Atos Recruitment Tips
Hi everyone, welcome back to this week’s blog on consulting companies. This week we are going to advise you on Atos graduate recruitment programme. On an average, the starting salary of a graduate trainee at Atos is $34,000 (Source: Glassdoor). Atos is a leading international IT services company with a presence in 48 countries and 13 sectors. It has a strong foothold in consulting, managed services (number 1 in Europe), systems integration, cloud computing services and hi-tech transaction services. Furthermore, Atos is the worldwide IT partner and top sponsor for the London Olympic games 2012. Atos is responsible to integrate, manage and secure the comprehensive IT system that communicates results, events and athlete information to spectators and media around the globe.
Recruitment Process:
There are four stages involved in the Atos recruitment process. These are online application, online aptitude testing, a telephone interview and an assessment day.
Online application: This is the first and one of the most crucial parts of the recruitment process. You will need to fill in the online application form, which generally takes about 4 to 5 hours. It is advisable to save your application from time to time before submitting it. Do not be in a hurry to complete your application in one day. The application form will ask you to fill in basic information about yourself, job experience (if any), interests and curricula’s details. The next section in the application will ask you to answer competence and motivational based questions. We advise you to prepare for this beforehand. The recruiters are looking for your skills and experience to match the job profile you have applied for. Be certain to cite relevant and good examples from your past work (job, internship or part-time) experiences in this section of the application form. Additionally, you will be asked to explain your reasons for applying to Atos. For these kinds of questions you will be expected to demonstrate a good understanding about Atos and the role you have applied for. The recruiters will scrutinize these two sections diligently ergo its prudent to focus more on them. Do not forget to proof read your application as a spelling mistake could act as a hindrance to your application. You should ask a friend or a tutor to proof read your application before submitting. Ask their opinion on the answers drafted by you for the respective questions. It’s important to check the relevancy of your answers to the mentioned questions. Once the application form is submitted, the onus is on the recruiters to assess your application and inform you about the result.
Online Aptitude testing: If you are successful in the first stage, you would be invited to answer the online aptitude test. The online aptitude test generally consists of 50-60 questions which need to be answered in 30-35 minutes. The test has three sections i.e. Math, Logic and English. At this stage the recruiters are gauging your analytical skills of problem solving. Prior to this online test you should have had ample of mock test practice. If you still think you are not ready to take the test don’t worry, Atos gives its candidates 20 practice questions to answer before they start the online aptitude test. After completion of the test, you will be notified about the result of the test. This normally takes a few hours. If you have made it then be prepared for the next stage as it is equally challenging but not impossible to clear.
Telephone Interview: Atos will intimate you by providing you three dates to choose for your telephonic interview. You will need to choose a date and time for your telephonic interview. The objective of this interview will be to ascertain your skills set described in your application form. Amongst other questions, you will be asked motivational and competency based questions. Some examples of questions asked during the telephone interview are:
- Describe a situation where you have worked as part of a team? What was your role? What did the team achieve?
- Give an example of when you have had to use your specific technical skills and experience to deliver a desired result?
- Please detail an example of when you have had to work in a challenging environment and overcame obstacles to achieve a desired outcome?
- Can you name a few of our competitors?
- What do you know about Atos service portfolio?
Preparation is the key to successfully clear this round of the recruitment process. You will have to do a lot of background research on the company. We would advise candidates to start from the newsroom section of the website, which talks about the latest updates made by the company. Additionally, you should research on the number of accolades the company has won over the past few years; this could give you reasons to justify your decision of joining Atos. Also, you should prepare for the telephonic interview with a friend or a tutor to check the structure of your answers, clarity, speed and tone of voice. Prior to the interview, make sure that you are in a peaceful environment and that no one will disturb you for the next 45mins. During the interview process do not be afraid to ask the interviewer to repeat the question. If you are facing difficulties to hear the interviewer, please mention them as soon as possible. The interviewer will try and correct it immediately either by rescheduling the interview or contacting you at different time at the same day. Do not rush into giving your answers, take your time understanding the question and then speak slowly and clearly. You need to remember that the interviewer is recording your answers and may be facing the same difficulties as you are in understanding your tone of voice. After the completion of the interview remember to ask your queries about the job profile to the interviewer and most importantly thank the interviewer for his/her time.
Assessment day: This the fourth and final stage of the recruitment process at Atos. This is a full day event during which you will be evaluated on various parameters by the hiring managers. The assessment day comprises of three parts i.e.
- A face to face competency based interview with two recruiters.
- An individual case study.
- A group exercise wherein you will work with other candidates either on a case- study or a live project.
The event starts by a recruiter providing a brief introduction on Atos and the day’s activities. You will be provided all the help and support needed on that day by Atos recruiters. It is a general tendency to start the day by a group exercise followed by individual case study and then the final interview. Some of the questions which you need to prepare for the final round interview are:
- Tell us something about yourself?
- Why do you want to work for Atos?
- Why should Atos hire you?
- How would your past experience translate into success in this job?
- Do you know anyone who works for Atos?
- Explain how your skills set would be beneficial to Atos?
- Describe a scenario where you have made a mistake and that affected the business? What actions did you take to improve?
- How would you describe your work style?
Apart from the aforementioned list of questions, it’s important to remember that the interviewers are bound to ask CV specific questions. Be certain to remember your CV inside out. The interviewers will try to find your rationale behind your career decisions. This will be your cue to shine. Give them ample evidence to support your decisions and make sure you answer their questions confidently.
The case-study and the group exercise run on similar lines. You will be asked to solve industry specific case-study; the interviewer is assessing your analytical skills at this point. With respect to the group exercise, you will be assessed on your leadership, team work and contribution to the task at hand. Do not try to compete with other candidates, instead try and act as a moderator.
The reason why Atos recruiters are so pernickety during the recruitment process is because they provide ample of opportunities and responsibilities to their new recruits. What Atos is looking for in its ideal graduate are leadership, communication, analytical, team building skills, to name a few. They invest heavily in their graduates and that’s why they expect equal dedication and performance from their recruits.
