Mulling over this strange, roller coaster-like saga that we've fondly called "the recruitment process" in business school, I'm reminded of a song I heard a while back. This teeny boppy song many people will find corny, mind you. But if you listen closely to the lyrics, it's actually quite beautiful and very apt to the many events unfolding in the Darden halls these days.
Today, a dear friend of mine called me to share wonderful news--she received an offer from one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the country and in one of the most coveted offices. This would have made any other business school student happy but "happy" cannot even begin to describe how she is feeling now. See, I've seen this friend go through hell and back (apologies for the crude language) to get this job. I saw her cry from the first three rejection calls she received, stand back up and try harder, then go numb of pain, exhaustion, and defeat from the next two rejections. In the end, she resigned to the high probability of her going back home and possibly taking her old job back by the summer. So yes, she is beyond thrilled and I must say, "damn well-deserved!"
The early part of the recruitment saga I can relate to the first part of the song's lyrics:
I can almost see it
that dream I'm dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying,
"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
lost with no direction
my faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
And then, there's that latter part. That part when students start receiving offer after offer after offer. Your first offer will make you invite some friends for celebratory drinks. The second one will perhaps have you bargaining for a higher compensation package. And the third will most probably make you want more. This might not be true for all but I'm sure we can somehow relate to this insatiable feeling of wanting more, whether more interview invites, more job offers, or just something more out of life. It's funny how at first we start with saying "just one (just one offer)," then "Two is always better than one, right?" and then we end up thinking, "I want more."
I think I know why. It's the climb.
The latter part of the lyrics sums it up best:
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
So yes, it's not just about that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or how fast you get there. It's that climb. It's that thrill of overcoming something seemingly unattainable at first. It's that satisfaction we get from proving to ourselves that we can. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Life after all is about progress, about pushing yourself beyond your own boundaries and becoming better than you were yesterday. And that's exactly why I'm in business school today.
I wonder though, when does it end? This part of life seems to me like a circular reference (one of Excel's woes). What variable feeds what? Is the fat paycheck the end goal to arrive at the optimal number of job offers? Or is it that qualitative aspect of success? That sense of fulfillment from knowing that you've made more than a quantitative impact to society and to your life?
I wish that someday I'll have the wisdom to know the difference.
Lyrics from Miley Cyrus' song, The Climb
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Choices
Caveat: This entry is in no way meant to be insensitive to the plight my classmates who are making intense preparations for their internship interviews and are in the process of landing internship positions. Rather, this is one girl's reflections on the choices she made and the possible repercussions of those choices. So, do read with caution.
Three days ago I was ecstatic. I was in Mountain View, CA, sitting in a company's conference room for one of our job trek visits when my phone buzzed with an email. The email read, "You have been invited to interview with (insert company name)." Reading the company's name gave me an unexplainable feeling of excitement. See, this company was one of my top companies to work for. This was my McKinsey (top consulting firm that many of my consulting-bound classmates would shed an arm and a leg for). That plus the fact that they only invited a handful for interview. So suffice it to say that I was beyond thrilled. My happiness was short-lived though as I remember the difficult dilemma I was facing.
Two months ago, I received my first internship offer from a Fortune 50 company with a great leadership program. Since the company did not recruit on-grounds at Darden, I reached out to some associates who interned and eventually worked there full-time. The conversations I had with them confirmed the quality of the program and I knew I would be foolish not to accept the offer. This plus the fact that they pay package was highly competitive and the company was headquartered in one of the most beautiful cities in the US.
Decision deadline: mid-January
One month ago, I was very surprised to receive my second internship offer from another great company. Their hiring process was very intensive, the final round being a set of three interviews with senior management, each with 4-5 mini finance cases. I was almost definitely sure I wouldn't be getting an offer especially after meeting my competition at their headquarters. But God works in mysterious ways and I received my offer a day after I flew back to Charlottesville.
Decision deadline: early January
A few days ago I made phone calls to the two companies that sent me internship offers. I kindly asked for an extension of the decision deadline they gave me. I was told by the career office and second years that most companies agreed to an extension to give students a chance to weigh their options before deciding on which offer to accept. Unfortunately, both companies denied my request. Since I was given an early offer, they needed to know my decision ASAP to figure out how many more they will be hiring from the normal recruiting timelines. Very reasonable, of course.
So, there I was staring at the (interview invite) email that I've worked so hard for. I could literally have jumped for joy but the phone calls I made a few days back made my heart sink as quickly as it had palpitated with joy. There was no way for me to interview with this company (total of 5-6 rounds starting end January and ending in March) with my decision deadlines due this week and next. It would be foolish and impractical to reject two equally great job opportunities for a shot at an internship job with possibly less than 10% success rate. Who was I to take such big risk?
Today, I am sad. I had just clicked the 'decline' button in my 'interviews' page. I also called the career office to make sure my decline was reflected and the alternate got the invite since I had waited until the last minute to decline. I just didn't have the heart to make that final click of the mouse that drew the curtains to a close.
