Your whole life lies in front of you, but how do you decide what to do with it? The opportunities for women in business are more exciting than ever, and here’s your place to start! Every week, we’ll be posting articles and information to guide, encourage and inspire you as you explore your career options and get ready to make your mark on the world. We want to help you find your passion and give you the tools to succeed. We know you can make your dreams come true, and we’re here to help make that happen.

But we also want to hear from you! .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll post it to our blog along with the best advice from our panel of experts. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for stories and topics. Know a college woman who’s accomplishing great things? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) — we’d love to feature her on our site. Or maybe you’d like to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or help .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) that’s working to help women succeed in business? Whatever it is, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)!

Everyday, women in business are accomplishing great things. And we’re excited to help the next generation of women business leaders — You — accomplish even more!

The summer internship interview season is just around the corner!

We know it can be really difficult to start building a work-appropriate wardrobe while you’re still on a college student’s budget. That’s why we thought we’d share this special student discount from Ann Taylor.

Just show your student ID at any Ann Taylor store to receive a 20% discount on all full-priced purchases until you graduate! Need a little inspiration? Check out their Style for Students website for lookbooks, videos and some budget-friendly interview options.

Know of some other great student discount offers? .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so we can spread the word!

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to work in the business world?  Here are a few little-known truths that may give you a leg up on the competition:

Myth: If you study hard and make excellent grades, you’ll get a great job. Employers today want you to have some practical experience in addition to your university training. And they’re right. Succeeding in our competitive business world means you’ll need both a solid foundation in theoretical knowledge and experience applying that knowledge. Plan on completing at least one or two internships in your field before you graduate. You’ll learn the different behaviors, roles, skills, and expectations of the working world while you gain valuable hands-on experience. And you’ll demonstrate to future employers that you’re serious and dedicated about your career choice.

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With the iconic Mary Tyler Moore honored for lifetime achievement at the Screen Actors Guild awards this past Sunday, it got us thinking about about her TV show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the influence it had on women’s role in the work place.

Mary Richards, the show’s title character played by Moore, quickly became the woman’s role model of the 1970s. Never before had a happily single, 30-something working woman been portrayed on television. Ask your grandmothers — she was quite the revelation. 

Smart, independent, and making it on her own, she fought for what she believed was right — including equal pay for equal work. In one particularly memorable episode, Mary confronts her boss, Mr. Grant, after learning the male producer she replaced was paid a higher salary. Not only did she get her raise, but she shed a light one of the most pervasive issues for women in the business world — one we’re grappling with even today.

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When your boss comes to you and says, “I need you to go on a snipe hunt,” no need to pull out your camo gear and shotgun. While snipes are small birds, what she’s really sending you on is something like a wild goose chase.

Managers will often use this phrase before asking you to locate something they know may very well be impossible to locate — as in, “I saw some article, somewhere, that had something to do with….Can you go find that for me?”

While the task at hand may require hours of digging on your part, the good news is your boss already knows there’s a high likelihood you’ll come up empty handed. The better news — if you do manage to capture that elusive snipe, you’ll be the team hero and receive all the accolades your feat well deserves.

“To be in a couple, do you have to put your single self on a shelf?”
        —Carrie Bradshaw, Sex in the City

It’s a fair question, and one that gets asked again in this article, Marriage: Hazardous to Your Career? by Forbes contributor, Selena Rezvani.

One point Rezvani makes that rings perhaps a little too true — most women in business seem reluctant to talk about how their marital status has contributed to (or detracted from) their success. And yet, when and if to get married is a much sought-after piece of advice for young women just starting out their careers.

As Rezvani points out, recent Census Bureau statistics show adult, unmarried women will soon outnumber their married counterparts. With marriage rates declining most drastically for the 18-29 age set, clearly we don’t feel the same need to rush to the alter as previous generations.

But how does the decision to couple up, delay getting hitched, or remain single all together affect your career? Like everything in life, there are no easy answers and pros and cons to both sides.

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If you haven’t yet registered for the Forté Industry Introduction to Marketing, there’s still time!

Join us today, January 26, at 12:00-1:00 pm EST for this career development webinar that will take an in-depth look at the marketing industry.

You’ll hear from successful MBA alumnae from Forté sponsor schools and companies who are excited to share their personal experiences about a post-MBA career in Marketing.

Remember, pre-registration for the webinars is required, and you must be logged into access registration for the webinars.

Learn more and register >>

Ever wondered how you can leverage your technical experience in the business world? Whether you majored in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, or Computer Science, an exciting career in business can be a part of your future!

Mark your calendar for this next edition of the Forté College Webinar Series, brought to you by BlackRock, Capital One and The PNC Financial Services Group.

Tuesday, February 7th
5:00 - 6:00 PM EST
Career Lab Close-Up: Research Lab to Wall Street? Engineering to Marketing?
Making the Transition into Business

Attend this free webinar — featuring panelists from Capital One, Intel, BlackRock and Deloitte — to learn about business careers and how you can build the career of your dreams.

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Whenever you start to feel overwhelmed by your commitments and obligations, pull out this business jargon favorite!

