Parker CMC Networking

[PROFILE]: Margaux LaPointe '17

Name: Margaux LaPointe

Hometown: Lebanon, PA

College/Major: Villanova University; Communication

Pre-Business School: Manager of Film Development at Denver & Delilah Films

Summer Internship: Associate Marketing Manager Intern,Campbell Soup Company

Full-Time: Associate Marketing Manager, Campbell Soup Company

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PRE-ANDERSON

Why business school? I applied to business school to transition into CPG marketing and brand management.

Why Anderson? The people at Anderson made all the difference. I felt like I was part of the community before I even made my decision. Students, alumni and administrators reached out to me, truly demonstrating the collaborative culture.
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
President, Marketing Association
VP of Admissions, Women’s Business Connection
Marketing ACT Coach

Favorite class and why? Negotiations Behavior with Miguel Unzueta was one of my favorite classes. In each class session, we conducted one-on-one or group negotiations. I found the experiential learning to be very effective. In addition to job or contract negotiations, I learned strategies for gaining buy-in in any situation.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I worked with the International Labour Organization, the UN specialized agency devoted to promoting social justice, human rights, and labor rights. The goal of the project was to generate foreign investment and local employment in conflict zones in Southeast Asia.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: For my Applied Management Research project, I was lucky to travel with my teammates to Southeast Asia. We traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, Bali, and Indonesia, as well as Manila, Philippines to conduct case study research. This was a once in a lifetime experience from both business and cultural perspectives.

With my AMR teammate at the International Labour Organization's annual Asian and Pacific Regional Meeting

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? Before business school, I did a lot of self-reflection. I wrote a list of things I liked and didn't like about my past jobs, focusing on culture since I know that will be important for my long-term happiness. I also listed my favorite projects, which was very useful in shaping my resume.

What helped you the most in your interview prep/career search? Informational interviews were the most helpful in preparation for the recruiting process. They provided deeper insight into the role and culture at each company. I am especially grateful for the Anderson network since alumni were always willing to set some time aside.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I frequently met with my Parker advisor, Jessica Christopher. She has worked with marketing students over many years, and was especially helpful in identifying alumni at my target companies that do not recruit on campus.

How many informationals did you conduct? 40.

How did you land your internship? It started with a great informational with an Anderson alumnus! He helped me through the application process at Campbell Soup.

Describe your internship. I interned in the Americas Simple Meals and Beverages division of the Campbell Soup Company at world headquarters in Camden, NJ, and lived a short train ride away in Philadelphia. I was placed on the Meals and Sauces Brand Strategy team, which works on the category’s Annual Operating Plan, long-term innovation within the category, and other big picture analysis and strategy. I worked on the Prego brand, and examined health and wellness trends in the Italian sauce category. My project was divided into an analytical situation assessment – where I presented the landscape of the category and health and wellness trends across categories – and the strategic recommendation – where I presented my consumer research and product ideas.

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I am excited to be returning to Campbell Soup full-time as an Associate Marketing Manager!

Making a chicken parm pizza in Campbell's Test Kitchen

[PROFILE]: Lynn Compton '17

Name: Lynn Compton

Hometown: Boulder City, NV

College/Major: NYU, Fine Arts & Nursing

Pre-Business School: Critical Care Nurse, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center

Summer Internship: Summer Senior Implementation Coach, McKinsey & Company

Full-Time: Senior Implementation Coach, McKinsey & Company

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: I wanted to be a pioneer on the Oregon Trail because I was obsessed with Laura Ingalls Wilder and the "Little House on the Prairie" books.

Why business school? When the 2014 Ebola crisis hit, I became very involved with developing the UCLA Health System's response program and realized that I enjoyed working at the systemic level in a more strategic capacity. I decided that I wanted to go into healthcare consulting and I knew that an MBA would provide me with the foundational business knowledge I lacked as a clinician.

Why Anderson? I loved working at UCLA and was excited about the prospect of staying on campus. I reached out to Anderson's Healthcare Business Association to learn more about recruiting opportunities, and was excited to learn that I would have access to all of my top choice companies and an amazing group of students.
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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Consulting ACT Coach
VP of Business Development, Healthcare Business Association.

