Career

M.S. in Global Commerce: Career Support and Outcomes Webinar Recording and Recap

The Graduate Marketing and Admissions team and Kelly Eddins, Director of Graduate Career Development, were joined by three Global 3 alumni in March to talk about the career support services students have access to throughout the program.

M.S. in Global Commerce: Career Support and Outcomes Webinar Recap

By Noelle Muha, Assistant Director of Graduate Recruitment, Pre-Experience Programs

Moderator: Christina Mattaliano, Associate Director of Graduate Recruitment, Pre-Experience Programs

Guests: Kelly Eddins, Director of Graduate Career Development and three Global 3 Program alumni: Adam Branco, Suzann Slaunwhite, and Samy Ahmed.

The M.S. in Global Commerce, Global 3 Program, is a dual-degree graduate program partnership between the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce in the U.S., Esade Business School in Spain, and Lingnan University College in China.

In March, our Graduate Marketing and Admissions team was joined by Kelly Eddins, Director of Graduate Development at Commerce Career Services at McIntire, and three Global 3 alumni, Adam Branco, Suzann Slaunwhite, and Samy Ahmed, to talk about the career support services students have access to throughout the length of the program and learn about the dynamic job landscape students launch into.

With this global degree, everything happens in threes! There are three partner institutions, you travel to three continents, get access to three alumni networks, work with three career services teams, and students graduate with two master’s degrees and a Certificate in International Business.

Commerce Career Services

The mission of the Commerce Career Services (CCS) coaching team is to be partners in students’ job searching and career development journey. As Kelly explained, they wear many hats, including coach, counselor, brainstorming partner, and sounding board. Her staff’s goal is to meet you wherever you are in your career journey, and help you conduct an empowered, personalized job search by supporting you with the confidence, tools, and know how to navigate the hiring process both now and in the future.

Their one-on-one coaching begins in June for admitted students, when they discuss career goals and help map out a strategy for job searching and recruitment, while always taking into consideration students’ unique expectations, goals, and motivations. CCS offers resume review clinics, LinkedIn profile reviews, mock interview opportunities, and reviews on communication strategies with employers. They are a satellite office of UVA Career Services – as a McIntire student, you have access to both tiers of support and event opportunities.

CCS offers a multitude of opportunities to engage with employers – often those who are focused specifically on recruiting McIntire students – including informal coffee chats, in-person career fairs, information sessions, and networking events (virtual and in person).

Their online career resources are housed in our proprietary MyMcIntire portal. Global 3 has a specifically curated version of resources, including program-specific resume samples, cover letter samples, and historical destinations information for graduates and alumni contact information. Through the M.S. in Global Commerce Program, you gain access to an ever widening, highly supportive alumni community – from the Global 3, McIntire, and UVA.

CCS offers a host of programs, including lunch and learns with McIntire alums, access to a Global 3 LinkedIn alumni group, the McIntire alumni mentoring program, which pairs you with an alum for semesterlong support, and access to the University of Virginia Alumni Mentoring Network, which allows students to access a unique peer networking platform where you can search alumni interested in connecting with student by industry, location, job function, and more.

Global 3 Career Success

Recent graduates from the Global 3 Program have gone onto exciting careers. Some examples of companies are Amazon, Deloitte, EY, Volvo Group, Marriott, Oracle, and Nike. Functional fields include consulting, general management, rotational programs, analysts, and supply chain management. Sample industries include consulting, financial services, retail, technology, hospitality, consumer goods, and global real estate.

Adam Branco ‘20 lives in Boston and works for LEK Consulting in business and client development. He said he used CCS for interview prep and resume editing. He credited the staff at CCS with helping him to narrow down his job search by defining what types of roles were best for his skill set, talents, and career trajectory.

Suzann Slaunwhite ’19 works in Washington, D.C., as Strategy Consultant supporting the Executive Office of the President – helping the Biden-Harris administration manage their agenda for American workforce reforms. She talked about how the team at CCS allowed her to pinpoint career opportunities that aligned with her interests at the intersection of policy, management, and business.

Samy Ahmed ’19 works in Washington, D.C., at World Bank headquarters in HR as a Data Analytics Consultant. He said the Career Services team at Esade helped him to navigate his career transition to the World Bank, three years after his time as a student in the program.

All three alumni talked about the skills they learned from their experience in the Global 3 program that they use regularly. Adam talked about the holistic, effective communication skills he uses to liaise across various parts of the organizations he works with. Suzann described that she can manage people with diverse experiences. Samy spoke about how the Global 3 program allowed him to grow from continual cultural exchange and in gaining cultural understanding. In his role with the World Bank, his team is made of 120 people from 67 nationalities, wherein he is the only Italian. On his first day, he learned that his supervisor lived in Guangzhou (where Lingnan University College is located), so they were able to instantly connect about comparing thoughts about where to get the best dumplings!

Each alumnus was asked to share their best piece of advice for students looking to pursue the Global 3. Adam spoke about having the outlook that this is an excellent steppingstone to career exploration, and most importantly, to do everything – sporting events, unusual foods, exploring – and stressed that it would create a lifetime of memories. Suzann spoke about how Global 3 is a completely immersive experience, and to mentally and physically prepare to have an open mind, a level of acceptance for being uncomfortable, and an excitement for building a network of global, lifelong friendships with your cohort. Samy said have an openness to building cultural competency, and to take advantage of the resources you have through each of the Global 3 partner schools. Kelly stressed the importance of coming in with an open mind, that both the program and experience end up being open-ended and informative, don’t box yourself in early on, and enjoy the ride!

Associate Director of Graduate Recruitment, Pre-Experience Programs Christina Mattaliano was joined by Director of Graduate Career Development Kelly Eddins and Global 3 alumni Adam Branco, Suzann Slaunwhite, and Samy Ahmed to discuss career support at UVA McIntire, and where they are today professionally.

Learn more about the M.S. in Global Commerce and the Global 3 Program.

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