Regional MBA Job Markets: Belgium

Posted on 09/02/2009 by careermee

CMAre you a top MBA student or alumni looking for a job? Check out our MBA recruitment platform, CareerMee – find your dream job, even when you’re not looking.
___________________________________________________________________

Regional MBA Job Market: Belgium – Straight Talk from a Booth Alum

Today we’re speaking with Kris Vansanten, MBA Booth ‘95, who shares this thoughts on the small country that could just be the job gem you’ve been looking for. Let’s hear more. . .

Brugues

CareerMee: Is the MBA as ingrained in business culture in Belgium as it is in the States/other places in Europe? Have you noticed any trends?

Kris: In Belgium the MBA is less embedded in business than it is in the States. Many people are in top management positions without an economic education background. However we see increasingly a trend wereby people are sent to a business school for (tailor made) top executive programs. Although costly, these programs provide a fast and effective way for top executives to get introduced into the latest business trends and thinking, and offer them the basic insights required for good corporate governance.

CareerMee: Can you give us a bit of information on the differences between working in the US and working in Belgium; cultural differences, work conditions, quality of life, etc?

Kris: Belgium has a more relaxed way of life. As our economy is more focused on the objective of reaching ‘social welfare’, more attention is given to obtaining an acceptable work/life balance, especially at the lower management level. This is embedded in the legislation, social security system etc.

This also has a flipside: the result is a highly inflexible, rigid labor market and strong unions, making it difficult to implement change.  In the current economic downturn it imposes additional limitations on companies to carry on with required downsizings, making it more difficult to restructure and cope with reduced revenues.

One might conclude by saying that Belgium is a good place to work for employees (both white and blue collar workers) as they are well protected by the legislation and the social security system, but probably less so for top management who is often constrained in its ambition level by too restrictive legislation.

CareerMee: As someone who studied in Chicago, if class of ’09 MBAs have the language skills, do you think Belgium/Western Europe offers a better job market than the US?

Kris: Probably so, but the salary levels will be less attractive for them.

Filed under: 271 | Leave a Comment »

The times changed – did business ethics too? : Worldwide Reactions

Posted on 09/01/2009 by careermee

CMAre you a top MBA student or alumni looking for a job? Check out our MBA recruitment platform, CareerMee – find your dream job, even when you’re not looking.
__________________________________________________________________

We spoke with MBA Alumni Chapter Presidents from all over the world to get their feelings on job markets, ethics and everything from Madoff to merchandising. Here’s what they had to say this week. . . .

This week’s question: Do you think the business culture has changed significantly or slightly over the last 20 years, and is this related to what graduates are learning at business school?

Business changes with the times. . .but do ethics?

Business changes with the times. . .  but do ethics?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Plank – University of Chicago Booth School of Business, MBA ’93

  • I think it has changed slightly, but actions now have more impact due to globalization, size of companies, increased connectivity, speed of information flow and ability of one person to do a lot of harm (more harm than in the past).

Phillip Price – Australian Graduate School of Management, EMBA ’03:

  • I think the business culture in Australia has become significantly more focused on quality decision making and sound business models over the last 20 years.  I think it has only changed slightly in relationship to ethical conduct with respect to community & environment however.  This has partly reflected greater acceptance and use of the business management tools taught at business schools (in conjunction with greater investor and regulatory scrutiny of management conduct).  Ethics and CSR have not been widely taught until recently (which I think is also reflected by the lack of take-up of this concept by businesses.

Doug Clark  - University of California, Berkley Haas School of Business, MBA ’98:

  • Clearly a change for the worse has happened, but MBAs are a small percentage of those in business. This is a systemic problem tied to the decline in religious and ethical beliefs nationwide.

Kahua Kali, University of California, Berkley Haas School of Business, MBA ’95

  • Yes, in the past 15 years since I have been in business school, I do believe that the business culture has changed, because the generations have changed and have different values, attitudes and expectations.  I haven’t been in school for a while, but am involved in the MBA programs here in Hawaii as a mentor and judge for their business plan competitions. They are teaching and promoting different values now and lessons.  As I said, when I was in school, my values were about taking care of people, my planet and profitability. Then it was all about profit, and ethics was a class that most MBA candidates had to take and made fun of. We had a lot of ‘debates’ about what is now called ’social enterprise’, ‘ sustainability’ and the ‘green movement.’My classmates questioned why I was in business school if I didn’t care about making a profit and the bottom line. I felt that money is important, but also more. Now that is what they are teaching in the top 20 business schools, as well as many more. I now teach these lessons in our entrepreneurial trainings to thousands of entrepreneurs and CEOs. They are open and appreciative of knowing that they can incorporate their values and passions and beliefs into their companies, and it’s a good thing.The trick though, is to see the future trend and prepare this current generation of b-school students for what’s to come, not just look at the past.

