Texas McCombs MBA Insider

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McCombs Student Adventures: Marathons & Ski Trips

Before I started at McCombs, I wondered if my friendships and connections with fellow students would begin and end in the classroom. You often hear stories of the competitiveness of certain business schools, and that can breed animosity and force only surface relationships among classmates. While McCombs students are certainly competitive (it takes a level of drive and ambition to get into a school like ours) I have been pleasantly surprised with the level of camaraderie among all of my classmates. It is not just that we coexist in the classroom. We actually like each other and do things together outside of campus that make the whole experience of business school more fulfilling and more fun.

Take the Austin Marathon for example. I signed up for the half marathon with two members of my study group and four other classmates. We all survived the core curriculum and recruiting, what is a marathon compared to that? Though all seven of us did not end up running it, it is telling that we all wanted to do this massive undertaking together. I cannot think of a stronger support system for such a major commitment of time and effort. A group ended up making signs and cheering on our friends that ran it together.

Leigh McCoy and Georgie Smyser at a marathon

Leigh McCoy and Georgie Smyser making McCombs proud and looking good after 26.2 miles!

Probably the greatest example of the fun activities that McCombs students participate in together is the annual ski trip that occurred this past weekend. Over 100 students and their significant others descended on Park City, Utah for a couple of days of skiing, bonding and lounging (for the less athletically inclined). The trip is put on by the Graduate Business Adventure Club, a popular club that organizes outings throughout the year . They really do it big for the ski trip! The club organized dinners, hotel arrangements, happy hours and more to ensure that it was a weekend that no one could forget.

Texas MBA students Students skiing together on Park City Mountain

To say this trip was fun is a huge understatement. It was so nice to leave the stresses of recruiting and studying back in Austin and just relax with the friends that we have made the past couple of months. It provided the opportunity to spend time with people that I might not normally hang out with and strengthen the friendships that had already developed so far in school. This trip gave me even more of an appreciation for my fellow classmates and the McCombs program in particular. I mean, look at these people, how could it not?

Texas MBA 1st Years. Hook Em!

International Life at McCombs

February 12, 2015 / Texas McCombs MBA / Comments Off

In the Texas MBA program, we pride ourselves on being truly global. The most treasured element of our global identity is our international student community. At about 24% of the class, they represent many countries across the continents and create a global classroom environment that McCombs is well known for.

Indian Festival Diwali Celebrations in UT, 2014

The culture of McCombs resembles that of a closely-knit family. All our classmates are deeply invested in helping us succeed and transition to the career of our choice. Most international students learn a lot from their domestic counterparts, especially about the culture and traditions of Texas. This year, the domestic students invited many international students to spend Thanksgiving with their families in Austin and other cities. International Night is another fabulous event where students from all countries get to display their culture to their classmates. It is this form of cultural exchange that makes the Texas MBA experience at McCombs truly unique.

International Night, 2014

As an international student who has lived and worked in the U.S. for many years, I must say that the resources available for students are absolutely phenomenal. Right in the first week, UT holds a Football 101 session for all new international students to help them get acquainted with the game that is at the core of UT’s culture. Communication coaches are available through the MBA+ leadership program, and have a great impact in the first year of the program. My communication coach helped me work a lot on my non-verbal communication and business articulation skills. She has also helped many international students through accent modification training. Career services put a special emphasis on helping internationals succeed through specialized job search tools and a one-on-one peer advising model. With a 90,000+ strong alumni base, a lot of international alumni serve as mentors to the current students and help them through their career trajectory.

At McCombs, we often hear the phrase, “What starts here, changes the world.” Our international students are the pioneers of this motto. They bring the best of their global business acumen, and often take back to their home countries the valuable lessons learned in the Texas MBA community. And it all begins – not with the world-class faculty, the top-tier internships, or the leadership skills – It begins when you watch a fourth quarter touchdown at the football field, and before your know it, you clench your fists and say “Hook’Em!” That’s when you become a Longhorn!

Bleeding burnt orange at a Longhorns game 2014

Lessons from Recruiting

February 10, 2015 / Texas McCombs MBA / Comments Off

Depending on industries and functions of interest, recruiting season ebbs and flows in the Texas MBA program, starting with Banking/Consulting “Super Week” and continuing through April with the Careers Now Interview Forum.

I’m glad to say it has been a “net positive” experience for me, and I am feeling relieved in a major way now that I have my summer internship plans in place. In no particular order, here are my top takeaways from participating in both on-campus and off-campus recruiting over the past few months.