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Keep an eye for our next article on A T Kearney. Until next time, this is InterviewBay preparing you for the interview.
Sources: Atos
Posted in Consulting, Interview Tips | Tagged Atos Origin, Consulting, Graduate programme, Interview Tips | Comments OffOC&C Strategy Consultants Application and Recruitment overview
This week’s blog will provide you with an overview of recruitment process in the strategy consulting firm OC&C. According to the 2012 vault business rankings OC&C strategy consulting firm is ranked at a global position of 22 and in Europe it’s ranked at 5. The firm was founded in the year 1987 by Chris Outram and Geoff Cullinan who were both partners with Booz Allen & Hamilton at that time. The firm operates in several global locations such as: Boston, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New Delhi, Paris, Rotterdam, New York and Shanghai.
Recruitment with OC&C:
OC&C generally recruits fresh graduates from the world’s top universities. The firm minimally emphasises on the discipline of the candidate and more on the aptitude, creativity and compatibility with the company culture. The recruitment process differs slightly for a fresh graduate vis-a-vis MBA’s. However, case study interview remains a core element of their recruitment process. This will be highlighted in the subsequent sections. The fresh graduates are generally recruited as associate consultants and the MBA’s are recruited as consultants. Usually it takes 2-3 years to become a Consultant and of course your salary will increase throughout your career progression. In order to attract the best graduates OC&C have been known to offer lucrative salaries much higher than industry averages. On an average an MBA consultants salary at OC&C is $64,000 as oppose to $59,750 in Booz Allen Hamilton- (Source: Glassdoor).
Application Procedure:
The OC&C application procedure comprises of 3 stages i.e. online application, first round interview and final interview.
Online Application: OC&C application is fairly similar to other consulting firms. An online submission of a CV and cover letter is mandatory on their website. An ideal CV should include a combination of strong academics (from any discipline) and wide variety of extra-curricular activities. Furthermore, OC&C would review your application more favourably if you have additional language skills, relevant work experience and a good quality of CV/cover letter.
Key points to remember while doing the online application are:
- Your CV should be limited to two pages only. This makes it easier for OC&C to examine your achievements and check your summarizing skills.
- In your CV, mention academic results (including achieved result or predicted degree, if any) and accentuate on any university/college prizes or special achievements.
- Work experience, be it full time, part-time or internships have equal importance in your online application. Make sure you highlight your extra-curricular activities, language skills, computer skills and any other positions of responsibility. These will considerably increase your chances to progress to the next stage. At OC&C they want graduates who are not just career oriented but also possess interesting personalities.
- The cover letter needs to be as brief as possible. Moreover, it’s vital to answer the prescribed three questions by OC&C in your cover letter to justify your decision of joining them:
- Why are you interested in strategy consulting?
- Why do you want to work at OC&C?
- Why should OC&C choose you?
- Make sure you proof read your application before submitting and keep a track of the application deadline. OC&C generally start recruiting for the position of associate consultants in the month of October till mid November.
First Round Interview: Your first round at OC&C interview consists of a numerical test and two interviews with OC&C consultants. The numerical test covers basic math in a similar format to the GMAT style of tests and lasts for 30 minutes.
The two interviews are conducted by OC&C consultants and will both focus on your CV as well as some case study questions. You may expect the following questions:
- Why OC&C?
- Why consulting?
- A client has experienced an increased demand for their product. What should they do?
- An estate agency is experiencing £1 million in profits. Yet on average other agencies make £2-3 million. Why is this and how can they improve?
- Elaborate on your creditable work experience, if any?
- For more interview questions, see the Interview Tips section.
OC&C use interview and case studies to assess the candidate’s problem solving, communication and professional skills. They are looking for qualities such as intellectual curiosity, commercial awareness, logical reasoning, creativity, analytical and numerical ability, personality, drive and leadership.
Practise is the key to clear the interview round of OC&C. Make sure you practise much in advance, ask a friend or tutor to practise with you. They do not want candidates who are simply complementing OC&C consultants or who are professing their lifelong desires of becoming a consultant. What they require at this point are candidates who have performed some background research on the company, are quite structured with his/her reasons of joining OC&C and have some industry specific knowledge. At this stage, the interviewers are interested in you as a person and what motivates you. If you are able to demonstrate that then what’s left is for the interviewer to decide whether you and OC&C make a good fit.
Case Studies with OC&C: These are used to assess the candidates problem solving and structuring skills. The interviewers are not gauging the candidates on their solutions for the case study but are looking for how candidates approach a problem, and the thought processes they use to devise steps to solve it.
Key points to remember during the case study:
- If you are facing any difficulties in understanding the case study then do not hesitate to ask the interviewer.
- Do not feel pressurised to provide an answer immediately. Take your time to read and analyse the case study. Remember you are being assessed on your line of thought and not your solution.
- Remember that case-studies do not have one single answer; there are multiple answers to a case-study, provided that your answer is cohesive and coherent.
- Practise industry specific case studies. For more information on case study questions see http://www.occstrategy.nl/join-occ/application-tips/case-studies.
Final Interview: Your OC&C final round interviews will be two 1 hour interviews with either directors or partners from the company. Both interviews will follow the same format as the first i.e. case studies and CV based. If you’re invited to the final interview it means your hard work and intelligence have defended your application so far. At this stage, you should be confident of making it through.The final interview is about establishing whether you’re right for OC&C – vice versa– and whether you can do the job. This is your opportunity to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of a particular industry. All you need to do is convince the interviewer that:
- You are a strategic thinker and make logical assessments based on a strong understanding of the fundamentals of a problem and excellent commercial acumen. At this point, we would advise you not to answer questions ambiguously or equivocate from the topic. The interviewer will not entertain you for long if you try and conceal your lack of knowledge with prep talk.
