Regional MBA Job Market – Israel

We’re speaking today with Hagit Katzenelson, MBA Hass Business School ’98, about living and working as an MBA in Israel.

Skyline and beachview in Tel Aviv, Israel.

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CareerMee: Thanks for talking with us today, Hagit. First of all, is the MBA as enmeshed in business culture in Israel as it is in the States/Western Europe? Have you noticed any trends?

Hagit: As recently as 10 years ago, a MBA was not really appreciated in Israel.  Both universities and students in Israel treated MBA studies very casually and almost all students continued working while earning an MBA.  A small percentage of MBA candidates opted to study in the USA and Europe.

The last few years however, have increased the value of the MBA in Israel, and I think this is a result of several trends:

1. There are more Israelis earning their MBAs in Europe and the USA, and more of them are coming back to Israel to share their knowledge and experience.  In the past few years there has been at least two annual MBA fairs (one sponsored by the Fulbright foundation) that try to recruit Israeli MBA candidates.
2. In addition to Israeli state-subsidized universities, private colleges have sprung up and they too offer MBAs.  They sometimes partner with colleges in Europe to bring local students an international experience.
3. As a result of the above, employees with MBAs have become more prevalent in the job market, and employers have come to realize that these employees offer more to the organization in terms of skills and knowledge.
4. There is also a better understanding of the difference between MBA degrees, with top 20 American universities, INSEAD and the London School of Economics getting the most respect.

CareerMee: Can you give us a bit of information on the differences between working in the US and working in Israel; cultural differences, work conditions, quality of life, etc?

Daily street life in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Hagit: Economically, due to lower salaries and higher taxes, take home pay in Israel is about half of an equivalent job in the US.  I’m not sure about Europe.  In certain industries such as high-tech and biotech, the working culture is very similar to that in US.  However, in the manufacturing and public sectors, Israel leans towards a more of a European/socialist attitude with a high level of government involvement.  Quality of life in Israel is pretty high and compares favorably with Europe and the US.  Culturally, Israelis are much more brash, loud and opinionated than Americans, and that does take a bit of getting used to.

CareerMee: If class of ’09 MBAs have the language skills, do you think Israel offers better job markets than the US/Western Europe?

Hagit Katznelson, Hass MBA '98 and President of the Hass Israel Alumni Group.

Hagit: In some industries, such as high-tech, Israel has taken hits similar to companies in the USA with massive layoffs and company shut-downs.  Other industries seem to be on the mend, and bankers and lawyers seem to be in demand again, but I’m not sure this is any different to Europe and the USA.  It remains to be seen if Israel recovers faster than the rest of the world from this current economic crisis.

Thanks so much, Hagit! Readers, let us know if you’ve been to Isreal or had any similar international experience with regional MBA markets.

AND, check us out at CareerMee.com, our exclusive MBA recruitment platform for top MBAs. Click here to sign up and make yourself available for jobs in Israel and worldwide.

Photos courtesy of Flickr user ErniePhoto.

Regional MBA Market : Hong Kong

This week’s MBA job market report takes us to Hong Kong, where ’04 AGSM MBA alumna Anita Billings gives us a run down on the business culture and job prospects.

Skyline of Hong Kong on New Year's Eve

CareerMee: Hi, Anita. Compared to the States and Western Europe, how enmeshed is the MBA in business culture in Hong Kong? Have you noticed any trends?

Anita: There is a huge market of MBA pursuers in Hong Kong, just as there is a huge market of suppliers. These suppliers are both from local and overseas universities and there are also hybrids (e.g. HKUST and LBS collaboration). An MBA has become more and more of a necessity for middle managers who are not content with their status quo in the organization they work in, and wish to use the MBA as a springboard for better opportunities. These opportunities might or might not be entrepreneurial opportunities and some have said Hong Kong is not particularly entrepreneurial. The jury is out.

CareerMee: Can you share any insight into the differences between working in Australia and Hong Kong; cultural differences, work conditions, lifestyle, etc?

