Archive for the Careers category
Three Things MBAs Can Learn From The 2008 Election
by Jared on November 5th, 2008
Originally Posted On OwenBloggers.com
Regardless of where you stand politically, I think we can all agree that the 2008 election turned “conventional thinking” on its head in way that very few events in recent history have been able to. As a business student and a huge fan of socio-political trend watching, I also find that there are really interesting lessons we as MBAs can take away from the election, no matter what discipline we’ve chosen.
1 – The Next Generation Has Arrived
3.5 Million new voters were registered this election spanning not only age but also ethnicities. In fact, according to national exit polls, 68% of voters that chose Barack Obama and 31% that chose John McCain were voting for the first time. To boot, turnout was as much as 89% in some states.
What this means for MBAs is that this election has marked the arrival of The Next American Generation culturally and demographically. Because of the strong impact this generation has shown in the election, what were once talking points for experts in finance, marketing, strategy and human capital will now become more like facts.
The lesson here is that the impact of this generation is no longer abstract for many of us, it’s reality.
2 – Stay On Message, Stay Authentic
If you had to pick a single word that described each candidate’s message, chances are that it would be “Change” for Obama and “Maverick” for McCain. Wait a minute, wasn’t it also “Change” for McCain as well? What about “Country First?”
The fact of the matter is that this election also proved a seminal rule about how consumers view authenticity and marketing. Because of the shifts that kept on being made in his message strategy, McCain lost a brilliant opportunity to capitalize on his own authenticity.
With the rise of new media and the Internet, consumers are becoming hyper-aware of who’s trying to get their attention and are becoming less forgiving to those they believe are just pandering to whatever they think they want to hear. The lesson here is to pick a message, whether in your marketing, strategy or in your mission statement that hits at the very core of your authenticity and then stick with it!
3 – The Black Swan Is Real
Even before you begin business school, you start to deal in probabilities. In fact much of modern learning is built on confidence intervals, majority populations/outcomes and marginal risk. What happens if an event lands in the long tail however, where the improbable becomes reality like it did in the recent financial meltdown?
Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls this a black swan and it hit this election like a Mack Truck. The point of a black swan is though it has a very very small probability of occurring, it’s impact all but wipes out the effects of all the “normal” and “predictable” outcomes.
The lesson here is that risk and innovation go together hand-in-hand and just because a scenario has a very small probability of happening, it’s effects should at least be considered in forward-thinking.
This election has been an incredible ride; one that has kept us glued to CNN for way more hours than some of us would like to admit. Now that its over, we have to ask ourselves “what’s next?” After all, we are all in this together and regardless of who you voted for, we all have to get jobs come May.
Technorati Tags: Black Swan, Election 2008, Financial Meltdown, MBA, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Owen Graduate School of Management, OwenBloggers, socio-political, Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, voter turnout
Technorati Tags: Black Swan, Election 2008, Financial Meltdown, MBA, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Owen Graduate School of Management, OwenBloggers, socio-political, Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, voter turnout
Heads-Up: Back In DC For Reaching Out, The Gay MBA Conference
by Jared on October 29th, 2008
Hi There Marketing Fans!
It’s been almost 6 months but I am finally getting back to DC for the annual Reaching Out for GLBT MBAs. Ever since I learned about the conference about a year ago I have been psyched up for this opportunity.
Given the fact that much of what I have gotten to talk about on this show about being gay and in business, you can imagine how great this going to be.
If you happen to be in town or are going to the conference, shoot me a message via the blog – I would love to meet up!
Best,
Jared
Technorati Tags: GLBT MBA, LBGT MBA Conference, Reaching Out
A “thank you” card from the intersection of my dream internship and real life
by Jared on July 20th, 2008
If you ask me what it is that I have done with my new media experience while getting my MBA – I probably won’t have a single, decent answer. Oh, I have plenty of decent answers, mind you; I just haven’t found one that fits all occasions.
At first, I started off thinking new media wouldn’t be a good hook for the more traditional brand management MBA internships I was after. Then, I realized that new media MBA internships actually existed and tried to pivot my search in that direction and new media became my main selling point. Ultimately, I ended up wasting so much time figuring out how to market myself that April came around and I still didn’t have an internship locked down.
While most of my friends were signing great summertime commitments with companies like P&G and Deloitte, I was stuck trying to figure out if I could realistically pass off the title of “Barista” as graduate-level job experience. Then, it happened; my dream internship fell into my lap when I was least expecting it.
Granted, the experience did come with a few strings. Before I could take the internship, for instance, I would also have to spend a month coaching undergraduates in business strategy. What happened here was real life…apparently it happens, occasionally.
Flash forward to the last four weeks of summer: Most of my friends are either getting ready to complete their internships or have so, already. I, on the other hand, am only a quarter into my dream internship, trying to figure out how to cram 8 to 10 weeks of experience into just 4. Though I have to spend countless hours over the weekend working on presentations and creative briefs – literally turning out pages of the best marketing ideas I have ever had – it’s the reminder that this is real life that keeps me going.
