The MBA Student Voice

How to Keep Up

During my first graduate program, at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, I studied the potential of leveraging media and technology to spark social change. Among my exploration of television and film as tools for activating people around important social issues, I studied the Twitter revolution in Egypt and the uncanny popularity of YouTube, integrating philosophy, sociology, education theory, and technical knowledge to develop my new understanding of how the world works - and evolves - in a new digital age.

My most poignant take-away from my time at Harvard: The key to creating change is the ability to keep up with change.

Constant waves in new technologies do the best job of illustrating this phenomenon. For example, any successful marketer today must understand the new technological tools that customers use to communicate. In this way, studying technology from the outside is nearly impossible - as soon as we have a grasp of a technology’s presence and impact, technology has evolved once again.

This week, Dean Olian hosted Robert (Bob) E. Moritz, Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC on campus as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series. As a member of the U.S. leadership team of the one of the largest professional services companies in the world and a well-published thought leader, Moritz shared insights on leadership style, new trends that traverse industries, and Millennials in the workforce. Throughout the conversation, his responses were anchored around a very familiar core concept: To succeed, we must keep up with change. 

In professional services - arguably more than in any other industry - success is dependent on a deep understanding of the latest ideas and trends, and then bringing those to clients as tools for change. Internally, applying such tools is just as important.

Polished and practiced, Moritz spoke in concise, yet comprehensive bullet points and lists (e.g., “four fundamental questions,” “three shifts,” and “five trends”). PwC understands that it must continuously evolve its service offerings and adapt to an increasingly globalized society, and do so faster, and faster.

Moritz called out that firms like PwC need leaders who “can navigate the grey zone.” The grey zone no longer only symbolizes ambiguity; it references the space between present and future, the active state of shifting from one point to the next. And in that grey zone, Moritz reminds us, failure is not only encouraged, but embraced. Failure signifies risk. And in a faster world, we must take risks in order to keep moving.

Moritz posed a question that he then subsequently answered: “What skills do we need to keep up with the pace of change?” And, in my opinion, that is the key. We - both organizations and individual professionals - must all cultivate the skills to “keep up.” It is no longer enough to just know how to create change; the most critical skills are agility and flexibility in a rapidly changing world.

Mentors + New Job

Let's talk about mentors.  I'm a big proponent of hustling and carving your own way, but I'm also a huge advocate for cultivating mentor relationships.  I like to think of my life as a garden, and while I ultimately get to decide which seeds to plant, mentors have given me invaluable advice on how to achieve the tastiest vegetables.

Pictured above are two of my mentors, Jen and Paula, at an Anderson x Disney mixer we helped co-host.  They're both Anderson alumni and current Disney cast members who have helped shape my career into what it is today.

Jennifer Roth Dickerson (FEMBA '12): Jen entered my life while I was only a first year and she's been an amazing mentor and friend.  She helped me secure my internship and resulting full-time job, gave me advice on how to navigate the landscape here at Disney, and it's been great to see how our relationship has developed.  I'm extremely grateful to have her as a part of my circle, and we still regularly meet for happy hour or lunches.

Paula McMahon (EMBA '12): Paula is a VP at DI Media and we were paired up when I first started.  Sometimes paired mentor relationships can fizzle out, but we're actually very compatible, and she's given me everything from emotional guidance to great pieces of advice.  One of the earliest (but one of the most impactful) nuggets of wisdom she gave me was when she told me to fly up to SF to visit the LucasFilm team.  I was new and hesitant to spend money on Travel & Expenses.  However, I took her advice, and that face time with the team was crucial in establishing my relationship with them and it lead to an easier working relationship down the line.

Some Advice: People often ask me for advice about how to maintain a strong mentor relationship, and I would say that the most important thing to remember is that mentoring is a two-way street- you have to invest in the relationship as well.  And, I really encourage that you pay it forward and mentor others as well.

New Job: Speaking of mentors, they've been so important to my career so far, and they're how I was recently able to make the jump to a new position at DI Media.  I know it's only been 7-8 months at Disney full-time, but I couldn't resist when it was offered to me!  As my new role, I'll be the Chief of Staff to the SVP of DI Media, focusing on strategy and brand.  Basically, I get to run around and do special projects for our business unit.  I'll definitely keep you all posted on how it goes, but I'm excited!

 

Applying to Business School as a Couple

Recently we have received a lot of questions around applying to business school as a couple. For couples in this situation, there is a lot riding on the outcome of your applications. Daniela Castillo and David Valencia, members of the Class of 2016, were in this situation not too long ago. Here is their story:

Our journey applying to business school was special. Not only because we were international applicants, but also because we had a wedding to plan. We are second-year MBA students at UCLA Anderson, and we want to share with you our experience of applying to business school as an international couple.

