MBA Recruiter Interview: PG&E

While the energy sector accounts for only 4% of MBA jobs, it is a growing and attractive field for MBAs. According to the QS TopMBA.com Jobs and Salary Trends Report 2014/15, demand for MBAs in the energy field has grown by 18% in the past year. Part of the reason for this growth is the search for alternative, renewable energy sources.

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is an example of a company that allows MBAs to make a lasting impact on the energy industry, particularly around gas and electric operations, green energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One in 20 Americans is a PG&E customer, which means that working there allows MBAs to make large-scale changes. In addition, since California has some of the most ambitious goals around sustainable energy, PG&E has had to develop programs which put them at the forefront of changes in the energy industry. PG&E is also one of the few energy companies which offers a rotational program.

But what does it take to get a spot in the rotational program? According to PG&E’s MBA recruiter Eric Ellis, working at PG&E requires a knowledge and passion for the energy industry. In this interview, Ellis and MBA Leadership Program director Minden Beach discuss PG&E’s rotational program and what they look for in MBA recruits.

Why do MBAs want to work for PG&E?

Eric Ellis (EE): I think there are many reasons an MBA who has focused their academic and professional career on energy would want to work at PG&E.  One big reason is because PG&E is on the cutting edge of energy production and management due to the fact that we are in the state of California.   The state of California, through the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) regulates all public utilities in the state with strict regulations on the usage of natural resources.  This causes the work of PG&E to be ahead of what many other state requirements are for energy production and management. 

I think MBAs who are focusing their careers on energy solutions are aware of PG&E but for those who aren't they are surprised when they find out what we're doing from a technology and energy perspective. We're building the public utility of the 21st century largely through technology. If you are an MBA and want to be in a public utility, and you want to be on the cutting edge, then you want to be at PG&E.

Some MBAs may decide to go to a very nimble, fast-paced startup in Silicon Valley that's working on energy and technology. We understand and appreciate that. It's a very unique individual that knows about energy, has been to a top business school and wants to spend their time helping to solve the energy problem through the avenue of a public utility.

What does the MBA development program entail? Is that the main route of entry for MBA employment at PG&E?

Minden Beach (MB): The MBA Leadership Program is a two-year rotational development program. We have specific schools that we target, but anyone is open to apply.

We recruit people right after they finish their MBA. They come in for two, one-year rotations in different lines of business. The rotations are the cornerstone of the program.

In addition to the rotations where they're working on one or two core projects, they are also getting involved in different areas of that department. In their first year, they also do a group consulting project where they work in a different part of the company with a small team of MBAs on a strategic issue for the company as identified by our leaders.

There's usually a three or four month consulting project on top of their rotation that they're doing at the time which culminates in presentations to a line of business followed by senior leaders at the company.

We recently added a field rotation where they go out for two weeks in between rotations – one week in gas operations and one week in electric operations. During these field rotations, participants go out with crews to see the work on the ground. This gives them a sense of how the decisions being made in the general office have an impact on the field and vice versa.

We also do group site visits and field visits in addition to the field rotations that I mentioned. At least quarterly, we go out as a cohort and visit assets such as the nuclear power plant, our training center or our customer call center. Participants can start to see different parts of the company and learn more about how they function at those different sites. That's been a new addition to the program that adds a lot of value to the MBAs – PG&E’s future leaders.

What are the learning and development components of the program?

MB: In addition to the opportunity to rotate to the different parts of the business, we're also focusing on the group as a cohort and as individuals by making sure that they're getting opportunities to develop as leaders.

The leadership development component consists of assessments for individuals so they get a sense of their leadership style, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. We do 360 degree feedback in their second year and participants get one-on-one coaching following those assessments to learn about ways to become a more impactful leader.

In addition to these assessments, we have monthly leadership seminars for the cohort where we come together for the better part of a day and they meet with leaders who talk to them about their career path. Participants get exposure to people in different parts of the company and to learn how some of our high potential leaders got to where they are. Not only is this a network-building opportunity, but it’s also a chance for MBAs to get a better sense of what kind of leadership is really effective at PG&E.

They are assigned mentors – usually director-level mentors who are part of our enterprise-wide high potential program. These are leaders who are identified as future officers and they are a great match for the MBAs in terms of mentorship, because they have generally been with the company longer and have demonstrated some success.

What do you think makes PG&E's rotational program unique?

MB: I think that the focus on leadership development and the amount of investment we put into the individuals when they're in that two-year program beyond the rotations is definitely a best practice. In my opinion, not all companies are doing it at the same level that we are. It's helpful for those individuals in helping them get ready to move up in the company and letting them know what kind of leadership is most effective at PG&E specifically.