“Bandwidth” refers to the the physical and mental limitation of your working ability. Because the inference of “bandwidth” goes beyond just “time,” it’s a great way to say you can’t take on something without doing damage to your image as a can-do-make-it-happen-team-player.

So when your boss comes to you with yet another project with yet another unreasonable deadline, don’t respond with, “I just don’t have time to get that done by Friday,” which subtly implies that you’re not willing to put in the extra hours to make it happen. 

Instead, tell her, “I don’t think I have the bandwidth to take on another project for this week.” This approach lets her know you’re committed, but already pushing yourself to the max.

And while you may be hesitant to tell your boss that you can’t help her with something, she’ll actually respect the fact that you know your own limits and don’t want to put a critical project at risk.

The marketing function in a company explores products and the customers who might be interested in them. Once a connection is established between product and customer, a marketing professional must develop strategic plans that set positioning, pricing, and strategic direction for the product (or service) throughout its life cycle. Marketers develop programs (like advertising) to improve brand recognition and loyalty and increase profitability. In addition, they communicate with partners and customers and manage various internal and external departments, driving all toward common marketing goals and objectives. Thus, a marketing career requires many of the same skills as a general management career and may prepare an individual for general management or an entrepreneurial endeavor.

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You’ll often hear people in business ask, “So what’s our value proposition?”

Value proposition is defined as “a collection of tangible and intangible things your product or service offers.” So what they’re really asking is, “What does this mean for our customer? Why would someone want to buy this? What are the benefits?”

The tangible elements of a value proposition are the product’s features, while the intangible elements are what it enables or how it makes the customer feel.

If you were writing a value proposition for a new hybrid car, for example, the tangible elements would focus around fuel efficiency, reduced emissions, price, etc. The intangibles would be the more emotional benefits, such as how fun it is to drive while helping to protect the environment.

Did you know that people can have value propositions as well?

Consider this question before your next job interview — What’s your value proposition? What are the tangible reasons someone should hire you, such as your knowledge, skills or experience?  What are the intangible benefits you bring to the table, like creative problem solving, a great attitude or your dedication?

The best value propositions always include both the tangible and the intangible benefits.  And the candidate with the best value proposition gets hired. Make sure you’ve thought about both aspects and you’ll really shine during the interview!

The Spring semester is almost here! If you’re looking for a budget-friendly way to liven up your dorm room or apartment, check out this great idea we found on geeksugar.

Canvas Pop lets you print your favorite pics directly from your Instagram account onto 12” x 12” canvases to create a personal gallery of your favorite college experiences.

The lightweight canvases mean the prints are easy to hang without damaging your walls (or losing your deposit!) and at the special introductory price of just $29.95, they won’t do too much damage to your bank account either!

Yesterday we talked a little bit about how more and more, companies today are seeking out candidates with an MBA degree — even for positions that historically have had no such requirement.

A great case in point is the Advertising industry. Traditionally, this creative-driven field has been concerned primarily with results not credentials. But, as clients have begun demanding a stronger business case and quantifiable results for their advertising and marketing programs, so have agencies started demanding business backgrounds for virtually all positions outside of the creative team.

In this short interview, former Advertising Media Planner and Buyer and Forté Fellow, Angel Davis, discusses why she decided to pursue an MBA and what you might want to consider as you start planning your own career path.

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If you’re getting close to finishing up your undergraduate degree, you’ve probably also started thinking about your post-college career. As you’re exploring your options, now is great time to start doing a little research on what you’ll need to succeed beyond that entry-level position.

Times have changed.  Many industries that once shunned applicants with an advanced degree now actively seek candidates with greater education, including an MBA. In fact, MBA Focus, a recruiting firm that connects employers with business-school students, reports a 103% increase in MBA-required and MBA-preferred positions posted on their boards since late 2010.

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While women now constitute 31% of business-school classes, up from about 26% in 2001, there’s still work to be done.

Last week, Forté Foundation’s executive director, Elissa Ellis Sangster, spoke to The Wall Street Journal about how companies and schools can recruit more women and why diversity matters.

Read the excerpts from her interview and find out what she has to say about gender diversity in business schools and why the disparity still persists.

Glassdoor recently announced their 2012 Employees’ Choice Awards for Best Places to Work, and we’re thrilled to see six Forté Foundation sponsors made the list!

We’re especially excited for our Virtual Campus sponsors, Ernst & Young and Lilly, which came in at numbers 38 and 46, respectively.

Want to know more about what makes these VC sponsors such great places to work? Head over to the Career Gal Road Trip to explore their virtual cities. There, you can learn more about the organizations and even find out how to apply for their internship programs!

Other Forté sponsors making the list include Bain & Company, which snagged the number one position, as well as Chevron, Goldman Sachs and Intel.

If you were choosing the best companies to work for, what would be on your criteria list? What do YOU think defines a “great place to work?”  Tell us, so we can share your thoughts with our many wonderful sponsors! We know they’re interested in what you have to say, because they know you’re the future of their organizations—so tell them what you’ll be looking for as you start your career path!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Hopefully you made it through finals relatively unscathed, and are looking forward to a little R&R and some time with the fam.

