UConn Today – Anna Zerbinati, a senior majoring in financial management, had a strategy for impressing corporate recruiters at the School of Business Career Expo on Wednesday.
“I’ve done my research on the companies and I know what jobs they have available. I want to show them how much I want to work there,’’ Zerbinati said. She hoped her enthusiasm, attention to detail, and fluency in Portuguese would help her make a strong impression.
When recent graduate Jackson Guay ’22 spent an extended semester studying in New Zealand, some of the travel highlights included speedboat tours, white-water rafting, and bungee jumping off a bridge and plunging 141-feet, head-first, into the water.
But his favorite adventure was cage-diving, surrounded by a school of five Great White Sharks, off the coast of Bluff, New Zealand.Continue Reading
The Undergraduate Business Career Expo garnered an impressive turnout on Sept. 12, with some 50 employers, traveling from as far as Michigan, to UConn’s Student Union, in hopes of recruiting passionate, hard-working students.Continue Reading
The New York Yankees invited 34 School of Business students, Dean John A. Elliott, and staff from the Office of Career Development to attend an April 8 game at Yankee Stadium and learn more about job opportunities with the organization. Continue Reading
Roasted Habanero Nuts, Jalapeno/Cilantro/Lime Chips, Napa Valley Wine/Cheese Chips and Agave Sunflower Seeds were some of the ideas that UConn students pitched for a fictional private-label snack line dubbed “Simply Salt.” Continue Reading
On Friday, March 6th, eighteen UConn School of Business students competed in the Hartford Financial Services Case Competition. This is the 5th year in a row that The Hartford has invited UConn students to participate in a case competition here at UConn for a $1,000 cash prize.Continue Reading
The vast majority of the Class of 2014 from the School of Business, both undergraduate and MBA, were quickly employed following graduation, with many commanding impressive salaries.
UConn career services experts credited this success to well-prepared students who are ready to roll-up their sleeves, who have had meaningful internships, and a powerful and committed alumni team who are networking, coaching and hiring new grads.
Dean John Elliott has emphasized the power of this package. “Increasingly our courses and degree programs are designed and changed based on advice from committed alumni and other corporate friends, who help ensure that our students have the best education we can provide. Moreover, they step forward to mentor students and help open doors to them as job candidates. Of course the ultimate job offer is something the student earns and that is as it should be.”
MBA Graduates Averaging $101,000 Salaries
Graduates of the Full-time MBA program had great employment success, with 76 percent having jobs at graduation, and 94 percent having a job within three months of graduation. The mean salary was $101,562. The average student commanded a starting salary that was almost 12 percent higher than 2013 graduates. The highest salary reported among new graduates was $160,000.
New graduates from the MBA program also reported significantly larger sign-on bonuses as compared to their counterparts from 2013.The mean sign-on bonus for 2014 was $19,500, up 63 percent from 2013.
U.S. citizens reported higher salaries than foreign nationals, earning an average of $102,500 a year to the foreign students’ $95,000. However, the foreign students saw a 25 percent increase in their average base salaries compared with their counterparts from the previous year, indicating that the pay gap is closing. “We are recruiting stronger international students with great communication skills, and employers are recognizing their talent and hiring them,” said Meg Warren, assistant director of the MBA Career Development Office. All the foreign nationals accepting a job, did so in the United States.
“What we think is really impressive is that the jobs MBA candidates are accepting are diversified,” Warren noted. “Our students are getting great regional jobs, but also accepting challenging jobs across the country. Our students are fighting for competitive jobs, and getting them. We are a small program, but we’ve kept our admission standards at a high level, which, in turn, impacts successful job placement.”
Top companies like GE, T-Mobile, Paypal/eBay, Pitney Bowes, Philips, Prudential and The Hartford are regularly recruiting from the School of Business’ MBA program, she said.
“I don’t know what we’d do without our alumni,” Warren said. “They give generously of their time and willingly converse with our students. This has strengthened students’ preparedness and therefore affects the bottom line: securing a meaningful internship or job.”
Undergraduates Boast 77 Percent Employment
Undergraduate students also fared well in employment. Three months after graduation, 77 percent of those seeking employment had secured jobs. The average salary for student full-time hires was $55,683, but UConn business school graduates received offers up to $75,000 in management information systems and $70,000 in finance.
“The School of Business’ reputation has grown each year,” said Lorraine Liswell, program manager for the Undergraduate Career Development Office. Many more employers are coming in, hoping to interview students on campus, she said.
“Companies find UConn students competitive and willing to roll up their sleeves and go to work,” she added.
Many recent graduates are staying in Connecticut, or nearby in New York or Massachusetts, she said. She’s noticed that new alumni are gravitating to “rotational programs” in large companies that allow them to experience four or six different roles before selecting the one that best suits them.
Kathy Hendrickson, assistant director of the Undergraduate Career Development Office, said she’s noticed a change in undergraduate students, who arrive on campus with long-term plans.
“Freshmen are walking in our door and asking about the job-search process within the first few weeks of arriving on campus,” she said. “They’re asking what they need to do to land an internship as a freshman. This type of energy and preparation at the beginning of their college career makes them stronger candidates for landing competitive jobs.”