When you walk into an interview, bring extra copies of your updated resume.

Always wear deodorant. This seems like a no-brainer, right? But I’ve been to so many company events and stood in close quarters with classmates and recruiters only to catch a whiff of a nervous, un-deodorized body. If you want to keep it fresh and make a good impression, don’t be stingy with the Speed Stick.

Invest in at least one great suit. Just ask Michael Scott: a well-fitting suit can be the difference between confidence and qualms.
Prepare questions to ask your interviewer. The more thoughtful, the better.
Smile. It will put you and your interviewer(s) at ease. And according to one of my fellow first-years, failure to smile “makes you look like a creeper.”
Write thank-you notes. It will impress recruiters and will enable you to make a more personal impression. Most importantly, it’s just good manners.

And remember: you’re qualified, you’re capable, and everything will be okay!

When I was getting ready for one of my first formal interviews last fall at one of the national recruiting fairs, I called my older sister, who had attended similar career expos during her two years in business school. After I told her how nervous I was, she replied, “The only difference between you and your interviewers is that they have jobs right now–and you don’t. That’s it! So go in there and be yourself.” I’ve thought of that advice often over the past five months, and it has helped calm pre-interview jitters and recruiting event nerves.

With my recruiting process officially completed, I feel immensely grateful to the career advisors, peers, and alumni mentors who have helped me along the way. Now it’s full steam ahead till the end of the semester, and after that, a concerted effort to “hook ’em” as an MBA intern this summer!

Working Professional & Executive 2015 Women’s Forum Recap

February 10, 2015 / Texas McCombs MBA / 3 Comments

The Texas MBA recently held its annual Women’s Forums for all Working Professional and Executive MBA Programs in Dallas, Houston, and Austin! Faculty, staff, alumni, and current students from the Texas MBA at Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas MBA at Houston, Texas Evening MBA, and Texas Executive MBA programs hosted around 60 prospective women MBAs for a day of information sessions and networking receptions.

Women attendees at information session - 2015 women's forum

Texas MBA at Houston Women’s Forum, Career Presentation

These events give prospective women MBAs the opportunity to discover all aspects of the Texas MBA program and how they can unlock their potential and develop as business leaders. Women’s Forum attendees had the opportunity to hear an overview of the Texas MBA program and connect with women in the program to learn about their experiences.

A highlight of the event was a talk from premier professional development coaches, Valerie Savage.
Valerie is a seasoned executive with 30 years of financial, strategic, operational and investor relations experience as an executive and consultant for private and public companies. Her session at the Women’s Forum demonstrated how to identify and articulate unique credentials to help position professionals for a successful career.

Choosing to pursue an MBA presents unique challenges for women, especially working professionals. The Women’s Forums provided realistic insight into the program, life as an MBA, and opportunities for candid discussion with former and current students.

If you were not able to attend the Women’s Forum this year, check out some of the other events happening on campus. We hope to see you soon!

How to Tackle the MBA+ Experience

February 6, 2015 / Texas McCombs MBA / Comments Off

Ah, the MBA+ projects… these certainly constitute a range of emotions from us MBA students. For those who haven’t heard, MBA+ projects are mini consulting projects that you can complete during the semester with a variety of companies. Yes, that’s right, you can elect to do these on top of your already busy schedule, but there are definitely a few very important reasons why you should! In this post I’ll talk a bit about my experience and my tips for the process.

At first, I was on the fence about doing an MBA+ project since I didn’t really know what to expect from my schedule and class commitments. I mulled it over for a week or so and then realized that since I am not pursuing Consulting, I-Banking, or other major corporations (so basically the bulk of anybody coming to campus) that my recruiting schedule would be much less busy than many others’ in the fall so to just go for it – and I’m certainly glad I did. The first step in the process is applying to projects (up to 10), and then your team will be selected by the companies sponsoring the projects. Knowing where I did not want to recruit was how I selected my projects, so I focused only on Austin based start-ups and was matched with FreqSho.

FreqSho is an Austin based music discovery start-up that aggregates artist info from various web sources into a one stop shop for avid music fans. When we started, the company was working off of a minimum viable product (MVP) and was working on launching a beta version. Our task as a team was to help create the go-to-market strategy for launching FreqSho. Given that I have an interest in transitioning from a background in Corporate Finance to Strategy & Marketing, the scope was perfect for me. I have literally zero experience with marketing, and now I have some tangible skills, understanding, and stories to take with me into interviews. Throughout the process I was able to learn more about utilizing primary research, digital advertising (Facebook, Google Display, and Search Engine Optimization), and project management skills. Plus, I was able to score free Sam Smith concert tickets from my teammate and new friend, Gedy!

