lisbon mba cmc newsletter issue 6 mar15-se

“Your trusted source for the latest in career news and information”

What is the purpose of a CV? For years you have been told to rewrite and

optimize your Curriculum Vitae. But did you ever think what the main

purpose of that document is?

In case you use your CV for recruitment purposes, the reader and potential

recruiter will probably review the CVs of several candidates and take less

than one minute to decide one of three options: (A) not interesting, or (B)

might be worth further analysis, or (C) interesting to proceed and meet

face-to-face. This decision, solely based on paper, will result in three piles

of CVs – A, B and C. The main purpose of your CV now becomes clear: to

have it placed on the C pile and proceed to an interview phase. Thus, the

CV should be short (2 pages maximum), focused (on results) and appeal to

the reader (why me?).

Paulo Simões

Partner, Egon Zehnder International

Job Postings from the Career Management Center

• Have you created an automatic job alert agent in Symplicity? If not, then

contact CMC to learn how to do it.

• Job postings that come directly through the Career Center will have

“LisbonMBA” in the job title field.

• Symplicity is a global platform and employers can post jobs to multiple

partner schools such as ours.

Leveraging Technology for Career Success

• Are you using InterviewStream to improve your interview skills and get

feedback from a wider audience?

• Are you maximizing the tools on simplicity as well as the myriad online

career management and niche job boards?

• Are you using LinkedIn/Startracker as a strategic networking tool?

There is no shortage of job-seekers in today’s

market and I suspect this trend will become

the norm. Should you worry about this? Only

if you don’t have a plan and you are content

with letting someone else decide your career

fate.

Adopt a “no excuses” policy and put

yourself on the path to success. The only

barriers you will face are the ones you

impose upon yourself.

What are the characteristics of the MBA

students who are getting hired? They have:

A Clear Focus: Before you can convince a

hiring manager to hire you, you need to be

convinced of what you want to do. Imagine a

company with no clear focus of its target

consumers and trying to compete in a

crowded market. Its message will never get

heard by potential customers and it will

never maximize its resources to accomplish

its stated goals.

A Roadmap: Doing a haphazard job search

is so 1980’s. Having a vision and a plan to

get there is the best way to obtain results. A

plan allows you to identify obstacles before

they inhibit your progress. A plan allows you

to build strategy. A strategy allows you to

develop tactics. The job seeker who is

tactically superior will be the one who is the

most successful.

Career Management Newsletter Spring issue #6 Student Edition March 2010

Who is getting hired – and how?

A Passion: Job seekers with a passion are

easy to recognize and are prized by every

employer. Being able to demonstrate a

passion that communicates a deeper desire for

a particular job will put you ahead of the

average job seeker. Passionate candidates are

more committed and will have more of a

stake in a company’s success. Passionate

companies produce higher quality

products/services. And so do employees.

A Backup Plan: Very few companies would

venture into a new market without several

backup plans for success. So you too should

have backup plans for every scenario that

could impede your career goals. This is where

being flexible, adaptable, and sensible will

determine your outcomes. There are always

unforeseen events that derail an original plan.

Thus, backup planning is essential to a sound

career strategy.

--- Roderick

Company Presentations on

Campus

In the USA we use the expression,

“leaving money on the table”, to

signify that someone did not

maximize an opportunity. I notice

that a lot of students are doing just

that with the company presentations.

If you look at the Industry Weeks

presentations as opportunities to

enhance your knowledge about an

industry as well as a networking

opportunity then you will be more

successful. If you simply view the

company presentations in terms of

who is offering jobs vs. who is not

then you are leaving money on the

table.

What should you do?

• Take notes on key points and

determine the top issues.

• Get the contact of the speakers.

• Build a sincere relationship and get

connected to other contacts.

• Have something interesting and

unique to put on your Cover Letter

versus someone who did not attend

the company presentation.

--- Roderick

Career Tips from Paulo

CMC Summary

What do you expect from your future career after The Lisbon MBA? What top employer would you like to

work for? The Lisbon MBA Career Management Center and top international employers would like to know

what is important for YOU in your future working life.

Click on the following link to participate in My MBA Future Career 2010:

http://survey.confirmit.com/wix/p1048403845.aspx?reid=15 (survey for current students only)

Why participate? Take 12 minutes of your time and:

• Let your future employers understand your career expectations, goals and priorities

• Immediately get the WetFeet Insider Guide: Ace your case II: Mastering the Case (Value: Euro 15)

• Immediately get exclusive membership to a personalized online Career Profile that compares you to your

peers. It also puts you in touch with your ideal employers

• Donate to charity: UNICEF, The Red Cross or Breast Cancer Research.