Favorite class and why? I loved Prof. Tom Wurster's Insight to Outcome class. It felt like a capstone course for my summer consulting internship.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? We are working with the South African Human Science Research Council to develop a sustainable screening and treatment system for non-communicable diseases in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: I had an incredible time traveling to South Africa to do primary research for our AMR project. We got to visit the oncology ward of a local public hospital and accompany a community caregiver as she made home visits. I loved being able to use my clinical background in the service of a business problem. Going on safari was pretty cool too!

Taking a quick break from AMR research to squeeze in a safari at Krugar National Park

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I did all of my Parker deliverables! I also worked to identify my strengths and weaknesses and thought about how they mapped to the roles I was interested in.

What helped you the most in your interview prep/career search? My amazing ACT (Anderson Career Teams) coaches, IPT (Interview Prep Teams) coaches and the awesome Parker team helped the most! I think I also benefited from having a pretty narrow recruiting focus. Although I limited my options, it helped me to best focus my time and energy.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I had regular meetings with my primary advisor Phil Han and tried to squeeze in chats with Chris Weber whenever possible. Parker was helpful at every stage of the recruiting prep process but I found the mock interviews to be particularly valuable!

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 30+

Hardest interview question? I had a final round case question about mining logistics that was pretty tough!

How did you land your internship? I networked with members of McKinsey through coffee chats and informationals. Forging these relationships early, helped me in preparation for the on-campus recruiting process.

Describe your internship. I worked on a large health system transformation for a private equity client who had recently acquired a chain of hospitals. I initially joined the business development team, but two weeks into my summer we pivoted and launched a brand new strategy engagement. I helped each hospital build out an ambulatory strategy that would support each facilities’ unique value proposition and strategic goals.

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I will be returning to McKinsey full-time this September!

My last day as a McKinsey Summer Intern with my amazing all-female team.

 

[PROFILE]: Grady Miller '17

Name: Grady Miller

Hometown: Pasadena, CA

College/Major: Stanford University, International Relations

Pre-Business School: Associate, Shamrock Capital Advisors

Summer Internship: Vance Street Capital, Industrials focused PE fund

 

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: When I was younger, I wanted to be a lawyer. My father is a lawyer and the most incredible person I know. I always wanted to be just like him.

Why business school? My major in college definitely developed my soft skills. Business school was the perfect way to supplement the analytical skills I needed to succeed in my work in private equity.

Why Anderson? Anderson's location and alumni network played a large part in my decision. I knew I wanted to stay in LA and, that being able to constantly network with local firms would be integral to finding a job post graduation.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Fink Private Equity Fellow
Venture Fellow
Private Equity Director, Investment Finance Association

Favorite class and why? I loved strategy with Professor Santikian. This class focused on comparing companies and industries and was very relevant to private equity.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? My team worked with Big Daddy's Antiques to optimize their pricing model and staff scheduling system in order to increase profitability, particularly to appeal to the wedding venue market.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: Ski Trip! It was an incredible time. I made so many friends during this trip and have amazing memories (and photos) on and off the mountain.

With a couple of my Anderson co-penguins on Ski Trip

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I worked on my resume and put together a lengthy list of contacts for networking. Sourcing a job in private equity requires lots of legwork and coffee chats!

What helped you the most in your interview prep/career search? Working with Parker on solidifying my "story" has been the most helpful in my preparation. Through small group workshops and advising appointments, I've learned how to expertly articulate my experience and strengths while networking and interviewing.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I used Parker to strengthen my interview skills. I am not always the best at giving concise answers and I was able to hone this skill though practice.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 30+

Hardest interview question? "You have 48 hours to evaluate this company? Would you invest in it? Where in the capital structure would you invest? Please provide corresponding model and rationale."

How did you land your internship? The Price Center set up an informational with Vance Street, which turned into an interview. 

Describe your internship. I interned at Vance Street Capital, a firm that specializes in industrial private equity. I worked on the acquisition of a portfolio company. There was no ERP system and analyzing business trends was very difficult! I spent lots of time in Excel.

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I will be returning as a Senior Associate at Vance Street Capital full-time!

