By Jeff Morris
Assistant Director, Graduate Business Career Services, Mendoza College of Business

I’m sitting in my office on a Friday afternoon in early March. It’s hard to believe but I can actually see the sun today – and snow melting. I was just reflecting on this week’s activities. The Notre Dame MBA program hosted a number of companies and organizations this week. Our students partnered with the companies and organizations and provided consulting services to them so they could solve real-world problems. One of the organizations present on campus this week was the Wounded Warrior Project. Over the course of four days representatives from the Wounded Warrior Project and Notre Dame MBA students collaborated in developing actionable ideas for a key Wounded Warrior Project initiative. As the student teams presented their ideas to the Wounded Warrior Project representatives I was proud of the work they produced. I was also proud that a good number of the MBA students who were assisting the Wounded Warriors Project were military veterans themselves.

It’s always nice to see veterans successfully transitioning to the next phase of their life. Some have separated from active service. Some are still in the Reserves. And a few are still on active duty. The trend in our MBA program is that an increasing percentage of the student body possesses some military experience. In fact, veterans in our program comprise 9% of the total student body. And 12% of our first-year students are veterans. It’s a joint effort as each branch of the United States Armed Forces is represented.
The camaraderie I experienced during my military service is the same type of camaraderie I see among the veterans in our program. It’s true that no one is shooting at us during business school. Yet I still see a tremendous level of respect and understanding among our veterans – and between them and their classmates. It’s perhaps most apparent during formal meetings of the Notre Dame MBA Veterans Club meetings. The MBA Veterans Club meets periodically throughout the academic year. It doesn’t meet as often as the Finance Club or Marketing Club. Given the nature of our veterans’ strong bonds with each other the club doesn’t need to meet that often. Outside the club structure there is some sort of informal interaction among the veterans in our program on a daily basis.

In addition, our veterans integrate well with the larger student body. One reason for this seamless integration is that the core values of the University of Notre Dame in general and the Notre Dame MBA program specifically align closely with the core values of our armed services. With significant leadership experience as young adults, our veterans display that leadership – as well as enthusiasm and class – during their time at Notre Dame. Our MBA Veterans serve in leadership positions right alongside their classmates who do not have military experience. It’s a great combination of complementary personalities and skill sets.

Most veterans correctly assume that Notre Dame is not an inexpensive business school. But some veterans probably assume incorrectly that the Notre Dame MBA costs are beyond their means. Tuition and expenses can be very reasonable when you factor in the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Yellow Ribbon Program, and available fellowships. Most veterans are eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill. And Notre Dame is a Yellow Ribbon School (agreeing to pitch in $15,000 above what it is covered by the Post-9/11 GI Bill). That $15,000 is then matched by the VA. Some fellowships are available too. So veterans can find it financially manageable to attend the Notre Dame MBA program.

Whether you’re a recruiter looking for outstanding MBA talent or a veteran considering business school the Notre Dame MBA program is an excellent choice to further your goals and I encourage you to check us out further. I can be reached at jmorris4@nd.edu. Our MBA Veterans Club President, James Rapuzzi, can be reached at jrapuzzi@nd.edu. Additionally, our Admissions Office Military Recruiting Liaison, Mauri Slater, can be reached at mslater@nd.edu. Finally, you can always learn more about veteran life here at Notre Dame at: http://business.nd.edu/mba/student_life/military/.

By John Rooney – Senior Associate Director of Graduate Business Career Services

I am consistently amazed at the support Graduate Career Services gets from our alumni. We tap alumni to be mentors, give mock interviews, and to help build relationships with companies. They frequently come back to campus to conduct workshops. One of my favorite workshops was put on by an alumnus that was in the C-Suite with Johnson & Johnson. He came back to help students with resume writing and interviewing. A valuable piece of advice he gave was to make sure you thoroughly review the job description before you interview. This is seems obvious but you would be surprised how little time candidates spend reading the job descriptions. My favorite quote from his workshop was, “The job description gives the answers to the test – it contains the skills and experiences we scan for in the interview – I do not understand why more people do not fully digest the job description.”
Based on the advice given by alumni and our own experience, we encourage our students to take the time to study the job description. As you do this, you can break it into two pieces:
Key Responsibilities

In this section you will learn what the role entails, how the role interfaces with other departments, and how the role fits into the strategic structure of the company. Understanding the key responsibilities will help you succeed in the interview. Key questions in the interview are Why our company? Why this industry? and Why You? By communicating an understanding of the job responsibilities when answering these questions, you can demonstrate a connection to the company and the role based on the work of the role. The interviewer will gain a deeper level of comfort that you have the qualifications and passion for the role if you frame your interview answers in the key responsibilities.
Required Skills and Experience

This section usually contains 5-10 bullets of skills and experiences the company wants in an ideal candidate. Keep in mind, not every candidate will meet all of these requirements. Your job is to communicate that you possess the important skills and experiences listed. Many times the interviewer will use behavior based questions to see if you have the skills and experiences listed in the job description. An example is “Tell me about a time you lead a cross-functional team and what the result was.” The listed of required skills should give you an idea on what interview questions will be asked.
Job hunting and interviews can be very stressful. Make this a little less stressful by getting the answers to the test: read and understand the job descriptions. Good Luck.