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Major Hollywood Talent Agency as pre-MBA Work Experience

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Major Hollywood Talent Agency as pre-MBA Work Experience

by dbsav » Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:35 am
BTG Community,

I was wondering how admissions committees weigh an assistant job at a major talent agency (one of the top two) as pre-MBA work experience. I graduated from the Michigan in 2007 (BA: 3.3 GPA [upward trend from 3.0 freshmen year to 3.5 both semesters senior year] GMAT: 730). I have since worked at one of the largest talent agencies as an assistant in the Digital Media department.

For those not in entertainment: These assistant jobs are HIGHLY sought after and my role is viewed as one of the top positions someone can have in the entertainment industry at my age. It is viewed by many as a form of real-life graduate school for the entertainment industry. Many of my peers at work had to get their JD or MBA in order to just get an assistant job.

I am planning on applying to MBA programs in the fall (as part of my career path to becoming... let's say... CEO of Viacom) and was wondering..

1) How do MBA programs generally view talent agency assistant jobs as pre-MBA work experience?

2) What are my shots at the top MBA programs? NYU Stern specialization in EMT (Entertainment, Media and Technology) partnered with finance would be ideal for me.

Thank you in advance!
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by paulsbodine » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:14 pm
dbsav,

Top programs would very much value your ability to gain such a position and the distinctiveness of your industry focus would be a huge asset for you, greatly helped by your strong GMAT score. To the extent that your current position does not give you significant opportunities to lead people, you would hopefully be able to point to extracurricular involvements that show your leadership potential (which B-schools care alot about). But by the looks of it, you should be able to aim high, and would more than likely be competitive at Stern. Feel free to send my your resume for a closer look.

--Paul
Paul Bodine
Author, "Great Applications for Business School," "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance," "Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation"
https://www.paulsbodine.com/
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by dbsav » Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:52 am
Thanks a lot Paul. I really appreciate your input.
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by dbsav » Fri Apr 22, 2011 11:24 am
Following up on my inquiry regarding chances at NYU Stern...I am looking for some expert insight about my career opportunities post-MBA. I am very interested in transitioning into consulting, preferably in the media and entertainment sector given my background. Would this switch be possible?

I am also curious about switching careers into finance...is this not realistic given my niche background?

My ultimate career goal is to be making big-picture media/entertainment/technology industry decisions in some capacity.

I apologize for vagueness, just looking for any advice I can get.
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by MBAApply » Thu Apr 28, 2011 11:08 pm
I worked with a guy years back who was @ William Morris (pre-Endeavor merger) prior to going to Stanford b-school.

If you worked at a major agency (WME, CAA, ICM, UTA, Gersh, Paradigm) the adcoms at all the top schools will certainly value it, and perhaps even more than the traditional blue chip pre-MBA jobs at McKinsey Bain, BCG, Goldman, etc. because if it's coupled a blue chip undergrad (Ivy/equivalent or a top lib arts college), you're the kind of profile they love to highlight on their websites, brochures, and so forth as evidence of their ability to bring in MBA students from diverse backgrounds (because they get tons of engineers, bankers and consultants as it is).

Entertainment as a whole is highly coveted amongst top b-schools. And at Stern, chances are the adcom reading your app may have had submitted a manuscript and query letter (or three) to various agencies for their own work at some point in their lives :-)
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