Asia-Pacific Employer Perspectives on MBAs and Business Masters Students

Presenter:
Sean Ferguson, Associate Dean, Asia School of Business in Collaboration with MIT Sloan

Employability for MBAs graduates in Asia-Pacific is materially different than that of graduates in the United States and Europe. Dr Sean O. Ferguson will share the results of study on the perspectives of APAC oriented talent professionals and business line mangers on MBA graduates. Dr Ferguson will make recommendations to schools about how to better position their MBA students for placement success in Asia-Pacific. Additionally, he will give insights on what the results of the study mean for employers and their approach to talent acquisition in the region. Lastly he will provide thoughts on what this means for a post COVID-19 world.

Building a Culture of Digital Dexterity...Why is it Important?

Presenter:
Pallavi Srivastava, Asia Pac & Greater China Talent Leader, Global Technology Services, IBM

As a result of COVID-19, many organizational plans for digital transformation have been rapidly accelerated. However, many enterprises are struggling with this transformation because they don’t have a culture of digital dexterity in their organization. Pallavi Srivastava will discuss what having a culture of digital dexterity looks like and why it is important for the future. She will also share how schools can build this mindset in students and how employer can identify talent with this skill set.

Managing Career Office Challenges in a Dynamic Environment




 

Panelists:
- Tara He, Head of Employer Relations, APAC Careers, Imperial College Business School
- Enna Tan, Head, BIZCareers, NUS Business School
- David Tan, Associate Director Career Management Centre, Melbourne Business School

Moderator:
Sylvia McCallister-Castillo, Director, University of Hong Kong

In times that are as uncertain as ever, the needs of students and how they interact with the market creates a different set of challenges for career offices. Explore issues related to student reneging, taking ownership of their career and transforming the image of being a service provider.








 

Using Designing Your Life with Masters in Business Students

Presenter:
Matthew Temple, Senior Director, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

MBA and Masters students entering the workforce will have a variety of roles in several industries in their careers after they leave business school. Choosing a career – once a singular experience for a professional – will be something students will tackle multiple times. In current times, the likelihood of students being impacted by multiple career choices is even more significant. Design Thinking provides a framework for tackling just such problems. In this session, we will discuss a variety of ways career services professionals have used and can use the Designing Your Life (DYL) book and frameworks in a virtual or in person setting to improve student employment satisfaction and outcomes, particularly in light of uncertain times.

Coaching for Confidence: The Role of Intersectionality in a Woman’s Career Path
 

Presenter:
Jen Murphy, Assistant Dean of Career Management and Student Success, Ohio University College of Business
 

Women have faced barriers in their career trajectories, even before COVID-19 upended their already fragile leadership pipelines. In addition, a renewed and important focus on identity and how it interfaces in all environments makes it important to foster and encourage acknowledgement of each person’s intersectionality through career coaching and in business settings. Using current coaching methods but with a new lens, this presentation will utilize a case study format to demonstrate that while there are situations and circumstances that are unique to women, they can’t be approached in the same way. Simply put: women are not a monolith. Based on these insights, the session will highlight how a shift in career coaching can empower and contribute to a woman’s positive self-efficacy, storytelling, and narrative. Lessons learned will be shared that challenge barriers and assumptions women face; especially navigating their career journey and embracing their narrative. Employers will learn how to empower their women leaders by applying these coaching methods to increase their self-confidence.

Employer relations - how to engage employers in the current reality

Moderator:
Adam Smart, Associate Director and TMT Lead, ESADE Business & Law School
Panelists:
-Xavi Anglada, Managing Director - Strategy & Consulting lead - Middle East, Accenture
-Rebecca Krick, Employer Relationship Manager, The Wharton School
-Tom Parnell, MBA Employer Relations Manager, Edinburgh Business School
-Karin Reuschenbach-Coutinho, Head of Career Services, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management

Join us for this panel discussion which will explore how to build relationships between business schools and employers from both perspectives. We will discuss how schools can successfully approach and engage employers in the next normal and how to build and maintain those relationships. Panelists will contrast what behaviours/practices we will keep and what needs to change as we move into a new academic year where many school employer presentations and “campus based” interviews will be now be online.