Anita: Someone like myself and many other graduates from AGSM who share similar working and living arrangements in both countries find Hong Kong to be more dynamic, with more opportunities and very transient in terms of people movement – this exacerbating the many activities in the hiring/firing space of HR. Hong Kong is also unique in a sense that it serves as the regional headquarters for a lot of MNCs, again, allowing it to be a hiring ground for many industries at all levels . Australia is slightly less transient and transparent in a sense that relationships (work or social) are built over a longer period of time. Many big businesses in Australia are oil-ships in a complimentary way, that they are established and stable, and moving slowly and cautiously – hence it will feel as though it is less dynamic than Hong Kong.

CareerMee: Can you give us a quick rundown on how the financial crisis has hit Hong Kong?

Anita Billings, MBA, Australian Graduate School of Management, Class of '04

Anita: How much time have you got? The financial crisis has hit HK the way it hits the major cities of the world e.g. New York, London, Tokyo. Local stimulus package is not helping a big deal owing to the traditions of Chinese people’s natural tendency to hoard their own money in bad times. Due to the swine flu, tourism is flopping so we are not getting a whole lot of help from that front. Luckily the government is rich and it is dishing out candies via tax reduction and/or waivers. It has caused the new undergraduates and postgraduates a little more headache to land a job that pays reasonably; we are also seeing a lot more over-qualified salespeople in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) retail space. While undergraduate studies remain a necessity for competitiveness, postgraduate education is experiencing a slight surge as per conventional wisdom: in bad financial and economic times, people opt out of the market and refocus on up-skilling.

CareerMee: Do you think Hong Kong could potentially offer better job prospects for class of ’09 MBAs, compared with the US/Europe/Australia?

Anita: It’s really difficult to say, as we think the ability to land a good job has everything to do with luck, timing and networking. Every city poses its advantage and threats. However, from a general perspective and also due to reasons stated in the second question, Hong Kong remains rather attractive for job-seekers from all over the world. The latest census tells us there’s a constant and slightly increasing expat population in HK making this place their home. The people must find working in HK not too unpleasant to make that decision to stay, date, marry and propagate.

Thanks a lot for your time Anita – anyone else working in Hong Kong have anything to add? Questions? Drop a line in the comments.

Top MBA looking for a job? Check out our exclusive job portal here, at CareerMee.com.

Photo courtsey of Flickr user SkySeeker.

Regional Job Market: Mexico

View from the Latin American Tower of the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City

For this week’s regional market post we spoke to Ricardo Dadoo, Stern MBA ’84. Ricardo founded and runs Logistics Dadoo in Mexico City, and is a member of Trace International, a Washington D.C.-based organization that specializes in transparency and ethics compliance training for international commercial agents and consultants.

Ricardo was kind enough to field our questions about the MBA in Mexico, and has some great advice for recent graduates who are having trouble planning their career in light of the recession.

CareerMee: How enmeshed is the MBA in Mexican business culture, compared with the US? Have you noticed any trends?

Ricardo: MBAs are part of the business culture and Mexican nationals with a top ten foreign university MBA, and from the top 3 local schools are very much in demand and are considered highly desirable status symbols. They are also better compensated than other MBA degrees.

There are proportionally less MBA holders in Mexico as in the USA, but it is always interesting to participate in discussions between professionals in both countries as to the real value brought by an MBA versus the practical experience of a top college degree holder. In my opinion an MBA provides a fast track in the corporate world here and in the USA, but its value for an entrepreneur is debatable unless, as in my case, one takes the route of paying dues in the corporate world as a way to gain experience prior to starting one’s first business.

MBAs are much sought-after degrees by college kids in Mexico and the country generates highly competitive candidates that get admitted to top schools the world over. Perhaps this is because, in general, they are put in positions of responsibility at a younger age than their foreign counterparts – partly because the Mexican custom is for students to work while they go to college. So there is an edge in terms of practical experience of several years versus, say, US students.

CareerMee: Can you share any insight on the differences between working in Mexico and the US; cultural differences, work conditions, life style?

