Parker CMC Networking

[PROFILE]: TJ Wynn '18

Name: TJ Wynn

Hometown: San Francisco, CA

College/Major: UC Berkeley, Economics

Pre-Business School: S&O, Deloitte > Product Specialist Team Lead, TalentBin

Summer Internship: Product Marketing Manager Intern, Salesforce

Full-time: Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce

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PRE-ANDERSON

What did you want to be when you were growing up? I wanted to be a Professional Hockey Player, because there are very few instances on earth where a bearded toothless man is considered sexy.

Why Anderson? While many business schools talk about their culture, Anderson lives and breathes it. Anderson students are highly collaborative and supportive of each other. This combined with the West Coast location and the growing reputation within the Tech industry made Anderson an easy choice for me.  

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Easton Technology Fellow 
Lead ACT Coach, Technology
Social Media and Digital Content Team Lead, Parker CMC
Interviewer & Marketing Presenter, Admissions Ambassador Corps

Favorite class and why? Technology Management, Terry Kramer. Professor Kramer does a great job at mixing up his teaching style. Each class includes current news discussion, a case study, small lecture, and a guest speaker from the industry. Just a few weeks ago, I had lunch with Professor Kramer and the Founder of Siri.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I'm working with a software services firm helping them to come up with strategies and product offerings that will improve their margins and recurring revenue.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: My favorite Anderson trip was Japan Trip for Spring Break 2017. When else are you going to get the chance to tour Japan with 100 of your closest friends?

Part of the Anderson group at the Itsukushima Shrine

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I started to dig through my personal network on LinkedIn to get my foot in the door at target companies. Anything you can do to move your resume to the top of the pile is worth the time and effort.

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? I knew I wanted to stay in tech, but wanted to explore Product Management and Marketing. I enjoy empathizing with users and thinking creatively about products or stories that can change their behaviors.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I utilized every resource Parker had to offer. I met 1:1 with my Advisor Phil Han, attended all Parker workshops (resume, cover letter, interview prep, etc.), and studied information in the online database. Often, prospective students forget to ask about specific career services; the Parker Career Management Center is truly a difference maker for Anderson.

What was your offer timeline? When did you apply? When did you receive your offer for your summer internship/FT job? I turned in applications for the major tech firms in December and January. Interviews were conducted from mid January to the end of February. I had offers at Amazon and Salesforce by March 1st.

Describe your internship. I was tasked with researching industries to determine use cases for analytics and artificial intelligence products. After identifying two target verticals, I designed and implemented marketing programs to achieve revenue growth.

At the annual Salesforce "Dreamforce" Conference, teaching customers about the power of Einstein AI

What are you going to be doing post-Anderson? I accepted my offer to return to Salesforce as a full-time Product Marketing Manager on their analytics and artificial intelligence products.

[PROFILE]: Laurel Casey '18

Name: Laurel Casey

Hometown: San Diego, CA

College/Major: Yale University, History and Economics Double Major

Pre-Business School: Legal Analyst at Goldman Sachs in NYC, Financial Analyst at Wells Fargo in LA

Summer Internship: MBA Intern, Hines Group

Full-time: Associate, Prologis

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PRE-ANDERSON

 

Why business school? I wanted to take the time to really focus on the next step of my career, rather than just searching for openings on LinkedIn. My experience at Anderson has taught me so much about different opportunities within the real estate industry and broadened my local network exponentially.

Why Anderson? I chose Anderson because of the strength of the real estate program (especially our real estate professors!), the truly collaborative and cohesive culture, and the Los Angeles network. I couldn't be happier with my decision. 

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Forte Fellow
Real Estate ACT Coach
President, Anderson Real Estate Association

Favorite class and why? It's a tie between Habibi and Sussman's real estate classes. I was so lucky to have both of them in my specialization. Their classes are pure entertainment due to their contagious and humorous personalities, but I have also learned so much from these successful practitioners. I also appreciate the opportunity to get to know them better through office hours, case competitions, and other on-campus events.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? For my AMR project, our team is developing a Southern California expansion plan for Health House, a high-intensity rowing studio with two existing locations in Kansas City. Specifically, we have been tasked with determining the most viable submarket for their first location and how much this location will cost in terms of capital expenditures, rent, and other expenses. We have incorporated feedback from professionals in the real estate, fitness, and social media communities.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: I did a Global Immersion Trek to Sweden and Finland last summer and was able to bring my dad as my guest. Not only was the trip an amazing opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship within these countries, it was also a great way to meet FEMBA and EMBA students in a fun and informal setting. I really enjoyed the program and highly recommend it to future classes!

