Perfect Timing: An MBA Alumni Profile

Anton Voronstov, a Ukrainian alum of Chicago Booth’s Class of 2009, talks to TopMBA.com about life after business school.

Anton Vorontsov couldn’t have timed it better. He graduated with his MBA the same month the US officially emerged out of recession. 

Graduating with an MBA degree was a goal Anton Vorontsov set himself a long time ago. The graduate of Kharkiv National University in Ukraine decided immediately upon completion of his undergraduate degree that business school was where he wanted to end up, so he set about creating a pathway.

“At that time, I was working in the international department of one of the local Ukrainian banks and was responsible for the management of correspondent accounts opened with foreign banks,” Vorontsov told TopMBA.com in 2008. During a trip to New York in September 2002, Vorontsov made the most of being close to some of the world’s top business schools and organized campus visits to both Yale and Columbia business schools. These visits, he says, had an invaluable influence on his further development.

“Within three months after my return from New York I moved to Kiev, the political and financial capital of Ukraine, and found a new job in international banking. Later, to strengthen my pre-MBA credentials, I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers Ukraine, where I experienced three challenging years of professional growth. Eventually, I was ready for the step that I had been planning for many years.”

MBA career goals

Before embarking on his MBA degree, Vorontsov’s goal upon graduation was to work for a consultancy... and that’s exactly what he’s doing now. As an associate at a leading international consulting firm,Vorontsov is putting his MBA skills to the test.

“Surprisingly, but despite the odds, I was able to reach my MBA goals and find a job with a consulting company I was targeting right at the beginning,” Vorontsov says. “The fact that I set this target rather early, even before my admission for an MBA program, and that I was consistent in reaching it, helped me not to get distracted by the universe of career paths available at business school and get an offer before the crisis hit MBA recruiting,” he says.

Despite hearing from others about the value of an MBA, Vorontsov now has first-hand experience as to the key benefits a business education has given him.

“The first benefit is the framework,” he explains. “After an MBA, there are no uncovered topics in business, finance or management that you haven’t heard of. It’s more like ‘yes, I’ve studied this topic at the business school, forgot the details, but I can restore them if necessary’. It’s like in a library. You don’t need to read all the books; you just need to know where to find them.”

Vorontsov says the second key benefit has been the access to a network of highly educated and successful people. “I am fascinated by the opportunity to find alums in every industry I may be interested in, in every geographic region I may be traveling to, and to be able to discuss with them questions and business opportunities I may be working on,” he says.

Vorontsov is also reaping the rewards of being able to put those three letters against his name on his CV. “An MBA in my résumé has given me additional levers in managing my career and streamlining it in the direction I need.”

Funding an MBA

Securing a job upon graduation has allowed Vorontsov to start paying off some of the loan he took out to fund his time at business school.

“In my case, the final solution was taking a loan to fully finance my education and living. Loan repayment takes a portion of my income, yet it is manageable. I agree there are significant risks, for example graduating with tones of debt without a job offer, but at the end of the day, the answer on whether to finance the education with debt depends on how risk averse a person is and how good the economy is,” he says.

Vorontsov couldn’t have timed his MBA experience better in regards to the economy.

He started his business school degree just before UBS made its first write-down of US$4 billion. Winter recruitment of his MBA class coincided with the collapse of Bear Stearns and as he was flying to Chicago to begin his second year of studies, Lehman Brothers was going under. But Vorontsov came away unscathed by the recession and can look back on his time in the MBA classroom with fond memories, as well as impartial advice to other MBA candidates.

“Looking back, is there anything I would have done differently? Probably, the biggest misconception that an incoming student might have is that he/she can pursue any career option (investment banking, consulting, private equity, or industry) and in every geographic location. Or, in other words, all doors are open and all you need to do is to relax and enjoy the ride.

“The good news is that your first days in a business school quickly fix this misconception. So my advice is to make (at least, for the first several months) Career Services your second home to polish your profile, define key selling points, and choose career paths and companies.”

It certainly worked for this MBA alum.

The QS World MBA Tour returns to both North America and Europe during February and March, before continuing to destinations accross Africa and Asia. Find out where the tour visits, and register for one of the MBA fairs.