From MSBA to Global Analyst at Nike: A Current Student’s Job-Search Journey

A Double Dawg 

The Foster School of Business, UW has been the second home for Delin Shen for the last five years. After completing his undergraduate degree in Economics, he decided to continue with Foster and applied for the MSBA program to add technical and practical skills to his existing knowledge base.

As he practiced his learnings from his undergrad in the Finance industry, Delin found himself taking on data analysis projects, which turned into a field of interest. He soon realized that self-learning concepts in data analytics would not be enough and that is when he came across the Foster MSBA program.  

Interest Meets Career 

Delin has been busy his last quarter with us as he is juggling the capstone project and a full-time position with Nike. In the Global Post Purchase Data Analyst role, he uses data to understand customer friction points in their post-purchase journey.  

“I’m gaining knowledge of how the business works while also tapping into the marketing arena,” shared Delin. “It fits well into my professional trajectory so far, especially with the skillset I’ve developed at Foster.” 

Data analysis and data visualization are also some skills he is exploring at his job. 

A Strategic Job Search 

Delin had been on the job search market for a few months while he took support from Foster Career Services (FCS) and other events at Foster. In the first quarter, he enrolled in the career course offered by FCS, where he learned LinkedIn navigation capabilities and the art of promoting oneself on the platform. The specialized summer course introduces students to the key skills needed to be successful in their job search and walks students through the job search process, including resumes, cover letters, networking, interviewing, and more. 

“I met with the FCS career coaches several times during my time here and those meetings were extremely valuable as they helped me develop my resume from scratch,” he said. 

He spent a lot of time on LinkedIn applying for jobs, reaching out to recruiters, alumni, and industry professionals to gain insights into what employers were looking for in candidates. “I asked a lot of questions and applied to a lot of jobs,” recalled Delin. His current job was also one he came across on LinkedIn. 

A tactic he found particularly beneficial during this process was keeping track of all his job applications on Microsoft Excel. “It’s such a small thing but trust me it makes a world of a difference in the long run,” said Delin.  

The mock interviews were another Foster resource that Delin found to be valuable to practice for an important part of job searching. He mentioned he used online tools to record his interview responses, which he would then re-watch to explore areas of improvement.  

He reminisced about the sessions, which were great training on the overall interview process, from researching the organization and its people to looking beyond the given job description. 

“As an international student, I am grateful for the nature of this program that allows me to take on a full-time job without interrupting my in-class learnings,” shared Delin. “I am able to gain practical experience to add to my resume before graduating!” 

Learn more about the ways Foster MSBA can support your career goals like Delin.