Overview
Recommendations
Next Steps
Social media
Career Café Bucharest
November 02, 2017
Speed dating your career
Ten minutes' worth of career advice: The Career Café Bucharest offered MBA students and alumni an opportunity to interact with headhunters and HR managers of internationally active businesses during speed dating sessions.
The mood was upbeat as the first participants arrived. Laughter here, diffident smiles there; some seemed a little excited—as if they were about to have their first dates. And this evening at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bucharest was indeed about having first dates—not just one but many: Some 50 students and alumni of the Executive MBA Bucharest had turned out to participate in the Career Café and get first-hand career advice from distinguished headhunters and HR managers during speed dating sessions. In the course of ten-minute time slots, experts of executive search agencies such as Stanton Chase, Amrop Jenewein and Pedersen & Partners as well as HR managers of businesses like Boehringer Ingelheim, Hilti Romania or Vodafone provided them with valuable input on how to wow people during hearings, how to take the next steps in their careers and how to position themselves successfully as brands.
But before the students and alumni turned their attention to speed dating, Prof. Phillip Nell, new Academic Director of the Executive MBA Bucharest, and Sorin Faur, Founder of HR Academy and Alumnus of the Executive MBA Bucharest, spoke on the topic of “Your personal brand”. They both said that in terms of career development it was essential to communicate one's strengths in an authentic manner. Moreover, they stressed that studying for qualifications such as a reputable MBA degree would add positive value to one's personal brand thanks to the dual focus on business know-how and personal development.
Prof. Phillip Nell is intimately familiar with both sides of career development: In the past, he worked as a strategy consultant; now, he deals with global strategies, both as a professor of international business at WU Vienna and as the head of the Competence Center for Emerging Markets. “The goal of the Career Café in Bucharest is to provide our alumni, leading executive search firms and recruiters with a forum for open interaction. It is a great opportunity for participants to get exciting career development insights and tips,” said Phillip Nell as the speed daters were taking their seats at the tables.
Emil Gheorghe, Executive Board Member/Technical Director at Egger Romania and alumnus of the Executive MBA Bucharest 2012, said at the end of the event that he had numerous dates with distinguished career experts, adding: “It is not always easy to anticipate which of your assets need to be leveraged and pointed out to meet company needs. Getting so much input in this area from different experts has really helped me a lot. And, what is more, the unconventional speed dating approach has been great fun.”
As far as the career partners are concerned, the speed dating sessions offered them an opportunity to meet exciting potential candidates: “Thank you for inviting Stanton Chase for the 5th time in a row. Good participation, good impact, good verbal feedback, thus we will follow up with them during f2f discussions and hopefully we will collaborate on our executive projects”, said Stanton Chase's consultant, Oana Gatu.
Executive MBA opens up new career opportunities
11 years ago, the WU Executive Academy launched the Executive MBA Bucharest. Today, one could not imagine the Romanian MBA landscape without it: Ever since the inception of its MBA ranking in 2008, the leading Romanian business daily “Ziarul Financiar” has listed the Executive MBA Bucharest as one of the country's three best programs. In 2014 and 2015, it even topped the ranking.
One of the remarkable features of the program is its quality: The Executive MBA Bucharest boasts a “triple accreditation" (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS) - a rare privilege enjoyed by only 1% of all MBA programs in the world.
Dr. Barbara Stöttinger
- Dean of the WU Executive Academy
Since 2006, more than 230 managers have put their trust in us. And we have not disappointed them, I think: In addition to developing their expertise and leadership skills, they all have built invaluable professional networks and made an investment in their market value as top executives at an international level. Events such as the Career Café are designed to support them in their career journeys.
MBA: A career booster for aspiring entrepreneurs
Adrian Pocola and Ryan Fitzpatrick are living proof that an MBA is a career booster not only for employees but also for those looking to go into business for themselves. The two met during the Professional MBA program. Adrian and Ryan soon developed their joint ideas into a joint plan of action—and they have made it a reality: They have founded MD Education, an innovative health-care start-up providing patients and health experts in the CEE region with digital education. “Thanks to the MBA program, I am more self-confident when it comes to pursuing my ideas,” says Ryan Fitzpatrick. Read our interview with Adrian and Ryan to learn more about how they intend to revolutionize the health-care market with MD Education, and how they benefit from the MBA along the way.
Click here to read more about the career services für alumni and students.