Top MBA Recruiters: Spotify
Spotify, arguably the reigning champion of streaming audio content, shared a triumphant Q4 report with its shareholders late last year: “For the first time in company history, operating income, net income, and free cash flow were all positive.”
Ten years in, Spotify’s business model—a combination of premium paid access and “freemium” ad-based access—miraculously legitimized the Napster template to the tune of enormous profits. To make matters complicated, the Swedish company’s resounding success has been a major source of controversy among musicians whose life’s work the platform is built on.
When Spotify shared its year-end round-up metrics late last year, one image made the social media rounds that compared the company’s annual revenue of $1.37 billion to the 1,117,021 streams required for an artist to make minimum wage and a $0.0037 average per-stream royalty.
One might now understand why many high-profile musicians, like Prince, The Beatles, Taylor Swift, and Neil Young, initially refused to stream their music on Spotify. The composer and harpist Joanna Newsom disparaged Spotify in a 2015 LA Times interview as a “villainous cabal of major labels … built from the ground up as a way to circumvent the idea of paying their artists.”
But the platform’s growing power and presence have coerced musicians to play ball, even if they are reluctant to do so. Whether Spotify’s overall operating structure and approach to content distribution is viable for the long-term remains to be seen.
For MBAs looking for a way to help musicians from inside the belly of the beast, let’s take a look at employment at Spotify.
Landing a Spotify Job
Known for its constant intake of employees, Spotify maintains several divisions and publishes both job openings and internship opportunities. Employees report that internal referrals, stand-out experience and direct engagement are the best way to get hired.
Spotify’s HR team reports receiving hundreds of thousands of resumes each year. So, an early career MBA’s best bet at landing a permanent position may be to secure an internship. Seasoned business leaders would do well to draw the attention of Spotify’s Acquisition Team.
Spotify Job Salaries
According to Paysa, a comprehensive salary comparison tool, those in product management roles at Spotify can expect to earn salaries that average more than $190,000 per year. Even the rough average salary for the company, regardless of position, is about $125,000 per year (below).
What a Spotify Internship Looks Like
Internships are offered in various academic formats alongside occasional graduate and training opportunities. As an intern, Spotify claims, “You’ll be right at the heart of major projects, working with teams of passionate people to create the next awesome thing.”
Spotify places interns at its office locations around the world. These positions tend to be highly competitive so it may take some creative maneuvering to get your foot and nail the interview.
Former intern Andrea Tiutan explains, “I knew that researching and understanding my future hiring managers would help me cater my answers to their interview questions to what they wanted to hear. All this would also help me know how to present my market research project in the most compelling way.”
Spotify Recruitment
In a 2017 blog post, Spotify’s Talent Acquisition team head, Fredrik Johnsson, explains how Spotify recruiters are evaluated based on finding successful matches to the company’s needs, rather than the traditional metric of number-of-hires:
“I focus on letting my managers evaluate the behaviors I need in my team. I need courageous team players, people who act as true talent acquisition partners to the organization and who I can trust to take the hiring decisions that are right for the company in the long run.”
If Johnsson’s approach rings true, experienced MBAs would be wise to clearly frame how their own expertise and leadership aligns with Spotify’s specific needs.
In terms of how to get in front of recruiters, Johnsson explained in a 2018 post that his team team uses LinkedIn’s Talent Insights as a search tool.
Choosing Spotify
Spotify is known for its decentralized leadership structure and consensus-oriented decision-making. Some employees report that this, in combination with suboptimal HR practices and ineffective middle management, makes both the impact of their work and opportunity for advancement a challenging prospect.
On the other hand, some employees report that they appreciate the community of peers, benefits, and work-life balance the company offers. With Spotify’s recent announcement that it plans to further expand both its operations and market reach, now may be an optimal time to grab a seat at the table. That is, of course, for those willing to take on both the good and the bad with one of the world’s highest-profile businesses.
