The Career Center has seen an increase in demand for graduates in HR roles; Amazon and Johnson & Johnson are among the companies to hire HEC Paris MBAs
Conrado Paiva grew up in Recife, a city in the northeast of Brazil known for the best Carnival in the world. Brazil was his home, and he stayed there for college during which he worked at a local Coca-Cola bottler, dreaming of one day completing an MBA.His career progressed at Coca-Cola—he occupied a number of financial roles over nearly ten years—and he moved around various cities in Brazil. He says he kept postponing the dream, though, until one day he found himself at a crossroads.
Conrado (pictured below, right) had moved into his first HR role at Coca-Cola, when along came a job offer from a private equity fund. He was at a career crossroads, and it became clear that the road ahead was leading to an MBA at .
He is now part of the Johnson & Johnson Human Resources Leadership Development Program, a two-year rotational program that enables recently graduated MBAs to gain a full immersion in the world of HR.
“The program’s objective is to foster future leaders who will fuel the HR senior leadership pipeline of J&J, and shape the future of work for our company,” he explains.
Conrado fits a trend noticed by the Career Center at HEC Paris—an increasing demand for graduates in HR roles, and more companies designing HR development programs for MBAs.
Indeed, it was the Career Center that suggested Conrado reconsider HR while he was on the MBA. When he was unsure of his path, his career counsellor asked him right away, ‘What are your feelings about coming back to HR?’
“I realized that I still had a lot to learn in the field, and that I could have a great value proposition—finance background, HR experience, and soon a top-notch MBA,” he says.
“The moments that mattered the most for me as a manager were related to the development of my team: coaching individuals to achieve their goals and become their best self.”
The HEC Paris MBA, Conrado explains, was instrumental in preparing him for the J&J program, helping him develop the learning agility needed to succeed, alongside the skills to find and quickly digest information from a certain industry or market.
“J&J has a relationship-based culture,” he adds, “which is very similar to the HEC Paris environment. The small, diverse, and collaborative cohort of the school has pushed me to build strong connector skills, which I believe are essential for an HR leader.”
MBAs are looking at HR more and more as a potential career path, explains Caroline MacDonald (pictured below, right), international employer engagement manager at HEC Paris.
“The roles are becoming much more creative. There’s a need for innovators, people with business skills who can come in and use their people skills,” she says. “You still need people dealing with people […] to make things happen in these large companies.”
As well as Johnson & Johnson, Caroline confirms the HEC Paris MBA graduates have recently also started HR careers at Amazon, American Express, and other companies.
“It’s not a massive wave, but it’s a new area of opportunity for somebody who has come from finance or another industry background and thinks, ‘I want to have a greater impact on people’,” she says.
Clodimir Bogaert (pictured below right), an graduate from 2016 who works as the HR business partner of the advisory arm of KPMG Singapore, is at the forefront of the changing face of HR.
“HR is getting more and more relevant to companies,” he says. “I think an overarching reason is the fact that in today’s context, being innovative is key to differentiating from your competitors in the market.”
For Clodimir, disrupting the market with innovative products or services will not depend only on your top six C-Suite executives.
It is going to be your front-line managers, who interact every day with customers, that understand best the future needs of their clients. To create an environment that fosters innovation and attracts/keeps your best talent onboard, you need a strong HR function aligned with the company’s strategy.
The MBA plays an integral role in that. “Through an MBA you can understand better what the needs of a business are,” Clodimir explains. “HR needs to become more and more proactive in matching the right roles with the right employees. If you don’t understand the business, you won’t be able to match well.
“Prior to my MBA at I had a relatively good understanding of HR, but not an understanding of how the other parts of a firm are related to each other. It helped me gain an understanding of the overall strategy and the HR strategy within.”
That understanding will only become more important as technology continues to push companies to adapt to the challenges posed by automation and artificial intelligence.
“The workforce is changing at a rapid pace […] and the higher leadership positions will need a broad understanding of how all the elements come together,” asserts Clodimir.
“In HR, you need to be able to look into the future and know what skills will be most in demand, and link that to recruitment, learning and development, talent management, and predict how all of that will come together.”