Life is truly ironic. Sometimes, you will find yourself wanting something so badly that you exert all your effort to get it. You will pray very hard for it. You will go out of your way to initiate something, you will spend hours and days to get things moving and you will give up time for yourself and your friends to seal the deal. But when you finally get there, when you are facing that one thing that you've wanted so much, you hear yourself say 'No.'
It would have been utterly hilarious if it wasn't so sad.
I guess these are what we call choices. Once you make your choice, all one can hope for is not to look back and regret. No wishing there were two or three of me, no 'what-ifs,' no more sadness, only moving on and hopefully finally feeling happy and content with blessings one didn't even dare dream of having.
And I quote Robert Frost in 'The Road Not Taken:'
Two roads diverged in yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both...
Three days ago I was ecstatic. I was in Mountain View, CA, sitting in a company's conference room for one of our job trek visits when my phone buzzed with an email. The email read, "You have been invited to interview with (insert company name)." Reading the company's name gave me an unexplainable feeling of excitement. See, this company was one of my top companies to work for. This was my McKinsey (top consulting firm that many of my consulting-bound classmates would shed an arm and a leg for). That plus the fact that they only invited a handful for interview. So suffice it to say that I was beyond thrilled. My happiness was short-lived though as I remember the difficult dilemma I was facing.
Two months ago, I received my first internship offer from a Fortune 50 company with a great leadership program. Since the company did not recruit on-grounds at Darden, I reached out to some associates who interned and eventually worked there full-time. The conversations I had with them confirmed the quality of the program and I knew I would be foolish not to accept the offer. This plus the fact that they pay package was highly competitive and the company was headquartered in one of the most beautiful cities in the US.
Decision deadline: mid-January
One month ago, I was very surprised to receive my second internship offer from another great company. Their hiring process was very intensive, the final round being a set of three interviews with senior management, each with 4-5 mini finance cases. I was almost definitely sure I wouldn't be getting an offer especially after meeting my competition at their headquarters. But God works in mysterious ways and I received my offer a day after I flew back to Charlottesville.
Decision deadline: early January
A few days ago I made phone calls to the two companies that sent me internship offers. I kindly asked for an extension of the decision deadline they gave me. I was told by the career office and second years that most companies agreed to an extension to give students a chance to weigh their options before deciding on which offer to accept. Unfortunately, both companies denied my request. Since I was given an early offer, they needed to know my decision ASAP to figure out how many more they will be hiring from the normal recruiting timelines. Very reasonable, of course.
So, there I was staring at the (interview invite) email that I've worked so hard for. I could literally have jumped for joy but the phone calls I made a few days back made my heart sink as quickly as it had palpitated with joy. There was no way for me to interview with this company (total of 5-6 rounds starting end January and ending in March) with my decision deadlines due this week and next. It would be foolish and impractical to reject two equally great job opportunities for a shot at an internship job with possibly less than 10% success rate. Who was I to take such big risk?
Today, I am sad. I had just clicked the 'decline' button in my 'interviews' page. I also called the career office to make sure my decline was reflected and the alternate got the invite since I had waited until the last minute to decline. I just didn't have the heart to make that final click of the mouse that drew the curtains to a close.
Life is truly ironic. Sometimes, you will find yourself wanting something so badly that you exert all your effort to get it. You will pray very hard for it. You will go out of your way to initiate something, you will spend hours and days to get things moving and you will give up time for yourself and your friends to seal the deal. But when you finally get there, when you are facing that one thing that you've wanted so much, you hear yourself say 'No.'
It would have been utterly hilarious if it wasn't so sad.
I guess these are what we call choices. Once you make your choice, all one can hope for is not to look back and regret. No wishing there were two or three of me, no 'what-ifs,' no more sadness, only moving on and hopefully finally feeling happy and content with blessings one didn't even dare dream of having.
And I quote Robert Frost in 'The Road Not Taken:'
Two roads diverged in yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both...
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Black November's Ray of Light
I've been hearing all about "Black November." As an ignorant international student here at Darden, I thought it pertained to the weather change--the creeping winter evidenced by the sun setting at 5pm and the harsh, chilly air forcing you to stay indoors. And then, I heard about "Black Friday." Back home in the Philippines, this was a holy day for us Catholics, observing the death of Christ. Apparently, this is the biggest sale event of the year here in America. As an American friend says, "this goes to show what our two countries worship."
Finally, I learned what "Black November" meant in the Darden dictionary. Black November is that most dreaded time for first year MBA students. It's when recruitment efforts are intensified as resume drops become due and interview invitations are anxiously awaited, and this on top of an already very rigorous coursework. Obviously, the dreary winter doesn't help ease things ups. So yes, it can't get any blacker than that.
Today, I woke up to rain pounding on my window and an ominously dark sky. I wanted to curl up in bed, warm and dry under my comforter. But of course, there were cases to do and a Marketing simulation class activity to tackle.
About four hours into class, I saw an email notification pop in my screen. The subject noted the name of the company I had interviewed almost a month back at the NSHMBA MBA fair in Chicago. I had been anxiously waiting for word from this company since I knew some final results had already been out. Realizing it was an email, I figured it was a letter of rejection. I'm sure they'd at least give me a call if they were offering me the internship position, I thought. An hour later, I finally forced myself to come to terms with reality. And so, imagine my surprise to see a congratulatory email with an internship offer! I was beyond astonished! I read and re-read the letter at least thrice and triple-checked my name in each page. I just couldn't believe it. Whether it was the power of prayer, talent, or sheer luck, at that very moment, I was just relieved.
