MBA Insider's Blog

Leadership Development Opportunities at Anderson

About Rohan: Rohan Kumar is a first year Full Time student at UCLA Anderson. Hailing from New Delhi, Rohan holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Engineering. Prior to business school, he worked for Barclays as a Business Analyst in the bank’s Financial Crime Division. You can find Rohan playing tennis, trying out all restaurants humanly possible, or working (because business school does keep students busy)

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Coming into business school from a technical role and background, I was actively looking at an MBA program that would provide me opportunities to become a better leader and encourage me to get out of my comfort zone. In the process, my objective was become more confident, versatile, and empathetic. Anderson provides a plethora of opportunities to achieve this goal.

The journey began in the summer quarter, which included the Leadership Foundations course, prompting every student to introspect on what leadership means to them, and to list down opportunities that would help them achieve their leadership goals. Students also have an opportunity to sign up for Leadership@Anderson: the school’s MBA executive coaching program. Throughout the 2 years, many of the academic deliverables are group projects, allowing students to practice and mold leadership skills and understand group dynamics. There are Section elections and Student Body elections as well, empowering students to take on leadership roles and actively work towards the betterment of the Anderson community.

Our program is truly student led, and at the center of this experience are the over 50 student led clubs, where there are several leadership positions available. From Professional Clubs such as the Management Consulting Association to Interest Clubs such as the Craft Beer Club, the list is endless. Within these positions, the responsibilities of the first-year directors can vary from being the Director of Education to the Director of Social Events. Depending on your goals and interests, there are director positions for everyone, and it’s safe to say that these positions play a truly pivotal role in honing your leadership capabilities. Apart from being a member of the Admission Ambassador Corps, I hold diverse director positions in the Tech Business Association, Craft Beer Club and South Asian Business Association. My responsibilities range from speaking to prospective members, planning events in coordination with other clubs and partnering with other communities across UCLA to organize impactful programming.

Other leadership opportunities are available in the form of case competitions pertaining to a variety of industries (consulting, sports, entertainment, technology, you name it!) as well as informal opportunities such as organizing insanely fun trips/treks (Mammoth, Las Vegas, Israel, Morocco, Ghana). The UCLA Anderson community is made up of a truly diverse group of students. But if there's one trait we all have in common, it's that we're here to lead. 

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Student Blogger: Rohan Kumar ‘23

Undergrad: VIT University, Vellore ‘17

Pre-MBA: Senior Business Analyst, Barclays

Leadership@Anderson:  Director of Community, Tech Business Association; Admissions Ambassador Corps; Admit Events Committee; Director of Club Relations, Craft Beer Club; Director of Social and Partnerships; South Asian Business Association

Recruiting for Gaming at Anderson

About Emily: Emily Fan (’23) is originally from Vancouver, BC Canada. She graduated from McGill University with a business degree and concentrations in Marketing and International Business. After graduation, Emily moved to Los Angeles to start a career within the advertising world. She began working in a multicultural media agency as a Media Coordinator and ultimately became an Account Manager at Mindshare Singapore. Emily has worked in prominent agencies in both LA and Singapore and across high profile brands such as Toyota, Chanel, and Lionsgate. At Anderson, she seeks to pivot from agency onto the brand side as a Product Marketing or Brand Manager in the video game industry. Emily is passionate about entertainment, games, diversity and inclusion, and global communities.

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Anderson boasts great resources for folks aiming to recruit for one of the fastest growing industries within digital entertainment and tech – gaming. Despite the significant industry growth, gaming remains a relatively niche career path among MBA recruiting. As such, I will outline the general recruiting parameters (i.e. timeline, job postings, interview structure) as well as the key resources available at Anderson to help you succeed in this space.

