Manning School of Business, Career Services Respond to Industry Demand
Image by Ed Brennen
Manning School of Business alum Jack McDonough '20, a quality engineer at Dell Technologies, talks to senior business major Stephanie Kemp about analytics jobs available at the company during the recent Accounting, Finance and Analytics Career Fair at University Crossing.
09/29/2022
By Ed Brennen
McCarraher had tried recruiting students for business roles in past years at UML鈥檚 campus-wide fall and spring Career Fairs, with minimal success.
鈥淣obody cares about the business side when our technical people are with us at the Career Fair with their cool robots,鈥� says McCarraher, who is based at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 get any love on our side, so having this fair specifically for business and data analytics is perfect for us.鈥�
Close to 50 accounting firms, financial institutions and data-driven companies 鈥� from Liberty Mutual Insurance to Gorton鈥檚 Seafood 鈥� attended the recent fair at University Crossing, where hundreds of听Manning School of Business听students came in search of internships, co-ops and future full-time employment.
Adding analytics to the mix for the first time this year was something that employers wanted, according to Assoc. Dean of Student Affairs for Career Development听Greg Denon.
鈥淪ome of the accounting firms are hiring for analytics consulting and audit analytics roles, so we wanted to grow that side of it,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd it opened the fair up to a number of other types of organizations that wouldn鈥檛 normally come, like Liberty Mutual, Fidelity and the Undersea Warfare Center.鈥�
Image by Ed Brennen
Alum Danny Lane '20, a staff accountant at BerryDunn, looks on as colleague Bethany Laverriere shakes hands with a student at the Accounting, Finance and Analytics Career Fair.
For undergraduate听business administration听majors, the analytics and operations management (AOM) and management information systems (MIS) concentrations provide foundations in analytics. At the graduate level, the Manning School offers a Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA), an听MBA听with a business analytics option and a听Ph.D.听with a management information systems concentration.
鈥淭he buzzword being 鈥榓nalytics,鈥� we are trying to cover it several different ways鈥� at the career fair, says Operations and Information Systems Department Chair and Assoc. Prof.听Amit Deokar. 鈥淲e have a good set of analytics companies right now 鈥� not as big as finance and accounting 鈥� but the idea is to grow.鈥�
At the Dell Technologies booth, two recent Manning School alumni, quality engineer Jack McDonough 鈥�20 and senior analyst Christie Phelan 鈥�20, told students about their work and collected r茅sum茅s.
鈥淓veryone wants to hire an analyst. It鈥檚 a fast-growing role and an area of opportunity for a lot of students,鈥� says McDonough, who works with Microsoft鈥檚 interactive data visualization software Power BI.听
He says Dell jumped at the chance to expand its reach at the Accounting, Finance and Analytics Career Fair.
Image by Ed Brennen
Manning School of Business alumni Leanne Winton '21 and Jeremy Prezioso '22 represented Edelstein & Company at the Accounting, Finance and Analytics Career Fair.
鈥淲e know the curriculum at 51视频 is preparing the students,鈥� says McDonough, whose concentrations were in AOM and MIS. 鈥淲e like what they have.鈥�
Stephanie Kemp, a senior business major with concentrations in AOM and marketing, hopes to find a job in operations and supply chain. She appreciated the chance to speak with employers like Dell.
鈥淭he more I do events like this, the more confident I get,鈥� says Kemp, a forward on the UML women鈥檚 soccer team from Mansfield, Massachusetts. 鈥淭he university makes it really easy to find opportunities.鈥�
Of course, accounting and finance students found plenty of opportunities at the fair as well.
鈥淚 met a lot of people and got to know what they do,鈥� says Wilton Ortega, a sophomore from Methuen, Massachusetts, with concentrations in accounting and finance. 鈥淢y long-term goal is to get into real estate private equity, so I want to see where I can start to get there.鈥�
John Geraci 鈥�97, managing partner at accounting firm LGA, was excited to be back on campus for the first fair since the pandemic.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see the energy in the room,鈥� says Geraci, who was looking for interns, co-ops and full-time employees 鈥渋n all service lines.鈥�
With a听听of accounting students nationwide over the past five years and a hot job market in general, Geraci notes that accounting grads are in high demand.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good time to be an accounting graduate,鈥� he says.
The听Career and Co-op Center听is hosting the Fall Career Fair at the Tsongas Center on Thursday, Oct. 13 from 4 to 7 p.m.