Taking the GMAT

Business school has been part of our relationship since the beginning. We met at a GMAT student prep center back home in Bogotá, Colombia. The MBA was part of our respective career plans, and in each other we found a study partner who shared similar professional objectives.

Anyone thinking about an MBA has to face the challenging reality of taking the GMAT. Our strategy was to study at least one hour each day after work. We say “at least” because sometimes we studied for way more than one hour. It is not always easy to say “no” to other activities, especially social gatherings, parties, dinners, and the like. But we put our MBA application goal before anything else. Actually, studying for the GMAT became a way to spend a lot of time together and we learned very much about each other.

Once we had the scores we aimed for, we had thorough conversations about where we really wanted to go for business school. We spoke about rankings, career interests and classes, we reached out to alumni, and we even thought about weather as a factor that would affect our two-year experience.

Our recommendation to couples is to talk about everything on your mind. Avoid later surprises by discussing what really matters to you and your partner. At this stage, you have to factor in everything that could help you make a decision about where to go. In our case it was not easy, we each had different career priorities; but we ended up applying to three business schools that aligned with our interests, and UCLA Anderson was one of them.

What I wish I would have known when applying to b-school

Recently I have been asked by several prospective students variations of this question—if you could go back, what do you wish you would have know when applying to b-school? It is a great question. As I have thought about it, there have been several things that have come to mind, but the one I want to focus on is the importance of location.

When I was originally applying to business school, location was a very important factor. I wanted to be in a place that promoted a tight-knit student culture, and I wanted to go to school in a region I was interested in living in post-MBA. However, the one aspect of location I didn't consider, and for me as a career switcher is extremely important, is whether or not the local business community will provide me with opportunities to gain the skills and experiences I need to help me successfully switch careers.

Although I didn't realize it when applying, being in Los Angeles would be a key part of my success in being able to get to where I am now in the career switch process. Before business school, my work experience was primarily in operations. I spent the last 2+ years before Anderson at Goldman Sachs. When I came back to school, not only did I want to change functions to marketing, I wanted to change industries as well. Changing just functions or only industries is very common in b-school, but attempting to make the double switch is a bit more difficult.

So, what is the local business community like and how exactly has being in LA helped me? The startup scene in LA is booming and there are a ton of opportunities for students to gain valuable experience beyond just the typical MBA summer internship. There are also a lot of bigger well known name brands that hire part-time interns during the school year like Disney, NBC, etc. This summer I began building my marketing experience as a Brand and Content Marketing intern at Castlight Health. I wanted to continue that momentum and keep building on my marketing experience, and have recently started another internship in Brand Management at Little Tikes. I am confident that these experiences and skills I will continue to build beyond my summer internship will help me successfully make my desired career transition.

So what would I say to those out there looking to apply to business school? If you are considering switching careers, think carefully about how will the program and location of the school put you in the best position to make that switch.

Follow @UCLAMBA on Instagram to get a student perspective on life at Anderson. Also, follow me and UCLA Anderson on Twitter: @jhuntington14 and @UCLAMBA.

Introduction: Samantha Skarin

Hi! My name is Samantha Skarin and I’m a member of UCLA Anderson’s class of 2017.

 

 

You’ll likely see more of my contributions on UCLAMBA’s Instagram account, but I wanted to introduce myself none-the-less. I’m from Brooklyn, NY (born and raised) - hence the Dodgers reference - and I moved out to LA in August.

Some more fast facts about me:

 

 

Undergraduate School: Cornell University

Undergraduate Major: Design and Environmental Analysis: Human Factors and Ergonomics (that would be an “other” on the application drop-down)

 

Pre-Anderson Job(s): I spent my first few years after college working at a small branding and marketing firm in New York called DeSantis Breindel before moving over to a marketing technology agency called HelloWorld (formerly ePrize). My roles have primarily been in account management, project management and new business development, though because I’ve been at smaller companies, I’ve had the opportunity to wear a LOT of hats.

 

Post-Anderson job aspiration: Product management in tech.

 

What I’m most excited about: Getting out of my comfort zone and having the opportunity to try new things, explore, learn, and develop long-lasting friendships in such a vibrant and collaborative environment.

 

Why Anderson?: How do I love thee, let me count the ways (sonnets FTW!). I chose Anderson because from the moment I started thinking about my MBA and researching the programs, I was totally blown away by the resources Anderson has available, the diversity in electives, and all that LA as a city, and a business hub, has to offer. Further down the admissions path, everyone I met: alumni, professors, current students, incoming students, administration, were just so amazing, helpful, and enthusiastic about Anderson and its community, and I know I’m in for an incredible and life-changing two years (and beyond).

 

I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with you! Besides the @UCLAMBA Instagram account, you can also follow me on my personal account @samanthaes.