MBA Recruiter Interview: Andréa Juliano, CVS Health

Healthcare is a growing field for MBAs. According to 2014/2015 QS TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary Report, the demand for MBAs in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector has gone up by 9% in 2014. As a whole, the sector accounts for 4% of MBA jobs.

While you might think an MBA career in healthcare limits you to working for a major pharmaceutical company, insurance company or hospital, there are other options available.

One example is CVS Health, the US retailer and healthcare company which recently made headlines after dropping cigarettes from its inventory, as well as changing its name and focus. While many only know CVS Health for their retail pharmacies, the company also operates a pharmacy management business, a retail medical clinic and specialty pharmacy services. In this interview, Andréa Juliano, university relations and program manager at CVS Health, discusses the company’s Corporate Internship Program and the diverse career paths available to MBAs, in addition to what the company looks for in its MBA hires.

What are the common job roles for MBA graduates at CVS Health?

We have many business areas that hire individuals with MBAs. Most of the teams are seeking MBAs who have two to five years of work experience in addition to the MBA. Some of the most common fields include analytics, which is involved in many areas of our company, digital, finance, Med DE, merchandising and pricing, pharmacy operations and store operations.

Typically, individuals with MBAs would be hired as advisors, senior advisors, analysts or senior analysts.

CVS Health’s main headquarters is located in Rhode Island, but we do have other corporate locations. Locations where individuals with MBAs would be employed would be Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Northbrook, Illinois, and Scottsdale, Arizona. We do have other corporate locations in Solon, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Irving Texas, but they are not as large as our main corporate hubs.

What do you look for when evaluating candidates' résumés and job experience?

The qualifications will vary by position. Previous work experience is often a requirement. We don't typically hire MBAs who are transitioning from an undergraduate program into an MBA program. But depending on the position, the experience could be directly related to the job or it could come from a previous role that allowed the candidate to develop transferable skills.

Does CVS Health mainly hire MBAs that specialize in healthcare or are MBAs with other specializations recruited? Do most MBA hires need to have some sort of healthcare background in order to work for CVS Health?

We hire MBAs from many different work and academic backgrounds. Jobs that require MBAs at CVS Health are not limited to MBAs with healthcare concentrations. An academic focus in healthcare or previous healthcare experience might be preferred for some positions. But for all positions, regardless of the business area, having a passion or interest in healthcare is very attractive.

How have MBAs viewed CVS Health's decision to focus on working with hospitals and doctors? Has this made CVS a more attractive employer in the eyes of MBAs?

We haven't formally surveyed recent MBA hires. I can that say our MBA interns have cited two main reasons for selecting our intern program and wanting a future career with CVS Health. The first is CVS Health’s focus on innovation in healthcare. The second is our mission of helping people on their path to better health.

Which business schools do you recruit from and why?

Our university relations program is fairly new, so to date our focus has been mainly recruiting MBA interns for our summer Corporate Internship Program. We select schools based on a number of criteria, including:

• Interns from multiple CVS Health business units in that particular school.
• Alignment of CVS Health alumni who are leader champions internally to drive on-campus activity.
• Geographic proximity of the school for our corporate offices to allow for ease of leader champions to participate on campus.
• Past hiring success.

In 2013 and 2014, we focused on eight schools for deep dive on-campus involvement and relationship building. Those schools were Babson, HBS, Wharton, Tuck, Kellogg, Booth, Eller and W.P. Carey.

We do have several additional schools that we target for a lighter engagement and we do review schools on a yearly basis so that may evolve.

How many MBA interns does CVS have each year?

Across all locations, CVS health has 15-20 MBA interns each year.

What does your MBA internship program entail?

We have many internship programs in our organization which are distinguished by business unit. MBAs participate in our Corporate Internship Program.

The program is summers-only for 10 weeks. The main focus of the internship is real-time project work within a particular department.

In addition, there are a lot of opportunities for MBAs to network with each other as well as other leaders outside of their particular business unit. MBAs have the opportunity to participate in ‘Lunch and Learn’ sessions facilitated by senior leadership as well as community involvement initiatives. Interns participate in business site visits to other nearby CVS Health locations depending on what locations are close to their corporate office.

It's a pretty busy 10 weeks and it's very structured. Students get the entire schedule when they walk in on day one, so they know what is expected of them as well as the additional activities they'll be participating in.

Are most of the corporate internships located in Rhode Island?

Yes, the majority of internships are in Rhode Island, because that's where CVS Health has the most business units. The other locations I mentioned, however, typically have interns each year as well.

What steps should MBAs take in order to make a good impression?

Candidates should definitely do their research when preparing for an interview. This includes reviewing our website for overall company information, checking out recent news articles about CVS Health. They should come to the interview prepared with that background knowledge and questions based on recent company events even if it's not related to the area of the company in which they are interviewing. That shows us their interest and enthusiasm for our business.

Another piece of advice we have for those applying for a position within CVS Health – whether it’s an internship or full-time position – is that our recruiters definitely welcome open communication. If a candidate is considering a role within another organization or receives an internship offer from another company, it's helpful if the candidate is transparent with their recruiter. If the candidate lets the recruiter know what's going on, it can help the recruiter with the next steps.

What are some misconceptions MBA students have about working at CVS Health?

One common assumption we see college students make – both MBAs and undergrads as well – is that retail is the focus of our business. So, while our stores are usually what most students are familiar with and certainly an important component of our company, we also operate a pharmacy benefit management business, CVS/caremark, our retail medical clinic provider, CVS/minuteclinic, and specialty pharmacy services, CVS/specialty. Together, they make up the company of CVS Health. Candidates should have a basic understanding of those businesses and how they operate.

Another thing I think students should know is that while CVS Health doesn't offer a large scale rotational program for recent MBA grads right now, we do offer potential for a really unique and diverse career path within the company. Many of our senior leaders have built experience within several different areas of our business versus a direct career path within one business area. Given that we're such a large company, the next move doesn't have to an external organization. So, MBAs who are open to the fact that their next career move may be lateral or upper within a different business area can be quite successful.