Testimonials

Alumni and 2nd year MBA's give out tips and advice on what steps they followed to get internships and full time jobs. Students were asked the following questions:

1.What do you consider made a difference with other candidates in your job search?

2. If you were to hire an MBA today, which qualities would asses in him/her?

3. What part of your resume makes you outstand from a US applicant?

4. What is the single, most important advice you want to share?

These were their answers and advice:
 

Name: Erwin Palomino Country of Origin: Peru Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: Operations Internship with: DELL Full-time job with: DELL 

1. I looked at other ways to get an internship as Practicum; being an international student I had little opportunity to have success in an interview, so I tried to demonstrate who I am and what I can do during the practicum. In the internship, I gave much more that I was asked to do in order to get the full time offer and I got it. 

2. Professional skills depends on the position, but in my opinion American companies see the following basic qualities: rapport with all the people in the company, persistence, flexibility, desire to learn and to teach, self-confidence, honesty, resourcefulness, capacity to solve problems and for sure excellent presentation skills. 

3. I have 7 years of experience as manager. 

4. Persistence, if you still do not have an internship or a full time job, keep looking, networking, and researching other ways. If you have an internship, this is going to be the best opportunity you will have to get a job, so take it. If you have everything, begin working in your next goal, life still going on, and there is still a long way to go to be successful, and money is not everything.

Name: Tulio Scacciati Country of Origin: Argentina Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: General Management Internship with: GARAGE TECHNOLOGY VENTURES Full-time job with: EXELON CORPORATION 

1. Persistent and not surrender. Intense search in different types of job searches. 

2. Entrepreneurial spirit, sense of humor, analytical skills. 

3. Have been involved in a broad job type, where different skills were applied and since we deal with a more problematic environment, a better problem solving intuition. 

4. Do not desperate, look for any job you can have, do not focus only in what is ideal for you (specially people pursuing a career change). 

Name: Oscar Cunliffe Country of Origin: Peru Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: Marketing Internship with: R.J. REYNOLDS Full-time job with: R.J. REYNOLDS 

1. I attended NSHMBA’s career fair in Orlando, even though it was very early in the process, I was lucky to meet this company that does not visit UT. 

2. Manage complex situations, flexible, creative, curious, extrovert, fun. 

3. I guess my background, and how many things I did before coming to Business School. Our point of difference is how well we have managed complex situations in our countries and succeeded. 

4. Do not be shy!! Be sure of your capacity and you are offering something different that they are looking for. Focus on your point of difference rather than on your similarities. 

Name: Federico Martin del Campo Country of Origin: Mexico Class: HARVARD MBA 2001 Concentration: Finance Internship with: THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP Full-time job with: Own financial company. Obtained offers from Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. 

1. To analyze and understand the company I was interviewing with before going to the interview. Find out their recruiting needs in the different areas and the areas where they want to grow and the areas they are closing. Understand the industry, the main players and the company's position pretty well. Prepare good questions before hand. They all ask you if you have any questions. Try to talk to people working in the company before your interview so you can demonstrate your interest. 

2. Leadership qualities, ability to work in a team and self-initiative. 

3. The ability to work across cultures, The ability to adapt easily, the ability to work and succeed in volatile, inefficient and complex markets like Latin America. 

4. Think hard about why you want that industry and that company in particular. 

Name: Denise Chaves-Leer Country of Origin: Costa Rica Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: General Management Internship with: SHELL OIL Full-time job with: SHELL OIL 

1. I found an internship very late in the second semester and what I would recommend is that it is important to persist in the search, but not to get anxious with not having an internship. After all, it is only three months of your life. The importance of an internship is that when you interview for full time positions, some companies will be curious about what you did during the summer. In case you don’t get an internship, try to find a project or activity that could be interesting for the recruiters to know about (For example, research on the possibilities of exporting something from your country to the US). A negative difference is definitely the fact that I didn’t have a working permit. Non U.S. citizens have a great disadvantage because the pool of companies they can work for is reduced. Therefore, I think one of the most valuable pieces of information for your job search is to know which companies do not sponsor working visas as part of their policy so that you do not spend your valuable time talking to them. 