Likewise, the corporate community is also focused earlier in the process, and many firms are beginning the process of talent identification and relationship building in the freshman or sophomore year, earlier than ever before, Elliott noted.
More than ever, UConn faculty and alumni are invested in helping undergraduate students find good jobs right out of school, she said. For example, marketing professor Bill Ryan invited representatives from Whirlpool in Michigan to meet students, and this relationship helped create new internships and led to some students obtaining full-time positions.
“We also have a strong alumni base that consistently pushes the needle at their organizations to hire more UConn alumni,” Hendrickson said. “Dan Toscano ’87 at Morgan Stanley, and Tom Marshella ’79 at Moody’s, and Shapleigh Smith at Citi are examples of alumni who take a personal interest in the success of our students. It is a team effort that helps the School of Business students to compete and succeed in the job market.”
The School of Business has established a new Undergraduate Center, combining important student services into one central location. The Center, which was formed over the summer, is located in Suite 248, and will now house the Office of Undergraduate Advising, the Undergraduate Career Development Office, the Office of Diversity Initiatives and the Business Writing Center.
“I’m very excited because this will provide efficient, one-stop shopping for our undergraduates,” said Larry Gramling, associate dean for undergraduate programs. “It will be extremely convenient for students, and provide even greater opportunity for the professional staff to collaborate.”
The new center is designed to offer support that is completely dedicated to the undergraduate students’ professional needs. The Center takes advantage of space formerly occupied by the Full-time MBA program, which has since relocated to Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford.
Brandy Nelson, who had formerly served as an academic advisor, is now the director of the Office of Undergraduate Advising (formerly known as the Undergraduate Programs Office) and the program can be reached at (860) 486-2315. Kelly Kennedy, well-known for teaching career development courses, will continue in that role as well as creating a new academic advising program that will engage students through all four years.
Kathy Hendrickson is serving as the assistant director of the Undergraduate Career Development Office (formerly known as the Business Career Center). That program can be contacted at (860) 486-5136.
Seanice DeShields is director of The Office of Diversity Initiatives, and that office can be reached at (860) 486-4135.
Jeffrey Roberts is director of the Business Writing Center, which can be contacted at (860) 486-9011.
Another familiar presence in the new center is Debbie Smith, who will now serve as front-desk receptionist in addition to her duties with the Career Development Office.
Congratulations to Katharine Coulter, Shailee Desai, Giovanni Sornatale, and Patrick Stimola! The four undergraduates kicked off Husky Weekend by winning the final round of an annual campus case competition sponsored by The Hartford Financial Services Group on Friday, April 4.
The UConn team, who placed first in the preliminary round of the two-part competition on February 14 before advancing to the final round, competed against students from Quinnipiac, Boston University, Bentley, and the University of Hartford. The team was mentored by Cari Goldner ’13, Hartford Financial Services, and Kathy Hendrickson of the Business Career Center.
Congratulations to the winning team for an outstanding case presentation.
On a crisp October morning, more than 400 students and employers participated in the School of Business’ Second Annual Business Career Expo. The event, which was designed to complement the successful career fairs hosted by the UConn Center for Career Development, featured a multi-dimensional format designed to enhance personal connections between students and those employers who specifically seek School of Business undergraduate and MBA students.
Students were advised to come to the Business Career Expo prepared to talk about their personal passions such as sports, clubs, hobbies, musical interests, community service, and unique pursuits. Employers were invited to tell stories reflecting their company culture including team sports, community service initiatives, and distinctive company activities or efforts. Students were encouraged to understand the differentiators between companies and in return to highlight the differentiators between themselves and other business students.
In their introductory remarks, the School of Business Career Center (SBCC) team encouraged the crowd to think beyond traditional career fair conversations. “Our students are more than their GPAs, and our corporate partners have more to offer than job postings; we invite you all to find those compelling reasons for connecting here today,” announced Kathy Hendrickson, assistant director of the Undergraduate Business Career Center.
In order to encourage this unique dialogue and to highlight personal passions and talents beyond academics, the event was opened with a performance of the national anthem by the Conn-Men. The Conn-Men is a student a cappella group who performed at the inauguration of UConn President Susan Herbst, and has also recently won the UConn A Cappella Competition. Their inspiring performance launched the morning discussions in a manner which brought immediate energy into the room and the conversations. Employers Jodi Culberston, Northwestern Mutual, and Sean O’Connell ’83 (CLAS), ’92 MBA, GE, were just two of the participants who expressed enthusiasm and appreciation for the unique introduction to the day and the manner in which it immediately facilitated conversations with students.
The full agenda included an open forum in the Student Union Ballroom and 18 concurrent individual employer sessions. The event culminated at 1:30 p.m., when the Conn-Men returned for a half-hour performance for all students, employers, faculty, and staff of the School of Business who participated in the event. Meg Warren, assistant director of the MBA Business Career Center, concludes, “In terms of connecting students and employers in a personal way, the day was a resounding success!”