Innovative Best Practices in Online and Dual/Blended Delivery to Adjust to Post-Covid Demands

Presenter:
-Natalya Shustova, Sr. Associate Director Talent & Careers, IE University

The traditional educational role of the career centre as a knowledge-and-content-provider is not enough. It’s transforming now into the role of facilitator: the creator of a trustful collaborative learning environment, where students can open up, search, discover, experiment, co-create and grow together. In this session, we will share a recipe for engagement from 'Art of Hosting and Design Thinking': top facilitation tips and tricks for designing a better learning experience.

MSc Business in Practice Module: combining career services with academia to ensure student success

Presenter:
Alison Collins, Careers Manager, Warwick Business School



 

Business in Practice (BIP) is a capstone module course for students in Warwick’s MSc programmes. The module runs over two weeks, and students form their own multi-disciplinary teams to run a virtual business through a bespoke online simulation. Throughout the module they also attend academic lectures, business skills training, industry guest lectures and other activities, all related to the simulation. This is a great example of how careers and academia are working together and a perfect opportunity to embed some of the “soft” skills training which is crucial to enhancing employability skills, particularly in today’s marketplace. It is a practical concept that can be replicated by other schools; WBS decided to use a simulation but you could find a different team-based activity for students to work on to reduce costs.

Self-Awareness and Student Career Success

Presenters:
-Sabyne Moras, Head of Career Services, SDA Bocconi
-Vishal Thacker, Founding Partner, Sōn Consulting

- Taylor Rutledge Arno, MBA Candidate

Enabling students to take ownership of their career and direct it in a way that is meaningful to them is vital to their success. Furthermore, employers increasingly demand self-aware employees who know how they fit with the company and are not in it just for the "job". But, there is a challenge with enabling a large student body to understand their "superpower(s)" and apply them to their career search. In this break out session, we share a modular method which we have applied at SDA Bocconi, and other schools, with around 900 students.

Sourcing Candidates for the Roles You Want

Presenters:

-Sarah Jackson, Talent Acquisition Director, Sage
-Chantal Scaccabarozzi, Talent Acquisition & Mobility Manager UK&I, Global Human Resources, Schneider Electric

-Kaye Vitug, Finance & Corporate Services Director, Roche

Moderator:
Zoe McLoughlin, London Business School

Traditional on-campus recruitment is going to undergo a shift in the coming months - no longer can we rely on full lecture theatres followed by networking. So, how can employers engage with future top talent in the next normal? Join our employer panel to discuss how they envisage attracting the best potential starters and working with employer relations teams to identify them.

Strategic Networking and Information Retrieval in the age of Big Data and AI

Presenter:
Davina Noonan, Careers Coach & Project Manager, Warwick Business School


 

The ability to network successfully is undoubtedly an area that has been dramatically impacted by Covid-19. The skepticism that may have once surrounded remote networking has quickly been dismantled, as many professions currently have little or no other options. Current trends in today's labour market combined with the increase in information and AI leads to a continuous need to upskill in order to best support students to maneuver this landscape for success. The challenge is not that we do not have access to enough potential contacts or information; on the contrary, we are in an era of information overload. This session introduces the fundamentals of Boolean coding, which is used in conjunction with conditional statements in programming, search engines, algorithms, and formulas. Using this as a strategic way of structuring your queries introduces an important skill set, enabling a proactive approach to searching for information and gaining direct access to decision-makers. This session will be hands-on and interactive. Attendees are encouraged to suggest a topic for which they are seeking more specific, in-depth knowledge.

7 Black Belt LinkedIn Hacks
 

Presenters:
-Kay Dawson, Director of Operations, Data & Communications, UC Berkeley Haas
-Omar Garriott, Career Coach/Sr. Director of Education Cloud Marketing, LinkedIn Guys/Salesforce/UC Berkeley Haas
-Jeremy Schifeling, Career Coach/Founder, Michigan Ross / UC Berkeley Haas / LinkedIn Guys

Everyone knows LinkedIn is a huge part of the modern hiring process. But do you know the most advanced techniques to leverage the full power of this tool? Such as:
-How to find alumni who are hiring right now
-How to get in touch with any recruiter or hiring manager in the world
-How to do a background check on a boss/company - even before they do one on you
Master these cutting-edge skills straight from the source - LinkedIn's former education marketing leads and the Haas leader who's helped hundreds of students master them too. Employers will gain tips to help use the platform as a recruiting tool, including how to leverage third-party applications to track down candidates, and how to use the tool for pipelin engagement.

