Posts Tagged ‘Career Advancement#8217;

Students at IE Business School have several opportunities throughout their programs, to put their business knowledge and skills into practice. One of these opportunities is to participate in the numerous business competitions offered by  renowned companies, and compete with students from the best Business Schools around the world.

An example of such a competition is the “Novartis Master Minds Challenge”, taking place at the moment. Teams made up of three students have the opportunity to perform the role of a brand manager in the healthcare industry and to develop a marketing project based on certain data and on cases given by the Novartis Group.

Besides the money prize which will be awarded to the winners and runners up, there are also great networking and internship opportunities available within the company.

For more information on the on the competition, click here.

The hallways and study rooms at IE’s Castellon de la Plana 8 building are flooded with students and teams from the different MIM sections preparing final Group Projects and studying for finals. One of the objectives of the program is to see how well students can respond under pressure and handle tight schedules and deadlines just like in a real business environment. Team work, planning, multitasking and excellent time management skills are essential during this period. Each student picks their own preparation style for the exams, either by studying in groups or individually. Either way, it is visible that it is a very busy time for the Master in International Management students.

Get ready to wait in line because the coffee machine is going to be packed…

At IE Business School we very much care about our alumni experiences both from their programs but also from their current professional situation. Omar Abou Sallman graduate of the International Management program – Sales and Marketing 2010 is now working for Google. We interviewed Omar and asked him about his experience with the MIM program but also for tips for prospective students.

1)      Hi, could you please introduce yourself?

Hi, my name is Omar Abou Sallman, I am 24 years old and I come from Lebanon. I completed my Masters in International Management (Sales and Marketing) in 2010, in one of the most memorable years of my life. I am currently living in Dublin, Ireland, working for Google as an Account Manager for the Middle East and North Africa. My responsibilities include customer support when it comes to AdWords queries, creating advertising campaigns, being an expert in Google’s advertising policies and conducting field research among other projects.  

2)      Why did you come to Madrid and IE?

I chose Madrid mainly because I have always wanted to learn Spanish. After doing more research I discovered that I can learn more than just a language there and decided to pursue my graduate studies there. I chose IE because of its ranking and after finding out that a marketing specialization was available, I didn’t think twice, I applied and later became a student.

3)      How was your experience with the Masters in International Management?

As I mentioned previously, the time I spent at IE was one of the most incredible moments in my life. Living in Madrid, coupled with what you learn from IE was truly a fantastic experience. The diversity in the classroom adds to your learning, especially since everyone has their own way of thinking and doing things. I found working on case studies especially beneficial, after doing several you automatically gain a critical eye on everything, as well as a habit of finding solutions. 

4)      What were the top 3 highlights of the program for you?

I would say the top 3 highlights from the program would be:

1. The experience and knowledge of the professors at IE.

2. The diversity of the students in class.

3. Life in Madrid.

5)      How did the program help you get the job you wanted?

I applied to Google via an e-mail that the careers office sent, it was all smooth sailing from there. Because I had solved so many cases, I was able to analyze and answer the questions that were asked during the interviews. We learned so much about Google and competitors in the classroom (among other companies) I felt that I had so much knowledge to bring to the interviews.

6)      What tools did you learn that you can apply to your job?

 Marketing research, communicating with people from different backgrounds, analyzing problems and effectively solving them, presentation skills and networking!

7)      What do you recommend to people starting the Masters in International Management?

The most cliche answer: enjoy every minute, before you know it will be over. Also, do not be afraid to share ideas, no matter how crazy they may be, that’s how I learned so much from IE. Your ideas aren’t laughed at or mocked, IE fosters creative thinking.

At IE Business School we always look for ways to innovate and are consistently developing new business cases that are relevant to current global issues. Economics professor, Dr. Gayle Allard, recently developed a multimedia case on Africa, which enables students to improve the economy of an African country through simulation by applying different economic policies. The case  incorporates a wide range of topics including governance, infrastructure, trade, NGOs, aid and development.   

You can view the multimedia case here: http://multimedia.ie.edu//productos/africa/demo_alum.html

Multimedia cases and simulations are just one of the interactive tools used by our faculty in order to enrich the learning experience of our students. Through these tools, students are able to experience real cases and situations from the global business world.

Don´t get me wrong but I thought writing a CV was much easier at first.

My first problem came when I thought about my professional career after the program: I had almost two years of experience as a software developer and my motivation for coming to IE was moving from a technical to a managerial position. The MIM program was perfect for me. It was very complete in terms of courses and also would help me become a more competitive candidate for any organization worldwide. However, everything changed after I started my marketing course…How could a completely unknown topic that I had never considered before engage me at that level? And then… it happened:  the more passionate I became about marketing, the more confused I was about my future. Should I make a career change? How could I be sure that it would not be a mistake for me? Which type of marketing career paths exist? Where should I start? Too many questions for someone who had no idea about this functional area before…

If someone could have helped me, it was my career counselor at IE! I requested a meeting with her and surprisingly she replied me immediately! We met the day after. The first thing I could feel was how passionate she was about what she does, then I thought- “This is exactly how I want to be, feeling happy for what I do, enjoying my job!…it may make sense that I make that career change…”- I was not wrong, her first advice was -“no matter whether you had experience before or not, if this is what you like do! This is the only way you will be successful and feel happy with yourself!”-, she was right. She was very nice and friendly, I felt very comfortable talking to her about my concerns. She paid attention to me and helped me prepare myself for the change: CV, blogs, interview questions…Her treatment was excellent!

Now, I am very happy with the results and I have to thank her for all the time she spent with me. We worked together towards getting my CV ready as well as some original and innovative appendices!!  I have to say that although this work came from me, it was my counselor who helped me through it!

By all means, all the efforts have been worth it. Finally, I am prepared for a change into Marketing and I am very excited about it!!

ESTRELLA APARICIO

Estrella is a current MIM student