Can an MBA Get You a Job With The Historic Coca-Cola Company?
The Coca-Cola Company is among the most famous global companies in existence, with not only profoundly successful sales, but an immense cultural presence. It was, in fact, a 1931 Coca-Cola advertising campaign that was responsible for creating our modern image of Santa Claus (hence the red and white suit). But Coca-Cola’s success extends beyond its legendary advertising campaigns and signature font. According to a 2016 piece in Business Insider, people worldwide drink 1.9 billion servings of the soft drink every day.
For MBAs interested in a global career with a brand that is both established and committed to innovation, Coca-Cola is worth more than a cursory glance. While its headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, Coca-Cola MBA careers can be found in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Eurasia, Africa, and other parts of North America.
Why Choose Coca-Cola?
The individual perks of working for the Coca-Cola Company are widespread and unique. In the past, employees have had the chance to compete for tickets to the Olympics and FIFA World Cup (where they would be dutifully covering the events, of course).
When describing their workplace culture, Coca-Cola has said, “We are the brand.” The company’s website states that Coca-Cola’s core values are leadership, passion, integrity, accountability, collaboration, innovation, quality, and diversity. A document the company created in 2009, “2020 Vision: Our Roadmap for Winning Together With Our Bottling Partners,” embodies these tenets. In addition to announcing the company’s goal to double system revenues, it details goals for fostering a collaborative work environment, increasing sustainability, and making a positive contribution to the community.
If you’ve invested in an MBA, naturally, you’ll want to be sure your new job prospects offer a sizable return. Payscale puts the median salary for MBAs working at Coca-Cola at a respectable $97,937. And, with locations in over 200 countries, Coca-Cola certainly does not suffer from a shortage of opportunities.
Where Do You Start?
According to Internships.com, “Landing an internship with Coca-Cola is one of the best ways to get your foot in the door and drastically improves your chances of landing a full-time job at the company after graduation.” Coca-Cola offers a variety of paid internships through its University Talent Program. Full-time internships are available for students interested in human resources, sales, product supply, business, and finance. First-year MBAs can apply for the finance internship, which will allow them to work in and observe the company’s finance organization, where they will gain experience in areas like internal controls and supply chain finance. Stand-out interns may be offered a role in the Finance Leadership Program. The two-year program is an immersive look at the finance sector of Coca-Cola that includes a variety of mentoring and networking opportunities.
In addition to internships, MBAs qualify for a number of jobs at the Coca-Cola Company. LinkedIn currently lists ten Coca-Cola job openings for MBAs in just the Atlanta location, let alone the other locations worldwide.
We’ve summarized just a few of the job opportunities for MBAs below.
• Investor Relations Analyst: The Investor Relations Analyst works with the Investor Relations Team to help enact the Investor Relations (IR) strategy, global program, budget, and operating plans. This role requires at least five years of related work experience.
• Global Healthcare Consultant: The Global Healthcare Consultant has a variety of responsibilities, including helping build healthcare programs that span regions across the world, in accordance with Coca-Cola’s global benefits strategy.
• Director of Analytics and Decision Science: The Director of Analytics and Decision Science utilizes data to problem-solve within the company and develop new strategies based on data analysis. Five or more years of relevant work experience is preferred.
Georgia Tech EMBA Sets Up Students for International Success
Every year, the EMBA program at the Georgia Institute of Technology at the Scheller College of Business brings new opportunities to students in the program, expanding their global leadership abilities through hands-on projects that asks them to work outside of the classroom and around the world.
The EMBA program at Scheller is focused around two major parts of a rigorous curriculum: a capstone project that requires students to work with a company on a real-time business challenge, along with hands-on international visits. Just within 2017, EMBA students would travel both to China and to Panama for a visit to the Georgia Tech Logistics Innovation and Research Center.
The reasons why a business professional might apply to the Global EMBA program at Scheller can vary, yet by graduation all students can claim indelible new skills and global experiences. For Fard Pasha, Global IT Director at the Coca-Cola Company, Scheller’s Global EMBA was a natural next step to enhance his business skills abroad and help him be a global leader. For Kara Mayo, approaching the program with an undergraduate degree in engineering, the program’s focus on innovation, technology resources and global business helped make up her mind.
While their reasons for choosing the Global EMBA and their plans after graduation may have varied, both Pasha and Mayo observed the invaluable benefits of the program, observing six main skills they had gained in the program that would set them apart from other global leaders. Mayo and Pasha observed a focus on strategic perspectives, the integration of innovation and technology, cultural awareness, corporate social responsibility, core values and a powerful network of classmates and advisers that would help set Scheller EMBAs apart from the rest of the pack.