[PROFILE] Lizeth Chiprez '17

Name: Lizeth Chiprez

Hometown: Sunnyside, WA

College/Major: Stanford University, Political Science

Pre-Business School: Human Resources at Reasoning Mind

Summer Internship: Internal Consulting at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: When I was younger, I wanted to be a teacher by day and a doctor by night, until I realized that I wouldn't be able to sleep.

Why business school? Prior to business school, I spent my career working in education nonprofits and planned to transition into the public sector in the long-term. I knew business school would be the best way to acquire formal management skills and ultimately increase my chances of making this switch. 

Why Anderson? I wanted to attend a school with a very strong career center, given my plans to switch into consulting. I was also impressed with the diversity of Anderson's leadership and staff. Lastly, I was drawn to Los Angeles and its access to major companies and nonprofits, startups, and a variety of outdoor activities, entertainment, and food.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Co-President of Latino Management Student Association
VP of Strategy for Strategy & Operations Management Association

Favorite class and why? I loved Corporate Financial Reporting with Professor Eric Sussman. Although the material was challenging, it was great to do a case study analysis on my own and discuss the cases with my classmates and Professor Sussman. This class made me excited to review financial statements, which I never thought I would say.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? My client is Conservation International, an NGO that works on conservation efforts around the world. My team's focus is on the commercialization of sustainably caught crabs and clams in the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador. We've traveled to Ecuador twice to do primary research and I've really enjoyed getting to know my teammates better by working on this project for the past six months.

with my AMR team in the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador

Favorite Anderson event/trip: I had a blast on the Japan Trek with 100+ classmates. It was my first time in Japan and I got to know a few of my classmates better as we explored the country together.

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I had informational phone calls with a few consultants. I also started working on my resume and cover letter through the Parker Series. As a Management Leadership for Tomorrow and Consortium Fellow, I also attended events where I had a chance to connect with several companies before starting at Anderson.

What helped you the most in your interview prep/career search? Both the Parker Series and Management Consulting Association provided great career development resources, but it was important for me to identify exactly what I needed in terms of personal development. Once I identified my specific needs, I was able to make much more progress.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? Meeting one-on-one with Parker staff and my advisor, Chris Weber, was helpful. I met with them numerous times throughout my first year to talk through my situation and work on next steps. When I was ready to decide among my offers, Parker staff was there to help me think through my decision. Thank you, Parker!

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 25.

Hardest interview question? I was surprised when an interviewer asked me what I wanted my gravestone to say. This was one of the first few questions he asked me, and it helped break the ice. I ended up really connecting with this interviewer and getting the offer.

How did you land your internship? Initially, I used my network from Management Leadership for Tomorrow to connect me with people at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. After I was able to get my resume to the recruiter, I followed a standard interview process.

Describe your internship. I was an internal consultant for the Digital Platforms and Ecosystems team at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Both of my projects focused on how to make certain efforts more effective through the use of technology.

at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation HQ in Seattle, WA

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I will be heading to Accenture as a full-time strategy consultant.

[PROFILE]: Tiffany Lu '17

Name:Tiffany Lu

Hometown: Arcadia, CA

College/Major: Duke University, Economics

Pre-Business School: Educational Consultant at Arcadia Academy and Tour Coordinator at AM Only

Summer Internship: Investment Banking Summer Associate at Moelis & Company

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: When I was younger I wanted to be an actress.

Why business school? I wanted to transition from working in my family's business to a larger company and knew that business school would be the best way to accomplish this goal.

Why Anderson? After spending four years out-of-state for college, I realized that I want to live in southern California permanently. Location was a big factor for me in choosing Anderson, but I knew the school would be a great cultural fit after I visited campus and spoke with current students. I also knew that Anderson has a fantastic career advising team that could help guide me through the transition that I wanted to make.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
VP of Marketing for AAC
Investment Banking ACT coach
VP of Career for AMSA

Favorite class and why? The best class I've taken was Corporate Financial Reporting with Professor Sussman. He is incredibly engaging (even when teaching accounting) and taught concepts that were very useful for my summer internship in banking.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I'm conducting a special research project by working with my marketing professor, Hal Hershfield, on his areas of study regarding inter-temporal choice and the future self.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: My favorite Anderson trip was the Israel trek during spring break. There's nothing better than exploring a country halfway around the world with 50 of my Anderson classmates and their significant others. We had so much fun touring around Israel while learning about the rich culture and history of the region.

with Anderson classmates on Israel Trek

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? Parker had assigned us a few deliverables to work on over the summer, such as editing resumes and building personal brand through our LinkedIn profiles. These were very helpful in giving us a head start on thinking about recruiting before school started.

