The document summarizes survey results from alumni of the IESE Business School class of 2004 regarding their career paths and job searches after graduation. Some key findings: - About half had clear career goals, while others were less certain or looking for direction. Most dedicated 3-5 hours per month to career planning. - Around half have found their "dream job", while others have jobs but want improvement or have not found their ideal role yet. - The most common job search methods were personalized hunting, asking alumni/faculty for leads, and asking friends/family. - Most respondents either have a career mentor or rely on multiple people such as former bosses, classmates, relatives or friends for guidance.

1. Conor Neill - Survey of Class of 2004 September 25th 2008
Was there Clarity of Purpose and
Dedication of Disciplined Time? Have you changed jobs since IESE?
How would you categorize How much time did you 3+ changes
4
yourself in terms of career regularly dedicate to career
intentions during IESE MBA? planning during your IESE
MBA?
2 changes
15
Totally lost and 15+ hours per 7
looking for 7 month 1 change
19
direction 5-15 hours per 14
month
Some idea of
career plan 35 3-5 hours per 11 No
month 16
1-2 hours per 16
Very clear career month
12
goals 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
None (or very 6
little)
0 20 40
0 5 10 15 20
What was the primary method you used to get the first job
Have you found your dream job? after your time at IESE?
Doing a personalised job hunt 14
No Other, please specify 10
4
Asking former professors / faculty / alumni associations, university career 9
centres
Asking Friends and Family for job leads 5
No - but I know what it is Internship 3
11
Using the Internet 3
Mailing out CVs 3
Yes - but still needs a little work
26 Going to Private Employment Agencies (Executive Search / 2
Headhunters)
Sitting in the bar hoping that I would be "discovered" 1
Yes - and I have it now Using Temp Agencies 1
12
Answering ads in specialized journals 1
Cold calling companies you were interested in. 1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Answering Adverts in Newspapers 1
Taking a Civil Service Exam 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
How is the current economic situation in your city?
Career Mentors…
Do you have a "mentor" • colleagues from the MBA class - What is the "credit 0
that you have been able to great people! crunch"?
turn to for guidance during • I rely on 2 mentors at any time:
your career? a former boss, a classmate, a We are doing great 7
close relative, a personal friend.
No • my wife - I'm screening my
Im
judgement through her Ok, we will get 20
25
• former bosses through it fairly easily
• Someone who trusts your ability
and you trust theirs. Bad, but I have seen 17
Yes
similar before (dot…
27 • The person that hired me for the
internship even I din't accept the
offer to join the company after Worst in my lifetime 8
finishing the MBA
0 10 20 30
• (NO) and that is an error
0 5 10 15 20
IESE Career Workshop 1

2. 5. What was the most effective thing you did during IESE MBA to help with your career planning / job search?
1 wrote a business plan
2 Career Forums
3 ??? I don't think I was very effective at all ;‐)
4 Have long dinners with friends and talk about life and the future
5 I wanted to become an entrepeneur, so I went to all conferences about the topic and listened to all stories retalated.
6 To speak with ex alumni
7 It seems simple but you need to know whether you want to do investment banking, consulting, you want to be an
entrepeneur…
8 Getting to know someone at career services very well.
9 Preparation and be focused on what you really want
10 networking ‐ in particular IESE Alumni were of great help
11 networking, Identifying companies with the best fit
12 NETWORKING. START LOOKING FOR JOB EARLY.
13 Be humble, be realistic about my strengths and weaknesses, not be impressed nor affected by others goals...it was more a
personal attitude and way of thinking rather than the use of specific tools provided by the B‐school
14 Did an internship in different sectors to get a wider understanding of possible careers.
15 having time to think about it
16 Talk to piers and find out what their jobs were like
17 Job interviews, starting own business
18 Meet other students
19 the help of IESE professors
20 Learning about effective networking with M. Rosenberg
21 What a question... I would say talking with coleagues.
22 trained myself in interviewing skills
23 Nothing I did in terms of career planning / job search during the MBA really helped my career
24 Talk to professors
25 Networking, finding a PROPER career advisor
26 Lots of networking and just talking to people just to get advice or in pursuing a specific position (alumni, career services,
professors, fellow classmates etc)
27 Selling myself: experience, skills, attitude, education, not the MBA.
28 Networking
29 working closely with career services
30 Speak with people in different industries
31 Talk to the other students
32 Chat with classmates
33 taking courses on the related area. In this case, entrepreneur courses.
34 Grow up (a bit)
35 ENCONTRAR A UNA PERSONA EN CAREER SERVICES QUE ME ENSEÑASE A PREPARAR ENTREVISTAS Y C0NTROLAR LOS
NERVIOS
36 Stay in touch with your network and don't be afraid to ask for advice
37 Understand what career path my own temperament and aptitudes fitted best with.
38 Open my mind to crazy ideas, but keep my head on my neck
39 Using the alumni database to find people working at the companies I wanted to join. Very risky, though, would recommend
to use headhunters + database combined.
40 talk to everyone I could and really think about it regularly the whole way through the MBA.
Have one specific goal (in my case geographic location)
41 Stay in touch regularly with the companies I wanted to work for.
42 practice in job interviews. talking to people from different backgrounds.
43 Interview Prep work.
44 talk to business men
45 Ask advices to my pal Conor... Just kidding...
The best thing to get a clear idea of a job or a sector is to talk with real people, with flesh and blood, already engaged in the
same career path. Usually that's a good way of discovering the grass is not always greener in the neighbour's garden.
46 Network with other colleagues from the objective company
47 • Focus ‐ I knew what I wanted and where I wanted to be.
• IESE alumni & general networking.
48 Talk to other people who came from different career backgroungs & understand what its really like in a specific sector and
/or industry
49 start talking to alumnis in different industries to find out if there could be a career for me

