Executive Recruiters / Executive Job Agencies for MBAs or How can MBA students or MBA graduates benefit by using the services of Headhunters?

In this blog post, I shall try to make a list of Executive Job Agencies / Recruiters / Headhunters for MBA students.

Here are some useful links for now:

• https://www.bluesteps.com/Home.aspx
• http://fourcornersgroup.com/
• http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/careers/mba/
• http://www.aplin.com/calgary.html
• http://www.theheadhunters.ca/who-we-are/our-bios.aspx
• http://dubaiemploymenttips.com/recruitment-agencies/list/
• http://www.careersearchdatabase.com/recruiting-staffing-services.html
• http://www.topmba.com/articles/jobs/world-according-head-hunters
• http://www7.gsb.columbia.edu/alumni/careers/news/can-headhunter-help-you

MBA and executive recruitment

MBA recruitment organisations

Organisations who specialise in MBA recruitment:

MBA-Exchange
http://www.mba-exchange.com/mbax2000/home.htm
– recommended for Europe and UK. Once you have a password, you may post your CV online and search MBA-Exchange's extensive list of job advertisements.

MBA Direct
http://www.mba-direct.com/ – recommended for Europe and UK.

MBAmatch.com
http://www.mbamatch.com/ – UK-based site




MBACareers
http://www.mbacareers.com/ – USA focus
MBA International
http://www.mbainternational.com/ – UK-base. Banking, finance, consulting
Top MBA http://www.topmba.com/careers/lancaster - main focus on UK and Europe. Most services are for prospective MBA students. But Top MBA do run career forums and sometimes advertise MBA jobs on behalf of clients
The Association of MBAs
Online jobs and career development portal for members of the Association of MBAs.
Career Gardens
http://www.careergardens.com/ – mainly careers fairs
MBAjobsnet
http://www.mbajobs.net/index.html – new site run from the UK and USA


MBAFutureStep

http://www.futurestep.com/Login.asp – in partnership with Korn Ferry International
MBA Global Net
http://www.mbaglobalnet.com/ – mainly a USA focus
MBA Career Conferences
http://www.careerconferences.com/ – mainly for USA and Latin America
ForeignMBA.com
http://www.foreignmba.com/ – designed mainly for non-USA MBA students looking for jobs in the USA
Best of Africa
http://www.thebestofafrica.com – recruitment and networking site for African MBAs
JAC MBA
http://www.jac-recruitment.co.uk/index_en.aspx – for Japanese MBA recruitment
Mindbench
http://www.mindbench.com/ - for contract and permanent recruitment to top-level consulting jobs

I shall try to make a summary and notes from these soon!
Cheers!
Gerry.

6 strategies to change your job location after MBA + Go East, young (MBA) man! (P.S: Apparently Emerging Markets in Latin America & Asia (China, Hong Kong, Singapore etc) have a LOT of new jobs for international MBAs, especially jobs in Finance)

If you are a final year MBA student, you are probably job hunting right now, at a ferocious pace, LOL :) How about a change of scenery? How about a job at an exciting new location? Here is a useful article for you! Actually, two useful articles for you.
- Gerry.

From the link: http://mba.ust.hk/enews/intake12/6Strategy.html

Many people want to do an MBA to work in another part of the world. Here are some strategies based on the success of our alumni now working in different cities in Asia, which, according to Reuters, is "one of the world's last bastions of buoyant economic growth".

1. Be very committed to the region

Stefano, who is in his fourth year working in China, has a piece of advice for foreigners who want to work in Asia: "You have to look for a job with a long–term perspective. You can't think 'I'll try to stay here for two years and then go back'. And you need to be clear on how you will add value to the organization. Easier said than done especially in a period in which companies are quickly localizing, but that's the only way to get people looking at you in a different way."