- You have leadership skills. You should give examples from your university or job. For instance, if you have been a cultural committee head or a class representative or a team leader in your job. At this point, the interviewers are looking for communication skills and the ability to persuade others. While citing your examples remember to emphasise on these two skills.
- You possess creative skills. Don’t worry if you think you do not have any creative skills. What the interviewers are trying to figure out is, if you exhibit a fun, enthusiastic and entrepreneurial attitude which prevails in the employee culture at OC&C.
To summarize, if you follow the guidelines listed above i.e. prepare an ideal CV, stay calm, focused during the interview process and display a strong rationale during the case study session, you are highly probable to be an associate consultant at OC&C.
I hope this week’s blog has been helpful to you. Good luck with your applications!!
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Sources:
OCC Strategy, Glassdoor, Vault, TargetJobs and Graduate Consulting.
Posted in Consulting, Interview Tips | Tagged Consulting, OCC Strategy, Recruitment process, Strategy Consultant | Comments OffElectronic Resumes
The job-hunting process is one of the most tedious and confusing processes a prospective job seeker must go through. There are numerous means through which jobs are advertised, and prospective applicants haven’t but a clue about how each process works. A person who is currently searching for a job must have heard of atleast one of these questions or responses from prospective employers:
Could you please e-mail me your resume in the Microsoft Word format?
Please forward me your resume in an HTML format.
Would it be possible to send your resume in a PDF format?
I am unable to open the attachment you have sent me.
Could you please send me your resume in an ASCII format?
Please do send me a keyword-optimized format of your resume.
Job seekers are bombarded by so many requests of different formats that they get confused as to which format they should send in their next job application.
In the present day and age, the Internet is vastly used in the job search process and the major questions arise towards the creation and transmission of electronic resumes.
What are electronic resumes?
Also called a scannable resume, an HTML, plain text or Web page document submitted for an employment application is termed as an electronic resume. In an electronic resume, keywords are utilized to provide information to an employer regarding a prospective applicant’s professional experience, education and job qualifications.
Due to the sheer volume of applications that large employers receive for each position, these employers utilize automated application tracking systems (ATS) to reduce their burden. It is very difficult for an employer to read each and every resume he/she receives, therefore, with the use of keywords through the ATS; the number of relevant resumes is narrowed down.
What are the different types of electronic resumes?
There are three different types of electronic resumes:
Scannable Resume
A scannable resume is nothing more a scanned version of your paper resume. The scanned resume is usually required by large companies, which receive a huge amount of applications, so as to help in the filtration of irrelevant resumes.
E-Mailable Resume
The E-mailable resume is designed using a word processor so that it can be sent across the world using the Internet without the hassle off it being lost or distorted. This format does not usually include any kind of graphics, pictures or anything of that nature. As it is designed using a word processor it can be read by anyone using a word processor.
Multimedia Resume
Computer programmers, graphic designers, artists, cartoonists and anyone who will require to portray his/her work with the use of graphics, sound or color, usually utilize this type of resume. A multimedia resume is usually created using a CD or web page.
What are the advantages of using electronic resumes?
More about the Content – Unlike a traditional resume which can be made more impressive depending on the quality of the paper and how it is formatted, a good e-resume will gain an advantage based only on the content.
Exposure – Because these resumes are published on the World Wide Web on sites like Linkedin, a lot of prospective employers are able to view your professional image.
To the point - e-resumes, due to the fact that they are read electronically provide less scope for deviating from the core text. They also prevent the applicant from divulging unnecessary personal information.
Accessibility – Because of the fact that e-resumes use keywords, the companies can easily find them if a suitable position opens up at a later stage.
Efficient – e-resumes are both time and cost efficient. There is no postage costs involved and because they are sent through the Internet there is no time-lag.
Is it best to submit traditional or electronic resumes?
It cannot be assumed that the electronic resumes are the only ones that are required to be used at present. It is true that the massive use of the Internet in today’s day and age has made bulk resume mailing a thing of the past, but there are many small or traditional employers that require paper resumes to be mailed to them. Electronic resumes are usually required to be sent for online applications. But, the traditional paper resume is still needed to be at hand during the interview process. Therefore it is safe to say that both may be used. It differs from company to company.
Posted in Interview Tips | Comments Off
McKinsey Resume Review and Interview Process
This week’s blog discusses on how to mould your CV as per McKinsey, what McKinsey consultants look for in a new candidate, how they review resumes. The blog finally ends with a short discussion on the steps followed in a McKinsey Interview process.
What McKinsey Consultants look for in your Resume?
McKinsey is known to hire exceptional people with outstanding capabilities and great potential. In McKinsey the first step to getting selected depends upon the content of your resume.
Your CV should be able to demonstrate the best possible reflection of you. It should highlight your achievements up to date also providing some sense of scale. It is also necessary to stress on key areas like:
1. Your Problem Solving abilities.
2. Leadership Qualities and Teamwork.
3. Determination and Dedication to achieve Success.
4. Your Personal Impact. (Including Strong Communication, Relationship Building).
It is important your resume gives exact details of your education. Include information about your graduate work first followed by your master’s degree and MBA qualification. Include the degree subject, university name, grades, major prizes with specification of the date and any academic projects to support your academic ability. If you have taken any standardized test like GMAT, LSAT, SAT etc provide the scores and as much detail possible.
While reading a candidates resume, McKinsey consultants are most interested in the impact you have had in your career. For this purpose, emphasize on your previous roles and how your involvement and strengths brought out a key change resulting into success. Remember to shape your CV in a way that includes items portraying your potential relating to McKinsey’s needs rather than including material just for the sake of it.
Overall, McKinsey looks for consultants with a unique mix of talent, skill, character and fun. If your CV can successfully fulfil these requirements, the chances of you getting an invite for the interview process are high.
