Julianne Harty is a 2013 MBA candidate at the Tepper School of Business as Carnegie Mellon University, PA. Having worked as an auditor and performance analyst at petroleum firm Tesoro, which runs several oil refineries, she is now looking for something completely different, specifically the fast-moving video games industry. Julianne blogs about her MBA experience at Sleeping Between Spreadsheets
What is your pre-MBA education and work background?
I hold two degrees in accounting, one from Australia, and one from the US. I worked primarily in finance-related positions for an oil and gas company based in San Antonio, Texas
Why did you decide to study for an MBA?
It had been on my plan since I took a strategy course in my first undergraduate degree, and the professor later told me that acquiring an MBA is a surefire way to get into a strategy-type role. I wanted to get some years of experience under my belt first so I had some good reference material.
How did you find leaving the workplace, and getting back in a classroom?
It was a bit different. First, my entire life revolved around schoolwork, which differed from my workplace since I had a pretty good work/life balance going on.
Secondly, whenever I worked in teams at work, that was all that was on our plate generally. Here at school, getting together to talk about our projects requires some delicate planning since everyone is doing very different things with their time (different classes, different recruitment, different clubs) which has caused some issues! However, I'm a lifelong learner, so getting back into "study" mode wasn't unusual, as I spent a fair amount of time in my working life studying for certifications, the GMAT, etc.
What was the best piece of MBA admissions advice you received?
Look for fit. When I decided to go back to school, I told my boss-at-the-time. He was a Harvard graduate, and excited for me. However, he told me that exact rankings don't matter once I graduate and get a job - a top tier university is all that is necessary. More important, he said, was to look for a place that I would love to get up at 5.00am in the morning to go to, since grad school only happens once. Culture became an important part of my search and I was lucky to be accepted into a place in which I have flourished.
Why did you decide to blog about your MBA experience?
During my initial search for schools, when I was looking for that cultural fit, I found that blogs from current students were very helpful. It gave me a more personal look at life at the school. I didn't find one for Tepper, so I decided to fill that gap.
How have you fit blogging in around your busy schedule?
I try to have breaks in my study schedule so that I'm not going crazy. I use blogging as a good escape from the rigors of the program. If you can believe it, sometimes I lack inspiration to write a meaningful entry when I have time, so I normally aim for once a week.
Tell us a bit about your internship with Blizzard Entertainment.
It was an amazing experience! I didn't have a traditional internship where I was given a project to complete over the summer; I was given four little projects to work on, which all appealed to different pieces of my professional experience. I also thrived in their culture, and it really solidified the type of work I want to do post-graduation.
What are your post-MBA plans?
They're a little uncertain currently, as my partner has decided to go back to school. I want to go back into the video game industry, particularly because the change in the industry has shown that MBAs are valuable, whereas before, it wasn't considered to be a good thing. I think it would be exciting to ride that wave of change.
A part of me is also saying that I should take advantage of the opportunity and go to Europe for three months post-graduation, since I doubt I'll ever have that opportunity again!
What advice would you give to MBAs thinking of setting up their own blog?
A few things:
- Know and write to your audience. There is a first year who has set up her own blog, which is great, but she has set up the audience as being her fellow classmates. There are a lot of contextual points that non-Tepper folks wouldn't understand, which is fine if her objective is to have her classmates as her readers. I have aimed my blog at prospective students who want to understand life at Tepper, and thus have avoided trying to be too personal, except for a couple of instances.
- Update frequently. Once a week may not seem frequent, but it is for b-school! Having new information on a regular basis is really helpful.
- Build your brand. This is one thing I knew before entering b-school, and it's been brought up a few times since then. It's also the reason I use my real name instead of a pseudonym: I'm building my brand. I have to be careful not to use the blog for negative purposes, or to give Tepper or myself a bad name. It is reputation management on the one hand; on the other, however, I'm also establishing myself as knowledgeable in social media, which could help with later job prospects, especially in my area of interest. A small story: I did an on-campus interview with a large tech company. One part consisted of a case, the other of a more traditional behavioural interview. In the behavioural one, I mentioned that I had a blog, and the interviewer and I talked about it. At lunch, the interviewer and our career center staff went to lunch, and he talked about the fact that I had a blog to the staff.
Additionally, I've had more than a few first years come up to me and mention that they read my blog and that it was very helpful for them during the application process.
When I graduate, I'm sure I will continue to blog - but maybe about MBAs in gaming!
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