant to the industry/function you are interested in? For example, if you are targeting a role in analytics, telling an interviewer that you just finished The Signal and the Noise, by Nate Silver would be far more impressive than responding that you are half-way through re-reading the Harry Potter series.  Not there is anything wrong with them – just think about the overall impression that you want to make.

Reading current best-selling business books can also be very helpful in a networking setting. The winter quarter will provide opportunities for some alumni networking events, which can cause many job-seekers great angst. Chatting casually about business best sellers that you recently read can be a fantastic conversation starter at these types of events. It shows that you are genuinely interested in your professional career, and can often open the door to a longer conversation about other books, movies, and quite possibly, you.

Now that I have hopefully convinced you to spend part of your break reading a best seller, I have good news. Books from the Career Research Center, including those featured in the article, can be borrowed by Simon students for the winter break.  All you need is your UR ID card. We hope to see you soon and enjoy your break!

Summer: A Time for Networking!

The summer season is finally upon us and while many of us look forward to spending time with family and friends; we can also enjoy a much needed break from the rigorous Simon routine.  In our quest to become Corporate Athletes however, it is important to remember that Summer Break is also an excellent opportunity for us to strengthen and condition our networking muscles!

Here are some tips to make the most out of your summer social endeavors and even develop some contacts in the process.

1)      Don’t refuse an invite! Any social gathering is a networking opportunity.  Get out the house and enjoy the weather, a social invitation is always a chance to meet new people and increase your chances of meeting your next potential colleague or boss! At the very least, summer social activities provide an opportunity to improve on and practice your small talk, which can only advance your interviewing skills. Remember, interviewing is a social interaction!

2)      Prepare for the questions, “Have you found a job/internship yet?” The question is inevitable so be sure you’re ready to embrace it and turn the question into an opportunity to build a new contact! An approach to try, “Not yet, Uncle Mike but I’m constantly working on it. In fact, I’m really interested in pursuing an internship/position in Marketing. Is there someone in the Marketing department at your company that you could introduce me to?”

3)      Conduct informational interviews! For the family friend or relative that you have always admired, request to schedule an informational interview to learn more about their position and inner-workings of their company. For every interview you schedule be sure to appropriately prepare!

4)     Be specific! Any conversation can lead to “career-talk” and it’s wise to prepare a focused and concise response to use when you’re asked what you’d like to do. The more specific, the better as your contacts will have a clearer idea of how they can help.

5)     Forget the paper work. Lugging around a briefcase of resumes isn’t the most productive use of your time this holiday season. Instead be sure to pack away some business cards for a quick contact exchange. Be sure your information is up to date and any professional web links reflect consistent information.

6)     Reconnect. With all this down time it’s time to get motivated. Why not refresh your name in key contacts’ minds by sending out a card or two. Sending a card can be an easy way to wake up potential employers who may be willing to offer prospective employment opportunities.

7)     Warm up. Take a moment to check in on your LinkedIn and Facebook contacts. Making an effort to stay connected during the summer is an easy way to touch base and expand your networking base.

8)      Clean out your closet. First impressions are a must. With all the networking you now plan on doing, it is important to look your best. Take some time to get a haircut and new business attire. It will not only leave you looking great but feeling great too.

9)      Some for me, some for you. Be tactful with your networking. Approaching people just to tell them you’re job hunting is not very “socially professional”. Be sure to do as much listening as talking (if not more listening!) as networking travels a fine line of give and take.

10)      Relax! The summer season can be an important job hunting and networking opportunity but it’s also a time to be with family, friends, and loved ones so don’t overdo it. Being a dedicated professional can be hard work so don’t forget to enjoy yourself this summer!

 

 

 

 

 

The American Mindset Workshop Review

by Yang Yu, MS ’14

For a student like me, I am here not only to learn about academics, but I am also here to learn American culture, and the workshop The American Mindset does just that! It is actually one of the best workshops I have ever had at Simon and I am learning a lot of interesting facts about the history of the United States, as well as Rochester for the first time. I think understanding the history of the US will help me to understand the US from social and humanistic perspectives, thus, enabling me to succeed in my B school life here and even in my future career in the US.

I really like how the workshop is conducted and that we paused several times to have some discussions about the documentary, make and understand comparisons between diverse cultures and how the culture around you influences how people think and act.  I think this is very important to understand, especially when studying in another country…how can you be successful in your job search, or in a society in general, if you don’t understand the culture and the people you look to work with?

Furthermore, I love knowing more about Rochester, the city I decided to come and study in from China.  It helps me make small talk and connect with the people around me when I can understand and relate to the community.  For example, we all know Susan B Anthony, the building, but we don’t know that there is a long story behind that name. After Sara shared stories about our city, Rochester, in civil wars and humanitarian movement, I feel more involved with the city and proud to be studying in a land mark university of the city.

Finally, I really love going through our discussions on Characteristics of Americans!  I think many people take it for granted that foreigners understand everyday American living.  For example, I was shocked to learn that when Americans ask, “How are you?” it is simply a greeting and that it is not a question about my health or family and that tipping in the US is expected to be 15-20% of the bill. I ask myself, “How professional can I present myself around others if I didn’t know this information?”

I feel that understanding the American Mindset, allows us to understand the people and how to successfully communicate in a new culture and be proud to be a part of it.  It allows us integrate with Americans and feel confident that we are not just visiting a culture, but becoming a part of it and that I can be successful here in Simon and in the US.