Thinking back now, I realize that relief isn't the first emotion I would have expected from myself after reading my very first offer letter. It should have been happiness or joy, right? But see, "relief" is defined as "the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed." And that was exactly what happened to me. That fear of not having an internship, that fear of not finding a company who will sponsor international students, that fear of finding myself regretting leaving a perfectly great job to venture out and gamble in the MBA realm--these were all lifted somehow. This was my "relief"... my ray of light in the otherwise cold and dreary Black November.
Almost 12 hours after all the excitement, the dust has settled somewhat and I hate to say this but I'm faced with new fears. My letter had said, "Yumiko, we are looking forward to you joining our program. I am sure you will make an important contribution to the success of our company."
Slight panic begins to set. How much value can I add to this 10-12 week internship? Will I be able to apply all these fancy MBA tools that I learned in the actual workplace? Can I prove myself worthy of a full-time job offer? ...And many other crazy thoughts.
Perhaps I should leave these thoughts for another day and enjoy this brief moment of relief (or even joy). After all, it's not often that you wake up to a cold, ominous dark sky and and end up feeling that warmth of sunshine.
To my fellow First Years, here's to your own rays of light in this challenging but temporary Black November. This too shall pass.
Finally, I learned what "Black November" meant in the Darden dictionary. Black November is that most dreaded time for first year MBA students. It's when recruitment efforts are intensified as resume drops become due and interview invitations are anxiously awaited, and this on top of an already very rigorous coursework. Obviously, the dreary winter doesn't help ease things ups. So yes, it can't get any blacker than that.
Today, I woke up to rain pounding on my window and an ominously dark sky. I wanted to curl up in bed, warm and dry under my comforter. But of course, there were cases to do and a Marketing simulation class activity to tackle.
About four hours into class, I saw an email notification pop in my screen. The subject noted the name of the company I had interviewed almost a month back at the NSHMBA MBA fair in Chicago. I had been anxiously waiting for word from this company since I knew some final results had already been out. Realizing it was an email, I figured it was a letter of rejection. I'm sure they'd at least give me a call if they were offering me the internship position, I thought. An hour later, I finally forced myself to come to terms with reality. And so, imagine my surprise to see a congratulatory email with an internship offer! I was beyond astonished! I read and re-read the letter at least thrice and triple-checked my name in each page. I just couldn't believe it. Whether it was the power of prayer, talent, or sheer luck, at that very moment, I was just relieved.
Thinking back now, I realize that relief isn't the first emotion I would have expected from myself after reading my very first offer letter. It should have been happiness or joy, right? But see, "relief" is defined as "the feeling that comes when something burdensome is removed." And that was exactly what happened to me. That fear of not having an internship, that fear of not finding a company who will sponsor international students, that fear of finding myself regretting leaving a perfectly great job to venture out and gamble in the MBA realm--these were all lifted somehow. This was my "relief"... my ray of light in the otherwise cold and dreary Black November.
Almost 12 hours after all the excitement, the dust has settled somewhat and I hate to say this but I'm faced with new fears. My letter had said, "Yumiko, we are looking forward to you joining our program. I am sure you will make an important contribution to the success of our company."
Slight panic begins to set. How much value can I add to this 10-12 week internship? Will I be able to apply all these fancy MBA tools that I learned in the actual workplace? Can I prove myself worthy of a full-time job offer? ...And many other crazy thoughts.
Perhaps I should leave these thoughts for another day and enjoy this brief moment of relief (or even joy). After all, it's not often that you wake up to a cold, ominous dark sky and and end up feeling that warmth of sunshine.
To my fellow First Years, here's to your own rays of light in this challenging but temporary Black November. This too shall pass.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
The trouble with Cold weather, Stockings, and a Lost car
I've lived in a tropical country all my life. This meant enjoying 95 degree F (35 degree C) weather almost 10 months in a year and frequent beach getaways. I've been bracing myself for the notorious US East coast cold fall/winter weather and suffice it to say that I didn't prepare enough.
A few weeks ago, Charlottesville weather started to get more chilly. Mornings were cold at about 55 F (13 C) and nights hit a low 36 F (2 C). My teeth are literally chattering in this temperature. So my wardrobe changed overnight from nice and cool t-shirts and summer dresses into turtle necks, long-sleeved shirts, scarfs, and warm coats. This gets trickier with recruitment week and company briefing days.
I've been so busy and stressed out lately juggling between schoolwork and recruitment activities that I haven't actually thought of my personal girly woes. Two incidents these past days reminded me there's more trouble in life than finding the best mutual fund to invest in or how to approach a case interview.