Ricardo: Mexico’s business culture varies widely among regions. In general, North Mexico, Monterrey and environs is more formal than south Mexico (including Mexico City). Also, working for a serious multinational is better rated than many local companies, publicly-traded included. MBAs coming back home are faced with several dilemmas as starting salaries are substantially less than for MBA graduates that stay in the USA. Also, ethically speaking, there is great pressure to succumb to just the type of behaviour that the program instilled in you to avoid. Productivity is hampered by excessive regulations, lack of rule of law in settling disputes, collusion between politics/businessmen and bureaucrats that have no prior business experience and can’t relate to your legitimate business problems and arguments.  If you deal effectively with these and many other issues then Mexico is a good place to do business in, as it’s a huge market and quite sophisticated. And let me add, one can do business ethically in Mexico, and many do. That separates prestigious groups from simply successful ones. In many areas, such as logistics, it is world-class – automobile production and others as well.

• Culturally, we tend to over-commit and under-deliver and finally are poor at meeting deadlines and accepting mistakes. We are friendlier than the US and have a rich cultural legacy that is exemplified by our hospitality and warmth in our business relations. We don’t accept to be corrected in public and our pride/honour can make us walk away from opportunities as a result of shallow misunderstandings.
• Our lifestyles are family oriented and security obsessed, we like to both entertain and enjoy eating out.
• Mexico City is the culture and gastronomical capital of Latin America – that is quite a statement, and I’ll back it up any day: we have the finest restaurants, theaters, museums, concerts of all kinds  and we have a liberal culture that is very warm and hospitable. Expats just like it here very much, caveats included.

CareerMee: Can you give us a quick rundown on how the financial crisis has hit Mexico?

Ricardo: The financial crisis hit Mexico in several ways:

1) It lost competitiveness suddenly when major structural reforms were stuck in Congress – not a good follow-up to all the Free Trade Agreements signed

2) Security issues took a toll on certain investment flows

3) It became inward-looking and failed to recognize achievements of countries like India and China as not affecting Mexico

4) No president has a 20 year plan; they stick to their 6-year length of their presidential term so there is little continuity

5) Domestic market grew on credit, not on investment in education and access to a healthy labor market

6) There is an overreliance on the US Market

7) Major areas of the economy are taking a hit: tourism, energy as reserves are diminished, exports, autos, you name it – we are suffering it.

8) Further, we have the lowest growth rates of any major Latin American country, or for that matter of any of the top 15 world economies – in Mexico, GDP will shrink in 2009 by 6-8%.

9) We also have the highest % drop in Direct Foreign Investment Flows in 1st Qtr 2009 among BRIC countries (plus Mexico).

CareerMee: Do you think Mexico could potentially offer better job prospects for class of ’09 MBAs, compared with the US/Europe?

Ricardo: As in all countries, Mexico will always take in a pool of MBAs each year for major corporations in all sectors. As for ‘09 in particular, there are less openings for Mexican graduates and less pay so I would encourage recent Mexican graduates to try and obtain foreign work experience before returning here.

On the flip side, there are relatively few non-Mexican MBA holders that come here in search of jobs, and while supply of jobs is down, I would still encourage them to get their overseas work experience in Mexico, particularly in the tourism, industrial and financial industries where they could then return for a better position in their home countries. This is especially valid if you can find a position in a foreign-based company which has its HQ in your home country. For example a Frenchman with an MBA from a top European or US school could try to find work here with L’Oreal, an American with Starwood or P&G, or a Canadian at ScotiaBank.  All I know is that top executives of companies similar to those are assured a top slot at HQ after excelling at their job in Mexico. Sometimes even the CEO job itself for Mexico provides an excellent training ground, and a microcosm of how a MNC functions worldwide – from the sophistication of top-level finance, to how to deal with a complex supply chain, to how to protect yourself, your family and your employees from security mishaps.

Foreign-national MBAs need to be sponsored by a company whether a local or a foreign-based MNC. It’s not difficult; it just has to comply with work visa bureaucracy, and is very similar to USA’s immigration rules.

