As an employer, finding people capable of taking on leadership roles for years to come can be a challenge—as knowing where to find the right fit is not an easy task.
Having access to a reliable talent pool is a key element of discovering those future leaders.
Todd Shewfelt, regional vice president of Commercial Financial Services at RBC, has been tapping into MBA talent at the UBC Sauder School of Business’s Robert H. Lee Graduate School for years and says he continually witnesses the positive effects.
“When we hire UBC Sauder students, we get people with an excellent education and a set of hard and soft skills that are readily adaptable to commercial banking, even without applied training in this particular area.”
In fact, since RBC began hiring interns from UBC Sauder more than 15 years ago, five of the hires now hold leadership positions at the bank, including three vice-presidents in commercial banking.
The reputation of UBC MBA grads as exceptional contributors is well recognized. A survey of 12,125 MBA employers for the recently published QS Global 250 Business Schools Report placed the UBC MBA among the top 45 programs in the world when it comes to the employability of its graduates and other factors. In fact, UBC was one of only four schools recognized in Canada and one of 22 in North America in the report’s Global Elite category.
Part of this exceptional employability starts with student internships, which pair UBC MBA students with leading brands and organizations to tackle business challenges.
These internships act like in-depth interviews, showing employers what these individuals can do to add value to their company.
“The idea is that if they’re a good fit, from both the students’ perspective and our perspective, then we’ll offer them a position as a commercial account manager, which is not an entry level position at RBC,” explains Shewfelt.
In fact, new MBA hires are frequently trusted with senior roles at the bank and are tasked with dealing directly with the needs of the bank’s business clients, which requires both excellent communication and leadership skills.
“UBC MBAs have proven themselves to be responsible leaders and excellent hires, so we wanted to increase our exposure to this talent,” Shewfelt says.
Hire MBA talent from UBC Sauder
Organizations who look to UBC MBA graduates for their next hire will find employees with the strategic skills to tackle business challenges and the collaborative management techniques to push projects forward.
It’s this combination of hard and soft skills developed in and outside of the classroom that sets UBC MBAs apart.
Take, for example, 2017 grad Laura Evans , who led a team of nearly 300 people at retail giant Target before enrolling in the UBC MBA program. 
“The experience taught me how to lead big groups all across the country,” says Evans. And, with the insights she gained tackling business case studies in the MBA program, she says she’s ready to help organizations solve their toughest challenges.
All UBC MBA students have substantial prior work experience that makes them a unique package capable of adding substantial value to the bottom line of the companies they join.
“Because of my previous work experience as a software engineer, I am able to see the details,” says Sharika Salim. “But my MBA changed how I think about the tech sector. I now look at the whole picture; how strategy, finance, and marketing all come together.
A former commodities trader in South Korea, Azim Noor came to the UBC MBA to sharpen his project management and leadership skills. After a successful internship with global logistics company C.H. Robinson, he gained the applied experience he needed to do both.
“I’m ready to bring rigor and data-driven decision-making to the table,” he says. “I look forward to the opportunity to use all the skills I’ve acquired to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.”
If you would like the unparalleled opportunity to recruit a UBC MBA graduate please contact:
UBC Sauder School of Business
Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre
Tel:
1.604.822.6479
Toll Free:
1.877.777.6479
[email protected]
Get a 2017 UBC MBA on your team
www.sauder.ubc.ca/hireanMBA