A few days ago, I found myself without a clean set of pant suit for a company briefing. So I decided to wear a business casual dress instead. Now, I knew this would be a welcome invitation to hypothermia for me (what with the start of winter sneaking in). But I checked the weather forecast that day and it was relatively sunny. To be on the safe side, I decided to put on stockings/hose, those lace top thigh high ones. It wasn't much protection from the cold but it was better than bare. So at 7:50am, in the chilly morning air, my roommate and I walked through the unpaved road from our apartment to school. Three minutes into the walk, I felt my left hose start to run down. I tried hoisting it up back in place subtly. It didn't help that some classmates were walking behind us. I knew I should have gotten the pantyhose one but those somehow cuts your air supply. I was tempted to rush back to the apartment and take it off but that would make me late for class (the $5 penalty wasn't appealing to me either). So, every few seconds my roommate stood directly behind me to give me a bit of privacy to pull my stocking up. At that very moment, I wished my thighs were two inches bigger. Totally embarrassing. I won't even go to the details of how I managed to hold my stocking and cross the busy two-lane street and the parking lot to school. The memory of it will haunt me for a long time.
I cursed the cold weather then. Little did I know I'll be cursing it again not 24 hours after my stocking incident.
Last night, I planned on going out and taking the car. I didn't find our car in the parking lot so I figured my roommate used it. She got home later than me so I wasn't able to ask her about it. The next morning, as I was preparing breakfast, I casually asked her if she took the car last night. The conversation went along these lines:
Me: Did you use the car last night?
Roommate: No, I didn't.
Me: But it's not outside in the parking lot.
(Me rushing outside in the cold without a jacket to look for our car. I checked both ends of the parking lot to no avail.)
(Me with numb fingers rushing back inside the apartment.)
Me: It's really not there!
(Me thinking about the car insurance coverage if it included theft or misplacement...)
Roommate: Wait, wait... I think I used it two days ago when I went to the gym. I'm not sure if I drove or walked home..
(Her thinking about her crazy busy day two days back and how hectic it was that she forgot how she got home.)
So we rushed our breakfast and left at 7:30am to look for our car in the school gym's parking lot. If that panic wasn't enough to wake us up, the cold winter air sure did! That plus the lawn sprinklers that just had to turn on when we crossed the lawn. Thankfully, we found the car parked outside the gym with two parking tickets on the windshield. At least it wasn't towed.
So there, two days in a row my morning caffeine fix came in the form of loose stockings, a lost car, and a damned too cold weather for me. I'm scared to think what mishaps the real winter will bring.
P.S.
Special thanks to my roommate Astrid for having my back and for making mornings a little crazier than usual. Never gets dull at 127.
A few weeks ago, Charlottesville weather started to get more chilly. Mornings were cold at about 55 F (13 C) and nights hit a low 36 F (2 C). My teeth are literally chattering in this temperature. So my wardrobe changed overnight from nice and cool t-shirts and summer dresses into turtle necks, long-sleeved shirts, scarfs, and warm coats. This gets trickier with recruitment week and company briefing days.
I've been so busy and stressed out lately juggling between schoolwork and recruitment activities that I haven't actually thought of my personal girly woes. Two incidents these past days reminded me there's more trouble in life than finding the best mutual fund to invest in or how to approach a case interview.
A few days ago, I found myself without a clean set of pant suit for a company briefing. So I decided to wear a business casual dress instead. Now, I knew this would be a welcome invitation to hypothermia for me (what with the start of winter sneaking in). But I checked the weather forecast that day and it was relatively sunny. To be on the safe side, I decided to put on stockings/hose, those lace top thigh high ones. It wasn't much protection from the cold but it was better than bare. So at 7:50am, in the chilly morning air, my roommate and I walked through the unpaved road from our apartment to school. Three minutes into the walk, I felt my left hose start to run down. I tried hoisting it up back in place subtly. It didn't help that some classmates were walking behind us. I knew I should have gotten the pantyhose one but those somehow cuts your air supply. I was tempted to rush back to the apartment and take it off but that would make me late for class (the $5 penalty wasn't appealing to me either). So, every few seconds my roommate stood directly behind me to give me a bit of privacy to pull my stocking up. At that very moment, I wished my thighs were two inches bigger. Totally embarrassing. I won't even go to the details of how I managed to hold my stocking and cross the busy two-lane street and the parking lot to school. The memory of it will haunt me for a long time.
I cursed the cold weather then. Little did I know I'll be cursing it again not 24 hours after my stocking incident.
Last night, I planned on going out and taking the car. I didn't find our car in the parking lot so I figured my roommate used it. She got home later than me so I wasn't able to ask her about it. The next morning, as I was preparing breakfast, I casually asked her if she took the car last night. The conversation went along these lines:
Me: Did you use the car last night?
Roommate: No, I didn't.
Me: But it's not outside in the parking lot.
(Me rushing outside in the cold without a jacket to look for our car. I checked both ends of the parking lot to no avail.)
(Me with numb fingers rushing back inside the apartment.)
Me: It's really not there!
(Me thinking about the car insurance coverage if it included theft or misplacement...)
Roommate: Wait, wait... I think I used it two days ago when I went to the gym. I'm not sure if I drove or walked home..
(Her thinking about her crazy busy day two days back and how hectic it was that she forgot how she got home.)
