Our Favorite MBA Recruiters: Facebook
These days, it seems like everyone and their mother is on Facebook—no, really, your mom sent me a friend request last week. Your family vacation looked like a blast! As more and more people subscribe to the undisputed king of social media, Facebook seems to hire more and more MBAs to continue to move the company forward into the future. Continue reading…
What Employers Do and Don’t Look for In An MBA Graduate
Earning an MBA can often be a huge boost for graduates entering the job market, from opportunities for upper-level management roles to increased salaries.
But securing that job post-graduation can still be an uphill climb. Even with an MBA, students often find themselves struggling to understand how they fit within a changing job market. As the market continues to shift, understanding exactly what employers are looking for in their MBA applicants—and what they aren’t looking for—can be crucial for graduates as they search for and apply for their perfect job.
Thankfully, a recent survey from the Financial Times looked at the job market from the perspective of employers: what they are in need of in terms of MBA job seekers, and how MBA applicants can be more realistic regarding for the roles for which their new degree will qualify them. Unfortunately for many MBAs, the survey results may come as a surprise when they reflect on what skills they hoped their degree would offer in the first place. Yet, a critical understanding of what employers are and aren’t looking for can help job seekers re-frame the way they understand themselves and their prospective careers.
What Employers Want
The survey looked into the most important skills that employers look for in new MBA talent. Perhaps surprisingly, the five most important skills determined by the survey were actually not core MBA subjects. “Soft skills,” such as the ability to prioritize (desired by 72 percent of employers), the ability to work with a variety of people (76 percent of employers), and the ability for employees to effectively manage their time were the most desired and difficult to find, according to the survey.
The most difficult skills to recruit—the skills companies are sorely in need of—were most commonly named as the ability to use social media for the business’ needs, financial forecasting, big data analysis, brand storytelling skills, and the ability to train others.
The five most important skills, according to the Financial Times survey.
What Employers Don’t Want
The least important skills for an MBA, according to the survey, were those most often thought of as “hard skills,” such as specialized skills in marketing, finance, programming, or complex statistical skills. Similar skills were mentioned as the least difficult skills to recruit—the ability to solve complex problems and specialized marketing skills are often seen as common fare among MBA graduates and therefore a candidate with such skills won’t necessarily stick out.
Many surveyed employers said that past experience with MBA-holding employees had left them disappointed, with the degree-holder having difficulty turning concepts into practice. Many employers said that, while an MBA degree may be a nice bonus for a job candidate, the overall hiring decision is more based on the individual’s industry qualifications, rather than their degree.
These skills may be less necessary than MBA grads anticipate.
What Do You Need To Do?
So far, the results of the Financial Times survey may be disappointing for MBAs who have worked hard for their business education. No need to get concerned just yet, however. The employer response may have less to do with the idea that the skills of an MBA grad aren’t necessary in a company and more to do with a perception gap; the belief that business schools will not teach students the skills they need, and therefore that they do not need MBAs at their company.
Most of the work in convincing a skeptical employer your degree is worthwhile is simply convincing them that the skills learned as part of your degree are the same ones they desire. Many business schools are attempting to change the way MBAs are perceived and the type of skills that are associated with graduates. Julie Morton, Associate Dean of Careers Services and Corporate Relations at Chicago’s Booth School of Business, has already set half of her team to the work of promoting the value of MBA-holders in the workforce. Overall, much of the work will fall on business schools to market their graduates as holding the skills most desired by recruiters.
On a more individual level, however, the survey results also indicate that MBA grads can be more judicious in the roles that they apply to and the way they market themselves to potential employers. By focusing on the skills desired most—and the hardest to recruit—and ensuring that employers know these are the exact skills an MBA education offers, both employer and employee can benefit.
Top MBA Employers in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is an attractive city for young professionals for a number of reasons—and that’s not even to mention the weather or proximity to the beach. As the center of the nation’s entertainment, however, MBA graduates may be inclined to think the city is more a home to actors than business leaders. Nevertheless, Los Angeles is a thriving center of business for a wide variety of industries, from entertainment to healthcare to energy.
When one also considers the recent growth in employment in California—with almost 60,000 jobs added in just one month in 2016—Los Angeles is an appealing new home for an MBA graduate.