Thanks a lot for the great insight and advice, Ricardo! Readers – have you considered heading to Mexico for work? Any questions you’d like to ask Ricardo?  Let us know in the comments or you can contact him directly “rdadoo/at/logisticsdadoo/dot/com”.

Pic courtesy of flickr user tinou bao

Regional MBA Job Markets: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Lebanon (Part 2)

Our interview with Fadi Abou-Arbid, Wharton ’03 MBA and Co-President of the Wharton Middle East Alumni Club Association, continues. . . .

South view of Cairo, Egypt with the Nile River running through the city.

We’re following up today with PART 2 of our interview with Fadi Abou-Arbid, Wharton ’03 MBA and Co-President of the Wharton Middle East Alumni Club Association. Yesterday we spoke about the place of  an MBA degree in Middle Eastern business culture and some cultural differences you’d find working in the region. Check out PART 1 of the article here and catch up on the action.

Now, back to the good stuff.

CareerMee: So, depending on where you are in the Middle East, your business opportunities and daily life will be really different?

Fadi: Exactly. Grads are typically attracted to Dubai. There was a huge, quick inflow of business opportunities there, and a pretty comfortable life as well. 80% of Dubai’s population is expats, so there’s less of a culture shock. But, because of this, the opportunities were more exposed as well. The outflow of jobs is now happening fast, albeit maybe not as fast as the inflow did. Now in Dubai, while opportunities still exist, you see more people trying to hold on to their jobs, salaries are being cut and the financial crisis did hit the city.

In Saudi Arabia, it’s been more stable. It’s a much larger population – over 25 million – so there are plenty of opportunities. It’s harder to live in, but much more secure. MBAs not native to the region will find it more challenging to adjust to life there, but if they are able to adjust, they will be rewarded. Egypt is really a lot like Saudi Arabia in terms of depth of the economy but more easy for westerners to adjust, similarly to the UAE.

Lebanon, on the other hand, has the highest Middle Eastern population to have MBAs. They are very mobile – they speak the language and can go anywhere. It’s a much smaller  country – just under 4 million – so it’s a harder market to crack into for those reasons. It’s a great place to work, though, and is very liberal for the region. But, if you don’t have the have a family business, and except for the banking sector, it’s really hard to enter into the market.

In certain instances, you need to possess Arabic to do well. Not really in Dubai, and to an extent in Egypt, but you definitely need the language skills in Saudi Arabia and it gives you a certain edge no matter where you are in the Middle East. Essentially, there are two types of MBAs here – native Arabic speakers who went abroad for their education and work experience and are now returning home, or MBAs from the USA or Western Europe who are here for a year or two, and this second type is most likely to work in Dubai. Even if you have the linguistic skills, I think natives have a bit of an edge, just because it’s perceived they’ll stay for the long run. It’s not institutionalized or anything, but it makes sense, in a way – you want to bet on the horse that’ll be there for the whole race.

CareerMee: So, with all of that being said, do you think that, assuming they have the language skills, ’09 MBAs have better job market prospects in the Middle East than they do in the States/Western Europe?

Cairo, Egypt blurs the line between the ancient and modern.

Fadi: Yes and no. It’s still a growth area; it’s still an emerging market. The economy is doing well, but again, you can’t lump all the countries into one bucket. So, you have to choose your Middle Eastern country. And then you have to choose your sector. There are a lot of different factors at play. You need a different skill set here, as well. You need to be very culturally savvy, and the international standard is that you’ve lived in the West for a few years.

Again, it’s a growing, emerging market. But it’s also a bit of an incestuous business network in here. Lots of family businesses, and you’d need certain access points; you’d need to have connections and a closeness to the business market to really make big gains here. I might say it’s more of a meritocracy maybe in the West, but networking is important globally. But here, even if you’re an investment banker from London with a top MBA who worked at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, you can’t just jump into the field here. The commitment to the region is visible and it does make a difference. It’s similar to MBAs who head to Hong Kong for a year or two. If you don’t plan on really making a commitment to the region, you can’t really make your mark.