Joaquim Paiva Chaves – INSEAD MBA, ’85

  • Ethics have always been determined by your family and your school. Early on, our parents example is critical and plays the most important part in this programming procedure at the beginning of our knowledgeable life (>5 years and < 20 years). If they have strong moral values, we will be well prepared to face future challenges. If their example is not ethical, however, it becomes be very difficult to correct this early influence, but marriage and the rest of the family can help.School learning is always important but it becomes critical at the point when we leave home for studies, because, besides our early convictions on values, we’ll need periodic help to distinguish between ethical and non ethical behaviors in complex situations. Here business schools should play an active role in the upgrading process. Thanks you to all our alumni presidents today.  MBAs, have a comment?  Agree? Disagree? Rant and rave in our comment section below and then head over to  CareerMee and post your resume on our site for  top, global recruiters to find.


Filed under: CareerMee.com, MBA News & Commentary | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Finance Sector: What Recruiters Are Saying

Posted on 08/31/2009 by careermee

CMAre you a top MBA student or alumni looking for a job? Check out our MBA recruitment platform, CareerMee – find your dream job, even when you’re not looking.
_____________________________________________________________________

Interview with a Finance Headhunter

Speaking with Kristen Lalla of Dowd Associates, a boutique executive search firm specializing in the recruitment of senior level financial professionals.

dowd

CareerMee: So, you recruit exclusively in corporate finance. I can imagine you’ve experienced a bit of a slowdown – some say a complete collapse of the sector. Is that true? Can you tell us about recruitment trends in your industry?

Kristen: Well, there has definitely been a slowdown. But it hasn’t been crippling or anything. If it was, you wouldn’t be talking to me. I’m still in business recruiting for these positions, so that tells you something. In fact, we’re recently seeing an uptick in hiring for corporate finance.

CareerMee: An uptick? I didn’t expect to hear that – good news for MBAs with finance degrees, though. But has the value of an MBA been diluted by all this?

Kristen: Oh no, an MBA definitely still gives you an edge. Right now the market is flooded with candidates. When you’ve got an MBA, it only serves to pull you out from the crowd.  An MBA is basically required in the corporate finance sector now. In the late 90’s, this really wasn’t the case. But now, more than ever, you really do need an MBA in this field.

Kristen Lalla, Partner, Executive Vice President & Managing Director of Dowd Associates

Kristen Lalla, Partner, Executive Vice President & Managing Director of Dowd Associates

CareerMee: So, if you want to pull yourself out of the crowd, does proving you’re an ethical MBA help? Something like the MBA Oath – if you’ve signed it, are you more likely to be looked at by recruiters? Does this have an effect on employability?

Kristen: This is a fairly new development. But I don’t think it really is effecting how we recruit. However, this is definitely a great way to set yourself apart on resume, I’d think. The Oath can even be a great icebreaker, in interviews and meetings.  In this climate, you need to do as much as you can to set yourself apart.

And Kristen isn’t the only one at here firm with a careful optimism. Dowd Associates CEO and President Richard Dowd spoke recently in CFO Magazine about the ‘uptick’ in finance sector recruiting.

” Financial risk management is certainly moving beyond Wall Street. According to Dowd, the treasury departments of some big consumer companies are now looking for managers to help them manage interest rate and currency risk. The corporations are especially interested in people with technical undergraduate degrees and MBAs in finance, usually from top-20 schools. Strong candidates can command base salaries starting at $150,000 to $200,000 plus bonuses, Dowd says.”

Thanks so much, Kristen! Good news MBAs! Recruiting still happening in Finance! Update your profile on CareerMee and post your resume on our site for senior finance recruiters like Dowd Associates to view.

