Career Development

Why did you decide to do an MBA? Why did you choose the Mannheim Full-Time MBA?

I decided to do an MBA because I wanted to continue developing my career by strengthening my soft skills while having new experiences outside of my comfort zone, meeting new people, and learning from other cultures in a different country. The Mannheim Full-Time MBA was the perfect choice for me as it is a very prestigious international one-year program in one of the most stable economies in Europe. The fact that it is based in Germany was crucial for me because there I could not only have opportunities for work afterwards, but also learn a third language. Finally, compared to other programs with similar characteristics, the Mannheim MBA has the best return on investment.

What impact did the Mannheim MBA have on your career?

The Mannheim MBA had a big impact on my career as it gave me the opportunity to connect with and learn from colleagues with very diverse backgrounds and ways of thinking, allowing me to polish my social and communication skills within an international environment. Additionally, it was a key factor in entering the German job market and being able to take new and challenging positions in other departments.

How did MBS Career Services help you achieve this?

Having career services was very helpful in getting to know more about the German job market and what key elements to focus on when looking for a new job after the MBA. They provided many insights into the job search process and on how to successfully tackle every step of the application process. There was also someone who constantly reviewed our application documents and gave useful advice throughout the year.

What were some significant experiences that you took away with you from the program? What was your personal highlight?

The opportunity to study and learn with a diverse and international group of top-level colleagues was definitely a highlight of the program. Additionally, getting the chance to connect with colleagues and learn first-hand from their experiences was very refreshing and changed my attitude to work and dealing with daily life situations. 

Personally, I can also add that the one-week Digital Strategy course at SDA Bocconi in Milan exceeded all my expectations. There, we were challenged with a real business case in which we had to take a winery into the digital domain by applying all the tools we had learned by then.

Why did you decide to do an MBA? Why did you choose the Mannheim Full-Time MBA?

After having worked for more than 10 years, I felt it was the right time to enhance my knowledge and experience. And a one-year full-time MBA was the best option for me. MBS being the best business school in Germany and one of the top schools in the world, it was an obvious choice for me.
 
What impact did the Mannheim MBA have on your career?

Prior to the MBA, I had worked in consulting with a focus on analytics and data engineering. And since I come from an engineering background, I never had formal education in subjects like finance, economics, strategy, etc. The Mannheim MBA helped me fill these gaps and make a transition from a technology-focused role to a role where I can leverage my prior work experience, apply learnings from the MBA program and focus on the business side of things.

The Mannheim MBA not only provided great classroom learning but also offered great opportunities to grow my network and connect with people from various industries and backgrounds.
 
How did MBS Career Services help you achieve this?

The hiring process in Germany was completely new to me. MBS Career Services was instrumental in helping me understand the whole process of job applications. I really appreciate their guidance on what roles to apply for and how to write a CV and cover letter for the German job market, as well as all the workshops they conducted. Some of the career workshops covered topics that you would otherwise ignore but that could be important for the application process. The career week was also extremely helpful as it offered a chance to experience personal interviews, attend case workshops, get valuable feedback and also network with industry leaders.
 
What were some significant experiences that you took away with you from the program? What was your personal highlight? 

The Mannheim MBA gave me the opportunity to spend one year with some of the brightest people from all over the world. The classroom discussions, case studies and consulting project were all great learning experiences.

For me, some of the personal highlights were getting the chance to be one of the class representatives and attending the exchange program at SDA Bocconi.

I decided to do an MBA following 10 years of experience in the aviation industry. Prior to the program, I had a reasonable amount of direct people leadership responsibility and operational accountability in my roles. However, I wanted to broaden my future opportunities by building on my commercial and business acumen. I specifically chose the 12-month full-time program as it allowed me to step out of the working environment for a short period of time to focus solely on my own professional development.

In terms of choosing Mannheim Business School, I was aware prior to making this selection that their teaching faculty is world-class and that the dedication the Program Management and Career Development teams have toward helping each student succeed is second to none. I certainly experienced this first-hand throughout the program, and my professional achievements since the program are due in large part to the support they each provided to me.
 
When I joined the MBA, I had no intention of leaving the aviation industry. However, the program gave me insight into other industries and the ways in which my skillset could apply outside of aviation. The opportunity to move into the tech industry came almost serendipitously through an informal introduction at the university to the recruiter from SAP. Fast forward to current day and I have made the triple jump of country, function and industry – this certainly would not have been possible without the support I received throughout the MBA program and, specifically, the Career Development team.
 
In terms of career development, I had a single point of contact throughout the MBA – having a dedicated career advisor offered immense value to me throughout the program. The career advisors tailor their approach to each MBA participant and support a variety of scenarios, including participants who want to progress within their current industry or company, and participants who want to seek out new opportunities.

The Career Development team provided one-on-one coaching to participants, professional development workshops, simulated team and individual interviews, and networking opportunities through company presentations and site visits. These regular cadences helped me personally to develop some best practices around continuous personal and professional development, which will serve me well now and in my future career.
 
The Business Negotiations subject is perhaps the best course I have ever taken. It reflects the changing nature of business and the skills that successful leaders need in order to be relevant now and in the future. As participants, we were really pushed to our limit to empathize with others and drive win–win solutions. Despite working internationally with diverse workforces prior to the MBA, the Cross Cultural Awareness and the Ethics & CSR courses also had a profound impact on me. I now work in a large multinational, multi-generational business and I find that I am drawing on the learnings of these courses on a daily basis.

Finally, a personal highlight was the end-to-end approach that Mannheim Business School takes in creating gender equality: through the admissions process, scholarship opportunities, dedicated topical workshops and the formation of the Women in Business Club following the completion of the program.

I had reached a point in my career where the major part of my work was business related. There were a few instances where I felt the lack of marketing, finance, and other business-specific knowledge. Also, I wanted international exposure. Learning to manage people and teams was my next personal milestone for which I wanted to put myself in an environment where I could get maximum exposure to different cultures.

The MBA at Mannheim Business School offers all of the above. When choosing a business school, I compared various criteria such as international MBA rankings, the internationality of the classes, and location. I was looking for a country with a good job market, where I could see myself living and get a good return on my investment. Mannheim Business School came out on top.

I was interested in the automotive industry and the Mannheim MBA gave me an opportunity to apply for a job in this sector. It worked! I am currently part of the Daimler leadership program. Not only did I move into my industry of choice, I also moved to a new country.

The MBS Career Development journey provided a very useful orientation right from the start since I was new to Germany and had no prior experience, both of hiring processes and what recruiters look for here. I tried various options in my job search. Running them through the Career Development department saved me a lot of mistakes and time. Their guidance was essential.

To sum it up, it was a memorable year full of friendships, events, minor difficulties, and some really good times. The teachers at MBS obviously imparted first class academic and business knowledge, but the network I built during my year in Mannheim is even more important. For me personally, the best part of my year at Mannheim Business School was spending time with people from so many different cultures.

I have learned so much about people’s behavior and working styles that I now feel way more comfortable working alongside people from across the globe. This has already helped me in my current job, especially because I am and will be working on various projects in different locations in Germany, UK, USA, Japan, and China in the first two years.