In new media, when we step out of the digital-meta-wiki-blog-pod bubble, we’re sometimes surprised to find that the real world can, and will go on without us. The benefit I have found however is that my time in new media has made me more entrepreneurial and ready to face those glimmers of opportunity, no matter how strange or oddly they are presented to us.
For that, I am eternally grateful for my circle of new media friends and the people I have met along the way. Thank you.
Technorati Tags: new media, mba internships, surviving business school
20SMF Episode #72 – New 20SM Contributors and Lessons In Upward Management
by Jared on June 5th, 2008
Brief introduction of a brand new contributor to 20-Something Marketing. We also list out the top 3 lessons learned in upward management.
Referenced Links:
Listen To Episode:
Download Episode:
Right Click Here & Save As To Download Full Episode
Subscribe Via iTunes| Subscribe Via Yahoo! | Send Us E-Mail
Technorati Tags: MBA, owen accelerator, upward management, Vanderbilt
What New Media Can Do For Traditional Marketing Careers
by Jared on April 16th, 2008
First off, I will admit that this post does have an ulterior motive. However, it is a point I have been meaning to make on the blog for some time, so bear with me.
For the last four to five months, I have been knee-deep in work related to finding something substantive to do over the summer. Today, I am finally getting a chance to get in front of a company where I think can align all of things I am good at, with a position where I can make an impact.
As with any interview for an MBA Internship, the fact that I am coming from a non-core school is a sizable hurdle. Normally, the advantage in such evaluations goes to the students from the business schools from which the company already is aquatinted. However, I hopefully have something else up my sleeve that will give me a competitive edge equal to any other; new media.
Though not my main selling point for this particular position, my work in new media illustrates how strategic analysis intersects with creativity and technical competency. In interviews, I like to say that I can bring more to the table than just the ability to crunch spreadsheets and create SWOT analyses; that I also have the technical and creative background to bridge that work with just about any type of cross-functional implementation team.
It occurs to me that this revelation is not only my selling point, but the selling point of many of those traditional marketers fascinated by the world of interactive media, blogs and social networking sites. Its not just about being the marketer who can visualize solutions in the “cool new medium,” its about being able to apply analytic solutions to a rapidly-evolving playground of consumer choice.
Cross-Posted From The Marketing Diner
Technorati Tags: Marketing Diner, MBA, MBA Interviews, new media interviews, surviving business school
20SMF Episode #70 – MBA Spin QnA
by Jared on February 26th, 2008
Answering questions related to getting your MBA including admissions, full time vs. part time, and what it’s like “on the inside.” Also, answering a deep backlog of other viewer mail.
Referenced Links:
- 20SMF’s MBA Spin Series
- Kindo – Cool Family Tree Building Site (Sent To Us By Daksh)
- Amazon.com – 20 Something Manifesto by Christine Hassler
- Christine Hassler’s Web Site
Listen To Episode:
Download Episode:
Right Click Here & Save As To Download Full Episode
Subscribe Via iTunes| Subscribe Via Yahoo! | Send Us E-Mail
Technorati Tags: 20-Something Manifesto, Christine Hassler, mba applications, mba full time, mba part time, Kindo
The MBA Internship Search Paradox
by Jared on January 18th, 2008
Reposted From my OwenBoggers.com Blog
Palms sweating and nerves racked, this time of year 1st year MBA students are frozen in place, hovering in a anxiety-stricken state of uncertainty. And that’s just before you hit the submit button.
It goes without saying that one of the most important parts of being an MBA student is finding the perfect internship. As a school climbing the rankings, Owen does all it can to help students get the right kind of exposure. However, the team here at Owen Career Management Center (CMC) seldom gets the kind of recognition that it should.
As rising stars in the career marketplace, Owen MBA, MAcc and MSF students have to work a little harder than most. In fact, some top tier employers are just now getting a glimpse of the kind of authenticity, drive and innovation Owen students bring to their respective positions.
What this means for Owen students is that the job hunt is more than just walking in the door of the CMC and expecting a job to be waiting. It means investigating multiple opportunities and dispelling the stereotype of the entitled business student.
In very real terms, the CMC is the living embodiment of how Owen works; a team of the best professionals in the business, succeeding when students decide to step up to the challenge. The only limiting factor to your job search is how much you want it.
Technorati Tags: MBA, MBA Internship, Owen Graduate School of Management, OwenBloggers, Vanderbilt University
20SMF Episode #69 – The ‘08 Resolutions Episode
by Jared on January 1st, 2008
In what has become a 20SM tradition; the first podcast of the year, I dedicate to resolutions and some words to live by in 2008.
Referenced Links:
Listen To Episode:
Download Episode:
Right Click Here & Save As To Download Full Episode
Subscribe Via iTunes| Subscribe Via Yahoo! | Send Us E-Mail
Technorati Tags: Owen Graduate School of Management, OwenBloggers, resolutions, Vanderbilt