Meet AIU Students and Alumni

Meet Vickie Harrison
MBA in Human Resource Management

Her New Degree Helped Her Get the Job

Vickie Harrison hadn't even graduated with her MBA from American InterContinental University before she used it to land a new job as a human resources manager responsible for an office of 150 people. "The fact I was already well on my way to an MBA definitely helped me to get the job."

But her MBA didn't just help her land the job. Having now been in the position for several months, Vickie sees her master's degree is helping her excel at the job. "Every professor who taught me at AIU had real-world experience in the industry they were teaching about. My economics professor was an economist; my marketing professors had worked in marketing; my human resources professors had been HR managers and directors. Hearing about the problems they had had in industry has given me a head's up on some of the things I might expect and an idea of how to deal with them."

Vickie was even able to take advantage of her professors' industry experience while still in class. "I was in the middle of a hiring frenzy at my old job while I was taking a human resources class. I wanted to make sure I wasn't being discriminatory in my hiring practices, though, so I presented my problem to the class. Everyone, including the professor, gave me ideas on how to handle it. I took the suggestions back to work and the next day came up with a solution."

In addition to managing the human resources needs of the150 people who already work for her company, Vickie is responsible for hiring new members to join her company's team. "When I see a résumé for someone who has a degree, I know that they are dedicated and are able to work towards difficult goals in their life. And when I see someone who has gotten their degree while continuing to work full time, that tells me even more. Having done just that myself, I know how difficult it is. I know how much they had to sacrifice to get it, and that tells me getting it was very, very important to them. A degree can tell employers so much."

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