The Resume Review Process
Usually a management consultant resume reviewing process is handled by a team of 3 to 5 members consisting of analysts, associates and managers. First each member goes through your resume individually spending a minute reading it. As consultants spend one whole minute reading your resume, it is important that your CV gets classified into the top-notch category. Still one minute is really fast and so stressing on attention-grabbing bullets, concise matter, results-oriented experiences, clean formatting and styling is very important. Then it is followed by reviewing the resume as a group, where the members compare notes and share insights. Here the decision of being Selected or Rejected is made.
The Interview Process
McKinsey considers an interview process as a chance towards learning as much about you as a person and if you are a right fit for the company and vice versa.
Once you are invited for your interview you need to go through 2 types of interview processes:
1. Experience Interviews
Here, you need to demonstrate the skills you have developed while achieving your accomplishments. There will be an in-depth discussion about your past experiences with specific focus on your role and the action taken by you leading to success. Be prepared to determine your skills in a way that the interviewer is sure of your fit for a successful career at McKinsey.
Having completed with your experience interview, the next step will be your case interview.
2. Case Interviews
Here you will be assessed on your problem-solving skills. You will be provided with a typical McKinsey business problem using 2 different case studies. You need to demonstrate ability to creatively approach any business problem with structured thinking to reach well-supported solutions in a limited time.
It is important to remember that McKinsey job selection depends majorly on the way you fare in your case interview during the candidate assessment process. The key behind being successful at your case interview would be if you practice case interviews in order to develop your interactive problem-solving skills, as you are evaluated on your capability to deal with the situation rather than specific answers.
Once you have successfully solved the given problems, your chances of getting the job should be high.
Source:
Posted in Consulting, Interview Tips | Tagged Consulting, Management Consultant, McKinsey, Resume reviewing | Comments Off
How Investment bankers review resumes
Whether you are applying as an undergraduate, a current banker or as an MBA for an investment banking position, it is first important to understand the audience of your resume so that you can maximize your chances
Once you have submitted your resume for an investment banking job through the company’s career website, the HR department forwards it to investment bankers for reviewing.
Who reads it and who doesn’t?
All internship and analyst-level applications are reviewed by other investment banking analysts in the company. While for applicants applying for associate-level positions, the resume is reviewed by investment banking associates and they make the decision as to who should be called for an interview. However, if the applicant is from a target business school like the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, Duke, LBS, INSEAD etc then an alumni from that particular school is in charge of the resume reviewing process. In case of a more random application, the HR just hands the resume to whoever has bandwidth at that moment.
It is important to realise that the senior management like the Managing Directors, Vice Presidents and Directors have no part to play in going through over 500 resumes weekly, as their time is too valuable. Also the HR department is rarely involved in reading resumes of applicants. They are just responsible for handing over resumes to bankers. So applicants need to note that while networking into the field of investment banking, it is better to go for bankers rather than HR.
How much time is spent on a resume review?
Applicants should realise that large banking firms on an average receive thousands of resumes every year. Out of which they conduct approximately a hundred interviews and then the job offer is finally given to only a few number of interviewees. A rough estimate could be drawn that out of every 100 resumes received by banks, only 20 applicants have a chance of being called for the interview.
You must note that an investment banker has a very busy schedule and so everything is done last minute, including reading resumes and selecting the right candidates for the interview process. So an analyst or an associate banker spends only 30 seconds (half the time spent by management consultants to review a resume which is one minute) reading through each resume with focus on mainly 2 or 3 points provided by you. These ‘Golden 30 seconds’ is all that your resume has to impress the analyst/associate who is reviewing it.
An Investment Banking Resume.
While writing a banking resume, it is important to first list your Educational background with the name of your business school and undergraduate university name, degree titles, and graduation dates. Then comes the section with related Work Experience. Highlight 2 to 3 leadership instances where you made a difference to the organisation. It is always better to mention full-time jobs rather than internships and provide details of only the kind of experience which is relevant to the new job profile. If you are an undergraduate, then add your internships and part time jobs as well. Then have a section of Skills, related interests and activities. You can include CFA, GMAT, GRE related information in this section. Candidates having a lot of work experience can also drop this section to keep their resume short. We believe a one-page resume is best suited for investment banking applications.
Make sure that the content of your resume is specific and focuses on your achievements. General requirements for a good investment banking resume are ‘attention to detail’ and ‘focus on results’. Investment bankers are excellent at pointing out mistakes in a resume, so candidates should make sure they have the correct dates and information with no typo’s or errors.
Never forget all you have is 30 seconds to impress the investment banker.
Posted in B-Schools, Business, Finance | Tagged finance, investment banking, Resume reviewing | Comments Off
Management Consultants CV reviewing process
This week’s blog talks about how Management Consultants review resumes of the applicants. It explains who is behind the resume review process, how the process proceeds and how you’re CV can avoid denial.
Let us first understand that the Management Consultants resume screening process is like a mystery for applicants as you will only know if you have been accepted or rejected. In the rarest cases there may be a generic feedback on why you did not get the job, but the advice will never be detailed and pertinent.
Who is behind Reviewing the Resume?
For a management consultation job post, a team of analysts, associates and managers are present for reviewing the resume. The review team will consist of at-least 3 to 5 people who will first go through your resume individually and then again in groups. It is important to note that most of this team might be graduates of your school itself (undergraduate, graduate or MBA). The final decision of whether to call you for the interview is taken by this review committee. The resume review process is mainly handled by the junior’s in the company but the interview process and offering the job is in the hands of the seniors.
The CV Reviewing
Each member of the team receives a bundle of resumes, which can vary from 30 to 300. Many a time’s covering letters could be excluded from this pack, thus it is important to focus your energies and frame your CV in a way that it falls in the top-notch category. Remember that Consultants spend one whole minute reading your resume which is double the time of that spent by bankers on a finance resume (30 seconds). Still one minute is really fast, placing premium on attention-grabbing bullets; concise, results-oriented experiences; clean formatting and styling. Once the individual reviewing process is done it is followed by reviewing each resume as a group, comparing notes and sharing insights. It is here that the decision of Selected or Rejected is made.