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? I didn't know I was interested in investment banking until I took the core accounting class in the fall and realized I liked financial statement analysis, which prompted me to look into careers in finance. Within finance, I found banking to be the most interesting and wanted to give it a try.

What helped you the most in interview prep/career search? The ACT coaches (second-year students who had been through the recruiting cycle and volunteer their time to support the first-years) were indispensable in guiding me and helping me catch up since I came late to the process.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? Parker held small group sessions before our interviews to prep us on behavioral and technical questions. Getting constructive feedback on our answers from advisors was instrumental to my success in actual interviews. I also appreciate all of the time my advisors spent in helping me craft my story to explain how my non-traditional background led me to pursue banking.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 50.

Hardest interview question? How many parking meters are in Los Angeles county?

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

Describe your internship. As a Summer Associate, I was staffed on multiple transactions and shadowed a full-time Associate on the deals. The deals were all in different phases of the M&A, restructuring, or capital raise processes, so I got a great overview of the type of work involved in strategic financial advisory.

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I'll be going back to Moelis as a full-time Associate!

Class of 2017 bankers thank our advisors, Regina and Britta, for helping us land our summer internships. 

 

[PROFILE] Katie Lilly '17

Name: Katie Lilly

Hometown: Wilmette, IL

College/Major: Cornell University, Psychology and Film Studies

Pre-Business School: Associate Producer at NBC Universal

Summer Internship: Associate Marketing Manager Intern, General Mills

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: As a child, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian because I've always loved animals and I wanted to help them in any way that I could.

Why business school? I had been working in television for six years and wanted to gain a better understanding of the business decisions that went on behind-the-scenes. I was interested managing that decision making process. I also wanted to explore whether my passion was for the entertainment industry or for my job function, which was heavily project management focused.

Why Anderson?  I wanted a school with a strong career center, a focus on core curriculum, and a base in LA. Upon visiting Anderson, the welcoming community immediately stood out.  I connected with a few students who previously worked in entertainment, and they were incredibly helpful and friendly. The balance of fundamentals and community were the biggest factors in my decision.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Marketing ACT Coach
IPT Coach
Parker TA
VP of Career Development for Marketing Association
Co-President of Joint Ventures
Co-President of Anderson Volleyball Club

Favorite class and why? My favorite course has been Marketing Strategy with Andres Terech. It served as a culmination of all of my marketing course practicum and featured an online simulation that allowed us to test our knowledge in the real world. He always held out on the results of each round until the end of the class, and the competition got pretty fierce!

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I'm working with a spirits company to relaunch a historical brand of beer. We are doing research on what people remember from the brand, then going to consumers to see what would resonate in today's market. Our final deliverable is to provide a brand positioning for the relaunch, as well as some recommendations on how to market it. For someone who is going into marketing - it's pretty much the perfect AMR project. And it's about beer - which is fun, too!

Favorite Anderson event/trip: My favorite Anderson event has been C4C weekend. It was really fun to hang out with MBAs from various schools and to compete with my Anderson classmates. I played eight hours of volleyball in the rain and I couldn't have had a better time. Plus, ending that night with a 'Battle of the Bands' and a giant dance party wasn't a bad thing either! Who knew we had so many talented MBA musicians?

Beach volleyball during C4C weekend

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I finished my work on season 1 of Mr. Robot and began doing a ton of research on industries and potential functions in entertainment. I wanted to come in with a clear understanding of what I wanted to do and who my initial network was. As a result, I was able to hit the ground running once I got on campus.

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? I was split between industries but I was fairly sure that I wanted to pursue marketing as a function. After doing a lot of initial research on my own (Parker e-book, WAMO panels, and external searches), I then set up a ton of informationals with 2nd years and young alums to talk about what they were doing. I was able to determine what sounded most interesting for me and what I valued in a new opportunity.

