How MBA Students Keep Busy Over the Winter Break: MBA News

An MBA program’s winter break is often used by schools as an opportunity to offer students the chance to take a trip that broadens their horizons, or one that opens their eyes to recruitment possibilities in the MBA job market.

Immersive learning in the FIELD at HBS

At Harvard Business School (HBS), 935 first-year MBA students signed up to the HBS FIELD course have been spending the start of 2015 following up project-work with partner organizations in emerging markets by heading overseas to meet their collaborators – putting newly-acquired skills into action and getting a feel for a culture far removed from their own.

One of HBS’s partners this year is Africa.com, a media platform for the continent’s news that was founded by Teresa Clarke, an HBS MBA, in 2010. As her company welcomed six students to South Africa, she spoke of the benefits an immersive trip can bring:

“We feel certain that the students will gather insights here that they would never be able to glean from a classroom discussion alone.”

Sourcing MBA jobs potential and internships at Yale SOM

Elsewhere, schools send their MBA students out on job treks – presenting them with the chance to scour the MBA job market for recruitment possibilities across a number of sectors and locations.

At Yale School of Management (Yale SOM), MBA students chose from more than 15 trekking options across the US and overseas, to visit, learn from and network with employers.

The majority stayed in the US, where San Francisco’s Bay Area - home to Silicon Valley companies Google, eBay, and LinkedIn – and nearby New York proved popular.

However, 20 students ventured out to China and nine to Mexico City. In China, trekkers caught up with Yale SOM alumni in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai in the process of visiting 45 companies.

“Many of us have secured internships from the trek,” said Alvin Cheng, a co-leader of the trek: “The alumni clubs in China organized fantastic events for us. We met with more than 100 Yale alumni, and built very good relationships.”

In Mexico, the Yale SOM students learnt of the country’s growing potential for rewarding MBA careers, with visits that included a number of multinational firms such as Coca-Cola, Google and Credit Suisse.

“More than anything else, we learned that in Mexico, there are tons of opportunities in emerging markets for MBAs, with global salaries, exciting places, and considerably fewer candidates and less competition for these spots,” explained Ignacio Garat, co-leader of the trek.

The growth of the MBA job market in Mexico saw it move up two places to fourth, in the table for countries where the greatest demand for MBAs was reported by employers in the QS Jobs & Salary Trends Report 2014/15 – one place behind China in third.

These recruiters signaled a growth of 14% in MBA job opportunities available in Mexico – the highest rate reported across Latin America - as well as reporting the region’s highest average salary on offer to MBA graduates joining multinationals.

The job treks at Yale SOM are organized by its career development office, where relationship manager, Nicolle Merrill, outlined why the visits are considered so useful for MBA students:   

“The treks are really about access. During company visits, students have access to recruiters and alumni who share candid advice—what they look for in applicants, how to succeed in their company culture, and tips on getting noticed in the application process.”