 
Stefano Di Genua

Senior Project Manager
Siemens Financial Services Beijing, China
Pre-MBA: Milan, Italy

2. Get a local internship
Many companies select full–time employees from their interns to make sure their performance is up to standard and they can fit into the team. Wenlei's former consulting job in Singapore was a good example of a conversion from internship to long term employment. Local internship experience is important to other recruiters as well since it proves that you have prior experience working there. 

 
Wenlei Zhuang
Senior Associate
(BCG) The Boston Consulting Group

Former location: Singapore
Pre-MBA: Shanghai, China

3. Make good use of your MBA network
The best kinds of jobs are usually never advertised, but available in the hidden job market through networking. A classmate of Abhishek who worked at Bosch earlier referred a job opportunity in the same company to him in Hong Kong. Abhishek is now working in Shanghai for Bosch (China) Investment in a marketing role for the Asia Pacific region.

  
Abhishek Makharia

Product Manager – Power Tools Asia Pacific
Bosch (China) Investment Shanghai, China
Pre-MBA: Bangalore, India

4. Keep your old network close

Sylvain kept in touch with his former colleagues even though he had left Credit Suisse in Switzerland to study an MBA in Asia. After his graduation, he learned that his old company was looking for someone to manage the North Asia business region for the department from the Singapore branch. Sylvain was the obvious choice given his European background, Asian exposure and a reputable MBA degree.


Sylvain Gysler

Head of Department – Independent Asset Managers
Bank Pictet & Cie (Asia) Singapore
Pre-MBA: Geneva, Switzerland

5. Join a management associate program
Management associate programs often lead to a promising career in multinational companies. And they prefer to recruit MBA graduates because of their business acumen, global exposure, leadership potential and knowledge of the emerging markets. Beth from South Africa was recruited by AIA through its management associate program and is now posted in Hong Kong.
 

Beth Bremner

Management Associate
AIA Hong Kong
Pre-MBA: London, U.K.

6. Return home and wait for an opportunity
Even if you can't find a job where you want immediately, it may just mean that the time hasn't come yet. It never hurts to go back to your home country and keep an eye out for new opportunities. Take Christian for an example. After the MBA, he returned to Europe and worked for Swarovski. Not long after, he applied for an internal transfer and then moved to China with his family.


Christian Gasplmayr

Senior Strategic Project and Planning & Analysis Manager
Swarovski Shanghai, China
Pre-MBA: Vienna, Austria

From the link: http://www.economist.com/node/18560501

Lots of jobs in the EAST now! Dynamic shift from the WEST ---> to the EAST !

Ever more jobs in finance are migrating to growth markets, particularly in Asia:

“A LOT of my friends are going to Asia and Latin America to do their internships,” says Ben Zhang, a student at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business who will do his in Hong Kong with Morgan Stanley. “It may be outside their comfort zone, but they see getting some experience there as helpful, since that’s where many of the jobs will be.”

Talent and transactions are migrating from London and New York to faster-growing markets, particularly in Asia.  This eastward march has grown more pronounced since the financial crisis. According to Sheffield Haworth, a recruiting firm, 31% of financial firms’ external hires in Asia in 2010 transferred from Britain or America, compared with 8% the year before. The shift is also visible on eFinancialCareers, a leading recruitment website for the industry. Asian cities have climbed up the list of most popular destinations for applicants based in America and Britain (see table)—though that is partly the result of collapsing interest in the United Arab Emirates following the property bust in Dubai. Though not a top-three destination, Latin America is on the up, too. Fund managers in Brazil report a big increase in applications from American MBA graduates.

Banks are encouraging this trend. Under its Growth Markets Opportunity Programme, Goldman Sachs hires Asians and Latin Americans with MBAs from Western schools, puts them in New York or London for just one year, and whisks them off to more permanent positions in China, Brazil and so on. The firm is also trying to strengthen its links to local business schools: Goldman’s global head of campus recruiting for banking, Sandra Hurse, spent most of the past month in Asia.