What to do:

If you have a business background but are a career or function switcher like me, you should do an MBA+ project. Switching functions has been more difficult than I imagined and the MBA+ project is the only tangible experience I have in marketing compared to some class mates who have tons.
If you don’t have a business background at all, you should do an MBA+ project. Start building skills and having interview stories aligned with your future goals
If one of your target companies is sponsoring a project, you should do an MBA+ project. This is free networking, folks. This is especially true for you aspiring consultants out there!
Be selective! Pick either companies that you are interested in working for or projects that you are passionate about. If nothing really strikes your fancy, you aren’t going to enjoy the process and it won’t be a great experience for you or your team.
Consider your recruiting schedule and other commitments. Don’t over extend yourself unless you know it will be worth it.
Get excited about meeting people outside of your cohort that you might not otherwise get to know

What not to do:

Do not let FOMO (fear of missing out) get you. If you aren’t very interested in any of the projects, don’t do one just because it seems like all of your friends are doing one. You will not fail the MBA program by not participating in an MBA+ Project
Do not wait until the last 2 weeks to really get into the nitty-gritty of the project. This is much easier said than done. Since these projects aren’t graded, it can be easy to let the tasks fall to the backburner throughout the semester, but it makes for an unpleasant rush to the finish.
Do not stress too much. Like all things in life, some of the projects will inevitably have better sponsors and scopes than others. If you end up on what turns out not to be your dream project use it as a learning example (great for those behavioral interviews!) and make the most of it. Again, you will not fail the MBA program!

Work Experience Quantity vs. Quality: Which Is Preferred By MBA Admissions?

January 30, 2015 / Julia Campbell / 7 Comments

Sometimes more is better. Like chocolate, vacation days and itemized tax deductions. But sometimes more is NOT better, like saturated fat, bills and dental work. The key is how you look at it. Admissions officers tend to look at things as if they were holding a Libra Scale, especially when considering work experience on your MBA application. On one side, there’s raw number of years (quantity), on the other is your job description (quality). Continue reading

McCombs Super Week Recap: A Head Start on Summer Internship Recruiting

January 26, 2015 / Texas McCombs MBA / Comments Off

Marketing and Finance are the largest employment functions for Texas MBA students, and over 35% of these jobs are in the Consulting or Technology industries. For the class of 2015, over 40% of our students pursued these functions. In order to respond to the high volume of recruiting interest from employers and students, the Texas MBA Career Management team has created an annual event: “Super Week.”

This year, Super Week was held on campus January 12-16 2015. For students, it provides a focused opportunity to conduct first round interviews with top employers for summer internship positions. For employers, it grants a streamlined and competitive process for accessing McCombs talent.

As working professional MBAs are fully employed, only Full-Time MBAs interview for summer internships. About 30-50% of working professional MBAs do elect to seek employment other than their current, and many of those participate in both fall and spring on-campus recruiting for 2nd year MBAs.

We’ve asked participating employers to reflect on their Super Week experiences. Here is what they said:

Why recruit Texas MBAs?

“We recruit at McCombs because of a history of long-term success here.”
-Associate, Barclays

“Candidates at UT fit the bill academically and technically but also socially and personally.”
-Associate, Citi

“We recruit here because McCombs consistently provides great candidates who are well prepared. You deliver year after year in terms of candidates.”
-Recruiter, Simmons and Co.

“Our firm has a focus on oil and gas. McCombs has one of the best concentrations of people interested in energy/oil and gas, which makes it a perfect place for us to recruit.”
-HR Manager, North & South America, Schlumberger Business Consulting

On January 12th & 13th, 20 investment banks or financial firms conducted more than 200 interviews with 43 unique students. Wednesday through Friday, saw 11 management consulting firms conducting around 200 interviews with 76 unique students. On January 20, the Ford Career Center reopened for the spring recruiting season to include all other recruiting industries as well as a few additional banks and consulting firms.

For all involved, this event is the culmination of an intense recruiting process after months of networking and preparation. Many thanks to the MBA Students, Student Leadership, Alumni, MBA Program Office Management and Staff, Corporate and Foundation Relations, and the Recruitment Services Team for pulling together to make this happen and provide a competitive, aggressive yet “level playing field” recruiting environment. This high degree of collaboration led to McCombs being tied for 11^th in the nation for business schools with the highest percentage of MBA job offers in 2014.