How to beat the Rejection?
If your CV is successful in demonstrating good academic grades along with significant work experience in the field and is highlighting your strong leadership skills and hard-working abilities through some of the tasks undertaken in the past, then the job could be in your favour. Overall, what the review team generally looks for is how good you can fit into the management consulting job and whether u can prove to be successful in your ventures. However there is no specific benchmark or cut-off as the selection process could vary from company to company.
Tips to build a good Consulting Resume.
In general your CV should include:
- A top section with your personal details.
- A section explaining your educational background, interest, skills and activities so that it best suits your job profile.
- Your relevant work experience information along with the details of the position, location, time period.
- Focus on 1 or 2 impressive achievements.
- Use of bullets rather than paragraphs.
- Try converting it into PDF format to avoid any formatting errors.
Finally, keep your resume and covering letter preferably one page long.
To read more on Management consultants please check:
http://interviewbay.com/blog/an-insight-into-the-world-of-a-strategy-consultant-part-i
If your CV is good enough to beat the competition and the resume review process, then the next step for you is awaiting a call for the interview.
Posted in Consulting | Tagged Management Consultant, Resume reviewing | Comments Off
Exploring Marketing Career Opportunities
Marketing is often linked to terms like creativity, enjoyable, fun, exciting, innovation etc. But marketing in reality is much more than just this. Playing the intermediary role between product development and sales, it comprises of many different facets and branches out into many career options. It encompasses opportunities like Advertising, Brand Management, Market Research, Public Relations, Media Planning and many more.
So, if you’re looking to take a leap into marketing, it is important that you explore each of the following options carefully in order to decide which one suits you best:
1. Careers in Advertising
Advertising covers all the aspects of marketing from strategy creation to concept development to the execution of the strategy. Advertising jobs can be divided into various departments like Account, Strategy, Media, Creative, Interactive, Production and Administrative. The business side of advertising agency includes Account Management, Account Planning, and Media Buying while the creative side is mainly responsible for generation of ideas to represent a proposition.
Some of the typical roles one can find in an advertising agency would be:
1. 1 Advertising Manager
The Advertising Manager builds and implements the company’s advertising strategy from the business, sales and technical perspective. All the discussions with the sponsors and agencies are initiated and managed by the Advertising Manager. He negotiates agreements with outside sales representatives and manages the development of sales materials, including media kits. Advertising Managers earn between $59,725 and $87,010 annually. Requirements for this position would be a Bachelors degree and 2 to 4 years of field experience.
1.2 Advertising Sales Director
Just like the Advertising Manager, the Advertising Sales Director also develops, implements, and manages the company’s advertising strategy, from a business, sales and technical perspective; negotiates agreements with outside sales representatives; and manages the development of sales materials, including media kits. He however also plans budgets and projections for advertising. Advertising Sales Director earns between $96,876 and $156,266 annually. Requirements for this position would be a Bachelors degree and 5 years of field experience.
1.3 Account Executive
The Account Executive is responsible for maintaining favourable and good relationships with current and potential advertising accounts (clients). He is also in-charge of developing relationships in order to acquire new accounts. Account Executives earn between $50,929 and $67,912 annually. Requirements to apply for this post would be a Bachelors degree and 3 years of field experience.
1.4 Account Co-ordinator
The Account Co-ordinator is responsible for organising advertising for print media. He co-ordinates scheduling and promotions to ensure client satisfaction and project completion. Assisting Account Executives in maintaining and nurturing client relationships is part of the job. Account Coordinator earns between $36,579 and $52,091 annually. Requirements to apply for this post would be a Bachelors degree with preferred 1 year of field experience.
1.5 Media Buyer
A Media Buyer deals with purchasing media space or time, as well as developing the campaign and researching how it will be most effective for the client. The job is to choose a combination of media which is able to communicate the client’s message in the most effective manner possible at the minimum cost.
1.6 Copywriter
A copywriter is responsible for writing the copy for advertisements, TV commercials or print ads. Copy is nothing but words used to promote the product or service. From taglines to brochures to press releases to a leaflet or a newsletter all of it is written by the copywriter. It is one of the most creative and challenging jobs. Requirements to apply for this post would be a Bachelors degree with preferably a portfolio of the past work done.
2. Careers in Brand Management
Brand Management involves creating, managing and enhacing brands. It is the art of creating and sustaining a brand in way that it creates differentiation in the customer’s minds resulting into brand loyalty. The typical function of a brand manager would be to focus on the big picture, take responsibility for a brand or brand family, map out their competitors in their brand’s category, identify marketing opportunities, and be able to effectively communicate the unique benefits of that product or service.
Some of the typical roles one can find in Brand Management would be:
2.1 Brand Manager
The planning and directing of marketing efforts for a brand is carried out by the Brand Manager. He is also responsible for coordinating activities of specialists in production, sales, advertising, promotion, research and development, marketing research, purchasing, distribution, package development, and finance. Brand Managers earn between $65,597 and $87,169 annually. Requirements to apply for this post would be a Bachelors degree and 4 years of field experience.
2.2 Product Manager
The Product Managers profile is same as the Brand Manager.
2.3 Product Development Manager
A Product Development Manager is a development and planning specialist. Their job is to develop marketing opportunities for consumer products, consumer services, hospital and medical services, and public service programs. A Product Development Manager needs the skills and understanding in marketing research, sales forecasting, and promotional planning. Product Development Manager earns between $62,085 and $80,956 annually. Requirements to apply for this post would be a Bachelors degree with at least 5 years of field experience.
3. Careers in Public Relations
The PR department is considered as the spokesperson of the company. Hence it is responsible for managing the communication with the media, consumers, employees, investors, and the general public. Writing press releases to promote products or to keep investors informed about business partnerships, financial results, or other company news is part of the job.