The allure of emerging markets is not just based on superior growth rates. Graduates see mature markets as saturated and emerging ones as offering greater job stability (Hong Kong and Singapore saw relatively few lay-offs in the crisis). Michael Malone, a career adviser at Columbia Business School, says some students think they will have a better chance of standing out and getting promoted in Shanghai or Mumbai than in New York.

Another issue is visas: with Britain and America having grown less welcoming, foreigners are tempted to look elsewhere—though Singapore, too, has tightened restrictions a bit.

Then there is tax. Someone earning a base salary of $400,000 gets to keep 85% of it in Hong Kong or Singapore, versus 55% in London. Pre-tax pay packages are still higher on average in the West but the gap has narrowed. Factor in the tax advantage in Asia and you can end up earning significantly more there in many positions, says Tim Sheffield, the head of Sheffield Haworth.

Regulation matters, too. This week’s Vickers commission report calmed fears that British universal banks would be forcibly broken up. But political pressures on pay, bank-bashing in Britain & America are driving some financiers overseas. 2/3 rd bankers polled said they were willing to move to a more tax- and regulation-friendly environment. Asian countries, which have kept regulation fairly stable, are only too happy to exploit this competitive advantage.

For bankers with families, Asia has the big advantage of cheap domestic help. “For the same as a day’s taxi fares in London you can employ a nanny or cook for a month,” says one recruiter—though this is truer of Mumbai than Hong Kong. Singapore has good schools, infrastructure and weather, and lovely golf courses.

For all the increased interest in working in Asia, demand for qualified labour exceeds supply (Demand > Supply). In February HSBC revealed that its top bankers in the region received 40% higher bonuses last year than their counterparts in London because, as its boss said, Asia “is where the pressure is” on pay.

Demand is up not only from global banks but also from new entrants and regional players, such as Jeffries and Samsung Securities. Chinese banks are starting to poach. Some of these firms are dangling guaranteed cash bonuses in front of prospective hires, say headhunters in Asia.

"Want Your Dream Job? Make a Cold Call!" or "Cold Calling your way to a new Job!"

(P.S: This blog was written by Ibraheem Hussein, an MBA classmate of mine, in March, 2012. I am re-posting it here, with his permission. - Gerry).

Want Your Dream Job? Make a Cold Call!

After reading an article and seeing how it related to my own experience, I felt this may benefit those of us seeking internships or full-time positions come April or September. I feel the article (see link below) did a poor job in highlighting the steps required to go from cold call to interview. Although I agree with several points, it may be wise to enhance/edit the process suggested.

Cold calling a potential employer can be as nerve racking as public speaking but if you can master this technique you will be miles ahead of the competition. The following are several reasons why cold calling is essential to getting your dream job in today's job market:

• Not many do it! This fact alone indicates that if you have the initiative and courage to start talking to people you don't know you will automatically be distinguished from the rest.
• It's a employer centric job market. Since candidates (and MBAs) are a dime a dozen, today's employers can hold out for the perfect candidate, which may not be me or you.
• Cold calling is your cover letter's cover letter. If you want to make sure you get interviewed for a given position, not only should you submit your resume through the online system but you should have a champion for you in house (preferably the hiring manager that you cold called). The champion refers you to HR and gives them the nod of approval for an HR screen.
• Networking doesn't work as well. Unfortunately, networking only works within your network! Many of us and myself included want to work at large, reputable firms but we know absolutely no one at these firms. Cold calling will enable you to establish relationships with individuals at your target firm(s).
• It shows drive, passion, initiative, communicability, motivation, and intensity. This is what all employers wish they had from their employees. Be an individual that stands out and shows these qualities.
• The recent online process enables cold calling to be successful. Due to the internet, good jobs receive hundreds if not thousands of applications. Applying for a job is now as easy as clicking your mouse. Why do you want to get lost in the clutter. By cold calling you maneuver past the typical HR resume screen.
• Focus. If you succeed, you need not pursue many firms. This technique is so successful that if you fit into the company culture, you're qualified, and you're motivated, you should only have to contact one company to receive an interview.

