Career Transitions December 2006

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Career TransitionsDecember 2006
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• Developing a Growth/Transition Plan

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Growth/Transition Plan Development
What is required at your target(s)? Research/Learn
/Identify Critical success factors
Where are you headed? Identify Targets
Industry, Company, Function
Fill the Gaps MBA, Networking, ENHANCE,
Projects, Targeted résumés
Perform a gap analysis Critical success factors
and needs that your skills/ experiences do not
satisfy
Identify your transferable and relevant skills
Personal skills inventory, Relevant
professional experiences
Fill the gaps MBA, Networking, ENHANCE,
Projects, Targeted résumés
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Growth/Transition Plan Development
What is required at your target(s)? Research/Learn
/Identify Critical success factors
Where are you headed? Identify Targets
Industry, Company, Function
Perform a gap analysis Critical success factors
and needs that your skills/ experiences do not
satisfy
Identify your transferable and relevant skills
Personal skills inventory, Relevant
professional experiences,
Fill the gaps MBA, Networking, ENHANCE,
Projects, Targeted résumés
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Identifying Targets - Exploring Career Directions

• CareerLeader results offers a good start
• Vault Guides (MBA Career Bible, and 19 Career
  Guides)
• Career Advisor Meetings
• Develop target list of companies/industries
• Review career handouts
• Review/evaluate career Positives and
  Negatives
• Informational interviews

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Growth/Transition Plan Development
What is required at your target(s)? Research/Learn
/Identify Critical success factors
Where are you headed? Identify Targets
Industry, Company, Function
Perform a gap analysis Critical success factors
and needs that your skills/ experiences do not
satisfy
Identify your transferable and relevant skills
Personal skills inventory, Relevant
professional experiences,
Fill the gaps MBA, Networking, ENHANCE,
Projects, Targeted résumés
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Common Critical Success Factors - Consulting

• Case interview competence
• High confidence level
• Polished, commanding presence
• Good networking skills
• Perseverance with a How can we make it right?
  attitude
• Excellent communication skills
• Curious, problem-resolution mindset
• Multi-tasking, ability to prioritize

• High intellectual horsepower
• Analytical quantitative capabilities
• Leadership experience
• Creative out-of-the-box thinking
• Academic excellence
• Relevant industry/functional experience
• Industry certifications and training
• Strong persuasive skills
• Able to thrive in team environment

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Common Critical Success Factors - Finance

• Direct industry experience
• Financial project experience
• Licenses, and certifications CFA, Series XX
  Licenses, etc
• Aptitude in accounting
• Agility with numbers
• High intellectual horsepower
• Excellent communication skills
• Competitive nature
• Initiative-taker personality type

• Strong networking skills
• Quick decision-making ability
• Obsessive preoccupation with industry
  developments/details
• Assertive personality
• Polished and very GQ presentable
• Analytical skills
• Extreme self-confidence
• High energy required

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Common Critical Success Factors - Marketing

• Creativity
• Analytical ability
• Customer focus/ Customer exposure
• Cross-functional, multi-functional experience
• Passion and ownership for assigned product/brand
• Diverse consultative nature

• Keen market awareness (culture, market, product,
  competitors)
• Broad knowledge base and wide-ranging skill set
  for Brand Management
• Excellent oral, written, and presentation skills
• Enthusiastic outgoing
• Sense of humor

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Critical Success Factors Internal Growth

• Situation dependent
• Observe ask people currently in the role
• Read position descriptions
• Review/develop targets w/ manager
• Reach out to HR for requirements

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Growth/Transition Plan Development
What is required at your target(s)? Research/Learn
/Identify Critical success factors
Where are you headed? Identify Targets
Industry, Company, Function
Perform a gap analysis Critical success factors
and needs that your skills/ experiences do not
satisfy
Identify your transferable and relevant skills
Personal skills inventory, Relevant
professional experiences,
Fill the gaps MBA, Networking, ENHANCE,
Projects, Targeted résumés
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Self Assessment Transferable/relevant skills

• Evaluate content story for each résumé bullet
• Consider off-résumé skills/experiences/projects
• Leverage other-than-work experiences
• Think big and small
• Discuss with peers and others
• Meet and review with your CM team member
• Keep objectives in mind when evaluating

