Top MBA Recruiters: American Express
The fact that “Don’t leave home without it,” once American Express’ omnipresent tagline, is now “Don’t live life without it” speaks to its transformation. Its YouTube channel features content ranging from “Unlock the Money,” showing the evolution of various startups, to “Epic Everyday,” which offers crafty lifehacks like how to make smoothie ice cubes. Not just a credit company anymore, AMEX has billed itself an “engine of commerce.”
Like many global financial services groups in 2019, AMEX has learned that to thrive, it must adapt to meet the many needs of the millennial consumer. This, along with its wide variety of job opportunities and a top global recruitment program, make it a great place to work for MBAs.
Why American Express?
With over 65,000 employees worldwide, American Express was ranked 13th by Fortune on its “100 Best Companies to Work For” list in 2019. One of its major attractions is the recent added focus on work life balance, and it now offers a whopping five months of family leave time for new parents. Other benefits include generous healthcare coverage which begins on day 1 of employment, wellness and prevention programs, and tuition assistance. American Express also offers a variety of virtual positions, along with a compressed work week.
The company also matches employee donations to nonprofits, offers a variety of volunteer opportunities, and prioritizes environmental sustainability efforts across all levels of employment. It has also earned 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for LGBTQ—inclusive workplace policies and practices. In addition, AMEX was voted the “Best Company for Diversity” by Black Enterprise in 2017 and one of the “Top Companies for Women in Tech” in the same year.
Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Fort Lauderdale are listed as key cities for external hiring and internships, and the New York City headquarters is a top hiring location as well.
American Express Salaries
Glassdoor reports the typical American Express Analyst salary at $72,034. Managers make $101,000, while Senior Marketing Managers make $118,000. Top salaries are $149,000 for Marketing Directors and $196,000 for Vice Presidents.
Starting an American Express Career
American Express’ recruitment program is robust, and it hires MBA interns across all disciplines. According to one recruiter, “The culture and people at AMEX are what make it a great place to intern … [it’s] an environment centered around collaboration.” Interns can find opportunities in the following areas:
- Consulting
- Finance
- Marketing
- Operations
- Human Resources
- Risk and Governance
One former intern says, “Many of the casual coffee chats of my intern days have developed into true mentor-mentee relationships in my full-time career.” The 12 week summer internship program is offered in New York, Phoenix, or Fort Lauderdale, and AMEX also offers ‘talent communities’ in which students and professionals can track available opportunities and find matches for their abilities. Having shifted in the past decade to a focus on digital commerce, AMEX seeks MBA graduates who are well versed in data analysis, no matter what position they seek.
Top recruiting schools for AMEX include the New York University Stern School of Business, Columbia Business School, the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Cornell’s SC Johnson School of Management, London Business School, IESE Business school in Barcelona, IIT Bombay, and IIM Ahmedabad. Roughly 250 interns and full-time hires are brought into the company each year, according to recent figures.
A final helpful piece of American Express career advice offered by a recruiter:
“It’s your job to sell us on your passion. I also need to understand that you know what the job is. That might seem obvious, but a lot of people come in unprepared. I love questions from candidates that look to the future: ‘What do my first 90 days look like?’ ‘What are the key things you’d like to help me to achieve?'”
London Business School on Gaining and Using Power
Power shapes every interaction. Powerful people get their way often, we’re generally nicer to them, and we listen to them. So how do you get power and use it? Power is a zero-sum game and complicated to discuss. However, for London Business School Associate Professor Ena Inesi, that’s what makes it so appealing to study.
Northwestern Kellogg & HKUST Lead the 2018 FT EMBA Rankings
Where should you go to school for your Executive MBA? Good question. While, the answer may not be quite so simple, an official EMBA ranking can help.
There are many things you should consider before choosing the best EMBA program for you including average graduation salary, industry employment, research interests, and more. However, a good place to start is with the 18th edition of the Financial Times Global Executive MBA Ranking. This ranking collects key data from business schools and alumni around the world to come up with a list of the top 100 best programs worldwide.
We’ve collated some of the critical data from the ranking study to give you insight into what’s going on in the world of EMBA programs.
EMBA Graduates Choose Industry and Manufacturing
Compared to full-time MBAs, EMBA graduates are much more likely to work in certain industries like manufacturing. In fact, three times as many EMBAs are employed in industry or manufacturing compared to their full-time peers. The figure accounts for 17 percent of all graduates. In comparison, only 10 percent of EMBA graduates are in consulting roles. And they’re less likely to work in finance, too.
EMBAs Earn More Money
EMBA graduates can also expect to earn more money than full-time MBAs after graduation. The average salary for an EMBA is $220,000 whereas an MBA alumnus can expect to make $146,000. It’s a large gap that’s similar to the salary gap between an MBA and a MiM graduate ($146,000 VS $67,000). Keep in mind, however, that the typical Executive MBA student is significantly older and often has more work experience.
In contrast, full-time MBAs win when it comes to salary boosts before and after earning the degree. MBA alumni generally increase their salary by 107 percent while EMBAs only experience a 59 percent boost.
