Alumni Spotlight: Kristen Waddington ’20

November 29, 2021

Alumni Spotlight: Kristen Waddington ’20 Senior Associate, Client Leadership at Kantar

Kristen Waddington ’20 didn’t always know what career path was her best fit. She entered the UConn Business in London Program wanting to focus on public relations but eventually switched gears. After working on a survey analysis project, she found a passion for marketing research. Returning for her senior year, she took on a rigorous course load, minoring in Data Analytics and choosing a concentration in Digital Marketing and Analytics to expose herself to as much of the data process as possible.

This led her to her current role as a Senior Associate, Client Leadership at Kantar, a marketing research firm located in New York City. From the moment she interviewed, Kristen recognized Kantar as an excellent match, saying, “the people were very kind and upbeat and cared about what you were saying.” As she has spent more time at Kantar in both their Health and Insight sectors, she has only good things to say about the support system at the company despite the fact that it is a large firm with around 30,000 employees. Her boss during her time in Kantar Health is someone she believes “holds the gold standard of what a boss should be like,” and is a personal example of the welcoming and comfortable environment at the company.

In her current role, Kristen handless the Marketing Research process from start to finish in a client facing role. This consists of running kick off calls and coordinating with clients to make sure their goals are aligned. Additionally, she will work with a program leadership team to ensure surveys are programmed directly. The most important aspect of her position is producing final reports for clients by analyzing data and communicating results with them.

As for current students looking for internships or full-time roles, Kristen’s advice is simple: build genuine connections. During her search, she applied to over 200 jobs, and the only ones she heard back from were those where she made a connection with someone at the company or applied through UConn Handshake. Early 2020, she was able to connect with a UConn alum who worked in Marketing Research in New York for the past 10 years. That allowed her to get her resume sent to Kantar internally and interview before the formal interviewing process begun for other applicants.

Finally, she stressed the importance of preparing for interviews, discussing how she accumulated over 50 pages of company background and interview question prep in a word document to prepare for her Kantar interview. The biggest takeaway from her experience is to not get discouraged, keep making connections, and keep persisting even in the face of burn-out and rejection. “Practice makes perfect. The more interviews you do, the more confident you will get which I promise will take you far.”

Ask the Experts – Best Car Insurance Companies

Wallethub – Which do you think is a better indicator of a good car insurance company: low rates or good customer reviews?

Shopping for insurance is really a multi-step process. Low rates are an attention-getter. They will stop and attract a shopper but will not automatically convert a shopper into a customer.

UConn SPAC Conference Will Address the Hottest Topic in Financial Markets

November 23, 2021

IMage of conference attendees applauding, SPAC conference logo is inset.
(istockphoto.com)

The UConn School of Business will host a half-day conference on Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), which are seeing a dramatic spike in interest in the financial and investment communities this year.

“This is the topic of the year in the financial markets,” said Professor Yiming Qian, the Toscano Family Chair in Finance at UConn. “SPAC is not new, but was not popular until last year. Before 2020, the annual numbers of SPAC IPOs were in one or two digits. In 2020, however, the number jumped to 248 (compared to 165 traditional IPOs). The number for 2021 already exceeded 500.” Continue Reading

What A Year It Has Been!

November 22, 2021

This month I am pleased to announce the release of the 2021 Dean’s Annual Report that celebrates the year that was. It highlights many of our students, staff, faculty, alumni, and friends, with particular attention to the ways they have made the business school a better place. They have contributed time and treasure to launch new programs, to create new companies, and to make life better for others. I have been privileged to know and work with so many of these inspiring individuals whose words and accomplishments adorn these pages. Continue Reading

2 Military Veterans Help Other Vets Transition to Purposeful Civilian Life

November 12, 2021

Next Avenue – Career transitions are hard for everyone, but the shift from military to civilian life can be particularly challenging. Soldiers coming back from the Vietnam War were too often treated as damaged goods by employers, according to research by Alair MacLean, sociology professor at Washington State University, it remains to be seen how welcoming employers will be to service members returning from the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — especially those in the second half of life.

Retired Professor Offers $100K Matching Gift to Save Veterans’ Entrepreneurship Program

November 11, 2021

UConn Today – United States Marine Corps veteran Tony Audette builds custom motorcycles for celebrities, business titans, and other enthusiasts who want a bike that’s unlike any other. His exclusive motorcycles sell for upwards of $130,000.

After two years in business, Audette Motorcycles, in Canton, is thriving. Audette credits much of his business knowledge and expertise to the School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV). The startup accelerator steered him away from several costly business mistakes, he said.