A group shot from our global immersion trip to Sweden

At the 2016 UT Austin Case Competition in which our team placed 3^rd

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I participated in the Forte Conference, where I was able to meet recruiters from Hines (my summer internship company) and Prologis (my full-time employer after school). Forte has been a great resource for me during my Anderson experience. I also spent time creating a list of my target companies and doing some research on them. Whatever work you can get done before the Parker Series class starts will only make your life easier!

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? I was in real estate prior to Business School, and have always loved it. I knew I wanted to use business school to transition to a new role within real estate.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I found the Parker Career Series to be helpful in fine tuning my LinkedIn, resume, cover letter, and common interview questions. I also spent a lot of time with my career coach.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 50

How did you land your internship? I networked A LOT. I spent a lot of time combing the alumni networks and sent a lot of cold emails on LinkedIn. I was determined to meet the Hines team, and I think my hustle impressed them. I visited their office maybe 4 times over the span of two months before I received an offer. I learned later that some of my other local connections also called Hines on my behalf. I also met their recruiter at a Forte event before my first year, and was sure to keep in touch with her throughout the process.

Describe your internship. I was an acquisitions and development intern at Hines. I split my time relatively evenly between asset management and leasing assignments, development projects, and underwriting new acquisitions for our various internal and external capital sources.

 

[PROFILE]: Oumar Toure '18

Name: Oumar Toure

Hometown: Abidjan, Ivory Coast

College/Major: Drexel University, Civil Engineering

Pre-Business School: Project Engineer at MR Structures

Summer Internship: Summer Consultant, BCG

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: I wanted to be a professional dancer. I've always been a huge fan of Michael Jackson and wanted to dance like him.

Why business school? I have a long-term goal of starting my own business, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to know a thing or two about business.

Why Anderson? Prior to business school, I worked at a small firm and realized that the tight-knit, supportive relationship fostered there was crucial for my success. It was important for me to select a school that offered a similar environment. Upon visiting Anderson as a prospective student, the attitude of "shared success" was immediately clear.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Consulting ACT coach
Consulting IPT coach
Executive VP, SOMA
VP of Dance, Anderson Creative
VP of Austin tournament, Soccer club

Favorite class and why? My favorite class was Data and Decision (stats) with professor Elisa Long. She made my 8:00am stats class the most fascinating learning experience I’ve ever had. She is excellent at communicating the practical value of all the theoretical elements we learned, which is something I often found missing in engineering school as an undergrad.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I chose the Business Creation Option. I'm on the founding team of Darwin, a media-tech company aiming to monetize growth in the podcast industry through dynamic, targeted ads.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: My favorite Anderson event was traveling to Austin for an MBA soccer tournament. As a first year, it was the first time I really got to bond with second years outside of informational/professional environments. It was at that point that I started to consider the full class of 720 students as my peers, not just the students in my cohort.

Attending the wedding reception of my Anderson classmate and former roommate in Mumbai, India

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I applied to  pre-MBA camps, programs, and fellowships. I was seleted as a BCG MBA fellow, which allowed me to learn a lot about the company throughout the Fall quarter and ultimately helped me land my summer internship.

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? Consulting provides not only the teamwork and problem solving aspects that I loved about my past job as an engineer, but also a variety of functions which I was missing in my previous role.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? Parker has a really well structured program for students recruiting for consulting, you just need to "trust the process." I definitely took advantage of the 1-on-1 sessions to test my answers to behavioral interview questions and to make sure my resume and cover letters were in great shape.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 30+

Hardest interview question? Most of the behavioral interview questions I was asked were pretty straight-forward. One that I had to think about more carefully was "If your ex-boss were to describe the best way to manage you, what would he/she say?"

How did you land your internship? I spent a lot of time preparing for the case interview. I tried to be authentic and show as much personality as possible.

Describe your internship. My client was a large food service provider. In the first phase, our team performed a pricing analysis to help the client better understand the impact of their decisions on the company's revenue. In the second phase, we built a customized software to enable the client to perform such an analysis in the future and retrieve faster insights.

A team-bonding activity with fellow BCG interns

 

[PROFILE]: Melody Akbari '18

Name: Melody Akbari

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

College/Major: UC Berkeley, English Literature

Pre-Business School: EdTech Startups: TestMax Inc and ArborBridge Co.

