The MBA recruiting process can be a challenging and difficult process for students, employers, and MBA programs. Sarah Rumbaugh (Darden, ’15) started her company, Relish MBA to fix that, and she talks to us about Relish MBA and our most recent podcast. In this podcast, we’ll cover:
- The MBA recruiting process, and the challenges within it
- Relish MBA, and how it got started
- How she’s built Relish MBA in business school
- Advice for MBA students on how to navigate the recruiting process
iTunes Link:Link
Direct Download: Link
Show Notes
1:02 – Sarah talks about her work background
1:49 – Sarah talks about why she chose to go to Darden
2:47 – Sarah talks about Relish MBA
4:50 – Sarah talks about the MBA recruiting process
6:40 – Sarah discusses some of the challenges MBA students face in the recruiting process
9:08 – Sarah talks about some of the challenges Career Centers and employers face
12:27 – Sarah talks about what Relish MBA does
15:45 – Sarah talks about the progress they’ve made at Relish MBA
18:08 – Sarah talks about the product roadmap and areas key areas of focus
19:33 – Sarah talks about the experience building a startup while in business school
21:51 – Sarah talks about the challenges of launching a startup
23:45 – Sarah talks about the process for raising capital for Relish MBA
27:40 – Sara gives advice for incoming MBA’s
29:38 – Sarah gives advice for people thinking about starting a business in business school
Quotes
On founding Relish MBA: “What I didn’t know that was I would start a company related to business school. Within the first two weeks at Darden, I was immersed in the MBA recruiting process, and really intrigued from the business standpoint. MBA recruiting is more of a lengthily marketing and sales process than a traditional recruiting process, and it needed the tools and resources that sales professionals relied upon.”
On the Recruiting Timeline: “There’s about an 8 month courtship process for MBA students, and it begins even before they start business school.”
On the challenges of recruiting: “You will get a good job. The biggest pain points are not landing a well-paying job, the pain points are how you get that job, and how much time it takes up, and if that job is right for you.”
On the time commitment of recruiting: “Once you get to campus, the recruiting process takes up as much time as the academic process.”
On what she learned trying to raise capital: “Investors want to know you and see you develop over a period of time. An investor never says no, a no is this looks great, keep in touch. They have no idea if you’re going to be the next Instagram four months from now. It’s hard to get them to say yes at a timeline that you want.”
Enjoyed listening to this. Thanks!