Although I am sure there are many more reasons to cold call, time is of the essence for me and you so let's quickly get into the process.

1. Do your research. If you call not knowing anything about the position or the company, the hiring manager will sense this and it may not be favourable for you. Also, do your research on linkedin of who you are calling and how you can connect to him/her on a personal level. If you can't identify the hiring manager on linkedin, find someone in the department in a similar role you are applying for and get the insider view of what this person does on a day to day basis and what skills are required.
2. Make the call. Call the company and ask to be transferred to whoever it is you want to talk to. Many times you have no clue who the hiring manager is, so instead, just talk to someone in the department (that you found on linkedin) about the role, it is likely they will give you valuable information and refer you to the right person. Don't think they will reject you. If you do, then they will. If you are professional, upbeat, polite, and humble, they can't reject you because that would be extremely rude and unprofessional of them. If they do, trust me, you don't want to work there anyway. No one wants to work for an employer that doesn't appreciate initiative and courage.
3. Tell them who you are and why your calling. You saw a posting and you are extremely interested in this position and the company. Emphasize the knowledge you gained about the company and the role here.
4. Get the scoop! Gather as much information as you can about the role, the department, and the hiring manager. Probe the hiring manager for this information and make sure you customize your resume and cover letter accordingly.
5. Show high intensity and interest. Make it seem as if your drive and passion is jumping out of the phone at the employer. Make him or her feel you are a high achiever, self-motivated and that you will bring a tremendous amount of value to the employer!
6. Close your sale! You are essentially selling yourself. You need to impress and ask for the referral to HR. It may or may not be direct. For example you may say, "so from here, do you recommend I just apply online or is there a better way to ensure I get an interview?" This will almost always result in a "no problem, I will send your name over to the person responsible for reviewing applications."
7. Customize to Win! Your cover letter and resume must reflect the qualities/skills that you received from the your champion, the job posting, and the reasons why you want to work at the firm.
8. Interview. This is a totally different step in the process and I plan to comment on this in a later posting.

It's that simple! OK maybe a little intimidating but your an MBA student! If you can't do it, who can???? This helped me get an internship and I know if you implement this it will help you. I am so sure of this approach that I plan on using this method for the rest of my career.

If you have any further questions you can comment below or simply see me in class.

Happy cold calling!

- Mr. Ibraheem Hussein, (MBA).
Final Year MBA student (Class of 2012),
Ted Rogers School of Management,
Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Useful link: http://www.bcjobs.ca/re/career-advice/career-advice-articles/interview-advice/cold-calling-your-way-to-a-new-job

List of Democratic & Republican presidents of USA ---> This is General Knowledge that MBAs should know. (MBAs should have good Political, Social, Cultural, Geographical, Historical knowledge / orientation apart from Business orientation!)

From the links:

• http://www.mapsofworld.com/us-presidents/democrat-us-presidents.html
• http://www.mapsofworld.com/us-presidents/republican-us-presidents.html

List of Democratic US Presidents

No.	President's Name	Presidency
		Date from	to Date
1	Andrew Jackson	04 Mar 1829	04 Mar 1837
2	Martin Van Buren	04 Mar 1837	04 Mar 1841
3	James Knox Polk	04 Mar 1845	03 Mar 1849
4	Franklin Pierce	04 Mar 1853	04 Mar 1857
5	James Buchanan	04 Mar 1857	04 Mar 1861
6	Grover Cleveland	04 Mar 1885	04 Mar 1889
	Grover Cleveland	04 Mar 1893	04 Mar 1897
7	Woodrow Wilson	04 Mar 1913	04 Mar 1921
8	Franklin Delano Roosevelt	04 Mar 1933	12 Apr 1945
9	Harry S. Truman	12 Apr 1945	20 Jan 1953
10	John Fitzgerald Kennedy	20 Jan 1961	22 Nov 1963
11	Lyndon Baines Johnson	22 Nov 1963	20 Jan 1969
12	James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter	20 Jan 1977	20 Jan 1981
13	William Jefferson 'Bill' Clinton	20 Jan 1993	20 Jan 2001
14	Barack Hussein Obama	20 Jan 2009	Present