If you’re doing a little traveling to get home for the holidays, check out some of the Forté Forum podcasts while you’re in the car or waiting for the plane.  These podcasts are all about why you might want to consider an MBA as part of your future, including advice and experiences shared by some of the most successful businesswomen out there.

Get them free on iTunes

“You can’t change your gender. Plus, you are in the good company of 50% of the population. The key is to figure out how you can get what you specifically want with your unique challenges, strengths, and circumstances. The rest is noise.”

-Gina Bianchini
Founder of Mightybell

As quoted in Executive Suite: Gina Bianchini Says Don’t Focus On The Challenges Of Being A Woman
by Meredith Lepore and featured on The Grindstone

Finals are over and the spring semester is right around the corner. If you’ve already locked-in an internship for the upcoming term, you’re in good shape.

But what if you haven’t? Should you even try?

Most companies start looking for their spring interns in early October. But, while it is late in the game, you can still make it happen. Just as “finding an internship” got pushed to the bottom of your to-do list, chances are good that for many organizations so did “find an intern.”

So, how to make the most of the time you have left? Here are some short-cut tips on finding (and landing) an internship quickly:

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Join Forté for this career development webinar series that will take an in-depth look at different industries within the business world. Learn about the different career tracks and opportunities available. Hear from successful MBA alumnae from Forté sponsor schools and companies who are excited to share their personal experiences about a post-MBA career in their industry. And have the opportunity to ask any questions!

Mark Your Calendars:

January 24, 12:00-1:00 pm EST: Corporate Finance
January 26, 12:00-1:00 pm EST: Marketing

Learn more and register>>

“ROI” stands for “Return on Investment.” It is a performance measure used to evaluate the strength of a particular investment, or to compare various investment options against each other.

To calculate ROI, the benefit (return) of the investment is divided by the cost of the investment, and the result is expressed as a percentage or ratio.

As an example:
If a marketing campaign will cost $20,000 and generates $30,000 in sales, the return is $10,000.
Divide the return of $10,000 by the original cost of $20,000, and the ROI is .5, or 50%.

ROI is a very popular metric in business because of its simplicity. It helps answer questions such as, “Should we make this investment? Which of these investment options will give us the greatest benefit?”

The higher the ROI, the better the investment. And of course, you never want to make an investment with a negative ROI!

Kate Shae was born in Bendigo, two hours north of Melbourne. She bypassed the travel abroad that is typical for young Australians to pursue her studies and a career. However, over time, she’s more than compensated for any adventures she may have missed, with an exciting career filled with international travel and opportunities to live abroad. 

Kate studied science at University of Melbourne, majoring in statistics. At one time, she thought she might become an actuary, but instead took a position in investment banking. A few years working in the business world fueled an interest to pursue an MBA. “I was fascinated with business more broadly,” she recalls. “My training in mathematics was not as broad as I wanted it to be. Business school was a way to expand my exposure to a range of different business considerations. I was interested in strategic and business development—not just finance.”

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Finals week is here, as well as the stress and anxiety that come along with it.

Having survived many a finals week ourselves, we wanted to share some of our favorite tips for how to do your best and come out the other side relatively unscathed.

Have favorite study and survival secrets of your own? Be sure to share those too!

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A recent study by More magazine, conducted in partnership with the Polling Company/WomanTrend, surveyed 500 women (all with college or higher degrees), ages 35 to 60 and found that many women are feeling less ambitious these days. According to More, “When asked point-blank, 43% of women described themselves as less ambitious now than they were 10 years ago; only 15% reported feeling more ambitious.”

The study, as later reported on MSNBC’s Nightly News, also found that 38% said they didn’t want to deal with the politics, pressure and responsibility that goes with climbing the corporate ladder. Overall, women were willing to trade flexibility and more personal time for titles and pay.

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“There is no down side to studying abroad, only benefits.”
 So says Leah Miller, international programs coordinator at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, which is known for being one of the leaders in study abroad.

What exactly is it about studying abroad that is so valuable? According to Miller, “Students develop hard skills and soft skills, both personal and professional. In terms of hard skills, they learn foreign languages, cultural information, geographic information and academic facts and figures. The soft skills—the intangibles—are even more important: character development, an understanding of America’s place in the world, an understanding of oneself. And probably the biggest benefit students bring back is confidence. Students who study abroad feel confident that they can go anywhere and meet anyone and be able to handle it.”

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No matter what a company does, it needs people to oversee the smooth functioning of all the activities that are necessary to produce a product or service. General managers have this responsibility. They ensure that—from the concept of a product to its production and delivery and how it’s accounted for—a business’s operations blend together as seamlessly as possible. Providing strategic direction, sharing information, enhancing communication, and making decisions are all hallmarks of the general manager role. Most important, general managers are responsible for making money for the business: they take credit for the profits and must explain any losses.

Due to the level of responsibility expected, employers rarely hire a business school graduate immediately into a general management position. General managers are typically executives with many years of experience. Most employers, however, are hoping to hire future general managers, and one can begin a career with that goal in mind.

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