International Mobility at Oxford

The career-services team at Oxford University's Saïd School of Business helped 90% of the 228 full-time MBA students seeking a job in 2005 to gain employment within three months after graduation. This marks a 7% improvement from 2004.

Showing international mobility, two-thirds of Oxford MBA students found jobs outside their native countries. While only 10% to 13% of Saïd students are from Britain, 58% of graduates work in Europe. Despite a high interest in working in the U.S., students have had a difficult time getting American jobs since 2001, because of changes to visa requirements (see BW Online, 3/17/05, "The Student Visa 'Crapshoot'").

Simon Tankard has helmed career services at the school for the past 10 years. He has cultivated a small team of professionals who have worked through "boom and bust" business cycles while supporting a growing number of students. Tankard earned his MBA in 1995 from The Warwick Business School. He worked at South African Breweries in South Africa and was ultimately head of human resources at Anglovaal Group.

He recently spoke with BusinessWeek Online project assistant Janie Ho. Here are edited excerpts from their conversation:

How's the job market looking for Saïd grads this year?
The market is much improved from 2005, which was better than 2004. Consultants and investment banks are looking to hire larger numbers, which bodes well for the Class of 2006 (see BW Online, 12/30/05, "A Heady Job Market for MBAs").

What kinds of companies recruit at Saïd?
McKinsey & Co., accounting for 5% of all MBAs hired from Oxford, has been our single largest recruiter year after year. We're developing stronger ties with leading firms across all sectors, including companies such as L'Oreal (LORLY ), Johnson & Johnson, (JNJ ), Macquarie (MIC ), Accenture (ACN ), and PRTM Management Consultants. Employers find our entrepreneurial spirit attractive.

We've worked to build relationships across many sectors. Firms such as RWE; the German public utility and electric power company BAA, which owns and operates seven airports in the U.K.; Hines, an international real estate firm; and Novartis (NVS ) have been recruiting Saïd MBAs this year.

How do you set Saïd MBAs apart from those at other B-schools when you speak to recruiters?
We differentiate our MBAs by ensuring that they come through one of the most rigorous admissions processes, combining excellent academics with leadership capability and a global mindset. Diversity is part of our long-term vision and is reflected in our international student population. Our alumni are evidence of the benefits of recruiting from Oxford.

What specific advantages do Saïd students have in the global market?
We're becoming known for our entrepreneurial bent, rigorous finance course, and international student population. Our MBA program is designed to help students develop their skills and challenge conventional business methods (see BW Online, 3/2/06, "Going Global for an MBA").

What's the most difficult thing about helping international students find jobs?
Besides fickle labor markets, it's encouraging them to apply logic to their plans, especially as career-changers. These students need to explain this clearly to recruiters, who are typically risk averse and need reassurance. The softer corporate cultural fit -- being able to conduct business and be a team player in the new country -- requires a truly international, open mindset and attitude.

In the global market, are there any trends such as outsourcing to cheaper areas that are affecting MBA recruitment?
The value of MBAs in job markets is less well understood in Europe than in North America, but we believe this is changing. One major trend is the rapid increase in the number of business schools in emerging markets such as India and China, in response to the growing demand for talent. Its strategic impact on MBA admissions and recruitment is the subject of much research and discussion currently.

How do you prepare your students for rigorous case-study interviews?
We have a team comprised of ex-partners from strategy-consulting firms. They work with students through workshops, small groups, and one-on-one mock interviews. We have also had consulting firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton and DiamondCluster (DTPI ) taking students through their paces. We have an active student and alumni club -- the Oxford Management Consulting Network -- that organizes events [for students] to learn from experts, including alumni.

How do you prepare the students before they arrive on campus?
We hold successful pre-induction sessions with new students a few weeks before the official start of the year. The sessions are useful for scoping key sectors, self-assessment, and resume preparation. Incoming students also receive detailed information from us three months before beginning their program.

How do you prepare students who want a career change?
We challenge many of their assumptions, encourage them to provide evidence of transferable, relevant skills in the sectors and functional areas they wish to work in, and we provide links to alumni in their areas who can assist them.

What are some of the challenges in helping students find internships?
Being a 12-month MBA program, this poses a challenge, particularly with the focus on internships as a predicate for full-time hiring with banks and other sectors. We're more flexible to meet the needs of recruiters. Students with internships can extend their MBA to 15 months or complete their team-based MBA strategic consulting projects (taken in the summer) as individual research projects in their last term before their internships.

How do you help ensure students will get placed?
We work closely with the MBA class from the outset. Students need to factor the opportunity cost of a 12-month program into their job-search plans. Typically, two-thirds of our MBA class are prospective career changers, which adds to the challenge.

How has your prior experience in HR management helped you in this position?
My initial training was in industrial psychology, so combining this with my MBA has allowed me to better manage people development, recruitment, and deployment and other themes around human capital. I worked in the private sector for some large corporate firms across a few industries, including engineering and fast-moving consumer goods, as a human-resources executive.

What do you see as the future of MBAs?
Technical skill sets have become a commodity. Recruiters are increasingly looking for entrepreneurial, creative, and innovative traits, good communication skills, and a strong commercial and international mindset. This runs across a number of sectors, including those seen as more traditional.