PG&E is a great place for MBAs to get involved in making a difference around green energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. California has the most aggressive goals which require PG&E to really have progressive programs in place. This puts us at the very leading edge of some of those changes.

A lot of people want to work here so that they can have that kind of impact. One in 20 Americans is a PG&E customer so when you get to do something at PG&E the scale is just huge.

EE: The other thing you have to realize is that if you get into this program, you're one of seven or eight people. You're not one of 30 or 40 in a rotational program like many other large company rotational programs. In some cases it is more selective than many Ivy League schools to get into this program, and these individuals are sought after as decision makers and thought leaders throughout the organization.

What are the most common job roles for MBAs at PG&E?

MB: Electric operations is our largest department, so there are many people in our electric operations department doing a variety of different roles.

PG&E has a high level of focus on career development and developing agile leaders who can move around the business, but I think that the MBA rotational program especially develops those kinds of leaders.

For example, one of our alumni is the senior vice president of regulatory affairs. Before that, he was the vice president of customer energy solutions. When I think about our other alumni, we have a director in human resources and a vice president in gas operations. So, our alumni are really all over the place.

We found that people who tend to move around a bit have a tendency to become more valuable to the company because they have that broad experience and because it is such a large organization they have the ability to translate between the different departments and help people work across silos.

EE: At one time energy procurement and corporate strategy were our focus areas so there's sort of a legacy of MBAs in these areas. However, in the last four years the main focus has been our core business: gas operations, electric operations and power supply.  At this point, we have MBAs placed in a lot of different areas around the company.

How many MBAs work in green energy? Is that considered part of the overall gas and electric operations?

MB: It's a tricky question to answer, because it depends on your definition. A lot of what we do is work to be more efficient in terms of delivering gas and electricity.

We've got people with titles like senior manager of renewable energy which make their involvement in green energy really obvious. Then, we've got people who work on our smart grid program that ultimately will make our grid more efficient and greener.

The people who are really drawn to some of the more leading areas of the company, such as smart grid, renewable energy or battery storage, tend to find themselves in jobs that touch those areas – whether it’s energy procurement, customer energy solutions or electric operations. They might have in their portfolio projects focus areas such as green energy. Then, there are folks that are less directly involved that are doing more of our core operations business.

But, sustainability is the company's area of focus and a lot of people touch it whether it’s directly or indirectly.

EE: In general, it may be that a lot of the new MBA graduates get placed on sustainability-related projects.

We recruit from business schools around the US with an energy focus; like Yale and Duke, who have MBA/MEM type degrees.  So, it inevitably turns out that 30% of our cohort that we hire has an environmental focus - whether that is policy related or more efficient operations. The MBAs work in renewable green energy and/or sustainability in a variety of ways. 

As an organization, we view creating a more operationally efficient and sustainable organization as important aspects of sustainability.  We also work with our consumers to educate them on energy use thus creating a smarter energy consumer.   Sustainability and green energy are intertwined with operations and behavioral change management and is addressed in many lines of business throughout the organization.  The MBAs work in green energy and sustainability, some in very direct ways and some in more nuanced ways.

What do you look for when evaluating a candidate's résumé and experience? Are you looking for someone with a background in energy?

EE: Around 75% of our cohorts will have bachelor’s and many times master’s degrees in either electrical, mechanical or civil engineering. So, although not a hard and fast requirement, we tend to search for people with engineering backgrounds.

If they don't have an engineering degree, members will often times have a STEM degree of some sort in areas such as economics, mathematics or finance. We also look for a minimum of three years of work experience in the energy or related space.

If a candidate has an undergraduate and master’s degree in an area other than engineering, they need to demonstrate their passion for energy in other ways.   This could be working directly with an energy company – either a public utility or a startup in the energy space – or a technology company that touches energy. We also hire people who have done energy policy-related work as well.

It is very competitive to get into this program.  For instance, last year we had over 400 applicants and we typically hire seven to ten people each year. We get so many super-qualified, academically qualified individuals that we have the luxury of raising the bar pretty high.

It is rare that we would choose a candidate that doesn't have experience in the energy space in some capacity; they simply aren’t going to make it through the first cut.

What programs and conferences do you recruit from?

EE: Some schools we focus on are Berkeley-Haas, Michigan Ross, UCLA Anderson, Notre Dame and MIT.

We also post to 12 other schools within the top-20 MBA programs in the US, but we actually get applications from many other schools. We also get a lot of applicants from Yale, Dartmouth, Kellogg, and Duke Fuqua.

We don't really do a lot of conferences for our MBA hiring. This year, we are committing to work with the regional Black and Hispanic MBA chapters as well as having a presence with Net Impact in some way.

