Merryn Roberts-Huntley

Job Title: Faculty member at UO Sports Product Management, Career Coach
Major: MBA Graduate
Graduated: 2006

Part of the Daily Emerald "Alumni Take Flight" series

Why did you choose to pursue your MBA at the UO?
I was working in the sports world after completing my undergraduate degree and was under the Adidas umbrella of brands. After four years of work experience I felt like I was lacking the quantitative skills needed for success in business. My passion was working in sports, so I decided to get a sports-focused MBA and the UO has an amazing program with strong connections to Nike, which was where I hoped to land after grad school. 

What skills or key takeaways did you gain from your time at the UO that you now implement into your teaching career?
When you’re on the other side of the table - being a teacher now - I would say two big things come to mind. One would be the importance of hands-on or practical learning over theoretical learning. The UO’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center is really great at doing that, and the MBA program emphasizes real world application of concepts. That’s something I definitely try to apply as a teacher in the UO business school. Everything I teach my students about, I then have them go and do themselves because that’s the best way to learn. The second thing I focus on as a teacher is the idea that, yes, getting an education is incredibly important, but something that’s equally important is your ability to actually get hired. For me, that comes down to how well you market yourself. I’m a Marketing teacher so I naturally build in material that helps students tell their stories and become more confident in presenting themselves. 

What inspired you to begin your career coaching company?
My company, Made To Hire, is actually my second company. After I left Nike 11 years ago, I worked as a sports consultant under my first company, FIXX Consulting, and that's what brought me to teaching. About 7 years ago, a small team was formed to launch a new master’s program for the UO in sports products and I was asked to be part of that core team. I led marketing for the launch of the Master’s in Sports Product Management Program. From there I was asked to also teach Marketing for that program. I wanted to not only teach my students how to market things but also wanted to teach them how to market themselves so that their degrees would even better connect them to their dream jobs. When I started teaching the career-focused material to my students, the interest was so significant that there was demand for more. That’s what led me to start my company, Made To Hire, and write my book and release my online course – so anyone could access my methods to help land their dream job faster. 

What inspired you to get involved with pageants? Is it difficult to find a balance with that and work life?
When I was a kid, I was an athlete and a total tomboy but also had a fascination with pageants. A funny combo I know! When I was younger I didn’t have the confidence to put myself out there in the way you need to in a pageant. I’ve been fortunate to have a successful career and now my work as a university instructor and career coach is all about giving back and inspiring other people to go after their goals. I’m finally, after all these years, in a place to go after that childhood dream of mine. And I’m on a mission to inspire others, especially women, to go after it, no matter the goal. Competing to become Mrs. Oregon gives me the opportunity to reach many more people across our state. You can follow my journey @madetohire. And balancing work and life is tough, but it’s about priorities. I put health and family first and then pour as much energy as I can into giving back and helping others. 

How can students best navigate the job market during the current pandemic?
First, have a LinkedIn profile with a headshot and background image that speaks to your professional passion. Consider using the “About” section on your profile to tell your story. Second, have a summary statement on your resume and be intentional about getting keywords into your resume that coincide with the job description. Third, get really great at telling your own story. If somebody asks you in a job interview to tell them about yourself, you have to be able to do this in a way that evokes some emotion in your listener - this is a powerful skill that students need to practice. Lastly, work hard to develop relationships that will give you an advantage. For any job that’s posted, there may be hundreds of applicants. You need to stand out. Use LinkedIn as a way to reach out to people and send a polite, professional message to someone connecting to the job asking if they might give you five minutes of their time over the phone to ask a few questions.

Since no single curriculum provides everything necessary to be effective in your first occupation, in what ways can students teach themselves to be competitive?
Getting hired is an accomplishment, but then how do you stand out once you get the job? I dedicated an entire chapter in my book, Made To Hire, on the topic of how to be successful once you're hired. Four quick pieces of advice here: 1) Support your company’s goals and especially your boss’ goals – be clear on what those are. 2) Be sure you over-deliver. You have the job description so make sure you're meeting those requirements, but whenever possible, make yourself available for more. If you're busting through work, let your boss know you're ready to take on more. 3) Your mindset matters a great deal when it comes to being successful once you’re hired. Be the type of person who brings solutions rather than problems. Managers are used to employees coming to them with problems so challenge yourself to bring solutions not problems to your boss. 4) One final thing, and I can't stress this enough, is that if you want to stand out, you need to speak up. I work on this with my students because when I was in undergrad I was so nervous about being called on, so I know how that feels. It's definitely hard but taking baby steps towards letting your voice be heard will go a long way.

Written by Shannon Enriquez, student reporter for the Daily Emerald