TOP RECRUITING PARAMETERS & TIPS

1. TIMELINE: Unlike consulting, tech, or other on-campus recruiting, gaming is much more unstructured. Job postings can become available as early as September to as late as May/June depending on the company. Consequently, gaming folks may consistently have interviews starting from October onwards until late April of your first year. Other than a few of the larger companies (PlayStation, Blizzard, Riot Games), most companies will on begin posting until after January/ February. The peak of the interview timeline is during March. Pro-Tip: Make sure you begin prepping for interviews as soon as fall quarter begins – you never know when your interviews will start. 
2. JOB POSTINGS: Now, where can you find job postings? Unfortunately, Parker’s MyCareer database does not typically feature gaming postings other than those of the few big companies listed previously. And so this is where “Beyond Campus Recruiting” really kicks in – it is your responsibility to source job postings to apply to. Luckily, Anderson has a great gaming community of 2nd years (and eventually incoming 1st years) who will post any job postings they find within a Slack group. This team effort makes sure that you don’t miss any job postings. Separately, LinkedIn will be your best friend – most gaming companies will make job postings on LinkedIn. Pro-Tip: Set up LinkedIn job alerts like “MBA Internship Gaming” to ensure that you receive alerts/remain updated on all new postings. When searching for a specific role, it might be beneficial to include the “Posts” filter on LinkedIn as well – this will allow you to see any connections/professionals talking about this job posting and may help you in identifying who to reach out to to learn more about the role.
3. INTERVIEW: Gaming interviews are generally behavioral with “case-like” questions. This means that the case questions are usually gaming-specific, which are slightly less structured than consulting/tech case questions and much more conversational. Pro-Tip: If the interviewer asks you what you’re playing now – that’s a case! This is your chance to talk about the game’s business and monetization strategies.

ANDERSON RESOURCES

1. ANDERSON CAREER TEAMS (ACT): Your ACT team is your support system – this is filled with 5-8 classmates who are similarly passionate about a career in gaming. Anderson having a specific team dedicated to gaming is a huge plus. Your ACT Coaches are 2nd year students who have dedicated their time to build a curriculum about the industry for you and help you succeed. They will teach you the general terminology, concepts, and trends within the industry. Your coaches will also be available to chat whenever you have any issues or recruiting questions.
   
2. INTERVIEW PREP TEAM (IPT): After moving on from ACT, you will be assigned to a gaming-specific interview prep team. Your IPT Coaches can be your existing ACT Coaches or other 2nd years who volunteer specifically to be IPT Coaches. You will meet with them weekly in smaller groups than ACT and practice mock interview questions and cases. Your IPT Coaches will be able to answer any specific interview questions/advice that you may have when prepping for an upcoming interview.
   
3. ALUMNI: One of the most valuable resources Anderson offers is its extensive alumni network within entertainment, and specifically, gaming. Reaching out to alums on LinkedIn typically yields high response rates. I have had over 30 coffee chats and a wealth of valuable information about specific companies and roles/functions. They are also usually happy to refer you to any internship postings. Alums will also participate in mentorship programs and panels hosted by the Entertainment Management Association (EMA), allowing for students to build closer professional relationships with alumni. 

Final Pro-Tip: Last but not least, trust the process. Gaming is a tough industry to get into. It will no doubt get tiring with such long recruiting timelines, especially when all your friends/classmates are done recruiting. But don’t give up, you’ll make it as long as you rely on the Anderson support system!

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Student Blogger: Emily Fan ‘23

Undergrad: McGill University (’14) 

Pre-MBA: Account Manager, Mindshare (CHANEL Account)

Leadership@Anderson: President, Asian Management Students Association; VP of Admit Weekends, Admission Ambassador Corps; VP of Conferences, Entertainment Management Association; VP of Social, Japan America Business Association

5 of My Favorite Anderson Experiences

About Brad: Brad Schierhorn (’23) is first-year full time MBA student at UCLA Anderson. Prior to business school, he worked in asset management at an affordable housing investment firm in Boston. At Anderson, he seeks to develop his real estate and finance skills to pursue a career in acquisitions. Brad is a huge sports fan and loves to spend as much time outside as possible.