New MBA Jobs in the Energy Sector
If money makes the world go ‘round, the energy sector runs the machines that keep it going. With new energy sector jobs for MBAs popping up regularly, there are plenty of opportunities for recent graduates and current students. Check out some of the best new jobs at companies like Exxon, General Electric, and BP below: Continue reading…
The Five Biggest Texas Internship Destinations for MBAs
Whether an internship is optional or required for your MBA program, interning at top companies in your metro can not only offer hands-on work experience, but the chance to develop professional relationships that can shape the rest of your career.
Major Texas metros like Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth area are increasingly becoming known for their roles in business and technology, making these cities the perfect spot for students to begin their professional careers with summer internships. Often these internships can lead to continued work and career opportunities after graduation. For example, 100 percent of students at a top MBA program like TCU’s Neeley School of Business earned internships in 2016, nearly half of whom continued projects for their employer on into the following year.
The Five Biggest Texas Internship Destinations
Hewlett Packard (HP)
Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, the multinational informational technology company, HP, has a strong presence in Texas’ biggest metros. With a massive range or products, from personal computers to 3D printers, HP has 55,000 employees around the world and a net income of $2.53 billion USD.
HP and their separate Enterprise Service business, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, offer a number of internships for MBA students and are considered one of the top intern destinations for schools like the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas and Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
HP offers a 12-week paid summer internship program for students in a variety of fields. Current openings include positions like:
- Personal Systems MBA Project Management Intern (HP)
- Personal Systems MBA Marketing Summer Intern (HP)
- Financial Associate MBA Intern (Hewlett Packard Enterprise)
Texas Instruments
It likely doesn’t come as a surprise that technology company Texas Instruments, headquartered in Dallas, is a top employer for MBA interns in the region. The company, which as of 2017 had a profit margin of $3.68 billion, has a number of different career paths available for their interns, with rotational opportunities after students have graduated that can help accelerate their career. Business roles at the company include focuses such as Finance and Operations, Human Resources, Information Technology, Marketing Communications, and Supply Chain Analyst.
With internship opportunities in engineering as well as the business fields, Texas Instruments consistently tops lists for MBA interns in programs like the aforementioned TCU Neeley School of Business and other top Dallas schools.
AT&T
Headquartered in Dallas, AT&T today is the world’s largest telecommunications company and second largest provider of mobile phone services in the country. And with 254,000 employees worldwide, it makes sense that this massive company would seek to create a talent pipeline for MBA students in the area. AT&T tops the list as an internship destination for students in schools like Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School and Jindal at UT Dallas, among others.
AT&T offers summer internships in a number of different focuses and fields, which provide real-world projects, specialized training programs and leadership exposure. Currently open positions with the company include a Leadership Internship, Finance Internship, and Software Development Internship.
Deloitte
Another company making an impact for student interns at schools like Neeley, Rice, and Mays, is “Big Four” accounting organization Deloitte. The company is headquartered in London but with over 263,000 employees throughout the world. In 2017, Deloitte officially became the fourth largest privately owned company in the United States.
Deloitte’s commitment to recruiting talented finance students is reflected in the many MBAs who find both internships and full-time positions with the company. A Texas internship at Deloitte typically last eight to ten weeks during the summer and continue through at least one semester of the school year. MBA student interns have access to a number of incredible resources during their internship at Deloitte, including a consulting immersion program, women’s leadership launch, and the chance to participate in a number of case competitions.
Accenture
With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, the work of global management consulting company Accenture may seem worlds away from Texas, U.S. But with nearly 500,000 employees around the world, this Fortune Global 500 company has left its mark as a top employers of MBA interns at schools like TCU Neeley and Rice’s Jones School of Business.
Accenture’s internship program is a ten to twelve week experience throughout the summer that encourages students to empower themselves through innovation. Student interns have access to programs like the Student Leadership Conference, Buddy Program, Summer Analyst Day of Service, and group outings. Those who are able to turn their internship stays with Accenture may also be awaiting a hefty payday when it comes to full-time employment after earning an MBA.
“According to Management Consulted, post-MBA salaries at Accenture hover around a base salary of $140-145,000 with a $25,000 signing bonus, an $8,000 relocation check and a performance bonus up to $44,000. Interns typically clock $31 per hour, plus overtime and a signing bonus.”