Building Communities of Inclusion: How to Support, Coach and Recruit Diverse Students

Panelists:
-Ana Duarte-McCarthy, Director of Development, Corporate Partners, Forte Foundation,
-Jino Ahn, CEO & Founder, Asian MBA International
-Paula Fontana, Vice President, Strategic Programming Initiatives, National Black MBA Association,
-Elsie Florida, Consultant, Prospanica

Moderator:
LaTanya Johns, Director, Graduate Career Center, TCU Neeley School of Business

Research shows us that increasing the percentage of diverse and URM talent in masters’ programs and companies has huge benefits for creativity, innovation and ultimately revenue. How can career services practitioners best position diverse candidates to ensure they
are selecting a company that values their unique contributions? How can recruiters ensure their campus outreach programs are positioned to attract the candidates that will contribute to their workforce in a meaningful way? Join us for a lively discussion and practical tips on coaching and recruiting to increase diversity in our organizations. You will leave armed with data and best practices on how to structure on campus coaching for diverse students, and how to attract and retain diverse leadership talent.

Career Networks: Creating engagement across campus constituents through career interest areas

Presenter:
Christy Murray, Assistant Dean, The Johns Hopkins University - Carey Business School




 

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused an immediate and direct impact on recruiting and hiring outcomes; both the landscape for job seekers and the ways in which they connect with companies has completely changed. Universities are having to identify creative ways to support students in this social distancing world. The Johns Hopkins Carey Business school develops leaders who build for what's next inside and outside of the classroom. Carey's Career Development Office (CDO) increased student satisfaction by 7% in one year while improving career outcomes in the FT MBA program. What was the difference? Enter the Career Network Model. Business students are familiar with the term networking. Why not integrate it into the school and the office's model in a way that makes an impact? That's exactly what the CDO leadership team did to shift culture and create integrated learning and impact across multiple constituents. During this session we will discuss how this approach can help unleash the potential of your graduates during these challenging times.

Coaching and Hiring International Students in the Midst of a Pandemic

Presenter:
Michael M. Jolic Attorney at Law Martin Jolic and Bratton LLC MJB Immigration

Recent and ongoing restrictions on CPT, OPT and H-1B visas have impacted international student hiring and engagement with business schools. How will recent executive orders impact recruiting? What additional restrictions are anticipated for the future? Discuss these topics and more with immigration attorney Michael Jolic. The session will include an opportunity for Q&A.

Developing Corporate Culture in a Virtual Environment

Panelists:
-Randi Brown, Managing Director and Human Capital Business Partner, Evercore
-Jennifer Nguyen, Senior Recruiter, Republic Services; Michael Hogan, Programs and Partnerships Specialist, Hines
-Cody Penepacker, Consultant MBA and Strategy, Campus Recruiting at Lilly

Moderators: Scott Brownlee, Program Manager, Forte and Kellogg Leliveld Director, Career Education & Advising at University of Virginia Darden School of Business

We all know that corporate culture is a critical piece in recruitment, hiring and retention efforts. Organizations work hard to ensure that clear values are communicated effectively to candidates and employees. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, most organizations are faced with the challenge of showcasing culture in a remote environment. Perhaps your organization is one of the many which now finds itself virtually on-boarding new hires and interns. Forté corporate and school partners will discuss strategies to employ when showcasing corporate culture from home. Topics will include engaging and educating new talent, communicating effectively, and evaluating corporate culture in this new virtual environment.

Engaging Students in a Virtual Recruiting Environment






 

Panelists:

-Lori Clomberg, Senior Director of Employer Relations, Emory University, Goizueta Business School

-Kelly Collins, Senior Director, Graduate and Alumni Career Services, University of Houston Bauer College of Business,

- Gene Rhee, Executive Director, Mohr Career Services, University or Oregon Lindquist College of Business

Moderator:

Steve Simpson, MBA Director, Marketing & Pricing, Simon Business School, University of Rochester

With continued uncertainty regarding plans for the fall - virtual or hybrid recruiting are likely to remain prevalent for the foreseeable future. Engaging with students in a virtual environment can be challenging. What are the most effective ways for employers to increase their brand and promote programs and positions utilizing these formats? How can you still meaningfully connect and get to know students on an individual basis ? Hear from a panel of school representatives, who will share best practices about student preferences.