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As you’ve probably learned by reading other blog posts, there is no shortage of things to do throughout your MBA experience. As we are already in Spring quarter and almost done with our first year, I can attest that it goes by fast, so make sure to enjoy it! Here are my top five experiences thus far at Anderson.

Orientation week

This is the time to meet your classmates! One of my favorite aspects of Anderson is meeting people from different backgrounds, countries, and industries. Throughout orientation week, you will take your first class (Leadership Foundations), attend several seminars about life at Anderson, and have social events each night. This was a whirlwind of a week, but one of my favorites as there was no shortage of things to do. This year, there was one happy hour on Monday on campus and then the Onboarding Committee set up happy hours two nights where each section was assigned a local establishment in Sawtelle/Santa Monica to meet at. Make sure to take advantage of this time to meet people as the Fall and Winter get much busier as you take more classes and begin recruiting.

Tailgating at the Rose Bowl

One reason why I wanted to come to Anderson was to get the big school experience and attend big time football and basketball games. Although a bit of a trek from West LA (30 miles or so), I highly recommend getting out to the Rose Bowl for some football games. Make sure to get there early for some awesome tailgating! The Rose Bowl is right next to a golf course where thousands of UCLA fans enjoy food, drinks, and lawn games before the football game. The tailgating atmosphere is amazing and the weather is tough to beat. Carpool with a group of friends or join one of the Anderson tailgates and I’ll see you out there next year!

UT Case Competition

Throughout your time at Anderson, you will have the opportunity to participate in case competitions. These can be on campus, virtual, or you might even get to travel. I was fortunate enough to compete in the UT McCombs National Real Estate Challenge with five of my classmates last November. We were given a prompt on a Thursday, had to submit our slide deck on Sunday, and then presented to a panel of judges the following Thursday with 19 other MBA programs. Although that week was stressful, it was absolutely one of my favorite experiences at Anderson. Within our group, we really bonded over that week and it was a blast to compete with other schools. After the competition was over, we chose to stay an extra night and enjoy a night out in Austin. I highly recommend participating in case competitions if you get the chance! 

Ski trip

One of the big Anderson traditions is to go on a ski trip after Fall quarter. This is organized by students on the board of Challenge for Charity (C4C) each year and is usually in early-mid December. This year’s destination was Whistler and we had an absolute blast. The planning team did an awesome job of organizing transportation to/from the Vancouver airport, picking a hotel within walking distance of everything, and setting up a great social schedule throughout the week. Theme nights included onesies, 80s, and Canadian tuxedos. To top it all off, I don’t think it stopped snowing the four days we were there.

Days at the beach

This is more of an ongoing experience as I don’t have one particular day in mind. As most students live in West LA, the beaches are pretty easy to access. My favorite is Manhattan Beach, but Will Rogers and Santa Monica are also great and closer for most of us. Whether you like to surf, play beach games, or just relax and enjoy some sun, there’s something for everyone at the beach. My favorite activities are volleyball and body surfing. I haven’t tried real surfing yet, but maybe my classmate Gus Avarello ’23 will show me the ropes sometime! The weather here is amazing and I try to enjoy as much time at the beach as possible.

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Student Blogger: Brad Schierhorn '23

Undergrad: Dartmouth College ’16

Pre-MBA: VP, R4 Capital

Leadership@Anderson: First-Year Director, Admissions Ambassador Corps; Director of Admissions & Academic Affairs, Association for Real Estate at Anderson

How to Come to Anderson Best Prepared for Recruiting

About Chris: Chris Kuchera (’23) is a first-year student at UCLA Anderson. He was born and raised in New Jersey and attended the University of Pittsburgh where he studied Industrial Engineering. Prior to Anderson, he worked at Deloitte in the Risk and Financial Advisory sector in New York. This upcoming summer, Chris will be returning to New York to complete an internship as an investment banking summer associate at Bank of America. Outside of academics, Chris enjoys the extensive health and fitness communities/events in Los Angeles and taking short trips to ski in the major western mountain resorts.