New MBA Jobs: GE, Tesla, Microsoft, and More
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Why McKinsey & Company Loves Hiring MBAs
McKinsey & Company is considered one of the most prestigious management consultancy firms in the world, with a clientele that includes 80 percent of the world’s largest corporations, along with an extensive list of governments and non-profit organisations. The firm is also a prestigious landing spot for MBAs following graduation. Continue reading…
How Can You Score a Job at Salesforce with an MBA?
Salesforce, one of the country’s highest valued cloud computing companies, is actively looking for promising MBA graduates, offering diverse opportunities in tech, business, and sales. Since it’s founding in 1999, Salesforce has been growing wildly, becoming the first enterprise cloud company tor each $10 billion in revenue as of August 2017. And Salesforce isn’t just remarkable for its product’s success—the company was also rated as the “#1 Best Company to Work For” by Fortune.
The Salesforce culture is centered around the idea of “Ohana” (Hawaiian for “family”), and earned its place at the top of the list by offering incredible benefits to its employees—both monetary and mentally. It’s understandable why MBA’s would want a job at Salesforce Ohana, with their focus on helping strong performers find new challenges and opportunities for growth.
What Does Salesforce Look for in New Hires?
Salesforce makes recruiting a priority at every level through their Futureforce University recruitment program. Salesforce offers new hires the same incredible opportunities available to all of their employees—seven days of paid time for volunteering, networking opportunities, and access to the Executive Lunch & Learn and Speaker Series that puts interns and new hires in direct contact with Salesforce leadership.
Because of Salesforce’s focus on having their employees give back to their communities, they seek out new hires who have made a demonstrated impact within their past efforts, whether at school or professionally. In 2015, Salesforce’s senior vice president of global recruiting, Ana Recio, commented on the different ways applicants could make themselves stand out.
“What did you do to differentiate your job from others?'” she said. “What was your absolute impact, your legacy? We always look for people who truly were kind of thought leaders and change agents.”
How to Get Your Foot in the Door?
MBA graduates and current students can apply directly for open roles. Current students will most directly benefit from the company’s MBA internship: a 12-week program that students can pursue during the summer in between years one and two of their program. Each summer, MBA interns are hired in the fields of product marketing, product management, CSG business analyst, corporate development, and data analytics. If recruiters think there might be a good fit, applicants will likely be given a 30-60 minute phone screening, followed by an interview with a hiring manager. Before offering the position, MBAs will likely have to partake in a panel interview/case study, presenting their professional and academic accomplishments.
Salesforce also recruits recent graduates (those who graduated in the last 12 months) in the fields of tech, sales, and business. The precise roles and interview process for each varies depending on the field.
How Well Does a Job at Salesforce Pay?
The majority of hires at Salesforce, both full-time and interns, are for tech-centric positions. However, the company does offer supreme compensation for those with business degree backgrounds—especially those with an MBA.
According to Payscale data, MBA graduates wit a job at Salesforce earn between $85,000 and $160,000 USD annually.
It’s no secret that one of the reasons Salesforce tops the Glassdoor list of “Best Places to Work” is the compensation. Although, as with any position, salary will vary depending on a number of factors, Glassdoor’s compensation of full-time employees shows a lower-end salary range of $60,000-80,000 annually (for account executives and sales engineers) and upwards of $141,000 for senior engineer positions.
What Do Current and Former Salesforce Interns Think?
Danielle, who interned with Salesforce as a product marketing MBA intern, commented on her work experience and Salesforce’s company culture in this video. “Not only am I working on independent projects as part of the internship, but I’m also shadowing people in my team and really seeing what a true day in the life is for a project manager within the app cloud,” Danielle said. “Other internships are very focused on their projects and feel very siloed but here at Salesforce I’m really able to be integrated with the team as a whole.”
Eamon, a software engineer who began at Salesforce as a recent graduate, also commented on his experience. “As a new grad what’s interesting is there really is no pathway you’re supposed to follow, it’s what you make of it,” he said. “It’s the people you go out of your way to meet, the experiences you make, the projects you decide to take on.”
