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Business Students Gear Up for the Global Marketplace
Today's business students know that without a global approach, their studies could become irrelevant. For many at UT, the best way to solve the problem is to enroll in one of the Business School's 21 exchange or double-degree programs.
"It sounds like b-school fluff, but there really is no business today that is not affected by global markets," says Rainey Knudson, an entrepreneurship MBA 97 who earned a double-degree with UT Austin and ITESM-Monterrey. "Even small manufacturing companies have production abroad or international sales."
In Monterrey, Knudson attended classes at night and held a full-time job by day at IMSA, one of Mexico's largest manufacturing conglomerates. She oversaw US exports for Cuprum, IMSA's aluminum division, and planned their new US distribution network.
"I really began to understand the symbiotic relationship that exists between our two countries," reports Knudson. "To a certain degree, the economic health of each depends on the other."
Working abroad forced her to take her negotiating skills to a new level. "I had to sharpen my judgment and my ability to quickly evaluate situations, all in a language I had only been speaking in earnest for a few months."
Knudson, who wants to work in emerging markets, hopes her Mexican experience will give her an edge over job candidates who have not worked overseas. MBA 97 Linda Judson found that time abroad was crucial in her field, international finance.
"It's hard to get a recruiter to take you seriously if you've never lived abroad," says Judson, who spent a semester on exchange at the London Business School. Her coup was landing a summer internship with Merrill Lynch in London -- no mean feat given the challenges of obtaining a work permit for non-EU passport holders.
MBA 98 Werner Gertner dealt with his share of bureaucratic obstacles while earning a double-degree with Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) in Sao Paulo, Brazil. "We complain about problems at UT, but they pale in comparison to the bureaucracy one has to deal with throughout Brazil," notes Gertner.
The top-rated business school in Latin America, FGV requires all its students to write master's theses. Gertner did his on fast-food franchising. The project led to internships with Midas Brazil and Yazigi International, two companies currently expanding in Brazil.
"The experience has already increased my marketability," notes Gertner. "Many American companies, besides fast food, want to enter Brazil, and they need people who can bridge the gap between the two cultures."
Students abroad almost universally report improved language skills. They also find themselves becoming better at communications in general. "Living in a new culture, you gain a deeper understanding of how and why people do things," notes Dana Matl, a BBA 99 double major in Marketing and German. On exchange at the ESB in Reutlingen, Germany, Matl cites the "unwritten communications skills" she has learned as highlights of her experience.
For his career goals, Jonathan Galaviz, a BBA 98 who wants to work in Asia, sees studying abroad as a requirement, not an option. "I felt that personally experiencing the way of living in Southeast Asia would contribute to my understanding of market needs in the region," says Galaviz. "Being of an entrepreneurial mindset, the experience has opened my eyes to the massive opportunities in Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia."
Like other students abroad, Galaviz learned that UT is well-respected in his host country. He also had the chance to observe the recent Asian currency crisis first hand (see box).
As many students note, a semester or year abroad may require sacrifices at home. "But I have never talked to anyone who regretted doing it," says Darren Anderson, an MBA earning his double degree in Chile. Double-degree MBAs must enroll in an extra semester to meet UT requirements. But as Rainey Knudson says, "An extra semester is a negligible price to pay for the experience."
Student POV: As Asian Markets Tumble
Jonathan Galaviz, BBA 98, on his best experience at the National University of Singapore
My best experience was not a good experience for Southeast Asia, but it was an excellent educational experience for me. I was able to see the huge currency crisis of 1997 in Southeast Asia from a first-hand perspective. This was the crisis in which the Prime Minister of Malaysia was verbally fighting with George Soros about the evils of currency speculation. Being a finance major, this was surely a value-added experience. Almost every class I had examined the causes, effects, and the dangerous spillover into the stock market that the currency crisis caused.
Corporate POV: Recruiting the Global Employee
Cindy Creeden, Manager of College Relations and Campus Hiring, Halliburton
Because of the expense of placing employees overseas, many companies are reluctant to send new hires abroad. Nonetheless, they often see a student's time abroad as a plus, as recruiter Cindy Creeden explains:
At Halliburton, we're looking for people of a diverse nature. Generally for our overseas positions we try to hire foreign students trained here and send them back to their home country. Halliburton tries to work more and more with citizens of their own countries.
But I think it's important for US business students to go overseas. It's an excellent idea. It opens more doors. If we're hiring for a department which is totally international, then they've already had the experience and the exposure, which is an added benefit. Language is also important. Language could be a step-up on someone else competing for a job.
The best overseas experience you can probably have is relevant work experience, the exposure of working in a foreign country. It doesn't always matter which country. Just because you had it in Europe doesn't mean that's the only location we'd send you.
Generally, the benefit of an overseas experience is that it provides a totally different type of education. When you get into international projects you have to deal with customs, your responsibilities are less defined, more varied. It can be culture shock. New hires who have been overseas are already accustomed to different cultures. Plus, we find that they might bring some new ideas to the table. Halliburton is one of the world's leading energy services and engineering companies, with over 60 years of experience in Latin America and around the globe.
Alumni POV: Two Years Out
Kevin Clark, Associate in Global Markets, Citicorp Securities, Inc., UT double-degree MBA 96 with ITESM, Monterrey, Mexico.
The double-degree with ITESM definitely helped me with what I do now. When I was at ITESM I did an internship with Bancomer, the second largest bank in Mexico. After finishing at UT, I received several offers from banks in Monterrey and took a position with Citibank on the relations side, working with large, top-tier local corporations. Citibank transferred me to New York City to work on securities, but I still work mainly with Mexico on large-scale bonds.
When I started my job in Monterrey, I took the place of a French woman who had studied at UT Austin. There are quite a few Texas Exes in the Monterrey community. If you get down there, start making friends and networking, it can really help you get a job.
It doesn’t happen often that you get sent abroad as a new hire. I was really lucky that my first job was related to my work in Mexico. I would tell other students thinking about going abroad that it's a great experience, it's really worthwhile. You have to be willing to take a chance, but it could pay off in the long run.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