Summer Internship: Global Business Operations, Google

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: I wanted to be a Novelist. I love to read fiction and thought it would be cool to reach so many people with my stories and imagination.

Why business school? I fell in love with the tech industry and working with product. I wanted to get a formal business degree to help me progress in my career.

Why Anderson? I wanted to attend a school in California that focused on tech and fostered a collaborative environment.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Parker TA
ACT Coach
VP of Interview Prep Training, Admissions Ambassador Corps

Favorite class and why? My favorite class has been Evolution in Global Mobile Industry with Terry Kramer. Professor Kramer is an amazing lecturer who really cares about the pace of the lecture and the recency of the content he is conveying. It was a real treat to be in his class.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? My team is working with a Kenyan startup called Lynk. We are working to improve marketing strategy for their intricate job search product.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: I had a blast on Anderson Japan Trip! It was an amazing way to bond with my peers and learn more about a new culture.

Enjoying Japanese cuisine with classmates

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I tried to do as much research as I could to narrow down my company list. I reached out to alums at the firms of interest and networked with my peers.

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? I was already in the tech industry working with product and marketing and wanted to continue this path.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I went to many small group sessions and always made sure to touch base with my advisor on a weekly basis.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 20-30

Hardest interview question? "How would you monetize Facebook messenger?"

How did you land your internship?  I utilized my network and case-prepped with my peers, the second years, and alums at Google.

Describe your internship. I am working in the Global Business Operations arm at Google on the Sales Mastery Team as a Sales Strategy and Operations MBA Intern. The team sits between Product and Sales. They makes sure that the sales team has processes in place to easily understand new product updates in order to better meet their clients needs and increase revenue.

With the other Class of 2018 Anderson interns

[PROFILE]: Abby Williamson '18

 

 

Name: Abby Williamson '18

Hometown: Northbrook, IL

College/Major: Northwestern University; Theatre and Psychology double major

Pre-Business School: Co-Founder, Storybook Princess Parties; Paralegal, Chubb Insurance

Summer Internship: Summer MBA Associate Marketing Manager, Disney Pixar Cars - Mattel

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job: I wanted to be a Singer, Actress, Dancer, Teacher, and Computer Programmer (in that order).

Why business school? I came to business school to transition into entertainment marketing and gain a solid business education to supplement my less-traditional undergraduate majors.

Why Anderson? I was attracted to Anderson's collaborative culture and strong ties to the entertainment industry.
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Executive Vice President, Anderson Student Association
VP of Alumnae Relations, Women’s Business Connection
VP of Entertainment Career Night, Entertainment Management Association
Class of 2019 Orientation Director
Parker CMC Social Media SWAT Team
Parker TA

Favorite class and why? The core Marketing class with Hal Hershfield. Professor Hershfield is an incredibly engaging lecturer and I looked forward to going to every class.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? We are working on the business plan for a new Broadway musical.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: Going to Sundance Film Festival with the Entertainment Management Association. It was incredible to see four film premieres with talk-backs from the director and stars. It was so much fun bonding with my classmates in Park City.

Hanging with my classmates in Park City at Sundance Film Festival.

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I watched the Parker videos and followed their advice for how to start thinking about the career exploration process.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I did a bunch of mock interviews with Parker, which can be terrifying but extremely helpful. It becomes very apparent very quickly what you are good at and what you still need to work on. I did a few general mock interviews, then came in again once I found out I had gotten interviews and did more company-specific mock interview prep with Jessica Christopher.

What helped you the most in interview prep/career search? My Parker advisors Jessica Christopher and Emily Taylor and the ACT Coaches.

How many informationals did you conduct? 30-40

Describe your internship. I worked in marketing at Mattel on the Disney Cars team. I had an individual project, a group project, intern events (i.e. Meet & Eats with the C-Suite at Mattel, field trips, MBA 101 sessions about the different departments, etc.), coffee chats, and day-to-day work. It was extremely busy and never boring! My manager gave me a lot of responsibility in my day-to-day work and really made me feel like I was part of the team. We would check in every morning and she would give me things to do, from supervising TV Commercial shoots to working with the digital marketing team on our fall social media campaigns to helping with research to plan our 2019 line. She invited me to every meeting she attended, from meetings at Disney with the franchise team to meetings with our team VPs at Mattel. I also attended fun events with my team, including Comic-Con, D23, and an all-day brainstorming event with Disney and Pixar at Disneyland where we got to ride all the rides in Cars Land before the park opened. I had an amazing summer, and this all barely scratches the surface - ask me for an informational if you'd like to learn more!