3. 7. You are talking to a group of new MBA students in the bar at IESE. They ask "What was the
best thing about your time in IESE?". What do you say?
1 social life
2 friendships made
3 Combining intense learning, with fun and experiencing Barcelona
Finding life‐long friendships!!!
4 MBA Olympics
5 Going out, having interesting conversations and doing sports everyday with the best group of people I've met in my life
6 Chance to learn complementary knowledge to my university education and the chance to listen to inspiring people.
7 The good atmosphere and close relationsihip with alumni and professors.
You've two years to plan what you want to do in the next 10‐20 years. You're surrounded by +200 classmates and professors from you
8 can learn a lot.
9 The friends I made
10 My class‐mates and professors
11 I would do it again if I could, but to name a single best thing would not be fair to all the good stuff in that time
12 knowing myself better
13 PEOPLE. COURSES.
That at IESE they help you to get the best of yourself and your capabilities. It is ok to learn finance and bla, bla...but it is better to know
14 what you can get from yourself in a lot of different situtations, and how to take advantage of your strengths
15 A time to reassess one's life and gain enough knowledge and courage to try a new career.
16 the people I met
17 The people you meet.
18 Barcelona
19 the way you grow personally in two years...
20 Friends
21 Meeting nice people with diverse professional experiences... Everything in a place like Barcelona
22 Feeling daily improvement ... and playing Rugby
23 Meeting people with different perspectives from many different backgrounds
24 The people around were just amazing
25 The people I met
26 People, self‐knowledge and time management self improvement.
27 Definitely the social aspect and the lasting friendships.
28 Great weather, warm sea and great interaction with classmates instead of work.
29 Career opportunities.
30 Brain upgrade
31 networking within the multi‐culture environment
32 Personal & Profsesional quality of people around (professor and students)
33 How much I have learned from faculty and from my fellow students
34 New friends, family time, networking and time to review my career
35 the possibility of training my mind making it pretty skillful in analyzing cause/efect relations. The possibility of developing my soft skills.
36 Friendship and (a bit of) maturity.
37 FRIENDS
38 Making long lasting friendships and meeting so many people with the same interest as yourself
39 The friendships I made.
40 the whole experience was sooo goood. and the best thing is the people that you meet and that you know in two years
41 Friends (in my case my husband as well;)) + all the new concepts and techniques I learnt
There are 2:
1) professional development (becoming someone useful for a company, not just a uni graduate)
2) feeling surrounded by people like me (similar interests, many languages, various cultures)‐ i.e. not being asked if I feel more French or
42 Irish!!
43 the people, the experience, the learning: the stuff you take with you all your life, and nobody can take away from you.
44 meeting people from different backgrounds. getting an effective tool box
45 The challenge to be on your own in a very stange place.
46 the friends I met
The people ! Living so intensively in such a small environment gets you to know quite well your classmates, your teachers, the
bartenders... This is a very different experience from the one you can get, for example, on a US campus (which is more or less 200 times
47 bigger...).
48 Academic content/learning, international exposure, great atmosphere. Work hard, play hard!!
49 Lots of fun working/collaborating with outstanding classmates.
50 Being surrounded by talent and a great environment i which to soak it up (both professors and colleagues)
51 the people