Winter 2012
IN THIS ISSUE…
Record Setting Spring Fair for Employers and Students
A record 2,200 UW-Madison students and alumni flowed into the Kohl Center on January 31 to have an opportunity to network with potential employers at the 2012 Spring Career & Internship Fair. The Wisconsin School of Business (BCC and MBA), along with its campus partners in the College of Letters & Science, College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, School of Human Ecology, School of Education and the Wisconsin Alumni Association collaborated to bring a record183 companies to the spring fair. Several employers featured scannable QR codes at their booths, and fair participants were invited to use the Twitter hashtag, #UWCR12, to share experiences.
The Fall Career & Internship Fair is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, September 20, 2012. Registration for this event will open in BuckyNet in late spring or early summer. Employers will be emailed an invitation when registration opens.
Reserve Your Fall Recruiting Date Now
The fall 2012 recruiting calendar is now available in BuckyNet. Employers can ensure they get dates that best fit with their fall recruiting plans by reserving space early. Fall recruiting at the Business Career Center (BCC) begins Monday, October 1 and continues through November 30, 2012. To reserve your date, log in to your BuckyNet account and click on “Create Schedule Request.”
The BCC encourages employers who are conducting second round interviews to schedule them on Fridays during the semester if at all possible. Historically, Fridays are generally lighter class days for many students and the adjacent weekend helps minimize missed class time.
For the same reasons, the BCC strongly encourages employers to refrain from scheduling first round interviews at the BCC on Fridays to avoid late interview cancellations due to second interviews.
Register Today for Hire Big 10 Virtual Career Fair
Looking for a way to connect with potential candidates in a more convenient and cost effective way? Consider participating in the Hire Big 10 Plus Virtual Career Fair March 27-29, 2012. Last year more than 4,000 students and alumni from 15 universities participated including: UW-Madison, other Big Ten colleges, Notre Dame, and the University of Chicago. Here are just some of the reasons to participate:
- Capture resumes (electronically) from every registered participant
- Conduct interviews from your desk via your own chat room which includes a video interviewing option
- Choose your own chat hours and interact live with students/alumni at your convenience
- Eliminate travel costs and nights away from home
- Reach students who are unable to attend the live fairs either due to location or conflicting schedules
- Recruit and build brand awareness with students and alumni in a greener way, including a custom web page where employers can post links to company videos and articles
While registration is open through March 27 at hirebig10@careereco.com, we encourage you to register early to get maximum exposure for your opportunities.
Just in Time Hiring Needs?
The Business Career Center is available for on-campus interviews through the end of April to help employers fill those last minute openings. In addition, the BuckyNet Online Job Board reaches current UW-Madison students and alumni throughout the year. If your HR budget is running low, consider the BCC’s videoconferencing, Skype and phone interview services that allow you to interview candidates without leaving the office! Contact a BCC Employer Relations Team member to find out what strategy may work best to connect you with top-notch candidates.
BCC Advisory Board Examines Virtual Career Fairs
At its January meeting, the BCC Employer Advisory Board reviewed the new trend of virtual career fairs and the advantages they can offer employers, students and career centers. New technology has made virtual career fairs more of a reality for career centers today looking to host a virtual fair as an adjunct to existing in-person traditional fairs. The employers present discussed how virtual fairs may be a good way to hold “just in time fairs” and optimize employers’ ever-changing needs in a global, technology-dependent economy.
Other information examined the board included:
- On-campus interviewing and career fair participation is up over last year.
- The School of Business admission process for sophomores is now once a year.
- There were 20 direct freshmen admits this year (Requirements were 33 ACT, 1440 SAT or in the top 1% of their class.) Next year’s direct admit class will increase to 40 students.
- Mandatory review of student resumes before they are posted on BuckyNet
The 35 member board consists of current employer participants in the BCC Corporate Partner Program. It meets biannually to provide valuable feedback to the BCC staff and WSoB on ideas and initiatives relating to BCC and BBA programming and services.
UW-Madison Internship Program Develops International Opportunities
Does your company have an international presence? UW-Madison students are eager to take on internships abroad or in the U.S. focused on international business. The campus launched the International Internship Program (IIP) in 2010 to work with employers and students to develop the global talent pool and increase the availability of these opportunities. If you and your company are interested in learning more about how to develop internationally-located or internationally-focused internships and target UW-Madison students to fill these positions, IIP would love to hear from you. You can contact the Director, Maj Fischer, at iip@international.wisc.edu or 608-261-1359 to begin the discussion. Check out the IIP website for more info: http://internships.international.wisc.edu/organizations/.
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Vlad Ionescu: An International Internship Story
“Seeking a better job and better life” Vlad Ionescu’s family immigrated to the United States from Romania when he was only four years old. Ionescu recently had the opportunity to build on his intercultural heritage when he worked as a corporate finance intern at Abbott B.V., a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories in Zwolle, Netherlands this past summer.
The finance and real estate major grew up in the Chicago area and came to UW-Madison after visiting several schools in the Midwest and east coast. He describes his decision to come to UW as an easy one. “I was looking for a big school with a passionate student body, plus I felt the most comfortable here,” he said.
After taking his introductory business courses, Ionescu decided to focus on finance and real estate - a decision that didn’t surprise his family. “When I was in fifth grade I would gather the flyers from homes for sale in the neighborhood and bring them home to look over with my parents,” he said.