Me and my group project team right before our final presentation.

What was your offer timeline? I applied to Mattel in December over winter break. I received a first-round interview invitation on January 30. My first-round interview was on February 3 on campus - it was two back-to-back 30 minute interviews. I received a second-round interview invitation on February 7. My second-round interview was in person at Mattel on February 8. I received my offer on February 9.

[PROFILE]: Ghermayn Baker '18

 

Name: Ghermayn baker '18

Hometown: Fernandina Beach, FL

College/Major: Dartmouth College, Arabic Language and Linguistics

Pre-Business School: Senior Content Manager, Zerve Inc.

Summer Internship: Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job: I wanted to be an archaeologist because I had an unhealthy obsession with dinosaurs and wanted to find the next great undiscovered species.

Why business school? I came to business school to transition into a product marketing role at a tech firm, where I could be a consumer advocate for enterprise clients on a larger scale.

Why Anderson? I chose Anderson because of the people. From my fellow student body to the faculty and administration, everybody at Anderson is fully committed to each other's success. The collaborative and student-run nature of the school made me feel at home from the very first time I visited.
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Parker TA
Tech ACT Coach
VP of Academics, Anderson Student Association
VP of Admissions, Black Business Student Association

Favorite class and why? I loved Professor Hal Hershfield's Marketing Management class. It was a great foundational course for marketing frameworks and the guest speakers that he brought in made the class even more engaging.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? TBD

Favorite Anderson event/trip: The 2016 Embracing Diversity Conference provided a unique glimpse into Anderson's commitment to embodying a community that's diverse in thought and culture. The conference was highlighted by a keynote from Rick Welts, the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Phoenix Suns.

With Anderson classmates at the Embracing Diversity Conference

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I spent a lot of reflective time during the summer thinking about the type of functions in which I was most interested and how I could build out my skill-set to match those functions. As a result, I took a free introductory class on R, a programming language commonly used for statistical data analysis.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? My Parker advisor, Regina Regazzi, was heavily invested in my career search process. I met with her countless times throughout the fall to ask questions about different companies, talk through cover letter edits, and craft my story to ensure that every facet of my profile was as strong as possible.

What helped you the most in interview prep/career search? My ACT team was critical in my career search. Because my coaches were second-years that had just finished their internships, they were able to impart tons of first-hand wisdom about their application, interview, and internship experiences.

How many informationals did you conduct? 20

How did you land your internship? I landed my internship through on-campus recruiting.

Describe your internship. TBD

At my first Day on the Job (DOJ) visit at Microsoft

What's the hardest interview question you've been asked? "Which of our products is your least favorite and why?" This was tough because the product that I had in mind to answer this question was one that my interviewer had worked on. I had to think quickly on my feet and answered with this product. The interviewer appreciated my honesty and candidness and it led to me receiving an offer.

What was your offer timeline? I applied through Microsoft OCI round in January. I interviewed on campus in late January, then had a final round at Microsoft in February. I received my offer at the end of February.

[PROFILE]: Thejashree Lakshman Rao '18

 

Name: Thejashree Lakshman Rao '18

Hometown: Bangalore, India

College/Major: BMS College of Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering

Pre-Business School: Technology Consultant at Cisco Systems

Summer Internship: Senior Summer Associate, EY

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job: I wanted to be an Astronomer. I've always been fascinated by space, but wanted to study it from the safety of Earth.

Why business school? I wanted global exposure and an intellectual adventure.

Why Anderson? It was the culture that really attracted me to Anderson. I felt immediately comfortable and connected to the students.
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
ACT Coach
Parker TA
VP - Net Impact
VP - Outdoor Adventure Club

Favorite class and why? Terry Kramer's Evolution and Innovation in the Global Mobile Industry because he was great at facilitating quality class discussions.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I am doing a Business Creation Option (BCO). My team plans to create a YouTube equivalent for podcasts. Our aim is to help users get more customized and relevant content while enabling content creators (podcasters) and podcast advertisers to monetize through targeted advertising.  

Favorite Anderson event/trip: My favorite Anderson trip was the Spring break trip to Israel! I was able to get a glimpse of the country's interesting historical, religious, and political landscape. For me, the most interesting part of the trip was meeting a Holocaust survivor at Jerusalem's Yad Vashem museum. Listening to the story of her escape from Europe and subsequent experiences in the US was very moving. Her positive outlook of life, despite a troubled past, was infectious and inspiring.