 

How COVID-19 is Shaping the Career Aspirations of Prospective Business School Students

Presenters:
-Dr. Rahul Choudaha, Director, Industry Insights & Research Communications, Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®)
-Patrice Lincoln, Director, Graduate Career Advising, Mason School of Business, William & Mary
-Phil Han, Director of Recruiting Operations and Career Advisor, UCLA Anderson
-Christy Murray, Assistant Dean, Career Development, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
-Dr. Naomi Sanchez, Assistant Dean, Foster School of Business, University of Washington

COVID-19 has impacted the global economy in a matter of a few weeks and also influencing the ecosystem of graduate management education. This session will share the highlights of the GMAC research on how career aspirations of prospective business school students shifting in the post-COVID environment and how do they differ by candidate profile. The session will also include an interactive panel discussion providing diverse perspectives on the implications of the findings for the future of career services professionals and recruiters.


 

Humanics + Experiential Learning:  Preparing Students for the Future of Work
 

Presenter:
Cathy Merlo, MBA Program Manager & Career Adviser, Northeastern University

 

Artificial intelligence (“AI”) has arrived and is poised to disrupt entire industries. Within the next 50 years, many companies will automate much of the work currently done by humans. A recent report predicts that 800 million workers could be displayed by robotic automation by 2030. There will no longer any “safe” jobs or industries. Employees will need to update their skill sets to remain agile. This session will focus on the ways career counselors across all graduate programs can prepare students to compete and thrive in a job market that values AI.  Recruiters will be seeking to hire future leaders who are comfortable using different collaborative software and are adept at interpreting data to make informed business decisions. Career advisers and recruiters must act as consultants to determine the skills and experiences required for jobs that interact heavily with technology and robots in order to make an immediate impact..

Implementing an International Careers Strategy: A Case Study Focusing on Asia -Pacific
 

Presenter:
Lisa Umenyiora
Executive Director of Careers, Imperial College Business School






 

Covid-19 has impacted all facets of our lives including of course how Careers Services support our students both during their programme and post-graduation. In the current climate, many international students have already returned to their home country while many new incoming students are likely to start their programmes online. Meanwhile, the landscape for international students obtaining employment outside of their home country is changing rapidly and we see many students turn to their Plan B and return home to work. At Imperial College Business School we have established an international careers strategy to support our growing number of international students. In this session we provide insight into key initiatives set up to support Chinese students/alumni and those wanting to work in the Asia Pacific region. We'll share strategic goals, the approach taken, specialist and regional roles introduced, and impact seen. You'll have the opportunity to brainstorm in groups to identify steps you could take in your country and at your school. You will leave with practical ideas for implementing your own international strategy, learn the challenges involved, and receive top tips for successful implementation.

Intersection of Employer and Alumni Relations during COVID

Presenters:
-Sunaina Gulati-Ruh , Director of Graduate Business Career Management , Santa Clara University, Leavey School of Business

- Colleen Withers, Assistant Director of Graduate Business Online Programs and Employer Relations, Santa Clara University, Leavey School of Business

This session will provide an overview of our Graduate Business Career Management team’s experience rolling out targeted Alumni engagement programs during COVID in 2020. The aim of our Alumni career-centric events will continue to focus on building connections with current students for recruiting, mentoring, and for international students to gain greater exposure to US, particularly, tech business culture. We will also explore how Alumni engagement can support Admissions efforts.

Leverage Your Network and MBA CSEA Experience to Navigate Change

Presenters:

-Jay Brown, Lead College Recruiting Manager, AT&T
-Catherine Chassanite, MBA Programme Manager, Audencia Business School
-Heidi Cuthbertson, Campus Relations Strategist, Ball Aerospace
-Jean Gekler, Sr. Associate Director, MBA Career Management, University of Washington Foster School of Business

Moderator:

-John Helmers, Associate Director, MBA Career Management, University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business

Are you energized by this conference, ready to implement all you have learned? Join a panel of current MBA CSEA Board of Directors members as they discuss real examples of how they have leveraged the galaxy of contacts, sessions, conferences, tools, network and knowledge gained from their involvement with the organization and beyond to help them get through the current reality. Walk away with a toolbox of best practices for achieving cross-organizational collaboration, skills development and personal goals, especially during uncertain times.