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Growth/Transition Plan Development
What is required at your target(s)? Research/Learn
/Identify Critical success factors
Where are you headed? Identify Targets
Industry, Company, Function
Perform a gap analysis Critical success factors
and needs, that your skills/ experiences do not
satisfy
Identify your transferable and relevant skills
Personal skills inventory, Relevant
professional experiences,
Fill the gaps MBA, Networking, ENHANCE,
Projects, Targeted résumés
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Gap Analysis

• Skills Inventory
• Skill i
• Skill ii
• Skill iii
• Skill iv
• Skill v
• Skill vi
• Skill vii
• Skill viii

• Critical Success Factors
• Rqmt A
• Rqmt B
• Rqmt C
• Rqmt D
• Rqmt E
• Rqmt F
• Rqmt G
• Rqmt H

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Gap Analysis Exercise Consulting

• CSFs
• High intellectual horsepower
• Analytical quantitative capabilities
• Leadership experience
• Creative out-of-the-box thinking
• Academic excellence
• Relevant industry/functional experience
• Industry certifications and training
• Strong persuasive skills
• Able to thrive in team environment
• Case interview competence
• High confidence level
• Polished, commanding presence
• Good networking skills
• Perseverance with a How can we make it right?
  attitude
• Excellent communication skills
• Curious, problem-resolution mindset
• Multi-tasking, ability to prioritize

• Skills
• 720 GMAT, 3.8 MBA GPA
• BS Mechanical Engineer
• Design team lead, up to 5M projects
• 6-Sigma Black belt
• 3 Patent applications
• Recognized Go To for difficult technical
  challenges
• Designed control mechanism for new product
• Exec Mgmt presentations
• SME for control design systems
• Chair, technical organization sub-committee
• GE IBM affiliation
• Volunteer, community fund raising
• Texas MBA at Dallas / fort Worth

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Growth/Transition Plan Development
What is required at your target(s)? Research/Learn
/Identify Critical success factors
Where are you headed? Identify Targets
Industry, Company, Function
Perform a gap analysis Critical success factors
and needs, that your skills/ experiences do not
satisfy
Identify your transferable and relevant skills
Personal skills inventory, Relevant
professional experiences,
Fill the gaps MBA, Networking, ENHANCE,
Projects, Targeted résumés
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• Networking For Transitions

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What is Networking?

• Networking The practice of gathering
  contacts the process or practice of building up
  or maintaining informal relationships, especially
  with people whose friendship could bring
  advantages such as job or business opportunities
• Most important component in bridging the gap
• Gets you known in your target area(s)
• A vital component of professional development

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What is Networking?

• Networking is a lifelong venture you will use
  it the rest of your career
• Can assist you within your current or target
  company new opportunities, promotions, etc.
• Gets you known in an area where your résumé may
  get passed over
• Networking is not
• E-mailing resumes
• Only asking for a job
• A bad thing

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Why Network?

• Campus recruiting is only one small part of the
  MBA professional development.
• Did you know?
• Approximately 75 of jobs are found through
  referrals
• Referrals result from effective and ongoing
  networking
• The network effect applies here, think
  degrees-of-separation
• Networking can lead to continual career
  development not just new jobs!
• Great preparation for communication skills needed
  in the real interview

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Networking
Target Contact
Target Industry/ Function/ Location etc.
Target Company
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When/How to Network?

• Chance meetings, Seize opportunities
• Planned meetings, Informational interviews
• Internal External
• Student Factor

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Where to Network Internal/External?

• Warm
• Texas MBA Alumni, McCombs Alumni DB,
  https//acsprod.mccombs.utexas.edu/MOR/index.asp?s
  ite_styleMOR
• Classmates, including other Texas MBA programs
• Friends family
• Professional colleagues
• University professors, staff,)
• Professional Associations
• Social affiliationS/Church/Community organizations

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Where to Network External?

• Cold
• Develop target list of People, Companies, Firms,
  Organizations, etc
• UT On-Line Librarys Business Information Center,
  http//www.lib.utexas.edu/subject/business/
• Other sources, Periodicals, Book of Lists,
  Professional journals/publications, Directories
• Leverage warm contacts first
• Be creative professional organizations, other
  business career fairs, etc.