What helped you the most in interview prep/career search? Hands down, my biggest resources were ACT and IPT. The 2nd years gave me so much guidance and time. Since they had been through it recently, they were able to give personal advice, both on the career side and the personal side. Having 2nd years to turn to when I had questions was a great resource.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I was in Parker pretty regularly during the first quarter and met several times with advisors to workshop my resume and cover letters. Through exploration, I gained a pretty good understanding about what I wanted to pursue, but I couldn't have gotten my resume and cover letters in shape without Parker.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 45.

Hardest interview question? "Teach me something." This was a request that I wasn't prepared for and required me to think on my feet. I ended up instructing the two interviewers how to teach a dog how to sit. Neither of them had a dog or any experience with training, so it ended up being the perfect thing to talk about and I got the internship offer!

How did you land your internship? I conducted at least four mock interviews with 2nd years before my two on-campus interviews with General Mills. I was so excited when they called me with an offer.

Describe your internship. Last Summer, I worked as an Associate Marketing Manager intern on Progresso Soup. The internship focused on three different projects, two big projects and one smaller project. Through these projects, I had the opportunity to work on innovation, renovation, brand communications, and trade/merchandising strategy through my projects. General Mills is a very collaborative and relationship-based culture, so I did a lot of coffee chats and worked to make as many contacts as possible at the company over the summer.

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I'm heading back to General Mills for a full-time role as an Associate Marketing Manager!

With fellow interns at an event for General Mills' 150th anniversary

 

[PROFILE] Ankit Pandey '17

Name: Ankit Pandey

Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand

College/Major: University of Auckland; Robotics Engineering

Pre-Business School: Management Consulting at EY

Summer Internship: Strategy and BD at Google

Full-Time: I’ll be returning to Google full-time with the Office of the CTO!

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PRE-ANDERSON

 

Childhood dream job and why: I wanted to be a professional soccer player because I loved the sport and the idea of playing at a club where my idols played was exciting. Plus, the players all got free NIKE cleats!

Why business school? I had amassed a variety of skills and experiences through my work in management consulting and a couple of my own start-ups. I wanted to transfer those skills to a career in the tech industry and attending business school on the west coast was the perfect way to accomplish these goals.

Why Anderson? Anderson is the best school on the west coast--especially for those interested in recruiting for tech. However, the greatest quality of Anderson is the people that it attracts. They are ambitious thought leaders and collaborators.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
VP Admissions, Andertech
VP Manbassadors, WBC
Director, Tiger 21 ELDP
Parker TA
ACT Coach

Favorite class and why? My favorite class was Operations & Technology Management with Professor Roels. Operations is a critical element of a business, and Professor Roels presents a challenging subject in an easy to absorb way, to a class with a varied level of subject-matter knowledge.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? I'm designing a go-to-market strategy for a garment technology company.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: My favorite Anderson trip was the spring Japan Trip! Around 130 Andersons students, including Sig O's, had the opportunity to explore a new country with Japanese locals. We gained culturally meaningful experiences and learned about contemporary, commercial components of the economy.

With Anderson classmates in Japan

Best Anderson Memory: When 14 Anderson friends made the journey to New Zealand to explore my country with me and my family for a week

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I built target company lists, revised my resume and conversed with Anderson students and recent alumni.

What helped you the most in interview prep/career search? Meeting with Parker advisors, students, alumni, and extended network was most helpful. Their varied experiences and points of views helped to frame my own opinion and expertly prepare for me interviews.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I took advantage of weekly small group sessions with advisors. They are very knowledgeable and show an amazing amount of EQ in working with students to find clear outcomes.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 30.

How did you land your internship? I applied to Google and notified them of a competing offer. After that I received an interview request.

Describe your internship. I worked at Google Maps on the enterprise team. I designed the sales strategy for new products and early phase business development to enable the team to go to market and validate the product-market fit.

At Google Headquarters with Anderson classmate Will Fox '17.

[PROFILE] Jen Ockelmann '17

Name: Jen Ockelmann

Hometown: Redondo Beach, CA

College/Major: Stanford, American History

Pre-Business School: Sales & Marketing in Tech Media

Summer Internship: Franchise Management at NBCUniversal

 

 

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: I wanted to be a newspaper editor. I love writing, and I love working on a deadline!