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It is certainly true that an MBA degree equips students with the knowledge, skills, and frameworks to succeed in their post-graduate careers. However, most students will find that the process of finding summer internships, which most often lead to post-graduation roles, starts and ends well before even the core MBA classes are completed. Therefore, it is incredibly important to begin the MBA journey well prepared for the recruitment cycle. From my experience throughout this process, the three best ways to prepare before coming to campus are to: 

1. Create detailed accounts of professional accomplishments, leadership examples, or even mistakes that led to learning opportunities
2. Explore and articulate your “why” – why do you need an MBA, why do you want to work in your desired industry
3. Practice networking in less formal settings to become more comfortable with creating professional connections

Professional Accomplishments

I remember being explicitly told prior to Anderson to document my successes, failures, or other relevant anecdotes from my professional career before leaving my job. Trying to be efficient, I figured my current resume and previous versions of it dating back to my undergraduate studies would more than suffice as a record of my professional career, and therefore chose not to create this document. My first meeting with the Parker Career Center showed me this decision to rely on simple resumes and memory for my professional history was an extremely poor choice. 

In my first Parker meeting, I found that I didn’t know nearly as much about the traits Investment Banks look for as I thought. Each item on my resume prompted detailed questions from my advisor that I couldn’t quite remember (e.g., did you create or edit an existing financial model for this project? How did you account for varying economic conditions?). I knew the exact documents or emails I could search on my work laptop to find these answers, however that access had long been terminated, leaving some small but important details from my accomplishments. Had I taken the time to record these details prior to Anderson, many of my professional anecdotes would have been improved from strong to outstanding accounts of my accomplishments. 

Finding Your “Why”

In almost any interview, it is guaranteed one or all of the following questions will be asked: why did you choose to get an MBA, why do you want to work in this industry, and why do you want to work at this company. The first time I was asked why I’m pursuing an MBA, I thought that was an easy question – I chose to get an MBA to further my education, to expand my network, and to help pivot my professional career to one that better aligns with my goals and aspirations. If you’re thinking that sounds like a strong response (which I obviously did), I can tell you it is unfortunately not. These seemingly simple questions in reality require a lot of thought and preparation. My advice – really explore the second question about industry before you begin your MBA (or, if you’re undecided about industry, think about what motivates you, what aspects of work do you enjoy, which industries might fit you and why). The first question (why MBA) can be better answered after spending some time on campus with your classmates, and the third question (why this company) only becomes apparent after significant networking in your chosen field. 

Practicing Networking

Just like any other skill, networking is something that can be improved with practice. To place into an MBA internship, some degree of networking will be required, and many industries require months of extensive exploratory conversations and coffee chats. Given the importance of having successful conversations and making meaningful connections during the recruiting cycle, my advice is to begin practicing in your close network. For example, connecting with prior MBA graduates, classmates from undergraduate (who have experience in your desired field), or even current UCLA Anderson students not only provides insightful advice but also helps to identify your strengths and weaknesses when developing professional connections. When networking for your summer internship, you will be more adept at selling yourself, developing intriguing questions, and keeping conversations flowing and engaging.

What I strongly advise against is to begin reaching out to potential employers prior to coming to business school (with the exception of official channels such as pre-MBA internships). Many industries have certain nuances and professional norms you may not be aware of, and beginning the networking process without the pre-recruiting training from the Parker Career Center may be detrimental to your efforts. 

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Student Blogger: Chris Kuchera ‘23

Undergrad: University of Pittsburgh (’15) – B.S. Industrial Engineering

Pre-MBA: Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory

Leadership @ Anderson: First Year Director, Admissions Ambassador Corps; First Year Director Day on the Job Investment Banking; VP of Yield, Admissions Ambassador Corps; VP of Education, Investment Finance Association