Top 10 Companies for MBA Marketing Grads
It’s true that choosing the right MBA program to attend can be an agonizing process. Unfortunately, two years later, the process starts all over again when you have to choose where you’ll get a job.
Whether you’re a new MBA student wondering where to intern or a second year student considering life after school, choosing your first job is critical. It can set you on a path that could impact your future opportunities, salary, satisfaction, and everything else in between.
And just like when choosing your school, choosing your employer requires you to consider a variety of factors. Are you concerned about on-the-job training, salary, title, bonus compensation, benefits, promotion opportunities, or something else? You also have to consider the best company for your job function. For example, a consulting graduate shouldn’t apply to the same companies as a marketing-focused MBA.
Top Companies for MBA Marketing Grads
According to the 2015 Global Management Education Graduate Survey Report, 17% of MBA graduates accepted job offers in marketing and sales. For that reason, we wanted to identify the top companies for these students.
We looked at a survey conducted by Forbes to discover which companies looked best on a marketer’s resume, provided a launching pad for a successful career, and overall provided the best opportunities and capabilities.
Each of the companies on the list was chosen for three reasons:
- They invest in their people; training, exposure, and cross-functionally
- They invest in Strategic Marketing
- Marketers are synonymous with general managers instead or marketing communication experts.
P&G is responsible for products that reach nearly 5 billion consumers, and in a marketing role, you’ll dive right into a world-class brand to develop marketing plans, identify marketing tactics, and become an expert in winning customer devotion. The company is home to such brands as Always, Bounty, Crest, Olay, Tide, and Pampers. Employees on The Job Crowd, state that P&G is a great place to work with great culture, diversity, and work-life balance. Overall, it receives a 4.2/5 average employee rating.
One thing that has made P&G more attractive recently is its new hiring practices. In the past, P&G has always had a “promote-from-within” culture. However, the company’s new CEO, David Taylor, told Forbes that the firm would be hiring more people from outside, including marketers.
As a member of PepsiCo’s Marketing team, MBAs will lead the continued evolution of the PepsiCo brand and reputation across all key business areas. For marketing MBAs looking to work at PepsiCo, they can expect a formal hiring program and to jump immediately into their career. Lisa Ashworth, an MBA recruiter at PepsiCo, told Bloomberg Businessweek, “Rather than placing MBAs into rotational development programs, our hires come into a specific role and immediately begin to build a career path. No individual has the same career path within the company, and there is incredible opportunity for growth across functions, divisions, and geographies.”
As for why marketers should choose PepsiCo. Another recent survey by Forbes placed PepsiCo #2 on a list of the Best Companies for Developing C-Level Marketing Leaders. Plus, on Glassdoor, PepsiCo receives a 3.4/5 employee rating and 63% of employees would recommend the business to a friend, stating, “My managers and every other employee at the plant were very welcoming and always around to answer any questions that I had.”
Unilever ranked at #3 on Forbes list of top companies for MBAs in marketing. MBA marketers who start their career at Unilever can expect to work with over 400 different food, home, and personal care brands. Their brands include Dove, AXE, Lipton, Jif, Nexxus, and Suave.
Recently, LinkedIn listed Unilever as the third most sought-after employer in the world. In fact, each year the company draws about 2 million job applicants while still continuing to increase its employee engagement scores. According to Fortune, Unilever is such an attractive business thanks to its purpose-driven mission and long-term vision, hoping to double its size to $100 billion.
According to CNN Money, for the ninth consecutive year, Google was the most sought after employer among MBA students. In fact, 29.78% of MBA’s want to work at Google. Marketers are drawn to Google because of the opportunity to find big solutions to big problems.
One of the things that makes Google such a great employer for Marketing MBAs is its culture. It’s the “world’s most attractive employer” thanks to its offerings of free Wi-Fi-enabled shuttles to and from work, free healthy meals, laundry, and fitness facilities. For marketing, in particular, Google offers a wide range of careers that shape the voice of Google’s products and services.
