Jones Journal -- Alumni Magazine of the Jones Graduate School of Management, Rice University

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Deanna Sheaffer, Editor
Director of Alumni Affairs
Jones School of Management - MS 531 Rice University
P.O. Box 1892
Houston TX 77251-1892
e-mail:JGSalum@rice.edu

Employment Prospects in Silicon Valley Have Never Been Better
– By Ronnie Ghosh, Class of 2002

Five first-year Rice MBA’s accompanied by Peter Veruki and Monika Drake from the Career Planning Center, undertook a trip to Silicon Valley for the MBA Consortium California Event, hosted by technology giants such as Cisco Systems, Apple Computer,Hewlett Packard and Intel, among others.

During a rigorous second semester, five first-year MBAs accompanied by Peter Veruki and Monika Drake from the Career Planning Center, took a trip to Silicon Valley for the MBA Consortium California Event on March 30th.

Seeking to educate and explore opportunities in technology, students from Rice, along with MBAs from Carnegie Mellon, Southern Methodist University, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, University of Rochester, and Tulane, spent two exciting days in the Valley hosted by technology giants such as Cisco Systems, Apple Computer, Hewlett- Packard, and Intel.

Top: Andrew Fry, (MBA ’00), was host at HP, and helped provide insights and information on the hiring process at as well as recount his experiences living and working in the Valley.

Rice students spent the first morning at Cisco Systems headquarters in San Jose. Cisco highlighted the opportunities it has for MBAs in finance, marketing, and various other disciplines. Jim Pinsky, a senior vice president at Cisco, shared his view of the future of technology and had tips for MBAs looking for opportunities in Silicon Valley.

The afternoon session was at Apple Computers’ headquarters in Cupertino. Mike Janes, a senior vice president at Apple enthralled students with a rousing hour- long extempore on his experiences at Apple. With his laid-back demeanor, casual appearance, and engaging yet conversational speaking style, Janes exemplified the “Think Different” Apple culture. The presentation was followed by a wine and cheese reception at Apple’s elegant Piano Bar. Numerous Apple recruiters were on hand to interview students for summer opportunities as well as discuss full- time recruiting possibilities.

The next morning, students attended a reception at Hewlett-Packards’ Mountain View campus. After a brief presentation on the opportunities at HP, there was an informal gathering of hiring managers and recruiters who mingled with the MBAs and conducted on the spot interviews for summer opportunities at HP.
Andrew Fry (MBA’00) was the host at HP and helped provide insights and information on the hiring process as well as recounted his experiences living and working in the Valley.

After an early afternoon presentation by Intel at their Santa Clara headquarters, we headed to Compaq’s Tandem offices in Cupertino for a job fair and networking reception. Companies such as Charles Schwab, Digital Foundry, Guidant Corporation, J&J Lifescan, Bank of America, and Compaq were among the employers that hosted and mingled with the MBAs, discussing full- time and summer internship opportunities. Simon Chan (MBA ’99), business planning manager at Compaq in Cupertino, gladly snapped a few pictures of the Jones School contingent and helped chronicle our trip.

To cap off an eventful visit, the Career Planning Center hosted a dinner for Jones School alumni in the Bay area. Alums Andrew Fry (MBA ’00), Icaro Vazquez ( MBA ’96), Kris Thorleifsson (MBA ’00), Mark Pikus (MBA ’00) and Simon Chan (MBA ’99) regaled students with memories of their days spent in the hallowed portals of Herring Hall and provided valuable insights on living and working in the Valley.

Employment prospects for Rice MBAs looking for opportunities in Silicon Valley have never been better. Successive trips to the Bay Area have helped put the Jones School on the radar screen of several of the area’s technology powerhouses. Leveraging the contacts established on this trip and engaging the increased alumni base in the Bay area, Rice MBAs can put the Jones School firmly on the technology map in Silicon Valley.