Deloitte: MBA Students, Employers Find Innovative Ways to Stand Out

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

The sixth annual National MBA Human Capital Case Competition, funded by Deloitte and General Electric (GE), was held on  Oct. 20-21 at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.  A majority of  students polled there  from top graduate business schools in the country feel the need to distinguish themselves from their peers and are finding new and creative ways to do so in light of a challenging economy. Results of the Deloitte poll show the majority of students have been leveraging social media and opportunities provided by employers.

Additional strategies identified in the survey as useful for gaining traction with respect to employment post-graduation include: attending networking events (100 percent) and industry/job-specific career fairs (69 percent); joining social media groups (88 percent) and professional business societies (51 percent); and participating in mock interviews (72 percent).

Garth Andrus, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP’s human capital practice commented:

“Today’s top talent is increasingly savvy at developing new strategies to stand out in a competitive job market,” he said. “Many are turning to social media sites to help secure interviews and some are entering case competitions, like the National MBA Human Capital Case Competition, to get a leg up on their peers. We have learned as much from the students as they have from being involved in solving real world problems. Moreover, we are fortunate to have had a number of great competitors from past events join Deloitte.”