With Anderson classmates in Israel

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I conducted Informationals with second years and researched companies of interest. 

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I stuck to the process and did the work. I did my Parker deliverables as well as utilized 1-on-1 advising sessions and small group workshops to navigate the career exploration process and make sure I was interview ready.

How many informationals did you conduct? 30+ 

How did you land your internship? I networked at on-campus recruiting events.

Describe your internship. I was staffed on two projects.  The first was a PE due diligence for a healthcare technology client. I learned a lot about cost modeling and data visualizations. The second was an integration project in the retail space. In this project, I built models to analyze TSA costs and a should-cost model for one of the business functions of the client. Overall, I gained a lot of client exposure and met some amazing people at EY. 

What's the hardest interview question you've been asked? In my Microsoft interview, the only question I was asked was - "Tell me about yourself." For the rest of the hour, I had to ask the interviewer questions and keep the conversation going!

What was your offer timeline? I applied in December. Got an offer in late January.

 

[PROFILE]: Lukas Langermann '18

 

Name: Lukas Langermann

Hometown: Berlin, Germany

College/Major: Northeastern; International Business

Pre-Business School: Investment Consulting at Cambridge Associates

Summer Internship: KPMG Strategy

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job: Growing up, I wanted to be a professional race car driver because driving at 60mph isn't fast enough.

Why business school? I came to business school to transition into consulting.

Why Anderson? I was immediately drawn to Anderson's collaborative culture, driven students, and tight-knit alumni network. Plus, year-round sunny weather is an added bonus!
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
ACT coach
Finance VP of MCA
Communications VP of AIA

Favorite class and why? The best class I've taken so far has been Global Mobile with Professor Kramer, which offered fascinating insights into tech trends.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? TBD

Favorite Anderson event/trip: My favorite Anderson trip has been the Japan trip during spring break--taken with 100+ of my classmates.
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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I completed my Parker summer deliverables and compiled a list of firms to research.

What helped you the most in your interview prep/career search? My advisor Chris Weber continues to be instrumental in providing resources to aid my career exploration.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I attended Parker interview prep workshops and other programming, as well as utilized the feedback from 1-on-1 advising appointments to hone my application materials.

How many informationals did you conduct? 20 and counting.

How did you land your internship? I gained contacts through on-campus recruiting events and networked with associates at the firms.

Describe your internship. KPMG Strategy is the strategy consulting arm for the bigger audit firm. I am apart of their technology practice, which focuses on growth strategy and M&A for clients in that industry.

What was your offer timeline? I submitted applications in December/January, interviewed in January/February, and received all of my offers in February.

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[PROFILE]: Lauren Cook Hummel '17

Name: Lauren Cook Hummel

Hometown: Seattle, WA

College/Major: Washington & Lee; Business Administration and Accounting

Pre-Business School: Corporate Social Responsibility at PwC

Summer Internship: Leaders2Executive Program at T-Mobile

Full-Time: Teaching Fellow, Parker CMC UCLA Anderson School of Management

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job: I found an interview from preschool where I said " I'll have a job and go to work and do stuff"...very specific!

Why business school? CSR was (and still is) a very new career track and I wanted to take time to think about the work I had done through a more academic lens and be strategic about my future.

Why Anderson? I appreciated that Anderson is a part of big institution yet a privatized school, so students get the best of both worlds. People had very diverse career interests which opened my eyes to how different people can use business school to help them succeed.
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
V.P. Tech Trek Seattle
V.P. WBC Conference

Favorite class and why? My favorite class was Leadership and Ethics with Former Mayor Richard Riordan. I had the opportunity to learn from so many Los Angeles-based leaders who served as guest speakers, including Riordan himself!

What was your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I completed a special research project with Dean Shih on the role of gender composition in learning teams on psychological safety, information sharing, and satisfaction of students, which manifested into a 80 page report.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: The 80s party during Orientation Week. My section members decided to take party buses to the event, which I highly recommend.
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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? While living in NYC, I reached out to alums who were in interesting roles and asked for their advice.

What helped you the most in your interview prep/career search? I utilized the resources available through Parker, such as the workshops and 1-on-1 advising sessions! I also worked with second years to aid my career exploration.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I frequently met with my advisor Emily Taylor, which I found very beneficial. Meeting with the Parker advisors demystifies the process. They are always willing to go above and beyond to ensure that you're prepared to land the perfect internship.