So we rushed our breakfast and left at 7:30am to look for our car in the school gym's parking lot. If that panic wasn't enough to wake us up, the cold winter air sure did! That plus the lawn sprinklers that just had to turn on when we crossed the lawn. Thankfully, we found the car parked outside the gym with two parking tickets on the windshield. At least it wasn't towed.
So there, two days in a row my morning caffeine fix came in the form of loose stockings, a lost car, and a damned too cold weather for me. I'm scared to think what mishaps the real winter will bring.
P.S.
Special thanks to my roommate Astrid for having my back and for making mornings a little crazier than usual. Never gets dull at 127.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
First Dates (a.k.a Interviews)
Please refer to my last entry for the contextual explanation of recruitment and the dating game.
http://almondspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/10/that-scary-thing-called-recruitment.html
My first taste of the recruitment dating game came all too soon a few days ago.
Last Thursday night, I found myself rushing through my Economics final exam. The four-hour online exam opened at 5pm and I had a 6am flight from Washington Dulles to Chicago. That meant two hours of studying/cramming from 5-7pm, exam time from 7-11pm, rushed packing from 11pm-12mn (why does it take 20mins to iron one button-down corporate top?! I miss you Mom!), and onto the 2.5-hour drive to Dulles international airport.
A couple of us international students were on our journey to our first-ever off-grounds job fair. The National Society of Hispanic MBA's (NSHMBA) was hosting the annual conference and career expo at Chicago for three days. There were over 60 recruiting companies from across different industries, with internship and full-time job opportunities for MBA students from all over the US.
I stood there at the fair's entrance, taking in the huge rectangular expanse filled with colorful company booths, stern and smiling recruiters reading resumes, and nervous MBA students milling about. I breathed in the air of hope for an internship job, the fear from hundreds of competition walking around in the same suit as I was, almost indistinguishable from each other. Suffice it to say, it was like opening that not-too-thick but not-too-thin envelope from a college you applied to. You kind of think it's not a rejection letter because there seems to be more than one thank-you-for-your-interest sheet there but it's not thick enough to include your dormitory options. So you open it and hope for the best.
I had already plotted my route across the labyrinth of company booths. I prioritized the companies whom I know was open to hiring and sponsoring international students (sadly, the slow economic growth is still unkind to us who need work visa sponsorship). Picture this: a big circular booth decorated with the company's colors, logo, mission statement, etc., 4-5 small tables spread out, manned by 1-2 company reps, segmented by corporate function. I fall in line under finance and wait to have my chance to speak to the rep and pray that he will find me and my resume worthy of an interview. I finally get my turn, introduce myself as a first year Darden student interested in finance internship opportunities. I talk a little about why I'm interested in the company and the position while holding my resume in front of me, ready to run it through him if he asks me to. Sometimes they do and at the times that they don't, I volunteer to walk them through it anyway. I only have my voice and effort to lose. It takes me about one minute to give the highlights of my resume and achievements, choosing those that are relevant to the company and the position, while they listen intently and ask a question or two. After which, they pause and appear to be taking it all in (while I pray harder). They scribble some notes in my resume and tell me they'll call me within the day if they want to schedule an interview with me within the two-day conference. I do this full spiel for about five companies. My half spiels (meaning I did not even get to my resume part) were delivered to the many other companies that unfortunately did not hire internationals or those that did not have corporate finance vacancies.
At 2:45pm, I received my first interview invite call from a top high-tech company. They wanted to interview me at 3:00pm. I couldn't have been more thrilled and nervous at the same time. I had 5 mins. to check myself in the mirror and tame my bladder, 5 mins. to use my iPhone for a half-baked company research and 5 mins. to run across the big hall, down the long flight of stairs, and to the interview hall.
Friday, 3:00pm (Interview with High-tech company)
I find myself sitting inside a 5x10 ft. closed booth for my interview. My interviewer is a finance representative with a very pleasant smile and demeanor that immediately put me at ease. She asks me about myself, what achievements I'm most proud of, which ones were most challenging, etc. Most questions were behavioral and situational questions. There were few technical questions which I think I managed to address reasonably. I try my best to relate my experiences to their internship program. She also went on to tell me about the company culture, their big emphasis on corporate social responsibility (which I'm very happy and excited to hear about) and what to expect from the internship. Turns out they were piloting an international rotational MBA internship program. I am thrilled at this possibility. What better way to learn than from a top high-tech firm's global environment?
At the conclusion of the interview she tells me that I have a strong resume and a good fit to their program. She said that she was endorsing me to the next process which was the internship interview. I didn't expect to get immediate feedback but hey, I'm not complaining.
Happy but dead tired, I trudge back to our hotel at approximately 5pm and exhaustion from the difficult exam, jet lag, and the arduous job hunting experience almost put me into a coma. I make sure my phone's ringer is on just in case I get lucky and get other interview invites. The stars were with me as I get three more interview invites from a US bank, a US airline company and a US retail company. All three were top of my list of companies to work for. I offer a thank you prayer as I start reading up on the companies.
Saturday, 11:30am (interview with Airline company)
Before I bore you with the details of my interview with the airline company, let me backtrack a little to my first impromptu interview with the same airline company.