Student Reviews
Cultural experience
I have met the most competent and diverse batch in this school. These people not only thrive on their own but also makes sure that you are doing it with them. The professors will take your had and walk you through all milestones and make sure you are not left behind. I have found their extracurriculars extremely engaging. There was always a room to have social life after academic life. The only hindrance is the location of the school, it is slightly outside city and living in city is expensive.
Internationality and diversity of opportunities
About my programme I would say it is very international and flexible: we have the opportunity to choose exactly the courses we want. But at the same time, the frame of the campus is crucial in students' life and enable us to create friendships.
Great selection of people
While HEC's MBA is highly selective, I really enjoy the type of people HEC's selects to make sure everybody gets the best out of their MBA experience and networking opportunities. Not only it's an incredibly diverse pool of people (~60 nationalities) but most importantly they make sure to let in friendly empathic and curious people.
Best in France for Grande ecole
A prestigious business school. Languages are important. It is better to have a scientific baccalaureate with excellent grades in high school and good assessments.
The courses are well designed as per the latest trends and practicality of learning in stressed upon. Overall, a very good experience.
Diversity and quality of fellow students
Very international and interesting place to be and opens a lot of opportunities, however the administration is very french and facilities are subpar (gym, classrooms) meaning the academic affairs is pretty much useless and lastly we are graded on a curve which can create a toxic environment because of the competition. With that being said the pros outweighs the cons by far.
The quality of the teachers, the campus, the clubs
The school is very international indeed, we have courses with international students and share things with them within the extra academic life (in the social clubs especially). We have great career prospects if we prepare ourselves well - however, the global curriculum is still very finance-oriented, which is a pity for other interesting domains of the company world, which does not rely on finance only. The social clubs are good practice for the management and for now, are quite independent.
HEC Paris awaits you
HEC Paris is really a nice place to do a master's in business. Many classes are useful and interesting (corporate finance, financial accounting, contract law…), some are less - but the curriculum is to be reviewed in the year to come. Regarding the student life, it is incredible, with about 130 clubs, lots of great parties with even greater people. The Jouy campus offers a lot of opportunities to do sports, and you can breathe fresh air every day. HEC also helps a great deal to find an internship or a job.
A dream institute
Enrolling in the HEC MBA was by far the best decision I made for myself. The people and faculty are great, with lots of opportunities to meet people and expand your horizons. Very nice campus where I have had some good running sessions.
The alumni network is superb and very helpful. It also has a good support system for entrepreneurs. Would definitely recommend it!
Good choice for a career boost
The classes were extremely practical and relevant to the current challenges that businesses are facing. You have access to a wide range of professionals and good career prospects once you leave the university.
Cultural experience
I have met the most competent and diverse batch in this school. These people not only thrive on their own but also makes sure that you are doing it with them. The professors will take your had and walk you through all milestones and make sure you are not left behind. I have found their extracurriculars extremely engaging. There was always a room to have social life after academic life. The only hindrance is the location of the school, it is slightly outside city and living in city is expensive.
Internationality and diversity of opportunities
About my programme I would say it is very international and flexible: we have the opportunity to choose exactly the courses we want. But at the same time, the frame of the campus is crucial in students' life and enable us to create friendships.
Great selection of people
While HEC's MBA is highly selective, I really enjoy the type of people HEC's selects to make sure everybody gets the best out of their MBA experience and networking opportunities. Not only it's an incredibly diverse pool of people (~60 nationalities) but most importantly they make sure to let in friendly empathic and curious people.
Best in France for Grande ecole
A prestigious business school. Languages are important. It is better to have a scientific baccalaureate with excellent grades in high school and good assessments.
The courses are well designed as per the latest trends and practicality of learning in stressed upon. Overall, a very good experience.
Diversity and quality of fellow students
Very international and interesting place to be and opens a lot of opportunities, however the administration is very french and facilities are subpar (gym, classrooms) meaning the academic affairs is pretty much useless and lastly we are graded on a curve which can create a toxic environment because of the competition. With that being said the pros outweighs the cons by far.
