What were some of the key learning experiences for you in the W. P. Carey MBA?
Having been in the workforce for a couple of years now, post-graduate school, there are two specific items that I feel I gained experience in during graduate school and are now helping me to move forward in the workplace.
First, I feel the W. P. Carey MBA places an emphasis and extreme focus on the ability of its students to formulate strategic ideas, understand the overarching impact of those ideas, and be able to present them in a clear, concise fashion to all levels of executive leadership. This skill set has been (and will continue to be) a critical element of my upward progression within my current company.
Second is my ability to understand international cultures. One of my roles inside our company is to run an international division in Latin America. The W. P. Carey MBA helped me to understand different cultures and the importance of treating each culture separately so that we get the most out of each environment.
Can you describe the career success you have had after earning your MBA?
Post-graduate school, I entered into a leadership rotational program, a fast track program, inside Avaya. My first role was a management role, in which I had 130 technicians that reported up to me and a management team of eight direct reports. It was a unionized environment, which provided many opportunities for me to be stretched, and see if the theories I learned in business school were really applicable outside of the controlled environment of the classroom. My MBA preparation accounted for a significant portion of my success, which included strategic and tactical improvements totaling upwards of $5 million.
My second rotation allowed me to run an international division inside of Avaya. This responsibility leveraged resources in five countries and included P&L ownership totaling $12 million (inclusive of all of Latin America). It was a fantastic opportunity and I felt well-prepared.
From a career-success standpoint, how does your W. P. Carey MBA degree compare to those of your colleagues from peer MBA programs?
I feel that today I am able to line up toe-to-toe with students that have graduated from the top five or ten business schools across the nation. I feel like I am equally prepared and able to have the same success, if not more success, than they have today. And, I am not buried in debt!
How did the Graduate Career Management Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business compare to those of other schools you applied to?
I am a big fan of the Graduate Career Management Center (CMC). In my mind, the most important aspect of an MBA program is how well it prepares you to land your first post-graduate job. This makes the career management center a pivotal driver of an MBA program's success. Most other career centers have an extremely high student-to-career-counselor ratio that prohibits the personal attention necessary to land that first job. This is a critical differentiator for the CMC at the W. P. Carey School.
Additionally, the CMC teaches resume building, behavioral interviewing and cultural understanding classes to develop students that are confident and capable of attracting top employers. Networking events, mock interviews, negotiation classes and outreach trips are all wrapped with a personalized touch to truly enhance each student's ability to land that perfect job.
Overall, the quality and value of the W. P. Carey MBA, given the cost of the education, are better than any other school I have found - bar none.