Filed under: 271 | 2 Comments »

Failed Startup Profile: What Went Wrong and How to Avoid the Same Mistakes: A lesson from FreePrint

Posted on 08/28/2009 by careermee

CMAre you a top MBA student or alumni looking for a job? Check out our MBA recruitment platform, CareerMee – find your dream job, even when you’re not looking.
____________________________________________________________

What Went Wrong: How one entrepreneurial great idea couldn’t quite get off the  ground. . .

The Story of FreePrint, the Startup that ALMOST could.

Today, CareerMee is speaking with FreePrint founder Gus Murray. Whoa, that’s a lot of links for the first sentence. Anyway, we’re here to tell Gus’ story, about his great startup idea FreePrint – the challenges he faced, the good choices and the bad, and what led, in the end, to pulling the plug on a great idea.

FreePrintlogo

Not all ideas that make it to the market are good (please see link about KFC introducing a sandwich that had no bread and instead two pieces of fried chicken holding it together) and not all ideas that falter are bad. Gus speaks from his experience, and hopefully startup entrepreneurs can learn something from his journey. Be sure to leave any additional questions or thoughts for Gus in our Comment Section below so he can get back to you.

________________________________________________________________________

CareerMee: Pitch Freeprint in 100 words or less:

Gus: Freeprint is a new print media, where targeted messages are printed ‘on demand’ on the rear side of student prints. Companies can segment the student body based on their online profile, gender, education, degree, interests and location, and in ‘sponsoring’ the rear side, students can then print for free. A win-win!

CareerMee: How far into development were you before pulling the plug?

Gus: After completing a trial at one of the business schools, we had the software developed for the backend of the system, raised $250,000 USD, and installed our printers in two schools.

After running the system, and bug fixing, over a 8 month period we redeveloped the concept to be a web based system that would be allow for students and individuals (non-students) to print over the web and at various print kiosks i.e. Starbucks, 7-eleven, airport lounges, etc.

CareerMee: What were some of the things that went wrong?

Gus: The new system would essentially allow anyone to print for free, with sponsored messages, over the internet, at any of our print kiosks. This posed several challenges. First, we required additional funding to redevelop the software and create a web based printing solution and an API that allowed people to print from heavily printed web pages -  i.e. Google maps, Gmail etc. Second, it would be encouraging people to print more and therefore increasing the volume of pages printed – not so environmentally friendly. Third, to attract advertising dollars we would need to build a large users base – i.e. students, business people, individuals etc. Finally, the advertising and recruiting market is, as most people know, at the moment quite depressed.

All-in-all, one of the greatest challenges we faced was managing the different stakeholders and in the end, this proved to be our undoing. For Freeprint, our stakeholders included: Customers (paying advertisers), Users (university students), Software Partner (product), Investors (cash), and Distribution Points (business schools). One of our misjudgments was the time it would take to form, engage and develop each of these different stakeholders with their various interest and incentive points. However, it was the software company that ultimately led to our undoing.

FreePrintPage

CareerMee: What are some things that you might have done differently?

Gus: If I had a magic wand or a time-capsule and could change things again, I would have made sure that we did all the development internally and had better control and input into the project. The project management, cost structure and general inflexibility of our software partner caused massive problems for us, so if we had recruited some developers and had them in-house, I believe we would have been on much better grounds for success. Additionally, we would have better prepared for the amount of time taken to deal with all stakeholders mentioned above.

CareerMee: Any other advice or wisdom that you learned from the venture?

Gus: As business students playing with an IT related product, one of the things you can’t know when you start out, and go down a path like the one we did, is how little you actually do know. So make sure you surround yourself with good people. What I mean by this is people that have good energy and burn for your idea -  i.e. they’ll give you unsolicited advice, help and constructive criticism.

Lastly, I believe that one of the things that we did really well was tell other people our idea. What we realized, as we told more people, is that the more people we told the better the idea became through feedback, input, contacts and referrals / recommendations. This helped us immeasurably – free access to conventions, cash from business angels, publicity, an auditor, a huge amount of fans and many other costly items for nothing.

So for everyone thinking of becoming an entrepreneur or in the process or saving the world and becoming the next Facebook or Google, tell others what you are doing, what your product is, what model you think you should use and ask people for their thoughts and advice. Nine times out of ten people will offer their advice and services for free and you in return will at best receive validation of your idea and at worst practice pitching and communicating your product / service or technology. Good luck!

Thanks for speaking with CareerMee, Gus. We look forward to hearing more from you soon, about any future business ideas! MBAs, looking to work for a startup? Think you have what it takes to make a company run? Then head over to CareerMee.com and get you resume online in front of our over 125 recruiters, many looking to hire for small businesses and startups.

