MBA Careers Q&A: UC Irvine’s Merage School

UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business is focused on setting MBA students up for their future careers with programs like the ‘Career Launch’, which is described by Tom Kozicki, executive director of the school’s MBA careers center as, “a series of required workshops and activities delivered online and onsite.” The goal, according to Kozicki is to, “maximize the career resiliency,” of its MBAs.

Read on to learn more about the role of the MBA careers center at UC Irvine’s Merage School.

Does the career services team at the Merage School work with the MBA admissions team during applicant assessment?

Our careers center and admissions teams have a strong working relationship and collaborate throughout the year. This partnership is essential given the smaller size of our program.  I am a member of the admissions committee and review all candidates brought to this committee to help make admissions decisions. Careers center team members participate in admissions events and webinars, and we developed an online training module to assist applicants with their résumés for their admissions applications. We have also had the pleasure of representing the Merage School at QS events throughout the world and really enjoyed meeting many potential students there. 

When do on-campus corporate recruitment events and interviews typically take place at the Merage School?

Companies come to our campus in October, at the beginning of our fall (autumn) quarter to participate in career networking events, conduct information sessions and interview candidates for full-time opportunities. Companies return in January of the winter quarter to conduct interviews primarily for summer internship positions. We also host a career fair at the start of the spring quarter for companies doing just-in-time hiring for both internship and full-time opportunities.

Are there particular skills that the careers team helps students to accentuate during job fairs and recruiting?

Our mission is to maximize the career resiliency of our graduates by helping them create a long-term career vision, develop skills to effectively manage their careers, and provide resources and connections for career opportunities.

Before participating in job fairs and recruiting, students need to clarify their career goals, do extensive career research, develop a five-year career plan and have their résumé updated and ready to share.  This is accomplished through ‘Career Launch’, a series of required workshops and activities delivered online and onsite. We also offer workshops and seminars on a variety of topics throughout the year. 

For job fairs and recruiting, we help students develop their positioning statement, more commonly known as an ‘elevator pitch’ and fine tune their networking skills. We also help them improve their executive presence and become more comfortable with asking and answering questions to best position themselves for job opportunities. 

How does the careers center help MBA students prepare for recruitment events? In what ways does it help match students with companies that will be a good cultural fit for them?

Understanding your ‘best fit’ for culture requires a process of self-discovery and is something very personal. In addition to the aforementioned workshops, students participate in online and live mock interviews, hold multiple one-on-one coaching sessions with their career advisors, discuss their goals and aspirations with their executive mentors, conduct informational interviews with alumni, and attend ‘Day in the Life’ sessions where professionals provide function and industry-specific career insights.  Students also complete a series of assessments during an orientation session called ‘Career Visioning’ in which they learn more about their strengths, interests and values. All of these activities combined help students to clarify ‘fit’ which we believe is more powerful in the long run. Advisors discuss interests with students and suggest alumni and companies that might be a good match for informational interviewing. Our employer relations team also refers résumés to companies for open positions and they partner with our career advising team to ensure students matching the opportunities are referred.

Are there any changes to the way in which companies are recruiting?

While companies continue with traditional recruiting methods - campus interviewing and career fairs, many are focusing on other, more efficient recruiting channels like virtual and on-site networking events, résumé referrals, and social media to identify qualified candidates. Skype is a very convenient way to interview candidates for first-round interviews when companies are unable to visit our campus.   

What kind of contact does the Merage career center have with MBAs after they graduate?

Once our students have graduated and successfully landed their first MBA jobs, our goal is to stay connected with them throughout their professional careers. We invite alumni to participate in activities to help current students, including our Day in the Life series, mock interviews, informational interviews, and our mentor program. We conduct several networking events with alumni throughout the year as does our alumni relations department which also hosts monthly lunches, quarterly and regional events as well as annual reunions. Alumni also have access to an online job board, alumni and corporate contacts databases, résumé listing service, and online career management training modules should they need to conduct a job search. One of the most rewarding aspects of our work is reuniting with our alumni and learning about their growth and success.