86% of American Express employees say that their workplace is great. They love the company for its significant challenges, atmosphere, rewards, communication, and bosses. For marketers at American Express, they have the opportunity to grow a brand in local and global markets.
As for why it’s a great place to work, in 2015, American Express made a commitment to ramp up its recruiting, planning to hire 250 MBAs through 2016 to power its “digital transformation,” BusinessBecause revealed. A current employee in Customer Marketing at the company told Indeed, “The work is rewarding, and the people are wonderful, making it a pleasure to go to work every day. There is a strong competitive spirit, yet, you will find great support and knowledge that will help you in your career.”
According to PayScale, a marketing MBA at Coca-Cola earns an average of $114,250; that’s higher than the mean salary for an MBA with 10-19 years of marketing experience ($102,467). However, beyond the great pay, Coca-Cola is a desirable company thanks to its valuable brand name and innovation. It was named #93 on Forbes Lists of Innovative Companies and #4 on its list of World’s Most Valuable Brands.
For marketers, Coca-Cola offers a unique opportunity to work for a global company that is at the forefront of marketing and advertising. According to Glassdoor, Coca-Cola has a 3.4/5 employee rating and a “great atmosphere for personal development.”
General Mills was named as one of Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2015. It received the honor thanks to its low 3% turnover rate and the fact that 50% of its workers have been on the job for ten years. For MBAs in marketing, General Mills offers an established brand, new products and initiatives, and business-to-business brand marketing.
According to Margaret Whiting, an MBA from the Wisconsin School of Business, who completed her summer internship at General Mills, it was a great experience. “I was empowered to use the full breadth of people resources within the company, I was expected to navigate the complex organization and find my advocates within it, I acted with autonomy, and I was even given access to the on-site gym and salon,” she said on her School blog.
Amazon hires the most MBAs in the tech industry, almost twice as many as the next biggest tech employers, according to Quartz. If that’s not enough, a survey by Universum Global also ranked Amazon as the fifth most desirable company for MBA grads.
As for MBAs in marketing, Amazon offers a unique challenge. While many businesses build their brand through traditional marketing, customers build Amazon’s reputation. So, as a marketing professional at Amazon, MBAs will have to focus more on relationships and results. “Amazon will work you to death, either you are gone after two years, or you stay forever because you love working that hard,” one former employee told Fortune.
One reason Apple stands out is its generous compensation package. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, an MBA at Apple can expect to bring home a median bonus of $111,500, which is more than what most MBAs took home for their yearly salary. In a Quora thread, a previous employee revealed, “Apple is one of those companies where people work on an almost religious level of commitment. There are probably a handful of large companies that can command this…”
As for Apple’s marketing, it’s second to none. The company takes a simplistic approach that has helped it stand out among its tech competitors and reach a level of popularity that is surprising. MBA Marketers work on the company’s strategic business initiatives and should be able to provide exceptional strategic and design thinking.
CNN Money named Starbucks as the #15 Top MBA Employer, with 6.07% of MBAs wanting to work there. It’s a top choice thanks to its record growth as a coffee giant and its soaring stock prices. On Glassdoor, Starbucks receives a 3.8/5 employee rating with employees stating, “The benefits are out of sight. I was offered Starbucks stock after my first year, as well as 401k through Fidelity, and a superb Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plan. You can cover your whole family with that plan, and it can include domestic partners.”
MBA marketers will work with a team of 200 at the corporate headquarters to develop campaigns for products and new digital marketing campaigns. They’ll also have the opportunity to work for a company leading mobile commerce. In fact, 18% of all Starbucks transactions are from mobile, and that’s thanks to their mobile marketing campaign, according to Marketing Land.
About the Author
Kelly Vo
Kelly Vo is a writer who specializes in covering MBA programs, digital marketing, and personal development.