Filed under: How To Start an Online Company, Startup Profile | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

An MBA grad works free for startup: Carrotmob Part (2)

Posted on 08/26/2009 by careermee

Are you a top MBA student or alumni looking for a job? Check out our MBA recruitment platform, CareerMee – find your dream job, even when you’re not looking.

__________________________________________________

MBA grad speaks out about the decision to work for free after business school and what compeled her do it.

moneytable

. . . AND, we’re back with Susanna Schick from Carrotmob, an innovative startup CareerMee profiled last week. Find the story here.

After getting her MBA  from North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler business school, Susanna decided to move out to California and work, free, for a company she really believed in.

What’s more is that this isn’t an isolated incident. A study by by David Montgomery and Catherine Ramus of UC Santa Barbara examines the tradeoffs candidates are willing to make when selecting a potential employer.

It found, to the surprise of all involved, that a reputation for ethical conduct and caring policies towards employees ranked 95 percent as important as the financial package and were willing to give up about $15,000 of their paycheck to get it. Read about it here and check back later this week for a more in-depth review.

And if you think MBAs were just bending the truth a bit on a survey to make themselves look good, we’ve got Susanna, who has given up more than the average $15,000 to work for her ideals. Let hear from her. . .

_______________________________________________________________________

CareerMee: Has having an MBA helped you in your role at Carrotmob? AND: Why did you choose to work for an internet start-up, and why Carrotmob?

Susanna: I chose to work as an unpaid intern at Carrotmob because it totally fits with my values, and my passion for saving the planet through conscious consumerism. I get to use what I’ve learned about entrepreneurship, sustainability, marketing, and also tap my large network from b-school. It’s great being with a small and dynamic company where I can be myself. People, including my school’s career management services office, tell me I’d never fit in at a large company, and I think they’re right. I applied to some Fortune 500’s, and wouldn’t turn down the right offer, (I am just an intern here, after all) but I’d think more seriously about the culture shock.

CareerMee: Have you had to make any sacrifices to work for a start-up after business school instead of an established business?

Susanna: Yes, the biggest one is that I am living with my parents. But I made that choice before the Carrotmob internship came up, because I knew I’d rather live with them and be close to San Francisco, where there are so very many companies dedicated to sustainability, than live in a city I’m not excited about and working for a company I don’t believe in.

CareerMee: Do you know if many MBAs are taking similar routes?

Susanna: Because Kenan Flagler provides such an excellent education in entrepreneurship, many of my classmates have chosen to work for startups or even start their own businesses, some of which are focused on social and/or environmental responsibility. It takes tremendous courage of conviction and a willingness to earn less than one did before b-school. I would much rather do something like this that contributes to the greater good and utilizes what I learned in school, than go back to my old job.

CareerMee: Have you found the things you learned in business school to be useful in a practical sense?

Susanna: Absolutely. The one problem I had was that some of the classes felt like I was being fed information through a firehose, to quote our awesome Managerial Accounting professor, Joey Bylinski. So that made it harder to retain what I’d learned, but that’s why I never throw anything away, and also one reason why I stay close with the friends who excel in the areas where I’m weak.

CARROTMOB IN ACTION

CareerMee: Overall impressions of working for a start-up after business schoool – advantages/disadvantages?

Susanna: The positives: It’s exciting and there’s a tremendous sense of potential. I work in a great office culture and in a fantastic neighborhood (South Park in San Francisco has launched a bazillion startups). I work every day with smart, interesting people and I’m learning a ton about early phase business development.

I’m lucky, because it’s a great startup that’s well known, with a founder (Steve Newcomb) who has a history of successful launches under his belt, so I feel like I’m learning more than I would at any other startup solely because of Steve’s strong management talent and transparency.

The only downside: The pay.

Thanks for talking with CareerMee, Susanna, and sharing your story. MBA grads, if you’re looking for work or maybe even want to change careers, check out our site, CareerMee, to put your profile out in front of our over 125 recruiters. Nonprofit, green energy and socially responsible businesses are recruitinng on CareerMee now.

Photo courtesy of Flikr user emdot.

Filed under: MBA News & Commentary, Miscellaneous, Startup Profile, Unusual MBA Jobs | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Next Page »