Chat Transcript
Souvik: Okay we are three minutes out from the MBA recruitment chat. Keep your GMAT and piracy questions on hold for the next 45 minutes or so.
rahul9331Hello..I want to understand the current scenario of IB placements for international students. Do banks prefer sponsoring visa for international students and hire for IB roles.
Souvik: For IB roles banks tend to sponsor for sure - it is a different question altogether whether they will hire you!
madgmat2019Hi souvik, how good is marketing at Ross?
Souvik: It is great! They have a flagship event called the marketing symposium where companies come and do mock interviews and it’s a great opportunity for networking as well. A lot of CPG companies make up for most of the marketing recruiting but it is expanding with product marketing roles in tech as well. I am taking a lot of classes around marketing analytics. Look up MKT 618 Ross - it is my favorite class this quarter.
rahul9331Hello souvik..my question is more specific to whether they hire international students and if yes then how is the competition level.
Souvik: Getting a IB job is tough and extremely competitive. At Ross, and everywhere else.
gmatwayI have 5.4 years of experience in retail banking . so I am not sure about other major areas /opportunities in Finance . My interest is in strategy field and financing strategies .
Souvik: You can try corp finance and private investment management. Both hire pretty well at Ross.
SudsMeisterHi Souvik, for IB/PE/HF would you say that an MBA is more preferred or MSFE/other MS equivalents work better?
Souvik: MBA continues to be the biggest pool for IB.
rahul9331It might sounds silly but should one consider consulting over IB because chances of getting placed is higher. Can you provide some suggestion on how to go about choosing between consulting and IB wrt Ross and current industry senario
Souvik: I’d pick consulting - more time more resources and more people on campus. Ross is a target school for consulting firms in Chicago.
madgmat2019how is ross when inclined toward choice of making career shift from IT to marketing....will they prefer...if have any certifications like from coursera?
how good is ross in terms of career shift
Souvik: Nobody cares about coursera! If you want to make a transition you have to come to campus and network your butt off!
SudsMeisterMy current work-ex is in the NGO sector. I want to move into IB/PE/HF. How plausible is the change? And what schools/programs would be the target ones?
Souvik: Possible but not probable. It is highly competitive! Consulting can happen with your background though (a lot more open to hiring your types)
JTdanielSouvik thanks for doing this. My question is regarding tech recruiting. How open are tech firms to career switchers who are internationals? Would moving say into PM/Corp Fin./Marketing at MSFT as a mechanical engineer from Europe be realistic?
Souvik: Tech recruiting is a big focus at Ross because they are international friendly and hire a lot. I was fortunate enough to get 2 PM jobs for my summer internship and ended up at Apple as a PM. For full time, Apple won’t give me an offer till October so I am recruiting with Amazon and Google, and Microsoft is open to getting me back again.
I can see that you have done your research. Marketing is HUGE in Microsoft and your engineering background will actually help. You will, of course, brush up product marketing frameworks and crush those interviews.
devangpandey007Do investment management firms hire from Ross?
Souvik: Yes. Friend who did religious studies for undergrad got into Goldman PWM.
ansonwang2005I’m turning 33. If I plan to start MBA at 35 and targeting a career shift from engineering, am I too old for Ross?
Souvik: Yes if you look at the stats. Some people do it and have managed to make those shifts!
satya2029how do the recruiters look at someone who has got the experience in different domains such as oil and gas, and would like to continue as consultant such as supply chain consultant?
Souvik: Which firms are you targeting?
satya2029Since I have not done enough exercise about firms and considering age factor, I would target those firms where they allow me to learn. As I got to hear that consulting firms seek young men who can work crazy hours,Name of BIG 3 CONSULTING firms rattles me a bit.
Souvik: Hours are tough at MBB and I hear a bit better at EY. Well, you can try networking to learn more but I wouldn’t expect anything easy at MBB.
SudsMeisterWhat are the most successful methods of landing a job in the US post MBA/MS?
Souvik: Networking, crushing interviews and just generally being a stand up guy/girl.
sharathnair14I want to know what you meant by Stand up Guy/Girl
souvik101990. I don’t consider myself funny at all xD
Souvik: Stand up guy would mean like you are a nice guy. You are not a pushy person who constantly wants to be in the spotlight. Be nice, be kind and work hard. Things happen.
NandishSSsouvik101990, What are challenges faced by International Students while MBA Recruitment?
