My biggest takeaway from the BE-EDGE journey with Dr. Ivy was the experience of interacting with real corporate problems and finding the means to better answer my CEO’s dilemma. The emotion behind researching, interviewing, and feeling that I can add value made this experience so enriching.
What is next? I am planning to implement the plan that I suggested, and the company is willing to sponsor my travel and put in place what was written
Mauricio Rey / “ZenithOptimedia, The Agency ROI” Case
Being a recent graduate from the undergraduate level, I was absolutely terrified at what the future would hold for me. The biggest driver for me to pursue further education so early on was to feel more secure in myself and my abilities to perform in the career path I wish to pursue. Prior to taking a course with Professor Ivy, I had no idea where to start or how to start defining my path and creating a competitive portfolio of my characteristics. From day one in professor Ivy's program, I knew that I would find these answers. Primarily, I have been using the knowledge of crafting my EDGE to create a more in-demand portfolio for myself that is targeted at the career I want. Much like we learn quite early on in her book, I was able to define my industry, and then ultimately following those steps throughout the semester, I was able to envision myself at the point I want to get to in my career; something I was unable to see before. Also, beyond crafting my EDGE, I purposely chose to complete a second course with professor Ivy as the information from these classes directly enriched my professional goals.
Tamara / MSIM “Beyond Meets” Consulting Case
Through the BE-EDGE method, I understood the importance of precisely define a long-term career objective and set steppingstones to make this vision comes true. Having this vision was critical to work on a valuable and interesting thesis project, but also helped me been more accurate when interacting with professionals. Thanks to the BE-EDGE method I have defined my aspirations, linked them to my skills and presented it in a way to connect with a large network of professionals. The method also gave me tools to select the right company and people that align with my career path. I was able to use my skills and knowledge in the best way possible and gain self-confidence to shape my space in the job market.
Alix / “Internationalization of Therapeutic Innovations: Entering a market of Ghana” Case
The most rewarding thing for me was proving to myself that I can do complicated research about the industry I knew nothing about. I was able to communicate with the company’s executives and provide my recommendations based on my theoretical knowledge.
I've spent a lot of time researching the industry, the company, and it's a new technological tool to be able to discuss it during the interview and get details for my case. I also realized that I really like to do this kind of project.
Jane / “GrabCAD. Social Marketing Strategy” Case
On the BE-EDGE project investment to my personal capital:
While earning my graduate degree at Northeastern, I applied and expanded on my 5+ years of professional experience and growth within the field of Marketing. A crucial pillar of my learning experience, and what makes me the perfect candidate for my role in advertising can be attributed to a consulting case that myself and a group of colleagues completed for the software product LastPass, a password management and enterprise single-sign on solution. I played a key role in tailoring an international market entry strategy for LastPass, and due to the emphasis that needed to be placed on localizing a historically domestic product in a new foreign country, I am confident that I have the skills to work in a role that allows me to apply this same tenacious and thoughtful approach to advertising campaigns.
Ultimately, this class exceeded my expectations for how I personally wanted to use what I learned to help my career. It helped me become more confident in what I eventually want to do with my career, which is to tailor informed marketing campaigns for different brands and companies domestic or international.
John / “LastPass” Consulting Case
The case writing competition was a very rewarding experience, not just for me, but for those who were involved in the case itself. When we look at an organization on the outside, we actually have no clue of what devious behaviors may lurk on the inside from the perspective as an employee. As a future entrepreneur and CEO, I have learned to never dismiss my employees’ concerns. I believe that the "Making Your Case" experience with Dr. Ivy has allowed me to grow professionally and personally and has given me technical writing skills that will become sharper with time. From here, I will be starting my own corporation 4Q2015. I also want to become a business consultant to Disabled Veterans, like myself, who want to start and grow a business but don’t know how. I would also help existing businesses succeed by isolating organizational issues that may cause dysfunctional conflict.
Edward / “Genesis HealthCare LaPlata” Case
“Every student should take as it forces you to identify your current career options against your aspirational career options and finetune your reasons, rationale, and step to get to where you want to end up.”
The Consulting Case in my Capstone course ended up being relevant in ways I didn’t expect. Working through this case brought attention to a different way I want to look at my future. I have always felt that by not fully understanding what I want to do with my career, I wasn’t able to make strides until I figured it out. This project showed me there are far more aspects to success then a defined vision. I understand now that an emergent strategy can truly set me up for success through analyzing my core competencies like we did with the consulting case. In addition, our topic was very relevant to the industry I am going into. Working with a distribution company and analyzing supply chain efficiency in a company will be part of my career moving forward.
Jessi / “Brewery Distributing” Case
The space I envision for myself in the global market is in a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) department for a large scale company to make positive, sustainable changes in the large scale. The AYUDA case was an excellent opportunity for me to dive into something that I care about and genuinely try to help an organization that helps others. AYUDA operates in the non-profit space which I am very much interested in. Although healthcare is not a particular field of interest for me, they are contributing to the greater good.
I wanted to really understand the issues that those that are in the company face in order to properly come to a recommendation that would actually be viable. One of the most important aspects of being a consultant and a leader is to also be a listener. In the effort to generate value, I did a deep dive of secondary research into the markets of Argentina and Mexico to see if these would be viable options for AYUDA’s next markets. It was important for me to make sure that I give recommendations that were based on supported logic.
What’s Next?
This project was a perfect example of how I can apply my international business knowledge to organizations that are trying to do work that results in a positive impact on the world. Going forward, I will be able to show potential employers that I have the know-how and skill to be able to do research and recommend strategy backed by this research.
Joshua / “AYUDA” Consulting Case
Since I was a kid, all the Airtek employees know me and see me growing up as “the daughter of the owner,” which made highly challenging for me to change the way how the Airtek employees and my parents see me and establish myself as a future company’s executive. Through the BE-EDGE process of my capstone project for Masters in International Management, I conducted research, analyzation and consultation for the Airtek case. I was able to nurture my skills, sharpen my voice and views, and show Airtek managers my expertise in international management. This project provided me with the opportunity to show a different dimension of me that they had not have a chance to see before.
Sherry / “How Could Airtek Win Shanghai’s Market?” Case
