The MBA Student Voice

Anderson Case Competitions: Pick your flavor

One of the items that topped my business school bucket list was “participate in a case competition.” I didn’t have the opportunity to compete in one during undergrad and thought it would be the perfect avenue to apply the many skills that I’m honing at Anderson. Plus it’s a quintessential bschool activity, almost a right of passage. Luckily, Anderson hosts a range of case competitions on campus each year, so students have a lot of interesting challenges from a range of industries to cut their teeth on.

During the fall, some of my classmates came up with the next big thing for Amazon during the HTBA Amazon Case Competition and solved a complex hypothetical growth problem for Smart Things during the 2014 Deloitte National Case Challenge. This winter quarter, my friend and fellow first-year, Dan Abbott, and his teammates took home the gold during the 4th annual Challenges in Energy Case Competition for their win-win solution for EV charging at commercial location. Another friend, Liz Prutting, competed in the Entertainment Case Competition during the annual MEMES Pulse Conference, sponsored by Paramount Pictures. Her team came up with a set of creative recommendations on how to move media consumers up the margin ladder for movie purchases.

I, on the other hand, leapt into the case comp pool by way of the Net Impact Consulting Challenge (NICC), which took place last weekend. While most case competitions are just a few days, the NICC was a fascinating 2.5-week real consulting engagement with a real client. All participating clients were local LA non-profit organizations that signed up with real issues they needed help analyzing. My team of five was paired with a client org, which will remain anonymous, that has a serious volunteer recruitment and retention problem. (They rely on volunteers for 90% of all activities.) As someone who is deeply interested in all things human-capital-management related, this was a great fit for me!

Over the course of the next two and a half weeks, our team conducted extensive secondary research on volunteer trends and best practices in the non-profit sector. This informed our primary research, as we did multiple site visits to interview volunteers and conduct surveys. Ultimately we came up with a detailed plan outlining different recruitment and retention tactics to increase volunteer numbers and keep them engaged longer, and presented our recommendations to a panel of social impact experts. I wish the story ended with "then we won first place!" But it doesn't, because we didn't. We didn't even advance to the finals. But that didn't matter - our client was thrilled with our research, analysis, and recommendations. In a follow-up meeting, they said that they planned to implement most, if not all, of our suggestions. That meant more to our team than any first place prize. Plus, now I think I've found a new organization to volunteer with here in LA!

In other Anderson Case Competition news (for all you bankers out there) - tomorrow marks the kick-off of the Fink Center Stock Pitch Competition 2015. Good luck to the team representing Anderson!

Team Sugar Dumplings: Richard Wang, Britney Sussman, Kirby Ryan, Lucy Prom, and Lindsee Redmond

Follow me on twitter: @brit808 

Favorite Recruiting Moments of Fall 2014

I survived my first quarter!! No, I didn’t just survive; I flourished! But it wasn’t easy. Over the last three months, I was stretched and challenged in ways that change a person. I had 36 hours of things to do each day, and I had to bring my A-game to everything. First quarter classes are extremely rigorous and Google was recruiting on campus Day 1, so for 12 weeks I did a calculated dance between academics, recruiting, and social activities. It was intense and I’m a better version of myself because of it.

Sometimes I would be on the phone to my parents and would have to stop myself and say, “It might sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. I love this. Every email I send, every informational interview I do, and every hour I put into studying is all about me and my future. It’s not about my boss or the organization I work for. It’s about me. It’s a uniquely selfish time and I love every minute of it.”

All of the hard work paid off, and at the end of the quarter, I accepted an offer for a summer internship (stay tuned for more about that in a future post). However it’s not about the destination, but the path you take to get there, and I really enjoyed the recruiting process. I recruited for human capital consulting and internal human capital management roles at tech companies. It is a field that is gaining interest at Anderson as more companies think strategically about how they manage their employees. Companies make presentations daily and nightly on campus, but here are my top four favorite recruiting events of fall quarter:

1. MCA Firm Kickoff – At Anderson, a lot of the recruiting takes place through on-campus professional clubs. The opportunities for consulting are run through the Management Consulting Association (MCA). At the MCA Firm Kickoff, over 15 top firms sent representatives to meet Anderson students. Each practice was stationed at a cocktail table, and for three hours, students could walk around and network with each one. It was a formal yet casual affair, and the perfect venue to make a good first impression with a variety of firms. The event was also on the night before the Statistics midterm, so it served as a good lesson in balancing academics and recruiting.
2. National Academy of Human Resources Foundation – The NAHR hosts an annual dinner and meeting with its fellows in New York City each November. One of the NAHR Foundation initiatives is to include select MBA students in the event, with the goal of attracting “top first year Master’s students to the HR profession.” I was chosen to represent Anderson at this year’s NAHR dinner, where I had the chance to chat with CHROs from a range of Fortune 100 companies. It was inspiring to hear from executives who have shaped the HR function over the last few decades.
3. Deloitte Human Capital Case Workshop – Deloitte has one of the leading human capital consulting practices and a growing office in LA. So I jumped at the chance to learn from some of the best at a case workshop they did on campus. Five practitioners, who were all also Anderson alumni, generously spent four hours on a Friday walking us through the Deloitte approach to casing. They provided us with valuable feedback after we worked through a practice case in groups. The day wrapped with a happy hour at a bar in West LA, which was a great way to get to know the Deloitte HC Anderson team a little better.
4. Days on the Job Tech Trek – Fellow Student Voice Blogger, Piyush Jain, published an earlier article that talks about this week in more detail, but to quickly summarize: for one week in November deemed “DOJ Week,” classes were canceled and Anderson students flew all around the country, visiting companies they are interested in. The High Tech Business Association (HTBA) organized the Tech Trek, which allowed me to jet up to Seattle, then down to San Francisco and visit Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, Visa, LinkedIn, eBay, Intel, and Autodesk. It was an incredible opportunity to network with Anderson alumni working at each of these companies and experience the corporate culture first hand. I was able to ask recruiters about strategic HR summer internship opportunities and hear about their human capital issues. For example, we toured Visa Inc.’s recently-opened innovation outpost in the heart of San Francisco. As Visa prepares to do a lot of tech hiring, the new office is a statement of how Visa is branding itself to compete for top talent against other companies.

After such a rewarding first quarter, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the school year has in store for me. Here’s to an incredible 2015!

The group of Master's students who were selected to participate in the 2014 National Academy of Human Resources Annual Dinner and Discussion Meeting in New York City.

Anderson students who visited Adobe during the San Francisco "Days on the Job" Tech Trek.

Update from Los Angeles

Things are starting to pick up speed here in Los Angeles. (No, I am not referring to the traffic conditions..) A bunch of students have been moving in and settling down over the past few weeks, so let me share with you some quick updates on some of the local action as things start to heat up!

Over the summer, the Parker Career Management Center does a great job getting incoming students toned, ripped, and into shape for the Fall. In addition to introspective self assessments that would make Warren Buffett second-guess his career choice, 360 degree feedback that would make Shaun White's head spin, information interviews with a thoroughness rivaling that of Bob Woodward, career industry and function research exercises, resume writing guidance with more action-bullets than Grand Theft Auto V, and technical skill building, there's room for some fun preparation too! The Summer Mixer Series hosted by the Anderson staff and Student Clubs is one example.

Dean Judy Olian speaking at the Summer Mixer event at Shutters on the Beach

Forte Women's MBA Conference 2014

Aside from Commencement, another exciting event that took place on campus in June was the annual Forte Women's MBA Conference. This was the second time UCLA Anderson hosted the conference (the first time was in 2012).  Among the hundreds of attendees from around the country was incoming UCLA Anderson Forte Fellow Sarah Wolf who shared some insights on the event below.  Read on to learn more!

EA Conference highlights

This post comes courtesy of the UCLA Anderson blog and was written by Asmi Shah, Class of 2014. 

The 2014 Entrepreneur Association Conference: The Evolving Entrepreneur is the best thing I’ve done at Anderson. Since October, I had been working with Kristina Bidovec (’14) and Bo Pulito (’14) to organize the event. This year, we created a partnership between the Entrepreneur Association (EA) and High Tech Business Association (HTBA) to expand the reach of the conference. Countless hours were spent brainstorming themes, new initiatives and of course – keynotes. We knew that keynotes pull a crowd and sell tickets, so there was a lot of pressure to get this right. Judging by the response last Friday, we indeed got it right: Sean Rad, Founder & CEO of Tinder, along with Anderson’s own Emily Taylor; Kelly Perdew, CEO of TargetClose; and Mohanjit Jolly, Partner & Managing Director at DFJ Venture.

Kristina, Bo and I also worked with a group of 25 students to organize panels and content, obtain sponsors, market the event and run operations.  It was a lot of work, but I was inspired by the passion and energy our team brought.  We were the managers  — thinking strategically about the event, the Anderson brand name, and how to maximize community engagement. We motivated the team when the end goal was months and months away. The three of us rallied together when ticket sales seemed slow, so we reached out to additional media sponsors, emailed personal contacts, and physically canvased co-working spaces and the rest of the UCLA campus. 

I’m proud of our entire team, as the conference was a resounding success. We sold more than 500 tickets, received media coverage from prominent L.A. press, secured new sponsors, and hopefully sparked a few new investments. By working on the conference, I not only formed lasting relationships with my classmates, I also gained experience in management, negotiation, marketing, sponsorship, operations, finance and decision-making. I felt like a mini-CEO! The Evolving Entrepreneur has made a splash in Los Angeles, and I’m proud to be a part of it.  

See photos of the EA Conference here.

Joint Ventures Winter/Spring 2014 Calendar

Sorry it's taken half the quarter to get our calendar for the new year sorted out but we've got some fun things happening over the next few months so stick this on your fridge, RSVP for the hike & picnic next Saturday, then come out to happy hour tomorrow night from 7-9pm at Taberna Arros y Vi in Santa Monica (90min free parking in all city lots)! :)

Looking forward to seeing many of you soon,
Neel, Tyler, Sunny and your Class of 2015 section reps, Carla, Brian, Andrew, Dan & Amir

Another year over, a new one has begun...