Wonderful – let’s thank Fadi for sharing his experience in this fascinating and growing regional MBA job market. Do you work in an regional market you’d like profiled? Have a questions you’d like us to ask our next interviewee? Let us know in our comment section! (Just click the post title and scroll down.)

Photos courtesy Flickr user Bakar_88.

Are you an MBA grad from a top school? Check out our exclusive MBA Job Portal here at CareerMee.com.

Regional MBA Jobs: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Lebanon

GREAT Interview with Fadi Abou-Arbid, Wharton ’03 MBA and Co-President of the Wharton Middle East Alumni Club Association

Al Maa'thar Street, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Earlier this month, prompted by the violence and uprising in Iran, we posted a profile on the emerging MBA market in the Middle East. After some comments and more feedback, we realized our profile had really only skimmed the surface, and a much more in-depth, well-researched profile was needed to do justice to this relevant, up-and-coming sector of the world market.

So, we got Fadi Abou-Arbid on the phone for an interview to give us a first-hand, up close and personal account of MBA life in the Middle East. Fadi, a Wharton ’03 graduate and native of the region, is co-President and co-founder of the Wharton Middle East Alumni Club Association, Member of the Global Alumni Board of the Wharton School, and has been working in Saudi Arabia for more than 5 years. CareerMee asked the questions and now we bring you the answers. (Got any questions you’d like us to ask on our next interview? Let us know in the comment section below!)

CareerMee: Thanks for speaking with us today.  First off, what is the MBA culture like in the Middle East? Is it as large a part of the business world as you might find in the United States or in Western Europe?

Fadi: Well, yes and no. In certain business circles, it is highly regarded and rewarded. But then, there’s also been an inflation of MBA titles, from 2^nd and 3^rd tier universities that really water down the market. They’re becoming more and more meaningless because the differences in the grade of education aren’t immediately apparent. Here, for example, many people are trying to get their CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst ) qualification. In the US, you’d rarely find a Columbia MBA going for a CFA because their MBA would be enough of a qualification of their strong financial background.

But yes, the culture is beginning to come together.We just had a Wharton Global Alumni forum here, attracting more than 600 participants from Wharton, global leaders, ministers, and central banks governors. You’re starting to see more clubs pop up from all the big schools – Wharton, INSEAD, Stanford. And the companies that are coming here are still recruiting to their highest standards. McKinsey, Booz [Allen & Hamilton] – they’re still looking for the top MBAs, just with the language skills. All of this is helping to foster the culture here, although it’s not as strong or acute as it is in the States or Europe.

CareerMee: So, with top MBAs headed to the region, can you give us a bit of information on the differences between working in the US and working in the Middle East; cultural differences, work conditions, quality of life, etc?

Fadi Abou-Arbid, Co-President and Co-Founder of the Wharton Middle East Alumni Club Association

Fadi: Well, first of all, I must say that the Middle East can’t all be lumped together.  People typically consider the Middle East to be homogeneous, like the United States.  While, yes, there are some differences between lifestyle in California and the East Coast,  for the most part, the education life and working life is really similar across the continent. But working in Lebanon is very different than working in Egypt. Sure, we all share some common bonds – such as the language and common cultural values – but there are some very substantial differences. Working in Saudi Arabia is more restrictive for an international woman, for example. There is no driving, no mixed offices, etc.

But then Dubai is very different and Lebanon is even more liberal. Dubai is a middle ground – very cosmopolitan and international, and the most open to MBA culture in that context, with all the international companies there, all the local, regional and international investment banks operating in the DIFC, the consulting firms, and the local and global conglomerates that made out of the UAE their regional headquarters.

CareerMee: So, what. . . . .

. . . wait, there’s more! This interview got so juicy, it’s spilled on to too many pages for today – but don’t worry, as we’ll be bringing you the second-half of Fadi’s interview tomorrow.  He’ll be taking about the business markets in specific Middle Eastern countries, as well as the job prospects for recent grads and career-crossovers. But click here to leave a comment and let us know what you think or to leave a question for Fadi.

Are you an MBA grad from a top business school? Check out our MBA job portal at CareerMee.