Some of the typical roles one can find in Public Relations would be:
3.1 PR Specialist
Any information about an organization is provided by the Public Relations Specialist through the media. He handles all PR activities within communication departments of large organizations. He is in-charge of writing press releases, speeches, planning special events, representing their company at press conferences and trade shows, tracking trends, and looking for opportunities to receive media coverage. A PR Specialist earns between $31,764 and $39,886. Requirements to apply for this job are a basic a bachelor’s degree with 0-2 years of field experience.
3.2 PR Director
A company’s overall strategic public relation programs (Community relations, internal communications, media and investor relations) are developed and implemented by the public relations director. Other responsibilities include planning and budget management. A PR Director earns between $92,668 and $125,235. Requirements to apply for this job are a basic a bachelor’s degree with 7 years of field experience.
3.3 Corporate Communications Manager
The task of a Corporate Communications Manager is to create and manage communications programs which describe as well as promote an organization and its products. Speeches/presentations aimed towards employees and consumers are made with his assistance. Corporate Communications Manager earns between $62,023 and $85,276. Requirements to apply for this job are a basic a bachelor’s degree with 7 years of field experience.
3.4 Book Publicist
Book Publicist works on behalf of authors during publication of new books. Their tasks include managing the creation of author bios and websites, organising book tours, arrangement of media interviews on television or radio. A Book Publicist earns between $30,140 and $97,910. Requirements to apply for this job are a bachelor’s degree with at least 7 years of field experience.
3.5 Press Secretary
Press Secretaries work as a liaison between the media, the public and governmental agencies. Requests from newspapers, radio and television reporters; drafting press releases, guest columns and speeches and organizing events such as press conferences are handled by him. Press Specialist earn between $38,400 and $71,670. Requirement to apply for this post would be bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism or public relations with at least 2 years of field experience.
4. Careers in Market Research
For any company to capture a market it is first important to be able to understand that market. Market research involves researching the intended target, could be companies or consumers. The first step is to understand the consumers, their needs, purchasing habits, and how they view themselves in relation to the rest of the world.
Some of the typical roles one can find in a Market Research agency would be:
4.1 Market Research Director
An organizations marketing policies, objectives, and initiatives are guided by the Market Research Director. He is responsible for the adjustment of the marketing plan after reviewing changes in the marketplace. A Market Research Director earns between $104,962 and $154,070. Requirement to apply for this post would be bachelor’s degree with at least 10 years of field experience.
4.2 Market Research Manager
The coordination and direction of activities concerned with market research and the development of new concepts as well as organizations products, services or ideologies is carried out by a Market Research Manager. He is actively involved in the formulation and planning of development proposals which include objective or purpose of projects, costs of projects, equipments and manpower requirements. A Market Research Manager earns between $51,209 and $95,494. Requirement to apply for this post would be bachelor’s degree with 5 years of field experience.
4.3 Market Research Supervisor
A Market Research Supervisor is actively involved in the supervision of market research and analysis of information which would help in the demand for products or services. He is responsible to plan and create research aspects and development proposals which include objective and purpose of project, costs and equipment and manpower requirements. A Market Research Supervisor earns between $52,975 and $111,549. Requirement to apply for this post would be bachelor’s degree with 7 years of field experience.
4.4 Market Analyst
The collection and analysis of data in order to evaluate existing or potential product and services markets is handled by a Market Analyst. They are actively involved in the identification and assessment of research market conditions or industry changes that have the potential to affect sales. A Market Analyst earns between $35,493 and $45,205 annually. Requirement to apply for this post would be bachelor’s degree with 0-2 years of field experience.
To explore each of the above roles in more detail please visit:
http://marketing.about.com/od/exploremarketingcareers/Explore_Marketing_Careers.htm
Salaries in Marketing
Marketing has a wide scope in every sector of the industry with a number of positions to offer. Marketers who are new to the role can approximately expect to earn between $ 28,000 and $39,000 annually. After gaining some marketing experience, marketers often progress as a coordinator or assistant or in a specialist role such as advertising or brand manager. After years of marketing experience marketing managers may earn between $43,000 and $70,000 a year. Further down the line, a senior marketing manager could earn up to $93,000 or more.
Marketing Pay Comparison
(Annual Basic Pay)
According to a survey conducted by Croner Rewards for The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
| Croner Reward Rank |
Job Level | Marketing $pa |
All Functions $pa |
Comparison % |
Finance $pa |
IT $pa |
HR $pa |
Sales $pa |
| 1 | Head of Marketing |
89,000 | 90,000 | -1.4 | 94,000 | 87,000 | 88,000 | 88,000 |
| 2 | Senior Manager |
68,000 | 70,000 | - 2.6 | 70,000 | 72,000 | 67,000 | 70,000 |
| 3 | Middle Manager |
54,000 | 57,000 | - 5.1 | 57,000 | 60,000 | 56,000 | 59,000 |
| 4 | Junior Manager |
44,000 | 47,000 | - 5.7 | 46,000 | 49,000 | 46,000 | 49,000 |
| 5 | Graduate Supervisor |
37,000 | 39,000 | - 4.0 | 38,000 | 41,000 | 39,000 | 39,000 |
Marketing Career Prospects
There has never been a better time to take up marketing as a profession. Today, marketers play a key role in guiding companies to sail through the challenging times ahead. Marketing has a lot to offer to both those who are embarking on a new career or those already working their way up the marketing career ladder. Starting out, graduates are offered a competitive salary alongside numerous benefits.
All in all Marketing as a career is definitely enjoyable and exciting but very dynamic and challenging at the same time. Most people who have worked in marketing will tell you it provides them with the challenge they have always wanted. The reason being is marketing is always changing; there are always techniques to learn, cases to study, and strategies to research.
Marketing is a vital necessity not only for business firms, but is also for governments, educational, religious, social service, and non-profit organizations or institutions. Marketing provides a great number and variety of job opportunities available to you no matter which career track you decide to follow.