I know this is a few weeks late to qualify as a new year post but hey, I go by the Chinese New Year so technically I'm a few days early yet! ;)

Seriously, can you believe it is the year 2014?! It just sounds so futuristic to me... I didn't think it was possible but fall quarter second year went by even faster than it did first year. Looking back I realize I was a pretty big slacker on the blogging front so here's a quick photo recap of the last few months:

AnderCanadian Thanksgiving brunch with bottomless mimosas at Le Soleil Westwood

Guest Post - UCLA Anderson Wine Club

Just in time for the holiday season, today's guest post comes to us from Emily Scadden, MBA '14 and member of UCLA Anderson's highly popular Wine Club.  The group's mission is to educate members about all things wine-related, for both personal and professional development.  

Standing in front of a label-free bottle of Bordeaux, I think to myself, “It’s go-time.” I give my glass another tilt and let the smooth red swirl from the tip of my tongue to the back of my throat. After two failed attempts to discern the main characteristics of this lovely blend, I’m determined to redeem myself in this blind Bordeaux tasting. I’m confident it’s a medium-bodied wine, with a vintage between 2008-2012. But as for dominant varietal and flavor, clearly the complexity of the wine is getting the best of me.

Hmm, what can it be?

I faced this challenged to my palette at the Bordeaux Matchmaking event at Monsieur Marcel in Beverly Hills last night. The event brought together more than 200 wine enthusiasts from UCLA Anderson School of Management and USC Marshall School of Business. And with more than 20 wines from Bordeaux being poured, the region showed off the diversity and complexity of its offerings.

As the grand-père of the blend, Bordeaux reds take their flavor mainly from cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, and malbec grapes. The whites from sauvignon blanc and semillon. After answering a survey of my tastes and preferences before the event, I was matched with a flight of whites from Bordeaux including a Chateau de Caulet, Lys de Cournillot, Chateau Marac, and Monsieur Marcel, Entre-Deux-Mers. Nearly a dozen custom-designed flights satisfied the tastes of the other revelers.

The mystery pour that had stumped me? Turned out to be Chateau Peylaby, Medoc, an earthy, medium-bodied, 2010 dominated by cabernet sauvignon grapes. Good thing you don’t have to be a sommelier to appreciate a great glass of Bordeaux. All it requires is good company and a taste for adventure.

To learn more about the Wine Club, check out this Daily Bruin article and head over to their website!

Anderson Travels to 2013 Net Impact Conference

A few weeks ago, 20 students from UCLA Anderson’s chapter of Net Impact traveled to San Jose to attend the 2013 Net Impact Conference. This year, the conference attracted 2,500 students and professionals from around the world, all of whom have one thing in common: a desire to use their business skills to create positive social and environmental change.  UCLA Anderson had a proud showing among business schools, reflective of our recent efforts to increase student engagement.  

The conference kicked off with keynote speaker Denise Morrison, President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company. She talked about the company’s efforts to fight obesity, a cause she considers Campbell’s responsibility, and her goal of becoming famous for creating shared value for shareholders around the world. We also heard from Caryl M. Stern, President and CEO of U.S. Fund for UNICEF, who spoke about her mission to battle hunger, poverty, and disease across the globe, and shared excerpts from her moving new book, I Believe in Zero. The energy throughout the opening reception was exhilarating; it is amazing the conversations that take place when 2,500 do-gooders come together in the same room. 

Guest Post - UCLA Anderson Joint Venture Club

Today we have a guest post from Neel Bhattacharyya, Co-President of Joint Ventures, UCLA Anderson's club for students with significant others (or "Sig-Os" for short) and families. Read on to learn more about this organization and one of their recent events!

One tremendous perk of going to business school in Los Angeles is our ideal location – a stone’s throw from Latin American and Asian markets.  From a professional standpoint our location provides benefits we take full advantage of with guest lecturers, Distinguished Speakers, and global recruiters actively engaging with Anderson.  From a personal standpoint, we leverage our location to have some fun and engage our Significant Others (or “Sig-Os”) in the Anderson community!  While some parts of the country are already experiencing snow, heavy rain, and the leaves are turning brown, we at Anderson are on the beach in Santa Monica! 

The Joint Ventures Club -  Anderson’s club for students with Sig-Os and familes – hosted a Beach Day on Saturday, October 19^th!  It was a great event for over 50 of our students, Sig-Os, and kids.  Despite the foggy start to the day, the sun eventually shone-through, giving us perfect 75-degree weather, ideal for a quick dip in the ocean, game of catch with a football, and competitive (but fun) games of “cornhole” and volleyball.  The Anderson Joint Ventures Club will continue to organize great events like this to support the development of our student community and their loved ones.

 

To learn more, check out the Joint Ventures website.  Also, follow blogger Sunny Ba, who writes about life at UCLA Anderson from a sig-o's perspective.