2. In addition to the traditional MBA skills, I would look for their capacity to learn and adapt, flexibility, creativity, persistence and international experience and exposure. 

3. The most outstanding aspect of a foreign student’s resume is definitely the international experience. Most of the U.S. students have only worked in the U.S. In the other hand, U.S. companies, due to their expanding international operations, are looking more and more for candidates with international experience. 

4. Look for companies that are interested in increasing their diversity and don’t spend too much time trying to contact companies that have a policy not to hire international students. Don’t limit your search to the companies that come to the CSO and firms that traditionally hire MBAs, but look for industries in which you have experience or are particularly interested. Also, look for medium sized firms. Most of the times those companies don’t have a tradition of hiring MBAs, but they could be interested in hiring you because of your professional experience.

Name: Leonardo Flores Country of Origin: Mexico Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: Internship with: DELL Full-time job with: DELL 

1. That I focused on the field on which I already had experience. I did not intend to change of industry. 

2. That she/he has a genuine interest in the company and show familiarity with the culture of it. For this case, it is very important that you talk with people from the inside of the company. 

3. 

4. I made them see during the interview that I was truly interested in being part of the company 

Name: Juan Manuel Zapiain Country of Origin: Mexico Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: Finance Internship with: FRITO-LAY Full-time job with: FRITO-LAY 

1. Networking with Alumni. “Selling” a Global perspective. Understanding the “Fit” the company was looking for. 

2. Cross-functional set of skills. Ability to connect and communicate effectively with others. Understanding the bigger picture. 

3. I tried to include an overall assessment of myself showing qualities both professional and personal. Companies are looking for people, not for working machines, yet many students present themselves using only professional achievements. 

4. Do not be closed-minded when looking for a job. You might find great jobs, offering new experiences if you expand your options in a tight job market. 

Name: Roberto Chang Country of Origin: Peru Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: Information Management/Marketing Internship with: LOCKHEED MARTIN GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS Full-time job with: GRANDE COMMUNICATIONS 

1. It took me a long time to get my internship and current job, but I think that what might differentiate me from the other candidates is a combination of background / work experience and persistence. On the background / experience side, I tried to leverage it as much as I could during the interview, but the really tricky part was to get there, to be considered a candidate. This is where persistence plays a big role. I was not used to cold calling companies before; I used to send emails, just as everybody else, without any response. But once I started investigating who the hiring manager was and began calling, it proved to be the right approach. Not everybody will want to hire you, but they usually try to help giving you direction or pointing to the next target of your cold call. 

2. Some of the qualities I think are very important in an MBA are: Teamwork. Openness to constructive criticism from their peers. The ability to see the big picture. Creativity (look at things in different ways) and, openness to learn something new every day. 

3. Being from another country gives us a unique perspective that can be considered an advantage if we know how to use it. Most of us must have experienced different believes or ways how things are done in our own countries that are overlooked in the US. Using this experience would give us a different point of view in the daily arguments and a creative way to solve problems. 

4. Be persistent, keep always in mind your goals and don’t let temporal mishaps or events that are not in your control, set you off course. 

Name: Matias Yemma Country of Origin: Argentina Class: UT MBA 2002 Concentration: Finance and Marketing Internship with: DTM CORPORATION Full-time job with: CITIBANK 

1. Persistence and Good overall balance (above average GPA, several extracurricular activities, scholarships, and 8 yrs pre-MBA work experience). 

2. Interest in the job, good overall balance, and long-term potential . 

3. Besides the overall balance (question 1), I have an international work experience (in four countries) . 

4. Focus early-on in getting the job you want, for internationals that is why most of us come to the US for our MBA.