Top 10 EMBA Programs
This year, the top ten EMBA programs, according to the Financial TImes, includes four joint programs. In fact, these were the top four programs in the world ranking well for post-EMBA salary, alumni leadership positions, and work experience. Each of these programs offer excellent networking opportunities thanks to different cohorts across different campuses, connecting students around the world.
Here’s how all the rankings stacked up.
1. Northwestern Kellogg & HKUST
This joint program ranks first for the third year in a row, and it’s the ninth time in 12 years that it has headed the list—the other three times it ranked second. The program is known for having the highest average salary three years post-graduation, $507,000—$140,000 more than the second-highest salary. It’s also known for having half of its alumni as company leaders three years post-graduation.
No EMBA has dominated the annual FT ranking quite like the Northwestern Kellogg & HKUST join program, earning top billing once again for 2018.
2. HEC Paris, LSE, & NYU Stern
This trium global EMBA program ranks second in 2018, up from fifth the previous year. The program is ranked first in work experience, languages, and international course experience rank. It also ranks highly in average salary ($347,970) with an expected 60 percent salary increase three years post-EMBA.
3. Tsinghua University & INSEAD
For the second year in a row, the Tsinghua-INSEAD dual degree MBA comes in third overall on the FT EMBA ranking. Located in China, Singapore, France, and the UAE, the program is known for its high salary three years post graduation ($365,746), and its high percentage of female students (45 percent).
The rest of the top ten shakes down as follows:
- EMBA—Global Asia: Columbia Business School, HKU, & London Business School
- Ceibs
- HEC Paris
- Washington University Olin Business School
- Shanghai: Jiao Tong University Antai
- IESE Business School
- MIT Sloan School of Management
Surprising Schools
There were quite a few surprises in this year’s EMBA ranking.
- Though HEC Paris has ranked in the top five since 2006 because of its joint program with NYU Stern and LSE, this was the first year the school entered the top ten ranking on its own. The HEC Paris solo EMBA program ranks sixth overall, making it the highest new entrant.
- IESE Business School took home the crown as the top EMBA program for the new criterion corporate social responsibility (CSR).
- The University of Toronto Rotman School of Management EMBA moved up the most places in 2018, rising to 47th place overall—20 places higher.
No school saw a bigger rankings jump than the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management, rising 20 spots in 2018.
FT EMBA Ranking Methodology
To come up with the 2018 EMBA ranking, the Financial Times reached out to a record 139 programs with two online surveys: the first completed by the school and the second by alumni who graduated from programs in 2014. The methodology of the ranking is as follows:
- Alumni were required to provide feedback on salary today, salary increase, career progress, work experience, and aims achieved—accounting for 55 percent of the ranking’s weight.
- Schools provided insight into ten criteria, accounting for 35 percent of the total ranking. Criteria included: gender and international diversity, board members, international program reach, and more.
- Accounting for the final 10 percent of the ranking was the FT research rank, which looks at the number of articles published by a school’s full-time faculty.
And, for the first time ever, this year’s EMBA ranking included a new criterion for corporate social responsibility (CSR). This new criterion took a look at how many of a school’s core courses were dedicated to ethics, social, and environmental issues. Weighting at 3 percent, this criteria replaced the number of Ph.D. graduates per school.
New MBA Jobs: BCG, Capital One, Accenture and More
There’s always new and exciting job opportunities out there for MBAs. Whether your a seasoned business professional who sought an MBA to reach a high level position, or a new MBA grad looking for an entry level consulting job, here’s this week’s top new MBA jobs.
London Business School Announces New Masters in Analytics and Management
Earlier this week, the London Business School officially announced the new LBS Masters in Analytics and Management program, which is slated to begin August 2019.
The 12-month LBS Masters in Analytics and Management, according to the business school, “is designed for top graduates with a quantitative degree or work experience, who want to combine a detailed knowledge of data analytics, with the ability to translate big data into bold visions and profit-maximising business strategy.”
The LBS Masters in Analytics and Management (MAM) will be the fifth official specialized master’s program provided by the business school, alongside the Masters in Management and Global Masters in Management (MiM), the Masters in Finance (MiF), and Masters in Financial Analysis (MFA). In a recent press release announcing the newest program addition, LBS’ Associate Professor of Management Science and Operations Tolga Tezcan, who will teach in the program, says:
“There is huge demand from the top recruiters for managers who are not only data literate, but who also have the vision to see how big data can be used to create real competitive edge, product or service transformation. That’s why we’re combining subjects like machine learning and data visualisation with organisational behaviour.”
In the release, Gareth Howells, LBS Executive Director, MAM, Degree Education & Career Centre, also adds, “Jumping into the vibrant London business environment, our students will experience data in action. Using real data to solve real problems on a live analytics project, they will learn how to translate the results of data analysis into insightful, high-impact business solutions.”
The new Masters in Analytics and Management will begin August 2019, costing £33,500.
What Is The LBS Masters in Analytics and Management?