Why business school? I knew I wanted to move from the tech start-up world into Entertainment, grow my leadership, networking and quant skills, and relocate to LA. Business school was the right way to achieve all of those goals at once!

Why marketing? I have always been passionate about understanding how brands connect with their audiences and build ongoing brand loyalty while also telling incredible stories. In my previous role in sales and marketing, I worked directly with entertainment clients in television and gaming and helped them with their marketing plans, and realized that I wanted to be on the other side of the table!

Why Anderson? Since I wanted to be in Entertainment, there's no better place to be than Anderson. Between the location in LA and the huge alumni network in Entertainment, it was by far the best option.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
Executive Vice President, Anderson Student Association
Entertainment ACT Coach
VP of Student Relations, Entertainment Management Association
Member, Marketing Association and Anderson Wine Club

What is the best class you've taken at Anderson? Entertainment Marketing with Professor Sanjay Sood was an outstanding class! In addition to learning the ins and outs of film and TV marketing from people who had actually done it, we had incredible speakers (such as the showrunner of Lost!) and even had the opportunity to build marketing plans for films and television shows that weren't yet available to the public and present them to the marketing teams at NBC and Universal Pictures. Even more exciting? Seeing a billboard idea I had suggested out in the wild!

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? My team is working with Cricket Wireless (subsidiary of AT&T) to ideate and analyze potential new revenue streams to work alongside their current prepaid wireless business.

Favorite Anderson event/trip: Ski Trip! Skiing all day with 150 friends and staying in a house with 10 of my sectionmates was a total blast and a great way to cement a lot of amazing friendships.

Celebrating at my wedding last summer with some of my amazing sectionmates #d-unit

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? Before business school began, I started reading the entertainment industry trades (The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Variety) and keeping up on the news from some of my favorite target companies.

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? I had always been passionate about entertainment and media and had enjoyed following trends and learning about the studio business. In my previous role, I realized that I most enjoyed working on strategic marketing plans for entertainment clients. And once I got to Anderson, I loved all of the preparation I was doing to recruit for entertainment.

What helped you the most in interview prep/career search? The most helpful things during my process were: 1) ACT - I had an amazing ACT coach who helped me with interview prep, introduced me to various contracts, and was an incredible cheerleader throughout my entire first year. 2) The Anderson alumni network - having coffee chats with alums opened my eyes to so many teams and roles I'd never even heard of! So many of them were incredibly helpful and gave fantastic advice and insight. 3) Parker - The Parker series, the small group sessions, and 1-on-1 meetings with Parker advisors helped me chart my path to landing the perfect internship.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I utilized everything I learned during the Parker Series. From resume/cover letter prep to how to seek out alums and networking prospects to how to answer specific fit questions, it was all incredibly beneficial during my job search. But even more importantly, the personal attention of each of the Parker advisors was a huge part of the search for me, especially on those tough days when things didn't seem to be going my way. Several advisors stepped up to help me brainstorm options, practice for interviews, critique my application materials, and even just talk through my whole job search process from a practical and emotional perspective.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 20

Hardest interview question? "If we were taking a new product into India, how would you approach outlining a marketing plan for this new market?" I got tripped up by this case question during my first interview and learned a valuable lesson about prepping more diverse case questions in the future.

How did you land your internship? I met a great contact through Entertainment Career Night. He didn't work in marketing, but we hit it off. He introduced me to a colleague from a totally different team who worked in the office next to his. I met that colleague for coffee and chatted with him on and off for a few months, which resulted in a job offer!

Describe your internship. As a member of the Franchise Management team at Universal Pictures, I helped work on long-term marketing strategy for some of the company's biggest franchise properties, including Jurassic World, Fast and Furious, Despicable Me, and the upcoming Monsters Universe. We built ongoing franchise plans and strategy decks, worked with consumer products and theatrical marketing to coordinate strategies, and helped put ongoing activations into effect. Additionally, I participated in a cross-divisional project with other Universal marketing interns, which gave me the opportunity to put together a full marketing plan for an upcoming film and present it to upper level management, including the President of Worldwide Marketing!

