HOW HIGH IS HI-TECH MARKETING?

“At Smith, we design our marketing curriculum to take advantage of important long-term trends in the economy.  We position the department to emphasize the growth areas of the market including service marketing, high-tech marketing, and other types of marketing that capitalize on the expanding information economy.  In other words, we focus our curriculum on the areas of marketing where jobs are growing the fastest.”

-  Roland Rust, Director, Center for e-Service; Chair, Marketing Department

While the magnitude of a “tech rebound” remains elusive, profitability recovery as demonstrated by percent change in net profit margin of industries such as internet 54%, telecom equipment 33.4%, telecom services 19.1%, software 16.5%, and biotech 10.2% could be indicative of a slow but steady return.  Forecasts regarding the technology services space are especially positive with market research firm IDC predicting 12 percent annual growth, reaching $700 billion by 2005.  A lot of serious marketing discussions probably went on in these technology companies to generate these results such as… “Who in the world is going pay $4,950 for that thing?”, “ People are going to do what with that stuff?”, “…Ok,  I see the blinking lights.  I hear the beeping sounds.  I give up.  What is it?” 

All joking aside, technology means big business and Smith’s marketing courses such as Marketing High Technology Products, Marketing Analysis, Marketing Strategy, and the first MBA course in e-Service, prepare students to manage the extraordinary technological developments of the last decade, and teach them how to adapt and succeed in a volatile, fast-paced environment.  Combining faculty expertise in service with the Smith School’s focus on information technology, the Marketing Department has carved a unique niche as the world’s leading department in e-service.  Supporting the department’s e-service focus, the department sponsors the Center for e-Service, the annual AMA Frontiers in Services Conference, the Journal of Service Research. 

In addition to these unique offerings, Smith’s full-service marketing department offers a solid base of traditional marketing courses including Buyer Behavior Analysis, Marketing Research, Marketing Strategy, New Product Marketing, and Consumer Product Marketing to equip students for roles in brand management, marketing research analysis, or product management. 

The home of the Smith School of Business, the Washington D.C./Northern Virginia/Baltimore corridor, is the heart of e-business innovation and contributes a great deal to the Smith MBA experience.  This region drives technology economy and Internet policy, and is one of the world's largest centers of high-tech employment, from multinational corporations to cutting-edge dot-coms.

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CLUB FOCUS: CONSULTING CLUB

Often the cruel joke about consulting is that “no one is clear about what they do…” The Smith Consulting Club is sure that their goals are clear. Their mission is three-fold: building and maintaining relationships with industry professionals, faculty, and students to define the skills and qualifications necessary to succeed in consulting; providing all consulting club members with the skills and tools necessary to achieve their career goals through workshops and networking opportunities; and establishing mentoring relationships within the community to support club members on their journey at the Smith School and to help them land their dream jobs.  These goals are facilitated through activities and events with a disciplined focus on communication, career and community.

Their signature event, the Smith Consulting Forum, brings together industry professionals, faculty, alumni, and students together on one stage for a dynamic day-long interaction to discuss recent issues in the consulting arena. The Consulting Forum is the largest student-led business conference in the Washington area, attracts MBA students and professionals from a variety of business focus areas. This year's panels will focus on trends in the consulting industry as well as a 360-degree discussion of the ever-important client-consultant relationship.  The forum is a great professional development opportunity, where students gain access to the latest industry information from world-renowned industry experts and speakers, experienced professionals from diverse industries, alumni, and reputed faculty.  These same individuals will be available to answer students' questions or provide helpful career advice at the evening networking reception.  Visit the Smith Consulting Forum page for pictures from last year’s event.

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CLUB FOCUS: MARKETING CLUB

The Graduate Marketing Club (GMA) complements the Smith curriculum with programs, activities, and opportunities that support careers in marketing.  Additionally, the club strives to initiate and develop relationships between students, faculty, alumni and employers.  These meaningful partnerships are intended to inform and empower students as they strive for career success, while also enhancing the reputation of the Smith School in the professional and academic communities. 

Benefits and activities such as the guest speaker-series program featuring leading marketing professionals, career search assistance, social events with marketing faculty and alumni, and networking events are geared towards helping students increase their overall success in securing marketing positions.  A new GMA offering this year is “Market Yourself”, an event that is designed to help MBA students gain insight into how to present themselves in person and on paper, two methods of communications that has the most impact on students’ short-term future.

This year’s inaugural coordination of Market Yourself featured Sean Rankin, MBA 2003, Chief Operating Officer from Valust Entertainment.  The program also engaged participants in a mock-networking event that allows students to network with their classmates in a fun, low-risk, “mock” networking setting, so they could practice and enhance their skills.  The numerous resume workshops during the program offered further enhancement of self-marketing abilities.  The GMA urges, “before you attend any corporate presentation, before you shake any prospective employer’s hand, you must attend this seminar!”

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SMITH SPOTLIGHT: MBA CONSULTING PROJECT

Every year, teams of second-year MBA students at Smith apply their business savvy and prior professional experience consulting with leading area businesses, Fortune 500 companies, and government organizations.

MBA Consultants help their clients solve complex business problems and explore new initiatives.  Their projects deal with challenging issues in finance, marketing, strategy, and human resources, and consider applications of leading-edge information technology on business processes and customer relationships.  Since the program's inception, Smith students have completed more than 250 consulting engagements.  Each of these exciting 14 week engagements require top-notch teamwork and applied expertise with a level of effort equaling approximately 600 hours!

Please visit the MBA Consulting Program for students’ testimonials and for a profile of last year’s winning team.  Below is a list of this year’s client roster:  

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Admissions Tips

The Resume: Your career “map”

Q: What is the most overlooked part of the MBA application?
A: The resume!

The resume submission is very important to the MBA application process – not because smith is looking for applicants from one industry or academic background, but because it describes the journey of the individual.   Your resume offers a view of your work experience, growth, project exposure and career progression.  As you are working on your resume, in addition to proofing for spelling and grammar – remind yourself to edit the content, so that it illustrates your personal passage of work, academic and other opportunities.

Ask yourself:

• Is the type of work you have done/currently doing (industry, projects, responsibilities, etc.) clear?
• Is your resume up-to-date (or does the Admissions Committee need to guess what you are doing presently?)
• Has it been “translated” for industry jargon (i.e., field specific, country specific, military, etc.)?
• Does it highlight your qualifications?
• Will the resume demonstrate your leadership, fiscal responsibilities, technical skills, languages, etc?
• Can the Admissions Committee assess your skills, extracurricular activities or interests? If not, do you need to add a few lines to an essay to offer a more balanced view?
• Have all time beyond post graduate education been accounted for?

Remember: Your resume complements your essays and other documents.  If you resume cannot contain the level of detail about your position(s) or experiences, then consider using the optional essay to fill in these gaps, or add insight.  Happy mapping!

You are making a “bridge” (where you are presently to where you see yourself going), and your resume compliments your essays and other documentation.  If your resume cannot contain the level of detail about a position or experience – you may consider adding these “nuggets” into your essays.  Happy mapping!

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WHY I CHOSE SMITH

Amrita Ajrawat  

Hometown:  Potomac, MD
Undergrad:  Tufts University
Undergrad Major: Economics  
Previous Experience:  Management and Policy Consulting, ICF Consulting, Fairfax, VA
MBA Focus:  Management and Organization
Internship: Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, VA