How many MBAs do you recruit each year?

EE: This year we hired ten for the full-time cohort that will start in the fall of 2015 and will have six for the 2015 summer internship program. 

MB: While we don't do MBA-specific recruiting for direct hire opportunities, we do hire lots of MBAs outside of the leadership development program. We have a lot of people who come into PG&E with an MBA as well as a lot of existing employees who pursue their MBA while working at PG&E who are sponsored by the company at various levels.

We aren't just hiring 10 MBAs a year. There are a lot of MBAs who come to PG&E through avenues other than the leadership development program.

In addition, a lot of people aren't interested in the rotational program because they already know what they want to do. If they have a specific area of the company they want to work in it's probably more appropriate for them to be a direct hire.

The MBA skillset is highly valued in lots of parts of the business. So, those applicants should just go through the normal channels. We have recruiters who represent each line of business, so the applicants would just need to work with a recruiter for the particular role they are interested in.

Is MBA hiring up or down this year? By how much?

MB: The two-year leadership development program has grown over the last couple of years. Even though it's a small cohort, it has grown by 40-45% from a couple of years ago, as a result of increased demand from the lines of business.

There's been a shift in focus. The MBAs are going into core areas of our business and have become highly valued. We have a lot of senior leaders saying, "We want more MBAS." It used to be a steady seven a year and we made 11 offers for this incoming group. So, that shows that we've gotten a lot more support for the program and a lot more demand for MBAs.

EE: There were actually some candidates who interviewed for the leadership development program who didn't get offers for the summer program, but who applied and were hired through other programs to get summer internships within a line of business. Two of these individuals have gotten offers for positions created specifically for them based on the fact that they had such a good experience this past summer; their summer experience helped create a space for them within the organization. Managers in both cases advocated for a role specifically for that individual based on the summer experience.  It is hard to put a number on how many MBAs that would be but there is definitely a greater awareness about the possibility of where and how MBAs might be used throughout the company.   We have several examples of new executive leadership hires who are from many of these programs, like MIT or Yale who  then become very supportive of the Leadership Development Program and hiring MBAs in general. They commit to increasing their number of MBA hires, because they come from similar programs and understand the value of having these types of individuals within the organization.

What should MBAs do to make a good impression and what should they avoid doing?

EE: Show us on your résumé or CV that you are passionate about energy and have experience with energy. It may be that it's through clubs that you've been involved in. It may be through pet projects that you've done on your own. We have one individual who is coming to work for us next year with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in finance who did a master’s thesis project on Smartgrid technology. It was a personal project which demonstrated their passion for the energy industry.

I was just speaking to a gentleman yesterday on the phone. He has a fantastic background in consulting, is going into a top business school, but his undergraduate degree is not in engineering. When he spoke to me, however, he touched on a lot of energy experience in his work. Yet, when I looked at his LinkedIn profile, there was zero mention of energy, sustainability, or power on his resume. In response, I told the individual "I hear what you're saying to me but if it's not evident from the way you're marketing yourself, you're going to get passed over."

That’s why it's super important for individuals to be able to demonstrate their passion for the energy industry.

What are the biggest misconceptions that MBAs have about PG&E and the energy industry?

MB: There's a sense that the sector is very slow-moving, very slow to change and boring. I think that the people who come in through our program want to be in energy so they don't necessarily share that misconception.

Participants may come in thinking that there will be a lot of resistance to change (and I'm not saying that doesn't exist, because that exists in any large, 100 year old company) but I think that our graduates really can have an impact.

MBAs build really great partnerships with our long-time employees who have deep, deep knowledge and wisdom about the work that's happening. It's been great to see them learn from each other. The scale is so large that the impact people can have is really exciting.

When people are interested in the energy field, they might be drawn to a Silicon Valley battery storage startup. That can be exciting, but PG&E is not going to adopt all these new technologies right away. We need to test them, because we are the last stop. We need to make sure that we put our weight behind the best new technology, so when we do adopt something new we're confident that it's going to be the best choice for our customers.

Sometimes, what's perceived as slow moving and resistant to change is in place for very good reason. Our main job is to keep the lights on and keep the gas flowing. It’s our number one priority to do that safely and with our customers at the forefront. So, I think some of the misconceptions probably stem from that.

Is there anything I didn't ask that you would like to touch on?

EE: Who doesn't want to live in San Francisco? While it is super expensive, it doesn't snow here and it's pretty darn incredible. In January and February when I talk to all the students back east who are covered up in snow, one of my big recruiting techniques is to talk about how beautiful it is out here.

Interview edited for flow and clarity.