Hook ‘Em!

McCombs Tech Trek: Seattle

January 20, 2015 / Texas McCombs MBA / Comments Off

In addition to the strong recruiting in Texas and the Midwest, McCombs has a presence on both coasts. Students can gain exposure by taking school-organized treks to such places as New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle. The focus of the Seattle Trek, obviously, is the tech scene. In this visit I had the opportunity to meet the area’s biggest companies as well as meet an exciting start-up with Texas connections.

Microsoft

Geek Culture is alive and well at the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft has been a long-time recruiter of McCombs MBAs. It was great to listen to all of the McCombs alums discuss their enjoyment and fulfillment of working at Microsoft. McCombs places graduates in a variety of MBA roles, but the most common is marketing. Alyse Coogan, MBA ’14, talked about marketing Azure and the growth of Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. Kalin Mckenna, MBA ’11, was also on hand to talk about her role as the marketing manager of the Surface tablet. All in all, it was a fantastic experience and reaffirmed to me that Microsoft would be an excellent company to begin a post-MBA career.

T-Mobile

T-mobile Corporate HQ in Bellevue, WA. They are serious about their #BeMagenta slogan!

T-Mobile was the next stop of the day. T-Mobile has really undergone a transformation and is disrupting the telecom industry with their #BeMagenta focus. They talked a great deal about the leadership development program which allows incoming MBA students to spend three 9-month rotations in a variety of business groups. After the 27 months you are then placed as a Director in a business area of need. Do you want to have a 2.5 year path to major ownership and responsibility in a company? T-Mobile might be the right fit for you.

Amazon

The view from one of many Amazon offices on South Lake Union.

Not much needs to be said about Amazon. Chances are if you are reading this blog on the internet, you have purchased something off of Amazon. Amazon provides an immediate opportunity for MBAs to produce real value to a company. There are no training wheels at Amazon. You are expected to come in, be customer obsessed, and deliver results. The singular drive to best serve the customer really shined through with our talks with MBAs at Amazon. The culture is intense, but so is the satisfaction in knowing that you can directly contribute to the bottom line.

Tune

Taking an Uber to visit Tune during the Seattle Tech Trek.

A few of my classmates and I were able to schedule an “off-trek” visit with a growing start-up in Seattle. The CEO of Tune, Peter Hamilton, is a University of Texas at Austin undergraduate alum and was gracious enough to talk about the company, getting funding from VCs and how to keep the culture of a company consistent in the midst of big growth. Tune, a mobile marketing technology company, doubled revenues in 2014 and grew to employ over 250 people. Meeting with Peter was a great example of the strength of the UT alumni base and the willingness of Longhorns to help out in any way possible.

Zulily

The view from Zulily’s new office on the Seattle waterfront.

Zulily is an e-marketplace company that IPO’d in 2013. They have undergone tremendous growth and are a very unique business model. Unlike companies that emphasize fast shipping and almost immediate fulfillment, Zulily isn’t focused on quickly getting goods to customers. Instead, they offer a model where they will only ship out goods once they have reached a critical mass of purchases. They want MBAs that can think strategically about growing their business and how to stay competitive in a market that has seen rapid growth and cutthroat competition (HauteLook, MyHabit, etc.)

The modus operandi of business school is to have recruiters come to campus and pitch to you and your classmates on why their company would make a perfect fit for your post-MBA goals. The Seattle Trek, and other treks, provide an avenue to actually see company offices firsthand, to get hints of their company culture, and to generally obtain a greater sense of what it would be like to work in that environment every day. Because of this, I’d recommend that every MBA take the opportunity to visit companies on their home turf.

The MBA Admissions Interview: How to Totally Crush It

January 8, 2015 / Julia Campbell / Comments Off

We’ve all been there. Despite all the preparations, research and rehearsals, you find yourself nervous about your MBA Admissions interview. While this isn’t technically a job interview, you may do well to treat it like one. An MBA Admissions interview is a very important part of your overall application and ultimately one of the first steps towards your post-MBA life.