Source:
http://marketing.about.com/od/careersinmarketing/u/marketingcareers.htm
http://www.insidecareers.co.uk/__802574d800556e37.nsf/id/7nwnd7tden!opendocument
Posted in Business, Consulting | Tagged Advertising, Brand management, career, Marketing, Media, PR | Comments Off
Financial Career Track #7: Private Equity
This week we’ll introduce you to the world of Private Equity (PE). Read on to find out about:
What is Private Equity?
What key functions does a PE firm cater to?
Which are the highest performing PE firms?
What skills are required to flourish at a PE firm?
What would an entry-level job look like at a PE firm?
What does compensation look like at a PE firm?
What is Private Equity?
Private Equity firms are concerned with similar dealings to that of investment banks; therefore, they seek to invest in private companies. Their approach to investment is associated with high reward and high risk.
Compared to large corporate investment banks, they are smaller and leaner organisations and are seen to have a more entrepreneurial culture.
There are 3 types of Private Equity firms that you should be aware of:
PE firms that invest money from clients such as pension funds, investment managers, or wealthy individuals.
PE firms that are actually divisions of larger financial services companies.
PE firms that are private companies themselves.
PE firms effectively function due to the partnerships they set up. There are two main types of partnerships:
Partnerships with General Partners
Partnerships with Limited Partners
General Partners provide PE firms with transaction expertise, whereas Limited Partners offer PE firms capital.
You may have come across leading Private Equity firms such as Bain Capital, Carlyle Group, and the Blackstone Group.
It is also important to note the existence of Venture Capital firms, which belong to the category of Private Equity. Venture Capital firms specialise in investing in small early stage companies.
What key functions does a PE firm cater to?
As a prospective PE applicant, it will be useful for you to know what key activities PE employees deal with from day to day. You would be required to take part in all parts of the investment process:
Sourcing – finding the right investment opportunities
Research
Due diligence
Execution
Portfolio management
Exit – all PE firms aim at terminating investments within 3-5 years of initial acquisition
There are also several different career opportunities within the PE industry. Most PE firms are focused on generating money from leveraged buyouts (also known as LBOs). However, you might be involved in other areas, such as:
Venture Capital – providing money to firms who have just begun to produce revenue.
Mezzanine Debt – providing companies debt that is subordinated to bank debt.
Secondaries – taking part in secondary funds that purchase traded private equity interests.
Turnaround situations – investing in companies that are in need of crisis management.
Which are the highest performing PE firms?
Oliver Gottschalg, a professor of management strategy at HEC Paris, compiled a ranking report of PE firms’ performance for their investors. Gottschalg measured the average aggregate performance of all PE firms that he sampled (427) between 1998 and 2007. Below is a list of the top 5:
Waterland Private Equity
Friedman Fleischer & Lower
Platinum Equity
Hellman & Friedman
TPG Capital
Other notable PE firms are KKR, Blackstone, Carlyle, and Bain Capital.
Source: http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/14/best-private-equity-firm/
What skills are required to flourish at a PE firm?
Firstly, it is important to be aware of the fact that PE firms have a performance culture; therefore, PE recruiters look for individuals who are consistently driven in improving their performance over time.
Below is a list of key abilities needed in succeeding at a PE firm:
Industry knowledge
Leadership skills
Strong communication abilities and interpersonal skills
Financial modelling abilities
Several years of experience in a relevant industry: PE firms seek individuals who have in-house expertise in financial areas such as money management and investment banking. They also recruit individuals with experience in non-financial areas. The nature of these areas depends on the industries that a particular PE firm invests its energy in.
If you are a recent graduate, the chances of you getting into the PE industry are very slim. Usually PE firms look for people with substantial work experience.
What would an entry-level job look like at a PE firm?
If you are a lucky undergraduate or MBA graduate and have managed to secure a job at a PE firm, there are four activities that you should be expected to work on as an Analyst/Associate:
You will carry out spreadsheet analysis of the economic intricacies of a potential leveraged buyout.
You will take part in coordinating various items needed to complete a transaction.
You will conduct thorough industry research and screen potential buyout candidates in order to be in a position to find new, sound investment deals.
You will be expected to prepare information for a Senior Partner in your PE firm on a potential investment company that is already part of the PE firm’s investment plan.
What does compensation look like at a PE firm?
PE firms are known to provide their employees with the highest salaries in the finance industry. Below are rough benchmarks of how much you should be expected to earn at different professional levels:
Graduate – $90,000
MBA – $200,000
Average starting salary and signing bonus – $145,000 (2008)
Mid-career stage – $300,000 to $800,000
Top positions – $3 to $10 million
Source: http://www.careers-in-finance.com/pe.htm
In addition to your basic salary, you will be rewarded in other ways. For example, as you advance within the PE firm, you will increasingly have a bigger ‘carried interest’ in the company itself. Carried interest is an employee’s participation in a firm’s profitability.
On a final note, it is necessary to be aware of the difficult job situation at the moment due to the adverse effects of the economic crisis on the PE market. It has become harder for PE firms to access debt as well as capital.
If you are thinking of pursuing a financial role in Private Equity and you want to prepare sufficiently for the interview, get some interview preparation help from our experience team at InterviewBay.
Come back next week for an insight into Venture Capital!
Posted in Finance | Tagged career, finance, private equity | Comments Off
6 Different Types of Job Interviews
All job interviews are conducted with the purpose of letting the interviewers evaluate the skills of job applicants and to let the interviewees understand the job profile and the company better. In order to test you on the specific skills that the job demands, employers conduct different types of interviews.
Check out these common types of job interviews that you may have to face during the course of your career:
Traditional One-on-One Interviews
These interviews are more predictable and direct. The interviewers have a definite plan and set of questions that they ask the job applicants. All you have to do is listen to their questions, and provide the information that you are asked for, without deviating too much from the main topic of conversation. Once the interviewer is done with his/her questions, you can ask the questions that you may have about the job and the company.