Fun fact: The thing people ask about most on my resume is that I have "superheroes" in my "interests" section, and I've had more than one interview turn into a conversation about a hypothetical battle between their favorite superhero and mine.

Just a regular day at work: visiting Hogwarts with classmate Josie Chai while interning for NBCUniversal last summer

[PROFILE] Corey McMillen '17

Name: Corey McMillen

Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

College/Major: University of Central Florida, Criminal Justice

Pre-Business School: United States Marine Corps Logistics & Supply Officer

Summer Internship: Summer Associate, Bain & Company (LA Office)

 

 

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job and why: When I was younger, I wanted to be an engineer. In High School, I was fascinated with math and physics. Civil engineering seemed like a neat way to design and construct infrastructure that would benefit our society.

Why business school? I loved being a Marine, but after 11 years I decided it was time to transition to the private sector. To make the transition, business school was the best way to develop the business acumen necessary to succeed. Plus, two years of business school seemed like a nice decompression period after serving in the Marines.

Why Anderson? The most important reason was location and the implications it would have on my B-School experience and, ultimately, my future. I was stationed just north of San Diego before applying to school and had absolutely fallen in love with the west coast lifestyle. The people and culture on this side of the country are like no other, and I knew these were critical ingredients to my MBA experience. So location and people ended up informing my B-school search, which led me to Anderson after my boss recommended visiting the campus. Once I visited campus and met with current students, I was sold. It was immediately apparent that these were the kind of people with whom I wanted to build friendships and a network.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
First-year Section President, Section B
ACT Coach
IPT Coach
VP of Education, Management Consulting Association
VP of Corporate Outreach, Anderson Veterans Association
Orientation Section Leader

Favorite class and why? Insight-to-Outcome with Professor Wurster. Most MBA courses are insight-centric and do not address the challenges leaders will face in planning and implementing strategic initiatives, both big and small. Professor Wurster's class addresses the entire sequence and provides students with practical frameworks that are applicable to our careers. This class is further enhanced by the 35 years of experience Professor Wurster brings to the table from The Boston Consulting Group, where he was a managing director.

Best Anderson memory thus far: Receiving the John Wooden Global Leadership Fellowship. As a huge John Wooden fan, I couldn't have been more honored or humbled to receive this award.

What is your Applied Management Research (AMR) Project? Our team is working on a growth and customer segmentation strategy for a startup that provides an end-to-end business software solution to micro-entrepreneurs. I have a really great team, advisor, and client. It has been a lot of fun!

Favorite Anderson trip: The Japan trip, during Spring break, was an amazing experience. It combined a rich cultural experience with the fun of being with Anderson classmates.

Pre-dinner photo under the Endeavour space shuttle at the John Wooden Awards Ceremony

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I spent a lot of time working on my resume and 30-second pitch. I knew fall was going to be fast and furious, so I wanted to have a strong foundation before starting the Parker Series.

How did you figure out what industry/function you wanted to pursue? I did a lot of research. The Anderson Veterans Association was extremely helpful with this before I even started at Anderson. From discussions with the AVA and research I conducted, it became crystal clear that consulting was the right choice for me.

What helped you the most in interview prep/career search? There isn't one particular thing that comes to mind. To me, the recruitment process is comprised of a chain of activities that reinforce each other. For example, if you are not able to clearly articulate your skills in a resume, the probability you will get them across in an interview is quite low. Therefore, what helped me most was the structure that Parker provided to this process, thus enabling me to focus on my weak spots and build on my strengths.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? I used Parker in just about every aspect of my job search. Recruitment for consulting is rather structured, which enabled me to leverage Parker along the way. For example, I wrote my resume, my ACT coach reviewed it, I made revisions, my career advisor reviewed it, and then I polished it up. The same cycle was true for my cover letter and fit interview preparation.

How many informational interviews did you conduct? 15. A few informationals were highly beneficial, leading to mock interviews and social events with firms I was applying to.

Hardest interview question? A partner at a consulting firm ask me, "If I called your previous boss right now, what would he say about you?"

How did you land your internship? I applied to Bain & Company through on-campus recruiting (Parker). While there was a lot of networking to receive interview invites in the fall, internship offers in consulting are all about performance during the interview, so preparation for case interviews was critical.

