Marco Vecchiato is a graduate student at EDHEC Business School in France, where he is completing his Master in Management (MiM). We spoke to him about his experience in the program, the incredible value of its alumni network, and how EDHEC boosted his career development.
For any master’s program, career prospects are a huge consideration for prospective students. What are possible career paths after this program? What is the average salary of this program’s graduates?
Luckily, EDHEC has a “fantastic career center,” Marco boasts. “They have awesome people that can help you make your CV better and understand why a cover letter has to be in a certain way for a certain kind of job – because if you’re applying for a marketing position, it’s totally different than a consulting position; you need to use a different voice and structure.” (11:00)
Personal branding is an ongoing process where you establish a professional image, leaving an impression on others about who you are, what you can do, and why they should want to work with you. Regardless of your age or professional stage, someone is screening you online. According to CareerBuilder, more than half of employers won’t hire potential candidates without some sort of online presence.
“EDHEC can operationally support you in making yourself more recognizable in front of the recruiter helping you to create a certain personal brand with your CV and cover letter and also helping you to improve your LinkedIn profile and how you’re standing on social media,” Marco says. (11:40)
Once you’ve established your personal brand, it’s time to connect with potential employers! At EDHEC Business School, this couldn’t be easier.
“The biggest value is the network,” says Marco. “They have connections inside various companies all over the world. I’m talking about Singapore, China, the US, France, Amsterdam… The EDHEC network is global. I had opportunities to go to Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, the US, and many countries in Europe – it’s fantastic!” (12:04)
At EDHEC, “you have a huge network of former and current students that are so willing to help you get the best internship because they know that if you are studying at EDHEC, it means you have the knowledge and the skills and you’re prepared to do an internship.”
Marco tells MASTERGRADSCHOOLS, “I thought I was very mature and very responsible from a young age but studying abroad and living with people from different countries that have totally different experiences from yours allows you to understand what maturity really means.” (13:23)
Living with people of different ages, nationalities, and stages in their careers is not only an eye-opening, fun experience, but it also helps you evolve as a person. As Marco says, “It allows you to understand what the world outside can be and, at the same time, push you to improve your leadership skills to become a better leader in the future.”
In terms of his own growth and development, Marco served as the Project Manager and Co-Organizer of the EDHEC’s TedX event, which involved managing a team of more than 20 people from around the world. With an event that featured speakers such as the former Managing Director of BCG France and the Vice President of L’Oréal, the pressure was high.
“You understand that the world is not just school,” Marco says. “You definitely need to change your habits to change the way you think and behave to better integrate yourself into society. It’s that last step to jump into adulthood at 120%.”