The day before my scheduled interview, I had gone to their booth to chat with the finance representatives. The rep takes a look at my resume and tells me that she had actually seen my resume already (from the NSHMBA resume book) and that she had wanted to call me for a screening interview but since I submitted late, they didn't have enough time. I asked if she had time now and if they had open interview slots for the next two days. She endorses me to another guy who takes my resume and reads up. I volunteer to walk him through it highlighting my relevant experiences and achievements. He catches me by surprise by asking how I could convert my experiences in the consumer goods industry into the challenges that the airline industry was facing. He asks me technical questions on promotional and advertising schemes, its impact to the P&L and how this will translate to the airline business. What kind of promotions would I recommend? What will be the financial impact to the business? I try my best to wake my dead brain up and scavenge through my five years of corporate experience to pick those that were relevant to the airline business. I mean how different can shampoos and airplanes get, right? He also shared how corporate finance worked in the airline business and the challenges they faced. This was my first peek on what it was like working in finance for an airline business. And it's pretty damn interesting. At the back of my head, I curse myself for not researching more. I certainly didn't want to spoil my chance at this great opportunity. Too late now. This pseudo interview goes on for about 20 minutes. From my peripheral vision, I could see the queue behind me getting longer and longer while the other MBA students listened intently to our discussion. I realize how embarrassing this was for me. I was probably not making any sense at all. The rep finally concludes our discussion, scribbles some notes at the back of my resume (what I would have given to see that) and tell me that they'll review my credentials and they'll give me a call. I get the sad feeling that they won't.
Fast forward to Saturday, 11:30am (actual interview with airline company)
It's that small interview booth again. If I wasn't so nervous, the claustrophobic in me would have made a dash to the door. Instead, I sit poised and smiling. I expected the regular first questions of 'tell me about yourself' or 'walk me through your resume,' or even 'tell me about a time when you...' Instead, she asked me a number of technical questions including the formula for working capital, different depreciation methods, etc. She then presented me with four mini cases. She came up with fictional business scenarios involving new markets, geographic expansions, new line introductions, pricing simulations, competitive movements, etc. She then asked me to assess the situation and provide my recommendations. I was totally unprepared for this. I have never done case interview preparations because I was naive enough to think these case interviews were only for the Consulting industry. Boy, oh boy. Note to self: sign up for the case interview workshop. I try my best to bat the curve balls. But I'm pretty sure I made quite a lot of strike outs.
Saturday, 2:15pm (interview with Bank)
At this point, I was feeling sad and forlorn. I felt very de-motivated by my last interview. I prayed hard this one wouldn't be as bad. And I think it wasn't. This was perhaps my most relaxed and conversational interview. The VP who interviewed me had such a kind and welcoming demeanor. It was more like a conversation than an interview. I told him about myself, my interest in the banking business, and my experiences while he told me about the internship program, the bank's culture, the people, and the highlights of his experiences. Before I knew it, 30 mins. was up and I went away feeling relieved that I didn't appear to bomb the interview but confused as well because I didn't know how to assess it.
Saturday, 3:00pm (interview with Retail company part 1)
I only had about 10 mins. to collect and ready myself for the next interview. I was particularly excited about this one after hearing about the good reputation of their leadership program. My first interviewer was a young woman who was from the leadership program herself. She informed me that I will be having a back-to-back interview with another manager after she interviewed me. She also told me that the second interview will be the final interview. They will be making their decision based on my two interviews today. Whoa. Talk about unnerving. I didn't see that one coming. I felt my heartbeat race a lot faster. She probably heard the thump thump. Not good.
For the whole of 30 mins., she probably asked me all combinations of situational and behavioral questions--situation when I took a risk and failed, time when I dealt with conflict, time when I had a big argument, etc. I had to poke my brain hard to remember relevant experiences. She scribbled a lot in her interview questionnaire form which was about 4 pages long. This got me even more nervous. At the end of the interview, I had major brain drain. One down, one more to go.
Saturday, 3:30pm (interview with Retail company part 2)
I didn't imagine I could get more unnerved than I already was. After one bad interview, a confusing one and a mentally draining one, I was ready to wipe my brain to a clean state. Tabula rasa. But there I was, sitting in front of a stern-looking interviewer, sharing more situational and behavioral experiences and he didn't seem to have any reaction whatsoever to anything that I said. I tried very hard to connect with him to no avail. So yes, the last and final stretch (for the day at least) was unnerving at best.
A long 30 minutes later, I take a deep breath, exhale slowly and let my mind go blank for a precious moment. There was so much emotion inside me--exhaustion, sadness, relief, happiness, excitement, anxiety... I couldn't even pick the first one to prioritize. I settled on savoring the day's conclusion. That day was probably one of the longest days in my career. I realize I never had that many interviews for company recruitment. I stayed with only one company in my five years of work experience after all.
With all the job hunting and interview frenzy, I couldn't even pause to admire and take in the beauty of the city. So, I end the day with a nice dinner, good white wine, and a lazy, chilly walk at Chicago's Navy Pier. I think I deserved that.
Sitting in my room back in Charlottesville now, I re-live my first interviews by writing this blog entry. I smile, cringe, and wince at those crazy moments I had. All those emotions I had during and after the interviews are pretty much pacified now. All but one--anxiety. For when the interviews end, the waiting game begins.