• Enter a sweepstake for a Universum Scholarship of Euro 1000 to support your studies and one of many

cool GOLLA Laptop/ iPod bags

This research is completely independent. Your response is anonymous and we are only interested in the

aggregated results. These results are used to leverage your recruitment brand with employers.

Please make sure that your current classmates complete the survey by April 1st to be sure The Lisbon MBA

is included in the global results. Thanks!

Roderick Lewis (Director CMC, The Lisbon MBA) and Michiel Pool (Global University

Relations Manager Universum) Do you have any questions, something to share, or just difficulties with

the link? Please send an email to: [email protected]

The Career Management Center is your Job Search Partner

• Attend the Career Workshops and

Networking Events.

• Utilize the online resources and offline

resources to develop your career plans.

• Don’t delay your job search! Start early

by researching your target employers.

• Engage your network to discuss

strategies for improving your job search

skills.

Let The CMC prepare you to conduct

an effective job search campaign.

Increase the Brand Equity of The Lisbon MBA

A World of Opportunity

All around the world, PepsiCo is making a difference. And so can you. Our success depends on nurturing the diverse perspectives and skills

our people bring to our business. Find a place to grow your own unique talents by exploring a career at PepsiCo.

Performance with Purpose Creating a Better Tomorrow for Future Generations

At PepsiCo, our people are the key to our success. Learn more about our approach to careers and how we're helping develop, nurture, and

retain world-class talent at www.pepsico.com/www.pepsico.pt.

Working for PepsiCo

At PepsiCo, our success takes the work of talented, dedicated people who are committed to making an impact every day. Our ability to

grow year after year is driven by our ability to attract, develop, and retain world-class people. Talent Sustainability is cherishing our

employees and it is an integral part of our 'Performance with Purpose' agenda, which also includes environmental sustainability - reducing

our impact on the environment and human sustainability - nourishing our consumers with a range of fun and healthy choices.

While we can't tell you exactly what is covered, we can provide some additional tips that help to ensure you're at your best during your

interview:

• Be Yourself!

• Know Our Business!

• Display a Passion!

• Interview Us!

• Establish a Long-Lasting Relationship!

Company Spotlight


Your résumé should communicate your experience, expertise, value, personal brand, accomplishments, and contributions among other

things. What it should not be is a rundown of your last job description word for word.

If your résumé consists mostly of bullet points that only describe your responsibilities and duties, then you’re doing yourself a great

disservice in your job hunt and you’re boring the hiring manager or recruiter reviewing your résumé. Job duties are only the minimum

and convey only that you were able to meet the minimum requirements for the position. It doesn’t show the employer your ability to go

above and beyond, to produce results, or to contribute significantly to the team or company.

Providing accomplishment and contribution based statements will give the hiring manager a more in depth view of what you can bring to

the table, what value you offer as an employee and what you can mostly achieve for their organization. A critical element is choosing the

best and most applicable accomplishments and contributions.

For example, in human resources reducing turnover and fill time is a hot topic. Reducing turnover saves the company money and so does

reducing the fill time for open positions. These are two critical elements to being a successful hiring manager so elaborating on your

successes and accomplishments in this area would look very favorably for you. Each industry and position has different core criteria that

are extremely important to the success of that position and person. Take those duties that you’re still holding on to on your résumé and

turn them into accomplishment and contribution based statements. You’re still telling the employer that you met the requirements of the

position but you’re showing them how you exceeded them and the results they can expect from you as an employee.

After all, history repeats itself and if they see that you’ve accomplished it before they’re going to naturally assume you will again – show

them you’re not just a “squeaks by on the minimum requirements” type employee and that you go above and beyond the call of duty and

you’ll be surprised how quickly your phone will start ringing. --- Jessica Holbrook, President/CEO of Great Résumés Fast

For Want of a Nail For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

What is the nail in your job search plan?

What is the one thing that you are

overlooking and not putting any effort into

that could, in the end, derail your search?

I’ve seen top candidates miss out on great

job opportunities because of the slightest

oversights. Companies don’t have much

tolerance for the job candidates who can’t do

the basic things right.

Email the Editor at [email protected]

So will you lose a 100K Euro job plus additional compensation and leadership plan – all because you failed to answer a basic interview question?

Will you fail to impress a potential networking contact because you were unable to

clearly express who you are and why you want to connect with this person?

Will you fail to negotiate the benefits that matter to you most because you did not

take time to develop proposals and sound justifications to convince the company?

Will you miss a job application deadline because you failed to improve your time

management and organizational skills?

Will you miss the opportunity to get a call for an interview because you failed to

invest time in customizing a CV and Cover Letter that really differentiated you and

positioned you as an Employer-focused candidate?

Avoid these and many more career tragedies by taking a serious and strategic approach to

your job search. --- Roderick


Stop Boring the Hiring Manager with Your Résumé!

For Want of a Nail...A Career Tragedy