Author Archive
Why MBA? SFU MBA at the Beedie School of Business
Posted by: Kathleen Ong in MBA Experience on June 14th, 2011
Photo by Ron Sombilon Gallery
Kathleen Ong cites both the city and school as inspiration for the future
Tight-knit business community? Check. Start-up hub? Check. Innovation and sustainability leadership? Check. Active lifestyle, multi-cultural, scenic ocean and mountain views? Check.
When you ask anyone about what it’s like to live in Vancouver, Canada, they’ll tell you all of these things and more. After all, earning the number one spot on The Economist’s World’s Most Livable Cities in 2011 is no small task. Yet, dig a little deeper and you’ll find, encased in what used to be an old bank building, Simon Fraser University’s Segal Graduate School at the Beedie School of Business. As a member of the 80-student Master of Business Administration graduating class of 2011, I set out 10 months ago associating so many career goals and dreams with this very building. The question is not why Vancouver and why Beedie, but rather why not?
My school is different from the others. Looking back at the last year, I like to think that the school chose me and not the other way around because of how well we fit together. With four years of work experience, including two years as a marketing and communications manager, I wanted to take a leap into a formal business education. Beedie’s requirements, an undergraduate degree in areas other than Business, two years or more of work experience, the GMAT, and diversity in backgrounds, has created a unique and rare program for people like me. At Beedie, everyone is brought in on an even playing field; your previous work experience, GMAT scores, academic history, and industry expertise are appreciated and acknowledged in a team environment, while still maintaining a sense of competition and challenge within the classroom. As a general MBA program, we receive an intense variety of many different course subjects over the year. This healthy mix gives me a way to link and combine knowledge from marketing, finance, operations management, and strategy into valuable lessons for the future.
Academic coursework, career workshops, and events and student groups are all hard work and stimulating, but truth be told, the peers that I have met in my class have been the greatest asset of enrolling in the program. New friendships have resulted in invaluable lessons about different cultures and countries, ways of thinking, world perspectives, ideas, and skill sets. Nowhere could you find so much talent, commitment and passion as within my classroom.
And so, as the last three months of the academic portion of my MBA are approaching, this is a bittersweet moment. Although I’m not off the hook just yet, I look forward to applying both business and life lessons to the career goals and dreams that have given me the energy to keep shooting for the stars.
A little bird named Twitter a key to digital job hunt
Posted by: Kathleen Ong in MBA Experience, Tips on April 27th, 2011
Spring is here and before you know it we’ll be soaking up the summer sun during our last semester of the MBA program. As part of our degree we must complete an internship in the fall so that we can apply our new found knowledge and skills in the working world.
Searching for a job or an internship is never easy. However, many of us are getting a bit creative in finding ways to engage top employers through networking and conversation. Along with advice from our Career Management Centre and equipped with our list of dream companies, my fellow classmates and I are hitting the streets, or rather the Internet waves, for a job search adventure. Here are a few examples of what it’s like in our shoes. 
1. The hottest job searching tool on the market right now is that little bird named Twitter. Through short, real-time bursts of information called Tweets, anyone can follow a company, human resources profile, individual executive, association, or recruiting company to get notifications of job postings. Not only can you react to Tweets from these accounts, but you can also be proactive and seek out people in the industry or organizations you hope to work for and engage them in a conversation.
2. Facebook allows you to set up a profile for yourself, but you can also use the site to evaluate your interest for a company by joining their fan page. This way every time they post an update or job opening within the organization you’ll be informed through your personal newsfeed. As a plus, companies include additional information such as videos, articles, and photos that can help you gain a better understanding of what the company culture is like. Read the rest of this entry »
Everything Will Be OK: Dispelling Your MBA Myths By Kathleen Ong
Posted by: Kathleen Ong in MBA Experience on December 21st, 2010
Imagine this: You Got In.
Shortly after you receive your acceptance letter, you get to be the guest of honour for one of those fun-filled family celebration dinners, your best friend gives you a high five and you no longer have to dream about data sufficiency problems. And then, one day, sometime closer to the start of the first day of school, a slow panic overcomes you. You wonder, “How do I know what to expect?”
You can always search on MBA forums and try to contact people who have already gone through the program for more information. However, their description of their experience almost always leaves your curiosity unsatisfied. Fear not! We’ve got some tips for you that my help ease your mind.