MSBA Career Services: The Fast-Growing, Ever-Changing Field of Analytics

Presenters:

-Renee Bourbeau, Director, Career Services, Emory University Goizueta Business School

- May Shao, Emory MSBA ‘20, Senior Analyst, Sales Strategy, at Salesforce

-Abhay Kumar, Georgia Tech MSA’20 Senior Product Manger, Technical, at Amazon

- Christina Chew, Harvard Business Analytics ’20 Associate Director at Vertex

The field of analytics is fast-growing and ever-changing. The demand for Analytics Professionals is upon us and MSBAs have a unique competitive advantage in the marketplace today. The challenge for Career Services is that this is a new field and does not follow traditional MBA rules for candidate placement. Educating yourself on what MSBAs value, the market wants and the tools/concepts they are mastering is critical for the best chance of success. This presentation is an overview of all of the above.

 

Poised for the Future: Transforming Your Career Services Mode

Presenter:
Jennifer Whitten
Associate Dean and Director of the Weston Career Center, Washington University- St. Louis, Olin Business School

The Weston Career Center engaged the Boston Consulting Group to consult on how to create a career center that is designed to holistically support students and employers in an ever-changing market. The Weston Career Center was completely restructured to include Olin’s corporate relations team, as well as adding separate teams for undergrad, MBA, specialized masters, and alumni. The presentation will cover how to effectively incorporate benchmarking practices into a strategic and operational plan. In addition, the presenters will share a roadmap for managing large scale change within the team including tactics and milestones, including how this restructure, new vision and tactics allowed them to be successful in the current, and the new, normal.

The Road Ahead: Rebranding & Relevancy of Career Services

Panelists:

-Kim Austin, Director, Career Management Center Mays Business School, Texas A&M University
-Mark J. Brostoff, Assistant Dean and Director Graduate Career Services, USC Marshall School of Business

-Phil Andrews, Director of Corporate Relations, Harvard Business School

Moderator:
Jamie Belinne, Assistant Dean, Bauer College of Business, University of Houston

Join us for an interactive panel that will explore the future of career services. At a time when there is much uncertainty not only in the world, but in the job market, career services offices are faced with a new set of challenges that will require us to reexamine how we do our work, how we communicate our value and how we position ourselves as strategic partners in a student’s career journey. Our panelists will discuss ways to rethink traditional service models, measure impact in a virtual world and ensure student success.

Scaling Career Services for Online Students










 

Panelists:
- Valerie Adams, Associate Director, Career Coaching, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
- Brett Alpert, Associate Dean of Career Services & Executive Director of the Graduate Career Management Center, William & Mary, Mason School of Business
- Jason Rife, Executive Director, Career Management Center & Interim Head of Graduate Admissions, Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business
- Tammy Samuels, Executive Director, Career & Leadership for MBA & Alumni, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School

Moderator:
Phil Heavilin, Executive Director, Career Development Office, Jones Graduate School of Business, Rice University

More schools are launching online degree programs and moving courses online, whether they are MBA or Specialized Masters. Career centers are challenged with scaling programs and services for the unique needs of this audience, both due to the type of students typically represented in this style of modality (working students interested in career switching and/or enhancing) and the rapids increase in population size. This program will include a panel of career center leaders who have online programs, including centers who have recently launched programs and those who have had programs in place for a number of years.













 

Think & Talk Business: An Essential Skill For All Masters Students And Working Professionals

Presenters:
-Yvonne Smith, Employer Relations Coordinator, GA Institute of Technology H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering
-Rushab Kamdar, Speaker, Think Business 360

 

Within the first six-months of a program, students are expected to excel academically, impress during networking, land interviews and secure jobs – a process that will be “virtual” for most students. Imagine being able to prepare your students in overcoming these challenges without having them feel stress, anxiety and burnout! Students that can Think and Talk business during the networking and interview process will stand-out and thereby are more likely to receive job offers. In this fun and interactive session, learn how to leverage business concepts and frameworks to coach students and employees of all backgrounds for professional success!

 

What’s Working For You?
 

Facilitator:
Mark Peterson Director, Graduate Business Career Services, Ivy College of Business, Iowa State University of Science & Technology

School members: join us for open discussion about career services systems and services in a private and positive setting among peers. This session is only open to school members, and all discussions will be confidential.