Describe your internship. Working at Bain & Company was an incredible experience. The internship began with global training in Cape Cod, where I was lucky enough to meet fellow interns from around the world. After a week of training, I was assigned to a cost transformation project for an energy client in Canada. While there was no standard week, our team flew out on Mondays or Tuesdays and returned on Thursday evenings. The work was face-paced and extremely challenging but also very rewarding. There was also a lot of fun mixed in throughout the summer where interns could visit the Bain LA Office for social events in Southern California.

What will you be doing post-Anderson? I accepted a full-time offer as a consultant for Bain & Company.

Anderson interns at Bain & Company Los Angeles

With the Anderson crew on Japan trip

[PROFILE] Betsy Blakeley '17

Name: Betsy Blakeley

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

College: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Pre-Business School: Graphic Communication

Summer Internship: Product Development, The Honest Company

Full-Time: Associate Brand Manager, Mattel

 

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PRE-ANDERSON

Childhood dream job: As a child, my dream job was to be a doctor.

Why business school? Having come from a more a creative background, as a former graphic designer, I was interested in building out my business acumen.

Why Anderson? I love LA and was excited about going to a business school with such a strong network. I was also really impressed with the entrepreneurial resources available, but the friendly and laid-back student culture is what really sealed the deal.

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ANDERSON

Anderson Activities & Leadership: 
VP Social of Women’s Business Connection
Marketing Director of Entrepreneur Association
Member of Anderson Wine Club, Design for America, and Marketing Association

Favorite class and why? Business Plan Development! I had always been interested in starting my own business, but was overwhelmed by the idea of actually taking the steps to make it happen. This class helped me and a group of classmates break our business idea down into a cohesive plan – such a valuable skill!

Business Creation Option (BCO) Project: I applied to the Business Creation Option for my research project (with the aforementioned business plan). We are working to launch high-end baby durables--differentiating with a modern, minimalist style. It has been a great learning experience and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to try to launch something in such a supportive environment.

Best Anderson memory thus far: So many to choose from! Travel aside, presenting my final business plan to a panel of investors was such a great experience. Anytime you cross the finish line of an overwhelming goal, that sense of accomplishment is incomparable!

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RECRUITING

What did you do the summer before business school to prep for fall recruiting? I worked through the Parker summer deliverables and really put in the time with my resume, cover letter, and target list (I actually did this on my train/ bus days while traveling before school started). This made the recruiting prep much easier once I got to campus.

How did you utilize Parker in your job search? In so many ways! I REALLY committed to the Parker deliverables, met frequently with my advisor, attended interview workshops, and went through a decent amount of on-campus recruiting. Parker is such a great resource – you likely won't have the resource of such focused career coaching at any other point in your life!

How many informational interviews did you conduct? Over 20. Each informational provides you with invaluable information about a given company. I would say the best informationals are with alums. They have been so helpful in my career search. I have used the same techniques with my entrepreneurial venture!   

Hardest interview question? A recruiter last year asked me to “Teach [him] something”. I was caught off guard but starting teaching him the German words for school supplies (all I could remember from high school German). I don’t know why my mind went there, but I did get the offer!

How did you land your internship? By building strong relationships! The Honest Company had been my top target (since those summer deliverables I mentioned earlier), they were not recruiting on campus, so I really made a point to talk to as many people through the Anderson network as I could. In the meantime, I practiced telling my story with my career advisor (shout-out Emily Taylor). Once the company's internships were posted online, one of my contacts at Honest introduced me to some of the hiring managers, who I then had informationals with. Following the informationals, I applied and leveraged an on campus recruiting offer to help speed up their decision process, letting them know how interested I was in working with them.

Describe your internship. I was working with the cleaning product and brand managers to develop a five-year product pipeline for the laundry segment based on consumer insight, competitive strategy, and sales analysis. At the end of the summer, I presented my recommendations to senior leadership, which proved to be a very valuable experience. Additionally, I led design brainstorming sessions to develop white space innovation concepts for the overall home-care category.

Day one of my summer internship — stoked to start at The Honest Company with my classmate, Suzie Lee.

Having the best time exploring Japan with 180 of my closest friends (a few of them pictured here).

-Jessica Devereaux, Communications Manager, Parker Career Management Center