Souvik: Often they come across too desperate and too pushy, they don’t know how to network or articulate their thoughts well. Those I think were the biggest issues.
sj24Hi Souvik, I have been working at my startup creating ERP and CRM products for small businesses. 150 companies have opted for my products in last 6 years. Addressable Market at city level achieved. Struggling with scale. Hence MBA. Targeting Product Management at bigger companies in B2B space. Non-IIT. Decent GPA. Realistic ? Company of 3 people. Mostly doing all by myself. Few folks are advising difficult to sell this profile. Few are saying pitch it as a consulting firm rather than a product firm and try to get into consulting. Your perspective?
Souvik: Good question. B2B tech space is booming and Microsoft and Amazon are both championing this space. I would recruit for both tech and consulting. Totally doable if you don’t spend all your time partying.
gmatway wrote:
How will Ross help me get a job in India?
Souvik: Ross won’t in general. Most recruiters are from North America. However the UM alum network is HUGE in India. I know 2 guys who went back and had pretty sweet gigs in McKinsey and Mahindra.
SudsMeisterSouvik, people who seek employment (from Ross) - do all of them get employed within their expected salary brackets? What I mean to ask is that - is the market good enough to hire all those who seek a job? And if yes, given the tuition + living costs (assuming it is a loan) and the median salary - what is the realistic timeline to breakeven?
Souvik: The realistic time to break even would depend on each person’s willingness to spend less, pay off loans, choose not to invest before paying loans. So different for different people. I hope and fully expect to be debt free in 5 years. Sounds ambitious but I would rather eat ramen for dinner than have a student loan that lasts a lifetime.
ShishouHi,thanks for doing this Souvikk. In your opinion how is the sponsorship and recruitment like for internationals.I have heard a ton of stories,mostly worrying .I am planning focusing on IB during my MBA and I’d very much like to work in the US after
Souvik: It is better AND worse. Trump’s administration has made it more likely to get into the lottery. However RFEs have become more frequent AFTER you get picked up in the lottery. I don’t have the time to explain this but look up RFE - H1B. Also, remember that you only hear the stories when they are bad. Often people who had good outcomes are not loud on the internet.
satya2029The most important one for me. If someone does not find his or her name in the lottery H1B then do employers have plan B for them? Do they relocate employees at different places?
Souvik: Yes that happens a LOT. big tech and consulting both are known to send you to other areas like Canada, Europe, Asia and then bring you back on an L1
sharathnair14About the Ross Alum network. What else could you share about it? Anything that’s different from other Schools like Tuck etc?
Souvik: Short answer - it is not all that different. But you can leverage the broader UofM network. Engineering schools and BBA alums are very helpful too!
NandishSSDoes alum help in Recruitment?
Souvik: NandishSS, Absolutely. They often go take the bat for you.
SudsMeisterWhat stands out at Ross? 3 things that Ross helped you with to land a better/desired job?
Souvik: I wrote a whole post on this - but here’s the short version - the people are great. I have been blessed with friends who helped me relentlessly, Ross is pushing international recruiting pretty hard to stay where it is at the rankings. that’s great too. And finally, I feel pretty good when I come back to Ann Arbor. it’s small enough to feel like home and big enough to not get lost in the woods (like hanover)
https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-t ... 95550.html - this is the post I wrote about recruiting.
projectcontrolsHi- do you know anyone(intl student) that "paused" their H1b to do their MBA full time ? I heard you can resume the same H1b that the student had prior to the MBA. This would prevent them from going into the lottery again apparently...
Souvik: You are right. A few friends have gone back to their old H1Bs, but you should be a bit cautious I guess.
AshishPrasadHi Souvik, some of my friends who are currently studying in the US are saying that some companies, especially in the finance industry, are now reluctant to offer sponsorship for an international visa. If you can share your thoughts on this issue, it will be really helpful.
Souvik: They are probably right. I did not recruit finance but I know most people prefer to recruit consulting or tech because of the bigger presence on campus and being international friendly.
dhruvagg8To pivot to product management roles at the big tech firms, from a software engg background, what opportunities does the Ross MBA provide in specific and how does Ross compare to duke or tepper with recruitment at the big tech firms.
Souvik: Ross>Duke/Tepper for tech. With your SWE background, you should try to get a referral from Google/Microsoft. Amazon does not care about networking. you should have a fair shot at PM roles at all those companies.
dhruvagg8Thanks souvik, another question I have is when pivoting to roles in the product management space (tech/marketing) do companies ask for a GMAT score like for consulting roles..will applying with a GRE hurt in any way?
Souvik: nah. Tech does not care about gmat AT ALL!
SouvikAlright. We are out of time. Thanks for all the questions. I will get to this thread later so feel free to post questions here too - https://gmatclub.com/forum/mba-recruiting-for-international-students-live-chat-wth-int-l-student-305899.html
Thanks again and all the best!
close
21 Sep 2019, 09:32