I will probably hear more bad news than I am willing to bear now. But I still feel grateful to have been given the chance to interview. Perhaps I can take those first interviews as practice, as a warm-up to what will hopefully be many more along my way.
I remember a big mistake that I made in my job, only three months after I joined the company. It cost my company a few hundred thousands. I remember that feeling of stupidity, fear, and just utmost contempt at myself. My first boss, looked at the fear and regret in my eyes, smiled at me and said, "Just charge it to experience."
I never made the same mistake again. It was a small price to pay for what is more valuable--experience. But when you are an international MBA student who has invested a whole lot of money in your education, toiled long and hard on the unbelievably demanding school work, and fought your way for that rare spot of an interview at a company that actually hired non-US citizens, when someone says "just charge it to experience," you know that that experience is actually a very steep price to pay.
http://almondspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/10/that-scary-thing-called-recruitment.html
My first taste of the recruitment dating game came all too soon a few days ago.
Last Thursday night, I found myself rushing through my Economics final exam. The four-hour online exam opened at 5pm and I had a 6am flight from Washington Dulles to Chicago. That meant two hours of studying/cramming from 5-7pm, exam time from 7-11pm, rushed packing from 11pm-12mn (why does it take 20mins to iron one button-down corporate top?! I miss you Mom!), and onto the 2.5-hour drive to Dulles international airport.
A couple of us international students were on our journey to our first-ever off-grounds job fair. The National Society of Hispanic MBA's (NSHMBA) was hosting the annual conference and career expo at Chicago for three days. There were over 60 recruiting companies from across different industries, with internship and full-time job opportunities for MBA students from all over the US.
I stood there at the fair's entrance, taking in the huge rectangular expanse filled with colorful company booths, stern and smiling recruiters reading resumes, and nervous MBA students milling about. I breathed in the air of hope for an internship job, the fear from hundreds of competition walking around in the same suit as I was, almost indistinguishable from each other. Suffice it to say, it was like opening that not-too-thick but not-too-thin envelope from a college you applied to. You kind of think it's not a rejection letter because there seems to be more than one thank-you-for-your-interest sheet there but it's not thick enough to include your dormitory options. So you open it and hope for the best.
I had already plotted my route across the labyrinth of company booths. I prioritized the companies whom I know was open to hiring and sponsoring international students (sadly, the slow economic growth is still unkind to us who need work visa sponsorship). Picture this: a big circular booth decorated with the company's colors, logo, mission statement, etc., 4-5 small tables spread out, manned by 1-2 company reps, segmented by corporate function. I fall in line under finance and wait to have my chance to speak to the rep and pray that he will find me and my resume worthy of an interview. I finally get my turn, introduce myself as a first year Darden student interested in finance internship opportunities. I talk a little about why I'm interested in the company and the position while holding my resume in front of me, ready to run it through him if he asks me to. Sometimes they do and at the times that they don't, I volunteer to walk them through it anyway. I only have my voice and effort to lose. It takes me about one minute to give the highlights of my resume and achievements, choosing those that are relevant to the company and the position, while they listen intently and ask a question or two. After which, they pause and appear to be taking it all in (while I pray harder). They scribble some notes in my resume and tell me they'll call me within the day if they want to schedule an interview with me within the two-day conference. I do this full spiel for about five companies. My half spiels (meaning I did not even get to my resume part) were delivered to the many other companies that unfortunately did not hire internationals or those that did not have corporate finance vacancies.
At 2:45pm, I received my first interview invite call from a top high-tech company. They wanted to interview me at 3:00pm. I couldn't have been more thrilled and nervous at the same time. I had 5 mins. to check myself in the mirror and tame my bladder, 5 mins. to use my iPhone for a half-baked company research and 5 mins. to run across the big hall, down the long flight of stairs, and to the interview hall.
Friday, 3:00pm (Interview with High-tech company)
I find myself sitting inside a 5x10 ft. closed booth for my interview. My interviewer is a finance representative with a very pleasant smile and demeanor that immediately put me at ease. She asks me about myself, what achievements I'm most proud of, which ones were most challenging, etc. Most questions were behavioral and situational questions. There were few technical questions which I think I managed to address reasonably. I try my best to relate my experiences to their internship program. She also went on to tell me about the company culture, their big emphasis on corporate social responsibility (which I'm very happy and excited to hear about) and what to expect from the internship. Turns out they were piloting an international rotational MBA internship program. I am thrilled at this possibility. What better way to learn than from a top high-tech firm's global environment?
At the conclusion of the interview she tells me that I have a strong resume and a good fit to their program. She said that she was endorsing me to the next process which was the internship interview. I didn't expect to get immediate feedback but hey, I'm not complaining.
Happy but dead tired, I trudge back to our hotel at approximately 5pm and exhaustion from the difficult exam, jet lag, and the arduous job hunting experience almost put me into a coma. I make sure my phone's ringer is on just in case I get lucky and get other interview invites. The stars were with me as I get three more interview invites from a US bank, a US airline company and a US retail company. All three were top of my list of companies to work for. I offer a thank you prayer as I start reading up on the companies.