How many informationals did you conduct? 40.

How did you land your internship? Through an on-campus event; I connected with the recruiter and she reached out to me when the L2E internship was created because she thought I would be a good fit.

Describe your internship. I managed 60 employees at a T-Mobile call center and designed an employee engagement strategy for the entire 600-person call center.

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I will be staying at Anderson as a Teaching Fellow for Parker CMC!

Day 1 of my T-Mobile Internship with the only other MBA Intern in the L2E program

[PROFILE]: Jessica Robson '17

Name: Jessica Robson

Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden / Newport Beach, CA

College/Major: Dartmouth College, Economics & Psychology

Pre-Business School: Digital Strategy, Starwood Hotels; CPG & Hospitality, Parthenon-EY

Summer Internship: HR Strategy Intern, Dimensional Fund Advisors

Full-Time: Senior Associate, PwC

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: When I was younger, I wanted to be a professional track & field athlete.

Why business school? I wanted to switch into a specific function in the short-term, as well as gain the education and career skills necessary for potential career transitions possible in the future.

Why Anderson? I came to Anderson because I immediately felt at home with the students who are not only driven, but also genuinely happy and fully engaged on campus. Additionally, the culture is extremely collaborative and great for the career switcher. Being able to build a professional network that has strong ties on the West Coast was also a plus for me.
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
President, Admissions Ambassador Corps
Parker TA
ACT Coach
Board Member, Anderson Affiliates

Favorite class and why? My favorite class was Urban Real Estate Investing with Paul Habibi. Although it is not directly related to my field, the material is applicable to any personal form of real estate investing and Habibi is a fascinating practitioner to learn from.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? A local antiques retailer, Big Daddy’s Antiques, had recently entered the wedding market. My AMR group was tasked with optimizing their wedding & event strategy with the goal of increasing demand and profitability of their events in the future.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: Going to Challenge for Charity (C4C) weekend with 200 of my classmates each spring, has been one of my favorite Anderson traditions. C4C is a year-long fundraising competition between eight West Coast business schools that culminates in a sports weekend at Stanford, where the schools compete. This year, I played flag football, basketball and volleyball, which was a great way to bond with my classmates and meet students from other MBA programs.

Playing flag football with my Anderson classmates during C4C weekend

One week before graduation, completing an Anderson tradition of masking my name tent on the stairs leading up to campus

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I completed a pre-MBA internship at an experiential marketing agency called Sparks in NYC, followed by some part-time work for a sports-tech startup in order to explore my initial interests in marketing and sports. I also did an extensive amount of research on other industries / functions I thought I might be interested in.

What helped you the most in your interview prep/career search? Informationals, informationals, informationals! There’s no better way to learn about a company, both in terms of understanding what they do and learning about the company culture. Determining whether you’re a fit for the company and whether the company is a fit for you is critical before starting the interview process.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I went to my assigned advisor Jessica Christopher countless times to discuss the companies I was targeting, to work on my resume and cover letter, and to conduct mock interviews. A great thing about Parker is that each advisor has a specialty and is open to talking to all students.

How many informationals did you conduct? 186 total - 84 during first year, 56 during my internship, 46 during second year. No joke, I went through my calendar and counted!

How did you land your internship? Before the final round interview, I talked to everyone at UCLA Anderson who had interned at DFA the previous year (across all functions, not just HR), I scheduled additional phone calls with other practitioners I had met. I did all the research I could.  First, to fully understand the company’s investment philosophy and how it operates its general business, and second, to understand how the company is innovating on the people-front. I think being able to go in with questions that clearly showed I’d done my diligence was a big factor in landing the internship.

Describe your internship. As an HR Strategy intern at DFA, I worked with several different teams within the HR organization. Throughout the summer, I designed a standardized process for creating, maintaining and updating job descriptions over time, and also worked to introduce a new titling / promotional structure for three divisions of the company. The project was approved for implementation upon my departure and gave me high visibility with senior executives within the company, including the COO. I feel very fortunate for the opportunity to be a real change-agent during my time with DFA.

With fellow MBA interns at Dimensional

What will you be doing post-Anderson? During August and September, I will be serving as a Parker Teaching Fellow, working with the Class of 2019. In October, I will be joining PwC’s People & Organization practice as a Senior Associate. Within that practice, I will have the opportunity to advise technology and entertainment clients on human capital related issues – both here and in the Bay Area.