During his junior year, Ionescu was “cruising BuckyNet” for internship opportunities when he noticed a posting for a summer finance position with Abbott B.V. in the Netherlands. “At the time, I didn’t even realize that working abroad was an option for me,” he said. “Since I had had a business internship in Chicago the previous summer, I wanted to stretch myself and get a whole new experience both culturally and professionally.” He submitted his resume and cover letter, interviewed with an American employee of Abbott who had just come back from a three-year assignment in the Netherlands and received the offer a couple of weeks later.
After arriving in Zwolle, a historic town of about 110,000 people, Ionescu was fortunate to have the company’s financial controller as his supervisor and mentor. In addition to making sure that the new intern got exposure to a lot of different departments and varied projects to work on, he also made it a priority to meet with Ionescu on a regular basis to make sure that everything was going well outside of work as well. According to Ionescu, acclimating to the culture was easy, “Everyone was very friendly, and helped me feel that I fit in right away. Language wasn’t a barrier as 98% of the Dutch speak English - something I didn’t fully appreciate until I found myself working in a foreign country.”
From the start, Ionescu found that he was accepted as a valuable member of the team and could make contributions to the company. He discovered that the results of his work were not only accepted, but implemented - something he found very rewarding as a young intern at an international company.
Ionescu noticed several differences in the work environment in the Netherlands as compared to the U.S. “The Dutch as a people are very punctual, “he noted. “ A meeting may start before you even have a chance to sit down. There is no small talk you immediately get down to business. As a result, the meetings tend to be very quick,” he observed.
At the same time, he noted that Dutch workplace is a little more relaxed at times. “People seem to value their work/life balance more than in the U.S,” he pointed out. “Work hours are more flexible, people stop and chat by your cubicle during the day, and “tea breaks” occur several times a week to celebrate co-workers’ birthdays with a treat and drink.” Ionescu is quick to add that this doesn’t mean that the Dutch aren’t hard-working, because they definitely have a strong work ethic, he said.
Ionescu encouraged his fellow students to take advantage of all the resources the Wisconsin School of Business provides including the relationships the School has built with employers to bring career opportunities to its students. “Companies interview here and post their jobs on BuckyNet because they are looking for UW students to join their company – take advantage of this relationship,” he said. His internship opportunity was the result of a relationship cultivated by the UW-Madison International Internship Program office with Abbott B.V. that resulted in internships for both Ionescu and an engineering student.
His advice for students who are lucky enough to get the chance to work abroad is to embrace it with an open mind. “Be willing to try new things and be flexible. Go out and see things, travel because you don’t know when you will be back. And one more thing – work hard! “
BCC Policy on the Use of Alcohol in College Recruiting
The BCC abides by the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) policy regarding the use of alcohol in college recruiting. The policy states: “Serving alcohol should not be part of the recruitment process on or off campus. This includes receptions, dinners, company tours, etc.” This policy is contained in the NACE Principles for Professional Practice, a document that serves as the ethical framework for practices within the career services and recruiting fields.
Given the concerns of colleges and universities about the abuse and misuse of alcohol by students, the BCC and NACE believe that serving alcohol during the recruitment process sends the wrong message. Furthermore, since many college students are younger than the state’s legal drinking age, serving alcohol could be violation of the state law.
The BCC requests that employers support the no-alcohol policy while recruiting UW-Madison School of Business students.
Hiring MBAs at Wisconsin
In addition to recruiting undergraduate candidates from Wisconsin, have you considered exploring MBA recruiting during your on-campus visits? Though a separate office from the Business Career Center, the MBA Career Management Center can work with you to help increase your recruiting success.
The Wisconsin MBA is based on a specialization model; our students are admitted directly into one of 10 specializations designed to prepare them to contribute in a functional area immediately during their internship and upon graduation. Beginning from day one, our students complete coursework targeted to their specialization, and also apply what they’re learning through applied learning sessions, consulting engagements, and many other practical activities. The result is students who are ready to step into functional roles within many organizations; a claim that no general MBA can make.
For more information about the Wisconsin MBA, the specializations, and how you can include MBAs in your recruiting process, visit http://www.bus.wisc.edu/mbacs or contact Matt Nelson at mnelson@bus.wisc.edu or 608-265-5102.
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Key Dates to Remember
Spring Semester 2012
On-Campus Interviews: January 30 – April 27
Spring Break: March 31 – April 8
Last Class Day: May 11
Exam Period: May 8 – 14
Commencement Weekend: May 18 – 20
Fall Semester 2012
Instruction Begins: September 4
Fall Career & Internship Fair 2011: September 20 (tentative)
On-Campus Interviews: October 1 – November 30
Thanksgiving Recess: November 22 – 25
Last Class Day: December 14
Winter Recess: December 23 – January 22
Additional Key Dates
We Enjoy Hearing from You
As always, we welcome your feedback and encourage you to contact any BCC Employer Relations Team Member with your comments and questions.
Steve Schroeder
Assistant Dean, Wisconsin BBA Program and Director, Business Career Center
sschroeder@bus.wisc.edu
608-265-3771
Duane Cooper
Assistant Director, Employer Relations and Career Events
dcooper@bus.wisc.edu
608-262-4393
Jamie Marsh Finco
Director, Investment Banking & Capital Markets Employer Relations
jmarsh@bus.wisc.edu
608-262-2810
Diane Upton
Assistant Director, Employer Relations
dupton@bus.wisc.edu
608-262-2725
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