Telephone Interview
Employees often screen the job applicants who have applied for a particular position, by conducting a quick interview over the phone. This type of interview allows the employer to screen candidates based on their knowledge, experience, qualifications, and eliminate the candidates that are unlikely to meet the company’s expectations.
A telephone interview has its own pros and cons. You are not facing the employer, so you can be more relaxed. You can refer notes while answering questions. But, the fact that you are not speaking to the employer in-person means that you need to impress them with your words and the tone of your voice.
Keep your resume, academic documents and a pen and paper handy, as you might need them during the interview. Be short and precise with your answers and display enthusiasm through your voice and tone.
Behavioral Interview
To perform well in a job, you need much more than the technical skills and experience that the job requires. Skills like decision making, leadership, team spirit and the ability to handle stress – are equally important to succeed in the workplace. Employers conduct behavioral interviews to evaluate these skills in a potential employee and determine how they will act on the job and in certain situations that they are likely to encounter.
You’ll be asked about how you handled certain stressful situations in your previous job. So, go through your resume -identify the questions that you are most likely to get asked and be prepared with your answers to these questions.
Stress Interview
Stress interviews are a way to see how candidates react to unexpected situations and pressures. The interviewer may test your ability to handle stress in different ways like acting rude or irritated, disagreeing with you, or by simply ignoring you.
To handle stress interview, you must keep in mind that this is just an attempt to destabilize your emotional balance. The interviewer is not holding anything personal against you. Once you have understood that this – you would to able to stay calm. Just be yourself and answer the questions confidently. The trick is to not get angry and stay composed throughout.
Panel Interviews
In a panel interview (also known as committee interview), you will have several individuals interviewing you at one time. The interviewers in the panel may be your supervisors, team members and colleagues, they may take turns asking you prepared questions. Panel members take turns in asking you the questions and often, each interviewer’s questions is related to a specific area like domain knowledge, attitude, leadership skills etc.
Prepare for the panel interview by making a list of questions that you may be asked and also prepare a set of questions that you can ask the panel members. When you are asking or answering questions, engage all the members in the panel and not just one individual.
Group Interviews
In group interviews, you will be put in a room with other job applicants. The other applicants will be applying for the same position that you are applying for. These interviews test your professionalism, leadership skills, and ability to function in a group. You are not only judged based on your response to the questions, but also based on the ways that you interact with your peers. Be confident and assertive. You should stand out from the crowd and display leadership skills, but also be able to work comfortably with fellow candidates.
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6 Things to consider before you take up a new job
Searching for a new job is a time-consuming process. Researching on the companies that you would like to join, searching for job openings in those companies, sending out customized CVs to each of the companies you apply for, and attending exhaustive interviews – all this requires lot of time and effort. So, when your hard work finally results in an employment offer, you would be relieved and would most likely accept the job offer.
However, a new job usually is a long-term affair; and before you accept the job offer, it’s important to evaluate your new employer and consider the positive and the negative aspects of the new job that you are planning to take up. So, here are some guidelines to help you determine whether you should take up the new job or wait for a better opportunity.
Understand the Job Profile
You must be clear about your key tasks and responsibilities in the job that you are planning to take up. Following are some of the questions that you need to ask your prospective employer(preferably during the job interview itself) to understand the job profile and the company better:
What would be your day-to-day duties in the job?
If you currently don’t possess the skills needed to handle the tasks independently, would you be given training?
What would be your work hours?
Would the job involve frequent travel?
These are some of the basic things that you need to clarify about the job, with your employer. If you feel that the job is not very interesting, and includes rigid work hours and frequent travelling, that you would not be quite happy with, then it’s better to wait and look for a more suitable job offer.
Evaluate the Work Culture
The work environment affects your state-of-mind and productivity. A dull and depressing work environment can leave you feeling tired and drained out even if your work is not quite exhausting, and a positive and lively work environment can make you happy and motivate you to carry out your day-to-day tasks. Apart from evaluating the general liveliness and positivity of the work environment, it’s also important to consider if the environment suits your individual needs. For example, if you strongly prefer a formal corporate atmosphere, then you probably won’t fit in well in a company that has more informal work culture.
Know your teammates and colleagues
Having good rapport with the team members is necessary in a workplace. You need supportive colleagues and an understanding boss to grow and succeed in the workplace. Differences in work styles and opinions can result in unproductive and unhappy teams.
You would most likely be introduced to your future boss and colleagues during interview or later once you get your employment offer. Ask yourself – Would you be happy and comfortable working with your new team and boss? Do they have work styles similar to yours? Does your communication style and personality match with that of your team members? If not, it’s better to think twice before accepting the job offer.
Is Office Location suitable for you?
The job location and the commute time is a factor that you cannot afford to ignore. If your job is already stressful and requires you to work long hours, then a 2-3 hours commute time may add up to the stress and affect your productivity. Find out if you have an option to work from home and avoid the long commute time.
Review the compensation package
How does the salary package offered in the new job compare with that offered by your previous employer? Even if you value job satisfaction over higher pay, you would atleast want to get paid fairly for the work that you are doing. Do some research and find out the pay range for your specialty and position, and let your potential employer know if you are not happy with it. Also take into consideration, other benefits and perks such as insurance, travel allowances, sick leave, reimbursement for training programmes, etc.
Career progression and growth opportunities
To stay motivated and happy in a job, you need to have opportunities to grow, take new roles and cultivate new skills. The company that you are planning to work for and the position that you are planning to take up should foster growth. You don’t want to be stuck in a job that does not allow for growth and advancement for a long period of time.
Speak to your employer and try to get a basic idea of the growth opportunities available in the company. Do some research and find out how quickly and whether or not the people who held the job moved up the growth ladder.
Posted in Interview Tips | Tagged Job, Recruitment | Comments Off ← Older posts
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