Top MBA Recruiters: Samsung
With Vision 2020 goals that include $400 billion in revenue via VR technology, the implementation of 5G, and biotech, Samsung is one of the most desirable companies for MBAs who want to advance their careers at the intersection of business and tech. Along with a strong recruitment record from top programs for interns, a potential Samsung career also offers recent MBA grads competitive starting pay.
Samsung Career and Internship Opportunities
Samsung’s Global Strategy Group (GSG) is comprised of 25 affiliates across a wide range of industries. In a recent talk with Harvard Business School, Jake Junghyun Suh, Senior Manager at Samsung GSG notes that the company “recruits the best talent from top business schools and develops them into high-caliber global general managers … [As an intern or a strategist], one learns essential management skills by working across diverse geographies, industries and functions.”
The company recruits first year MBAs as interns and second year students as Global Strategists via its Leadership Development Program (LDP), which has been active since 2016. The program seeks to place students into positions furthering the company’s goals and enriching the management pipeline. Adhering to the principle of “a company is its people,” Suh says, recruits are not just brought in and left to their own devices. Instead, they become ambassadors for GSG, connecting with managers across affiliated companies. Interns and second year strategists continue to be engaged at all levels as they advance through the LDP.
Interns begin the LDP with a two month placement at Samsung’s Seoul headquarters, before advancing into marketing or strategy roles as internal consultants. If they choose to advance, strategists then transfer to one of GSG’s subsidiaries or one of fifteen regional headquarters.
Three main categories of rotations make up the LDP: Product Marketing (12 months); Strategy & Operations (six months); and Sales and Marketing (six months).
Product Marketing
In product marketing, students see development of products through development to launch, and end-of-life cycle transition. In this rotation, interns are exposed to both customers and various stakeholders from the Seoul headquarters.
Strategy & Operations
During the strategy & operations rotation, interns engage in strategic planning and a wide variety of functional areas, gaining the opportunity to provide support toward driving company goals.
Sales and Marketing
During the six months of the sales and marketing rotation, interns can expect to consolidate market information to shape consumer profiles while interacting with ad agencies and working on brand development projects.
While the three rotations provide students with a framework within which to develop, each recruit is encouraged to explore projects based upon their own interests and expertise. Initiative is key to Samsung career success.
Roshan Vaidyanathan, Michigan State University MBA said in a contribution to Samsung’s recruiting website, “This program provides countless opportunities for valuable industry exposure, rapid professional development, and accelerated networking … You are given the platform to define your career.”
Samsung MBA Salary Expectations
Samsung career salaries, according to recent figures from Glassdoor, range widely based upon education and experience level. While a field sales manager with a BA can expect to start at around $50,000 per year and a $12,000 bonus, senior managers with MBAs earn upwards of $125,000 with $30,000 in bonuses.
Recent openings include a Senior Strategy Management position within Samsung’s Accelerator, which supports the company’s startup efforts via innovative software and product development; a Product Marketing Manager job with Samsung’s TV division, and a Senior Manager for Integrated Marketing position. Each of these are located in Samsung’s Ridgefield Park, NJ headquarters.
MBAs willing to relocate may seek employment openings in the Seoul headquarters, or at one of the company’s locations in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Dallas, or New York City. The internship program also offers positions at each of these locations.
Some recent reviews by employees address Samsung’s company culture and benefit structure. Among these are that the company offers “an awesome environment [with] lots of freedom”… along with “exposure to new technologies and good benefits.” Samsung offers paid parental leave, along with competitive 401K matching and healthcare coverage that includes fitness memberships and wellness education.
Along with a strong community engagement/volunteer program, one of the other benefits of working at Samsung is its diverse environment. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for women, veterans, new mothers, and LGBTQ people offer networking and connection that help to enhance the employee’s experience at Samsung.
How Can You Score a Job at Salesforce with an MBA?
Salesforce, one of the country’s highest valued cloud computing companies, is actively looking for promising MBA graduates, offering diverse opportunities in tech, business, and sales. Since it’s founding in 1999, Salesforce has been growing wildly, becoming the first enterprise cloud company tor each $10 billion in revenue as of August 2017. And Salesforce isn’t just remarkable for its product’s success—the company was also rated as the “#1 Best Company to Work For” by Fortune.
The Salesforce culture is centered around the idea of “Ohana” (Hawaiian for “family”), and earned its place at the top of the list by offering incredible benefits to its employees—both monetary and mentally. It’s understandable why MBA’s would want a job at Salesforce Ohana, with their focus on helping strong performers find new challenges and opportunities for growth.
What Does Salesforce Look for in New Hires?
Salesforce makes recruiting a priority at every level through their Futureforce University recruitment program. Salesforce offers new hires the same incredible opportunities available to all of their employees—seven days of paid time for volunteering, networking opportunities, and access to the Executive Lunch & Learn and Speaker Series that puts interns and new hires in direct contact with Salesforce leadership.
Because of Salesforce’s focus on having their employees give back to their communities, they seek out new hires who have made a demonstrated impact within their past efforts, whether at school or professionally. In 2015, Salesforce’s senior vice president of global recruiting, Ana Recio, commented on the different ways applicants could make themselves stand out.
“What did you do to differentiate your job from others?'” she said. “What was your absolute impact, your legacy? We always look for people who truly were kind of thought leaders and change agents.”
How to Get Your Foot in the Door?
MBA graduates and current students can apply directly for open roles. Current students will most directly benefit from the company’s MBA internship: a 12-week program that students can pursue during the summer in between years one and two of their program. Each summer, MBA interns are hired in the fields of product marketing, product management, CSG business analyst, corporate development, and data analytics. If recruiters think there might be a good fit, applicants will likely be given a 30-60 minute phone screening, followed by an interview with a hiring manager. Before offering the position, MBAs will likely have to partake in a panel interview/case study, presenting their professional and academic accomplishments.
Salesforce also recruits recent graduates (those who graduated in the last 12 months) in the fields of tech, sales, and business. The precise roles and interview process for each varies depending on the field.
How Well Does a Job at Salesforce Pay?
The majority of hires at Salesforce, both full-time and interns, are for tech-centric positions. However, the company does offer supreme compensation for those with business degree backgrounds—especially those with an MBA.
According to Payscale data, MBA graduates wit a job at Salesforce earn between $85,000 and $160,000 USD annually.
It’s no secret that one of the reasons Salesforce tops the Glassdoor list of “Best Places to Work” is the compensation. Although, as with any position, salary will vary depending on a number of factors, Glassdoor’s compensation of full-time employees shows a lower-end salary range of $60,000-80,000 annually (for account executives and sales engineers) and upwards of $141,000 for senior engineer positions.
What Do Current and Former Salesforce Interns Think?
Danielle, who interned with Salesforce as a product marketing MBA intern, commented on her work experience and Salesforce’s company culture in this video. “Not only am I working on independent projects as part of the internship, but I’m also shadowing people in my team and really seeing what a true day in the life is for a project manager within the app cloud,” Danielle said. “Other internships are very focused on their projects and feel very siloed but here at Salesforce I’m really able to be integrated with the team as a whole.”
Eamon, a software engineer who began at Salesforce as a recent graduate, also commented on his experience. “As a new grad what’s interesting is there really is no pathway you’re supposed to follow, it’s what you make of it,” he said. “It’s the people you go out of your way to meet, the experiences you make, the projects you decide to take on.”