List of Republican US Presidents

No.	President's Name	Presidency
		Date from	to Date
1	Abraham Lincoln	Mar 4, 1861	Apr 15, 1865
2	Ulysses S. Grant	March 4, 1869	Mar 4, 1877
3	Rutherford B. Hayes	Mar 4, 1877	Mar 4, 1881
4	James Garfield	Mar 4, 1881	Sep 19, 1881
5	Chester A. Arthur	Sep 19, 1881	Mar 4, 1885
6	Benjamin Harrison	Mar 4, 1889	Mar 4, 1893
7	William McKinley	Mar 4, 1897	Sep 14, 1901
8	Theodore Roosevelt	Sep 14, 1901	Mar 4, 1909
9	William H. Taft	Mar 4, 1909	Mar 4, 1913
10	Warren G. Harding	Mar 4, 1921	Aug 2, 1923
11	Calvin Coolidge	Aug 2, 1923	Mar 4, 1929
12	Herbert C. Hoover	Mar 4, 1929	Mar 4, 1933
13	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Jan 20, 1953	Jan 20, 1961
14	Richard M. Nixon	Jan 20, 1969	Aug 9, 1974
15	Gerald R. Ford	Aug 9, 1974	Jan 20, 1977
16	Ronald W. Reagan	Jan 20, 1981	Jan 20, 1989
17	George Herbert Walker Bush	Jan 20, 1989	Jan 20, 1993
18	George Walker Bush	Jan 20, 2001	Jan 20, 2009

Saskatchewan in Canada is booming. Lots of job opportunities.

More videos & thoughts of Milton Friedman, the Economist.

On Greed:



On the "Free Lunch Myth":



On Minimum Wage:



On Redistribution of Wealth:

Milton Friedman ---> 4 ways to spend money.

Milton Friedman ("Free to Choose" book) described four ways to spend money:

1. You spend your OWN money on YOURSELF.
2. You spend your OWN money on SOMEONE ELSE.
3. You spend SOMEONE ELSE'S money on YOURSELF.
4. You spend SOMEONE ELSE'S money on SOMEONE ELSE.

 

Video of Milton Friedman - The famous Economist ---> "There Is No Nirvana / Paradise On Earth. The Rich create jobs for the poor. The Rich deserve their wealth. Blame the government for the poverty."

Question asked by a woman (a layman / non-business woman) in the audience in a TV show (? Phil Donahue):  "Why is it that we have a lot of Millionaires in the United States, but there is still so many impoverished people? The rich have oodles and oodles of money. The poor find it difficult to find jobs. The rich people can only eat so much. Why do they want so much money and hoard so much money?"

Milton Friedman's response to the woman:

• "What do the rich do with their money? Do they hide it under their pillows? No.
• The rich invest in businesses. These businesses (factories and machines) create jobs for the poor. If rich people did not create these businesses, the poor would not have jobs.
• The improvements in productivity comes from money invested from the savings of the rich.
• There is no Nirvana on Earth. There is no paradise on Earth.
• What would be the wage rate today and the productivity today if the total amount of capital today was the same as what it was a 100 years ago?
• It is the responsibility of the government to take care of the poor people and not the responsibility of the rich people.
• It is the responsibility of the government to educate the poor. It is the result of wrong government policies that people are poor.
• The minimum wage set by government is wrong - it decreases the productivity".

My thoughts ---> "This is a very old video. I believe Mr.Friedman is no more now. Milton Friedman was a firm believer of Capitalism and the free Enterprise. A Conservative. A believer of the free market and minimum or no government intervention. He was perhaps on the extreme Right. I am more in the middle. I do not personally endorse all that he said. Milton Friedman was against CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Today, even the business / corporate world thinks differently.  CSR & Sustainability are important performance measures today. Doing good and doing well can go hand in hand".

- Gerry.