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The Informational Interview

• Meeting to gather information about an industry/
  company/function
• Usually shorter than a traditional interview
  (15-20 min.)
• Chance to learn from someone in the field
• Prepare with company and industry research

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The Informational Interview

• Come with relevant questions (p 97 CMG)
• Opportunity to develop additional contacts
• Treat as a real interview
• End with a strong close
• Follow-up

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• ENHANCE for Transitions

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What is ENHANCE?

• Consulting engagement with teams of 4-7 working
  professional MBA students, working on a
  well-defined project (with top companies to
  start-up firms) to address a real-world business
  challenge
• In lieu of FT MBA internships to
• Gain experience in new functions/industries/compan
  ies
• Networking opportunity in target companies
• Résumé builder
• 8 week commitment, 80 200 total team hours,
  primarily June-July
• Launched in 2006 with tremendous success!
• 30 projects, 142 students, premier company names

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ENHANCE Details - UT

• Managed through Career Management
• Extracurricular
• No faculty support
• Budget not provided
• Mid-project review

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Project Considerations

• What are your objectives with the ENHANCE?
• Build your résumé
• Explore a functional area
• Network within a company
• Network within an industry
• Internal brand shift/expansion

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Project Considerations

• Determines the ENHANCE project you pursue/choose
• Function
• Industry
• Company
• Location
• Content

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How do I get a project?

• Recruit individually or as a team
• Build a team, find a project
• Find a project, build a team
• Create target list and work with Kim or me
• Industry/type of firm
• Company list
• Select from list of projects available

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ENHANCE Teams

• One project/student
• Internal project, can be on it other
• Recruit a project, ? First right-of-refusal to
  lead
• Not necessary to lead/work internal project
• Open projects go to first takers
• Two students to claim a project
• Idle projects open to other project lead
• Project lead builds a team

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ENHANCE Teams

• 4 - 7 members/team
• 4 - 5 seemed to be ideal in 06 (4.7 avg)
• 3 was smallest, 9 was largest (divided into 4, 5
  sub-team)
• Cross-program (HOU/DFW/EVE/EXE) is encouraged
• Some found the distance to be a difficult
  work-around
• Seek new contacts (networking) diverse
  backgrounds
• UG degree focus
• Industry
• Company

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ENHANCE Timeline

• November-April Recruit projects
• April-June Project kick-off
• Late June / Early July Mid-project review
• Late August / Early September Final project
  presentation

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• Work/Class Projects for Transitions

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Projects Gap filler

• Job Enlargement
• Stretch assignments
• Cross-Training
• Extracurricular Involvement to help fill gaps
• Identify mentor (usually 1 to 2 levels higher)
• Apply your MBA learning to relevant projects at
  work
• Explore job switches internally to better align
  with career objectives

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• Targeted Résumés for Transitions

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Targeted Résumés

• Average hiring manager plows through 120 résumés
  for a single job opening
• Tailor your résumé to target position you want
• Transform your generic documents into ones that
  are more creative, better targeted
• Do research beforehand
• Mention key descriptors/keywords (scanning
  technology)

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Consulting CSFs for a Targeted Résumé

• Team player, Team Leader
• Ability to play with flexibility and grace
• Leadership and accomplishments
• Strategic planning
• Exude confidence (not arrogance)
• Consulting type traits Reliability, tenacity,
  commitment, motivation, high standards of
  excellence
• Highlight areas of functional expertise
• Multi-tasking ability
• Exceptional people skills

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Finance CSFs for a Targeted Résumé

• Quantitative prowess
• Experience w/ budget, NPV, Go-No Goetc.
• Intellectual horsepower, Academic strength
• Attention to detail
• Creativity
• Exude confidence (not arrogance)
• Highlight areas of functional expertise

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Marketing CSFs for a Targeted Résumé

• Include terms such as cross-functional team,
  customer needs, strategic direction,
  portfolio management, communications platform
• Customer focus, customer experience
• Emphasize teamwork, leadership, passion,
  creativity, out-of-the-box thinking
• Demonstrate understanding of customers
  focus/trends

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Transition Scenario Exercise

• Sally, a Class of 2008 MBA, has a Bachelors
  degree in Engineering from Carnegie Mellon. She
  wants to look at opportunities in Finance (all
  phases) in order to determine where she wants to
  focus. What steps should she take?