The program, according to the business school, is centered around a core of: “Data Analytics, Applied Statistics, Data Visualisation and Storytelling, Data Management, Digital Marketing, Data Science for Business, Machine Learning for Big Data, and Decision Technology.”
The school assures that hopeful entrants in the program must have “a strong degree in a quantitative subject such as Engineering, Maths and Sciences, Computing, Economics, Accounting, Finance or Business, and Management.”
About 95 percent of entrants in the program come from the international community, representing 50 countries worldwide. The school adds that about 96 percent of its graduates from the aforementioned Masters in Management program earned employment within three months of graduation, and that “we expect our new MAM graduates to hit the ground running, entering sought-after sectors like technology and consulting with similar levels of success.”
In addition, students in the program will have the option to undertake a fourth term, which will only be available for students on specific career treks. In the fourth term, which will cost additional fees not yet revealed by LBS, students can “pursue the option to take three additional elective courses or go on an international exchange with a top business school.”
Head over to the official London Business School Masters in Analytics and Management page for more details.
Improv, Luxuries, and Napoleon: Check out These 10 Unique MBA Courses
Business can often be unfairly characterized as a dry field. But not every business school course fits the stereotype. Check out these 10 unique and interesting MBA electives.
Napoleon’s Glance
Columbia Business School offers this fascinating course in strategic intuition. The curriculum uses the teachings of early strategy literature as its foundation, though the bulk of readings and lectures are based on the content of two contemporary books on the subject: Napoleon’s Glance and The Art of What Works. William Duggan, the author of both books, leads the course. Duggan is a strategy expert and won the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2014.
Food and Agribusiness
This Harvard Business School course allows MBA’s to delve into the study of the global food industry. This course is helpful for B-schoolers specifically seeking a career in agriculture, or simply those pursuing consulting or investment banking, since the food industry is so expansive. The course explores the nuances of agribusiness, including how the once strictly local industry has become increasingly globalized.
Luxury Marketing
Another eyebrow-raising Harvard Business School course, Luxury Marketing helps students understand the nuances of luxury brand management. Specifically, the class will be structured in terms of three larger topics: The art of creating luxury brand equity, understanding the luxury sector, and the future of luxury. The course has seen lecturers like world-famous fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni.
HBS doesn’t just offer traditional MBA courses. Students interested in the finer things can also study Luxury Marketing.
Improvisational Leadership: In the Moment Leadership Skills
Improv as a means of facilitating team building and creative thinking is a growing trend in business. That’s why MIT’s Sloan School of Management offers an entire course on improv in business. The first two weeks essentially function like an Improv 101 course, with students learning the fundamental principles of improvisational performance. The subsequent four weeks focus on application, allowing students to practice applying improv principles to real-world business decisions.
Sure, it’s not Second City, so don’t expect students to make a Comedy Bang! Bang! appearance any time soon, but the course can help one develop skills not actively taught at most other business schools.
Leveraging Neuroscience for Business Impact
At University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, the faculty understands the value of understanding the human brain in honing business acumen. This course demonstrates just that, as it educates MBA’s in the most recent neuroscience breakthroughs and how this information can be used to predict consumer behavior, manage employees, build teams, and enhance workplace productivity, as well as honing leadership skills.
Next Gen Fashion Retail
Though clothing fads aren’t the first thing people usually associate with MBA education, fashion is its own industry, and a cutthroat one at that. As part of its Luxury and Fashion MBA, New York University’s Stern School of Business offers a course on the future of fashion retail. In this course, students learn about the ever changing fashion landscape and the challenges that lie ahead as the internet cuts out the middleman between brand and customer.
Creativity
Though analytical thinking is important for many aspects of business, creativity is the driving force behind most innovation and problem-solving. NYU Stern’s Creativity class nurtures students’ potential for true out-of-the-box thinking in both work and life. MBA’s learn about the science of creativity and experiment with different creative approaches to problems.
Nobel Thinking
In the Nobel Thinking course at London Business School, students use actual Nobel Prize-winning topics to explore what makes a groundbreaking idea and how to emulate the type of thinking that leads to real breakthroughs. Each session chooses a topic, led by a faculty member, and explores the idea, motivations, and contributions that led to the Nobel award. The elective makes full use of LBS’s notable faculty as well as a number of guest lecturers.
The Nobel Thinking course at LBS utilizes the school’s vast array of celebrated guest lecturers.
Self Awareness
London Business School also offers a Self Awareness course that helps B-schoolers learn about themselves, and their own needs and motivations. Though studying self awareness may seem more like therapy than school, more and more MBA programs are emphasizing the value of authenticity in business. Relationships are essential in business, and the Self Awareness elective trains students to understand how they are perceived by others, so they can build connections and trust as they navigate their industry.
Cleantech to Market
At UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, MBA’s who take the Cleantech to Market course get to team up with scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to work on marketing advances in in solar, biofuel, battery, and smart grid/energy management tech. Business students help scientists commercialize the latest advances in sustainability.
The UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Cleantech to Market bridges the talent’s of the schools MBA candidates and scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