We’ve rounded up some of the top employers in Los Angeles for MBAs. Representing a wide variety of industries, these and a number of other top employers in the LA metro area make the city a perfect place for MBAs looking to get to work.
Walt Disney Studios
One of the most recognizable brands across the globe, the Walt Disney studios were founded 93 years ago and headquartered in Los Angeles County. Today, the Disney Corporation is one of the top employers of MBAs in the nation. In employees, Disney seeks many of the same values that are taught with an MBA degree—innovation and global thinking.
Disney offers several opportunities for MBA students looking to join the team, such as recruitment efforts at a number of schools in the country, summer internships and even a program which allows students to rotate recent grads through several different departments.
DirecTV
Headquartered in the Los Angeles metro area, DirecTV is a provider of direct broadcast satellite across the country. In 2014, AT&T purchased DirecTV, expanding its reach across the country in the pay-TV sector. AT&T currently employs more than 280,000 people in its locations and stores around the world.
There are a number of benefits in working for AT&T/DirecTV, which ranks fourth in DiversityInc’s Top Companies for Diversity. There are currently at least fifteen jobs available at DirecTV’s El Segundo location which require or prefer applicants to hold an MBA.
Amgen Inc.
Headquartered in Thousand Oaks in Southern California, Amgen is a multinational biopharmaceutical company and the world’s largest independent biotechnology firm. As of December of 2015, the company employed roughly 17,900 people with a net income of $8.47 billion.
Amgen is a top employer of MBAs in California and offers a number of MBA-specific opportunities through their internship program. Available for students who have completed the first year of their MBA program, Amgen offers internships in finance, global strategic sourcing, operations, sales & marketing and international sales.
Mattel, Inc.
Mattel is an American multinational toy manufacturing company and 403rd on the Fortune 500 list. Based in El Segundo, Mattel had a net income of $498.9 million as of 2014 and roughly 31,000 employees in 2015.
Mattel is consistently recognized as a top company for its employees, with a comprehensive benefits program and several career development opportunities in place to cultivate and retain talent. In addition to available jobs, Mattel offers an MBA specific internship for students in both full-time and part-time program. Several divisions within the company, such as marketing, finance, supply chain and human resources have available internships for MBAs.
AECOM
AECOM is an American multinational engineering firm offering services such as design, consulting and management to a wide variety of clients. Placing at 156 on the 2016 Fortune 500 list, AECOM currently employs roughly 95,000 people and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
AECOM is always looking for new and passionate employees, and focuses on recruiting both current students and recent graduates for internships and new careers. According to their website, AECOM is the place for you if “you are driven and love to work with creative, fun professional teams” and “you are looking for a career and career growth, not just a job.”
Top Employers D.C.
When you think about Washington, D.C., the first thing that probably comes to mind is politics, but the DC area offers so much more. The District of Columbia is officially home to 4.8 million people with a median household income of $93,200 and 48 percent of the population having attained a college education. The city is also home to all three branches of the U.S. federal government as well as 176 foreign embassies.
But working for the federal government isn’t your only option in the city. Yes, the federal government is the area’s largest employer, but the public school systems in D.C. hire the most number of people. And if neither of those sounds interesting, D.C. is also the headquarters of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Plus, there are many large employers in the region.
So, if you’re thinking about living and working in Washington D.C.—post earning your MBA from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business or George Washington University’s School of Business—where should you work? There are plenty of options. It all depends on what you’re looking for. We’ve outlined a list of the top employers DC has to offer based on size, reputation, benefits and more. Continue reading…
Top MBA Recruiters: Berkshire Hathaway
When considering where you want to work, there are a lot of things that come into play. Do you want to work in a small startup or a large multi-national corporation? Do you want variety or do you want to become an expert in a particular field? Do you want prestige or would you rather be a worker-bee? The good news is that there are organizations that can fit any desire, including Berkshire Hathaway.
Top Employers in the Baltimore Metro Area
According to BaltimoreCountyMD.gov, Baltimore County as a whole (including the entire metro area), boasts about 21,000 business establishments, with private sector jobs making up a larger share of businesses than the remainder of Maryland. Baltimore is home to many manufacturing, research and development, federal government, health care, utilities, education, financial services jobs and features a number of fantastic employers.
