Career Corner
January 20, 2017
Student Spotlight- Daniel Ahlgren
Daniel recently accepted a full-time Consultant role with Gartner Consulting, starting after he graduates in August. Since Gartner was a new company to campus this year, we asked Daniel about his interview process with the firm and to share any advice he has on preparing for interviews.
“I was fortunate that Gartner decided to recruit from Pepperdine this year. Two Consultants from the Los Angeles office came and presented during one of the career sessions on campus during the Fall. I submitted my approved resume through the career portal to Gartner and was selected for an interview. The first round interview was conducted at the LA office a few weeks after I was selected, but my prep started far before I was even selected. If you are planning to go into consulting, you have to do your research into all that goes into consulting interviews. I was fortunate to have already taken advantage of the consulting prep session that was sponsored by Pepperdine and held at the West LA campus before Gartner had even come to the school. You will also want to speak with people who have already gotten hired, or have been working in the industry for some time. Make sure you are familiar with key terms used within the particular industry and find out where the company is headed and where the industry is headed. This is advice I would give anyone for any industry. I also prepared by practicing traditional behavioral interview questions. You may have some on the spot mini case studies, for first round, as well as "fit" questions, which are designed to determine if you will fit with the firm’s culture.
A week after my first interview, I was selected to attend a final round interview that included a case study presentation and several separate individual interviews over several hours. The only way to prepare for a second round interview is by being as prepared as possible for the first round interview, practicing, having a true passion for the industry, and really knowing your strengths and weaknesses. The more you prepare, the better you will do; this seems like a simple thing but it’s not easy not to do, especially with classes. You have to set aside the time to prepare, before the interview is at hand. For Gartner specifically, I like that the interview process was so in depth, as well as the hiring process, because it leads me to believe that they will put as much into me once I begin working with them.
Finance and Consulting industries traditionally only hire during the Fall. There are exceptions to this rule that can actually be favorable, but they only happen through networking. Keep working at getting your resume in front of someone who has the power to get you an interview. Take advantage of everything you can. In my case, the Pepperdine career center and the career portal was my means, through attending the career event, but I have had great success in the past through networking.
It’s been a long seven year process for me to finally get into the consulting industry, so do not give up on your passion, it may take a while, but if you plan well, you can get there. The hardest part is sitting down and figuring out your core strengths. Once you do this, you need to figure out how to get where you want to be. Do not be set on one way of getting there either, there are multiple paths to get somewhere, and often you will be forced to go through things that you did not expect. In a world that seems to give us everything right now, is right at our finger tips, having to put in the time seems contrary and can be disparaging. Everyone else seems to have what you want, right now. Whatever time you put in, will be worth it in the end, but make sure you make the best most informed decisions along the way. I am truly blessed to have been given an offer in my desired industry, and to continue my education at Pepperdine. I thank everyone who has helped me along the way. Cheers!"
What's Coming Up?
On-campus and off-campus career events*:
- Jan. 24th - MSOD Career Insights Panel, 6:00 pm, WLA Campus
- Jan. 24th - Lunch & Learn Session: Resume Storytelling, 12:00 pm, Drescher Cafe
- Jan. 26th - TechFair LA, Downtown LA at The Reef, 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
- Jan. 28-29 and March 25-26 - Financial Modeling and Valuation Weekend Seminars, 8:00 - 9:00 am, WLA campus
- Jan. 28 - Brand Marketing in the New Age, 10:00 am, WLA campus
- Feb. 10 - Hire SoCal, CSU, Fullerton Campus, 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Register here: http://www.hiresocal.net/students.html
CAREER WEEK EVENTS
- Jan. 30-Feb. 3 - Career Week, All Pepperdine Campuses, Register here: www.pepperdine.edu/careerweek
- Jan. 30-Feb 2 - Mock Phone Interviews w/ Alumni, MBA Students Only, Attend one of the required sessions for sign up: Wednesday, 1/25 5-6:30pm, Thursday, 1/26 5-6:30pm
- Feb. 1-2 - Internship Interviews, Malibu Campus, Apply on the Career Portal
- Feb. 3 - SEER Symposium, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Marina Del Rey Marriot, Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-seer-symposium-a-recipe-for-innovation-tickets-30365060714
Hot Jobs and Internships on the Career Portal:
- Manager, Trade Fund Management, Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc.
- Consultant Intern, Trinity Partners, LLC
- Director, Internal Audit - Operations, Progressive
- Managing Associate, MassMutal Financial Group
- Account Manager, Gallup
- Corporate Strategy and Transformation Internship, Kaiser Permanente
The 2 Kinds Of Skills You Should Highlight When You're Underqualified For A Job
You see a job you’d like to apply for—but there’s a catch, you don’t meet all of the requirements. Despite that, you know the difference between being underqualified or unqualified and you feel confident you fall into the former camp rather than the latter. You can do this job.
Read the rest here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2017/01/06/the-2-kinds-of-skills-you-should-highlight-when-youre-underqualified-for-a-job/#246dea1923a1
Contact Us:
Email: cmc@pepperdine.edu
Website: bschool.pepperdine.edu/career
Location: 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA, United States
Phone: (310) 506-4106
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GraziadioCMC
Twitter: @graziadiocareer
Our staff is happy to help you achieve the most out of your time at the
Graziadio School of Business and Management:
Diane Singel - Executive Director
Ken Murphy - Director of Career Counseling
Karen Weiss - Director, Career & Employer Engagement
Lauren Nakano - Employer Relations Specialist
Brittany Chu - Assistant Director
Shanshan Li - International Career Development Specialist