STUDENT IMPACT STORY
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CDO Helps Student Find Path to Dream Job
ertain he wanted a career in consulting, Jack Zimmerman, MM ’21, knew where his Point B was. He just wasn’t sure how to get there from Point A — or, for that matter, the exact location of his Point A.
a Ross student, as Josh reviewed what steps Jack should be taking to be as competitive as possible in consulting upon beginning classes. “Consulting is such an aggressive recruiting timeline,” Jack said. “Josh did an amazing job of giving me the resources I needed before officially being a student at the university.”
That’s where the Career Development Office (CDO) at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business entered the picture for the student from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Jack decided to pursue a Master of Management degree from U-M after earning a B.S. in chemical and biological engineering at the University of Alabama. Upon graduating in Tuscaloosa, he realized his heart wasn’t in a career in engineering.
Josh said that Jack made an immediate impression. “Right from the first appointment Jack was clear about what he wanted,” Josh said. “He was coming from a chemical engineering background, had a co-op in a pharmaceutical space, and wanted to find a career in consulting. During this meeting I realized two things: first, he was an incredibly talented student who was, rightly, confident in his own abilities; and second, he recognized that by listening to others, and utilizing all the resources before him, he could better position himself for success.
On a trip overseas, the profound capabilities of business innovation struck Jack, ultimately causing him to consider a different career path. While in India, he observed a business that utilized women’s Self-Help Groups (SHG) to install and run clean water pumps in rural communities. For Jack, it was a revelation to realize that improving the well-being of people could be ethically linked to financial incentives for the women of the SHG.
“Every time Jack and I met, he came with incredibly insightful questions, hoping to make the most of our time,” Josh continued. “He was attentive to the feedback I offered, internalizing it and using that found knowledge to help make himself stand out. That's what will lead to Jack's future success: a combination of trust in his own abilities, coupled with an understanding of the value of the experiences of those around him.”
“Career services is by far one of the best parts Jack’s peer coaches leveraged their experience “After studying abroad in India investigating reverse innovation, I saw how an innovative of the Master of Management (MM) program,” in case interviews to help him be confident product can positively impact the lives of in these pressure-filled scenarios where firms Jack said. “In a one-year program, you don’t millions of people,” he said. “I realized that an test the prospective employee’s ability to think have a lot of time to figure out what you want analytically to solve problems. “Coming from ethical business model designed to enable to do, and then actually go and recruit for what a background with virtually no experience in people to enhance their lives by providing a fundamental need, solving a problem of theirs, you want to do and be successful in it, while also casing whatsoever, being able to run cases with or even just improving productivity can leverage being successful in classes. I thought the Career individuals who were extremely experienced as a tremendous positive impact on the world. A Services aspect was done exceptionally well for well as knowledgeable was absolutely critical in small positive impact on the lives of millions getting me from not being able to walk to being truly results in an astronomical macro impact. the MM program.” able to sprint,” Jack said. Business is an incredibly scalable tool that should be used to realize the difference I want to see.” For Jack, the peer coaching aspect of CDO resulted in more than a trusted advisor. He also got a friend, coworker, and roommate out of it. Michigan Ross — with its mission of building a better world through Peer coach Joel Revo, BBA ’21, was also hired as a strategy analyst at business — was the perfect fit. Deloitte, and the two decided to move in together in Detroit. Jack said the Student Success Initiative proved to play a pivotal role CDO staff at Michigan Ross ultimately helped Jack on his journey to his in his Michigan Ross experience. “Point B” — he is now a strategy analyst for Deloitte in the company’s Detroit office. For Jack, a central figure in helping him find success was “I would not have gotten the job that I did if it wasn’t for all of the Josh Milligan, associate director of career coaching for the CDO. resources of the Career Development Office — all of the wonderful staff and peer coaches,” Jack said. “Because of that, by definition, it has “Josh was an amazing person to go to for making sure I was going in fundamentally changed my life. This was my dream job.” the direction I needed to go, as well as checking in to make sure I had everything I needed,” Jack said. “He was the strategy architect for my The career-development services Jack received were made possible career search, while the peer coaches were fantastic for tactical skillin large part by the Michael Gross Student Success Fund, established building. by Michael Gross, BBA ‘83, and the Career Services Student Success Fund, established by Bryan Marsal, BBA ’73, MBA ’75. These funds Jack went “all in” on his coaching opportunities — between sessions were created with the goal of providing students with the resources with Josh and peer coaches, he logged more than 30 appointments over needed to plan and secure successful careers upon graduating from the academic year. In truth, the work began before Jack was officially Ross.