About Sam: Sam Wilbur (’23) is a first year at UCLA Anderson and double Bruin. Prior to Anderson, he was an Associate for Spencer Stuart, a global executive search firm, in the San Francisco office. In his spare time, you can find Sam glued to the television watching his beloved Angels, Rams, and UCLA Bruins (typically disappointing him greatly), reading the nerdiest fantasy books he can find, or playing video games with his friends.
You’ve made it - bright eyed and bushy tailed. You are finally on campus for your first quarter of business school. In the last couple weeks, you’ve become friends with your section mates, re-acquainted yourself with the classroom and school assignments, and you’re learning all the amazing things that Anderson has to offer.
But, you slowly realize that when it comes to your personal career goals, you’re in the minority. Speaking with your classmates, 70-80% of them are recruiting for “traditional” MBA industries such as the Big Three (Consulting, Finance, and Tech). You may be interested in entertainment and came to Anderson for its Hollywood connections. Or perhaps you’re interested in education or NGOs. Maybe you’re even like me, so passionate about sports that you wrote on a Kindergarten paper as a 5-year-old that you wanted to be a General Manager of a sports team when you grow up.
As the great Bob Marley once said, “Don’t worry.” For one, non-traditional MBA industries are becoming… well, more traditional. Second, Anderson is one of the most diverse business schools when it comes to post-grad industries. And third, I’m here to give you the three biggest tips on how to successfully navigate recruiting for non-traditional industries at Anderson.
1. Network, network, network
This could easily be all three hints. While networking is important in any industry, it’s even more vital when it comes to non-traditional industries. One of the things you’ll learn early on at Anderson is the difference between On-Campus Recruiting (OCR) and Beyond Campus Recruiting (BCR). OCR means the companies come to you. There will be major networking events, coffee chats, and easy to submit resume drops for most of the major MBA industries. BCR means you have to hustle and blaze your own path to get yourself in front of companies. Most non-traditional industries are going to fall under the BCR umbrella, as companies in these industries may not have typical MBA internships/full-time recruiting programs and may only hire as needed.
What does this mean for you? You can’t simply rely on dropping resumes and building relationships with target companies during the interview process; you have to build relationships before any potential applications drop. Fortunately, you can workshop this networking process first on people who are more likely to be willing to chat with you: 2nd years, Anderson alums, and other business school alums. As you get more and more comfortable with networking, you can begin to reach out to professionals at target companies who work in roles you may be interested in. And remember, even though you may only get a response for one of every 10 or 20 outreaches, you only need ONE great connection to get your ideal internship/job!
2. 2nd years are your best friends
As intimidating as it might seem to be in the 5-10% of people in your class recruiting for your industry, remember there is a whole group of people who were in your exact same shoes just 12 months ago. When it comes to recruiting for non-traditional industries, 2nd years can be your best friends. As you progress from the summer into fall quarter, you’ll start to meet 2nd years within business and social clubs that you’ve joined. Even more important, you’ll get to know your ACT (Anderson Career Team) coaches. These 2nd years volunteer their time to coach you up every week on everything you need to know about the industry you’re interested in. Utilize your ACT sessions to ask important questions about how the coaches got their internship, the unique aspects of recruiting within your industry, and what other 2nd years may be helpful to get in touch with.
3. Lean into the resources Parker has to offer
The Parker Career Center is one of the best resources Anderson has to offer. Every 1st year is assigned to a dedicated career advisor who specializes in your industry (even the non-traditional ones!). Your advisor is there for you, they want to see you succeed, and they have the unique experience of coaching many students over the years who came to business school to pivot into a different industry. Similar to 2nd years, they will be chock-full of advice on how to prepare resumes and cover letters specific to your industry, navigate BCR, and succeed in your interviews. You also are free to engage with any advisors beyond your assigned one that may provide different insights into your desired field. Additionally, Parker provides tons of other resources, such as lists of alumni in each industry, that can make the networking and the BCR process much easier.
So once again, don’t worry! Recruiting for non-traditional MBA industries can be much smoother than you might initially imagine, especially at Anderson. In addition to utilizing these tips, talk with your fellow classmates who are interested in the same industry you are. At business school, you can learn just as much from your classmates as you can from your professors, both in and out of the classroom. And if you have further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me personally ([email protected]) and I’d be happy to further walk through any of this with you!
Go Bruins,
Sam Wilbur
Student Blogger: Sam Wilbur ‘23
Undergrad: UCLA ‘16
Pre-MBA: Associate, Spencer Stuart
Leadership@Anderson: Director, Admissions, Sports Business Association; Director, Marketing, Admissions Ambassador Corps; Director, AnderCup, Challenge For Charity; Director, Operations and Finance, A Comedy Club
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