The quality of the teachers, the campus, the clubs
The school is very international indeed, we have courses with international students and share things with them within the extra academic life (in the social clubs especially). We have great career prospects if we prepare ourselves well - however, the global curriculum is still very finance-oriented, which is a pity for other interesting domains of the company world, which does not rely on finance only. The social clubs are good practice for the management and for now, are quite independent.
HEC Paris awaits you
HEC Paris is really a nice place to do a master's in business. Many classes are useful and interesting (corporate finance, financial accounting, contract law…), some are less - but the curriculum is to be reviewed in the year to come. Regarding the student life, it is incredible, with about 130 clubs, lots of great parties with even greater people. The Jouy campus offers a lot of opportunities to do sports, and you can breathe fresh air every day. HEC also helps a great deal to find an internship or a job.
A dream institute
Enrolling in the HEC MBA was by far the best decision I made for myself. The people and faculty are great, with lots of opportunities to meet people and expand your horizons. Very nice campus where I have had some good running sessions.
The alumni network is superb and very helpful. It also has a good support system for entrepreneurs. Would definitely recommend it!
Good choice for a career boost
The classes were extremely practical and relevant to the current challenges that businesses are facing. You have access to a wide range of professionals and good career prospects once you leave the university.
Diverse
HEC, as an academic institution, serves as a launching pad for students to excel in their pursuits and careers. The diversity among students and professors is truly remarkable. The chance to attend seminars across five major continents is unparalleled. The exposure and relationships it fosters are invaluable.
Super diverse
It's a super diverse and fascinating environment with tons of chances, but the management is very French, and the facilities like the gym and classrooms are not great. This makes the academic side quite ineffective. Plus, we're graded on a curve, leading to a competitive and sometimes toxic atmosphere. Despite all that, the benefits definitely overshadow the drawbacks.
Surreal academic experience
What stood out to me about HEC was the direction and insight it offered on coding approaches. Prior to joining the program, I attempted self-learning, but I felt disoriented and lacked a starting point.HEC enabled me to grasp the basics of programming and provided support when I encountered obstacles. Without that guidance, I doubt I would have achieved the progress I have made to date.
Good security
HEC boasts a dedicated team of security personnel who undergo rigorous training to ensure the perpetual maintenance of tranquility and orderliness within the institution. Their unwavering efforts are directed towards fostering a sense of security among the student body, thereby enabling them to channel their energies predominantly towards their academic pursuits.
Innovative teaching method
I am thoroughly enjoying my time at HEC, from the innovative teaching methods to the welcoming campus environment, which is particularly supportive of international students. The extracurricular opportunities, such as sports and associations, are incredibly valuable. Additionally, the career services offered are exceptional. Overall, I find my experience at HEC to be truly enriching.
mim
HEC Paris has been a transformative experience for me. The caliber of the faculty, the diversity of the student body, and the global network it offers are unmatched. The curriculum is highly flexible, allowing students to tailor their learning experience to their career goals, and the focus on real-world application through case studies and consulting projects provides invaluable hands-on experience. The campus itself is beautiful, and the opportunities to engage with leading companies through internships, competitions, and networking events have been incredible. HEC truly prepares you to be a leader in today's complex business world. I couldn’t have asked for a better program to propel my career forward.
Unwavering enthusiasm
Here's the first paragraph:
I embarked on a journey to Paris, where HEC University welcomed me with open arms. As I stepped onto its prestigious campus, I was captivated by the infectious energy and innovative spirit that filled the air. The passionate faculty, industry experts, and fellow visionaries from around the globe shared their knowledge with unwavering enthusiasm."
Exceptional Experience
HEC offers an exceptional experience that I highly recommend. The small-town setting allows for a unique blend of academic rigor and community engagement. The peaceful campus and close-knit student body create a warm environment. Proactive engagement with professors yields valuable guidance. Friendships may blossom slowly, but persistence pays off. The city's beauty, scenic views, and diverse eateries near campus enrich the experience. University dining may not impress, but it's decent.
