Standing out in the US job market as an American with a foreign MBA

THE TURNING POINT OF TIFFANY HOLLINS

When Las Vegas native Tiffany Hollins decided to get her MBA, her game plan was to work abroad. She was looking for a global MBA experience that would give her an edge towards achieving her professional goal, and was skeptical that she could get this international experience at an MBA program in the United States.
“Bocconi was definitely a turning point,” she says by phone from Las Vegas. “In any job interview I’ve had in the US, they are blown away by the idea of leaving the US to go to school, or leaving the US to live in general. I am seen as a risk taker and someone who is not afraid to step out of the box and try new things.”
Tiffany completed her MBA at Bocconi in 2015, with a focus on marketing and innovation, after an 11-year period following her undergrad degree spent working in various marketing roles in the entertainment and leisure industry. Her MBA at Bocconi was a game changer in preparing her “to think like a leader and manager instead of an employee,” she says.

She did her MBA internship at the Milan-based international branded beverages conglomerate Campari Group in January 2016, and followed that up with a two-year stint at Banca Generali in Milan – first as a freelancer and then on contract. When she decided to go back to the United States in 2020, she was immediately snapped up by Ultimate Fighting Championship, where she held the position of Global Partnerships Activation Manager from March 2020 until the start of 2022.
“When I was hired my boss liked that I had experience abroad and had worked with other clients, and from living and working abroad I was able to deal with different types of people with all backgrounds,” says Tiffany.

Bocconi’s position as one of the top schools in Europe made it a clear choice, she says. Being able to make a company visit to a Swiss firm or go to Berlin for the weekend “was something you cannot pull off so easily in an American MBA program,” she points out.
Most of the time, it is foreign students that flock to the US for their advanced degree and not the other way around. Tiffany’s international experience has made her stand out, and has opened doors.
“A lot of people see me in a different light,” she says. “It made them see I was not afraid to be on my own. And this is something a lot of companies are looking for this, especially during Covid times. Being able to work alone. I think they connect that.”

by Jennifer Clark