At the Texas MBA program, interviews are by invitation only and can come at any time during the application Round. While some applicants may look forward to the opportunity to interview, others may not exactly enjoy the anxiety thereby engendered. If you are a member of the latter group, look at it this way: the interview affords one of the only formal opportunities for official face-to-face interaction during the application process, so here are a few ways you can take advantage:

Don’t be on time – be early: Arriving early is interviewing 101, yet it still manages to falter even the most prepared of candidates. Arriving early is even more critical if you’ve never been to campus or navigated UT parking before.
“What was the question again?”: You’d be surprised how many times at the end of an applicant’s long-winded answer we are asked to repeat the original question. Most often this happens to people who try to cram too much into the first answer for fear of not being given an opportunity later on to address that well-rehearsed example. Don’t worry, we’ll get to it! Plus, sometimes there is an opportunity at the end of an interview to mention anything we didn’t address in the formal line of questioning.
Loosen Up: Given our program’s famously friendly culture, our interviews are relatively informal. If you still find yourself nervous, practice your answers in front of a mirror, a friend or a willing stranger and ask them how you did; did you answer the question? Did you rush through it? Take a moment to outline your answer in your mind first, and then address it calmly and confidently. Don’t get tooooo comfortable, though. While we’re an easy-going bunch, maintaining an appropriate level of professionalism is always a good idea.
Know what we’re looking for: We listen for confidence, clear and concise communication of career goals, concrete examples of teamwork and leadership, in-depth knowledge of our MBA program, and overall genuine enthusiasm. Also, the interview can be a place to showcase secondary skills that are difficult for us to determine solely based on your application: interview skills, self-awareness, communication style, and “hire-ability”.
Know your audience: If you are invited to interview for the Texas MBA program, you have three options: On-Campus with an Admissions Officer or current student, Off-Campus with alumni or Admissions Officer in select cities, or via Skype with an Admissions Officer or current student. Remember the Admissions Committee doesn’t have a preference for how or who you interview with, just as long as you prepare depending on your audience.
Come with questions: A good list of questions can illustrate a few key things about a candidate: you’ve done your research, you care about our program, you have envisioned yourself as an MBA and you can formulate thoughts under pressure. Don’t overdo it, though. We usually leave anywhere from 10-15 minutes for questions, so limit your list to 2-3 good ones maximum and have a few backups.

While our interviewing style is admittedly less intense than corporate recruiters and some other MBA programs, don’t let our laid-back attitude fool you. The Admissions Committee uses the interview as a way to add character, depth and spirit to your written application, so keep these tips in mind to ensure a positive outcome. Good luck!

MBA Semester One? Check.

December 30, 2014 / Texas McCombs MBA / Comments Off

You go into a roller coaster ride expecting the adrenaline rush, expecting both the fear and the excitement. More importantly, if you are even remotely adventurous, you have been on the roller-coaster ride before.
MBA Semester one is a different story, however. I am surprised when people metaphorically compare the experience to that of a roller coaster only because nothing about the latter is life changing. I came into the program thinking I have done pretty well in the past, I will get through this. I was not only wrong, but it took all of ten days into the program to realize, how little I knew about the business world and the people who were bringing about the changing trends in commerce. Be it the finance class I took where bulk of our time was spent talking about present values of future investments or the famous Prof Britt Fruend’s Operations Management class, which spoke about Quality of product in Japan vs. that in America; I came to understand that there isn’t really an economic trend that is localized any more. Every change is working on a global level.
The Texas MBA in its first few days asked me to halt and see how I can obtain an eagle’s eye view on a problem. In the last 4 months, I haven’t worked with any team which would accept an answer for its face value. I was pleasantly amused to see evidence of researcher-like traits in almost all of my classmates. We maybe training ourselves to take quick, accurate decisions when situation demands, but at the McCombs School of Business, we are being trained to continuously evaluate the risk-reward parameters.

The last semester saw everything being thrown at each student all at once: the academic challenges, four sets of exams (well almost), networking with recruiters, finding and choosing career paths, deciding to give up Thursday Think ‘n’ Drinks for overnight case challenges (I did three and survived)! Suddenly, we also saw a surge in student club activities and students pitching for leadership positions. There were moments when all activities seemed to be taking place at just that one single moment. I knew I had reached a threshold limit when I literally had to block a time-slot in my calendar to update my calendar! It is only now, during the winter break, when I sit back and reflect at how intelligently the course structure has been designed. The idea is to help you restructure your efforts and re-think about whether your strategies and work-methods need be updated. This is the first step to effective leadership.
Irrespective of the roller coaster like ups and downs, I think what makes life extremely easy at McCombs is that spirit of collaboration which is forever maintained, no matter how busy everyone gets. We all are in this together and we help each other to sail through it together.
MBA Semester One: Over n Out.