Saturday, 11:30am (interview with Airline company)
Before I bore you with the details of my interview with the airline company, let me backtrack a little to my first impromptu interview with the same airline company.
The day before my scheduled interview, I had gone to their booth to chat with the finance representatives. The rep takes a look at my resume and tells me that she had actually seen my resume already (from the NSHMBA resume book) and that she had wanted to call me for a screening interview but since I submitted late, they didn't have enough time. I asked if she had time now and if they had open interview slots for the next two days. She endorses me to another guy who takes my resume and reads up. I volunteer to walk him through it highlighting my relevant experiences and achievements. He catches me by surprise by asking how I could convert my experiences in the consumer goods industry into the challenges that the airline industry was facing. He asks me technical questions on promotional and advertising schemes, its impact to the P&L and how this will translate to the airline business. What kind of promotions would I recommend? What will be the financial impact to the business? I try my best to wake my dead brain up and scavenge through my five years of corporate experience to pick those that were relevant to the airline business. I mean how different can shampoos and airplanes get, right? He also shared how corporate finance worked in the airline business and the challenges they faced. This was my first peek on what it was like working in finance for an airline business. And it's pretty damn interesting. At the back of my head, I curse myself for not researching more. I certainly didn't want to spoil my chance at this great opportunity. Too late now. This pseudo interview goes on for about 20 minutes. From my peripheral vision, I could see the queue behind me getting longer and longer while the other MBA students listened intently to our discussion. I realize how embarrassing this was for me. I was probably not making any sense at all. The rep finally concludes our discussion, scribbles some notes at the back of my resume (what I would have given to see that) and tell me that they'll review my credentials and they'll give me a call. I get the sad feeling that they won't.
Fast forward to Saturday, 11:30am (actual interview with airline company)
It's that small interview booth again. If I wasn't so nervous, the claustrophobic in me would have made a dash to the door. Instead, I sit poised and smiling. I expected the regular first questions of 'tell me about yourself' or 'walk me through your resume,' or even 'tell me about a time when you...' Instead, she asked me a number of technical questions including the formula for working capital, different depreciation methods, etc. She then presented me with four mini cases. She came up with fictional business scenarios involving new markets, geographic expansions, new line introductions, pricing simulations, competitive movements, etc. She then asked me to assess the situation and provide my recommendations. I was totally unprepared for this. I have never done case interview preparations because I was naive enough to think these case interviews were only for the Consulting industry. Boy, oh boy. Note to self: sign up for the case interview workshop. I try my best to bat the curve balls. But I'm pretty sure I made quite a lot of strike outs.
Saturday, 2:15pm (interview with Bank)
At this point, I was feeling sad and forlorn. I felt very de-motivated by my last interview. I prayed hard this one wouldn't be as bad. And I think it wasn't. This was perhaps my most relaxed and conversational interview. The VP who interviewed me had such a kind and welcoming demeanor. It was more like a conversation than an interview. I told him about myself, my interest in the banking business, and my experiences while he told me about the internship program, the bank's culture, the people, and the highlights of his experiences. Before I knew it, 30 mins. was up and I went away feeling relieved that I didn't appear to bomb the interview but confused as well because I didn't know how to assess it.
Saturday, 3:00pm (interview with Retail company part 1)
I only had about 10 mins. to collect and ready myself for the next interview. I was particularly excited about this one after hearing about the good reputation of their leadership program. My first interviewer was a young woman who was from the leadership program herself. She informed me that I will be having a back-to-back interview with another manager after she interviewed me. She also told me that the second interview will be the final interview. They will be making their decision based on my two interviews today. Whoa. Talk about unnerving. I didn't see that one coming. I felt my heartbeat race a lot faster. She probably heard the thump thump. Not good.
For the whole of 30 mins., she probably asked me all combinations of situational and behavioral questions--situation when I took a risk and failed, time when I dealt with conflict, time when I had a big argument, etc. I had to poke my brain hard to remember relevant experiences. She scribbled a lot in her interview questionnaire form which was about 4 pages long. This got me even more nervous. At the end of the interview, I had major brain drain. One down, one more to go.
Saturday, 3:30pm (interview with Retail company part 2)
I didn't imagine I could get more unnerved than I already was. After one bad interview, a confusing one and a mentally draining one, I was ready to wipe my brain to a clean state. Tabula rasa. But there I was, sitting in front of a stern-looking interviewer, sharing more situational and behavioral experiences and he didn't seem to have any reaction whatsoever to anything that I said. I tried very hard to connect with him to no avail. So yes, the last and final stretch (for the day at least) was unnerving at best.
A long 30 minutes later, I take a deep breath, exhale slowly and let my mind go blank for a precious moment. There was so much emotion inside me--exhaustion, sadness, relief, happiness, excitement, anxiety... I couldn't even pick the first one to prioritize. I settled on savoring the day's conclusion. That day was probably one of the longest days in my career. I realize I never had that many interviews for company recruitment. I stayed with only one company in my five years of work experience after all.
With all the job hunting and interview frenzy, I couldn't even pause to admire and take in the beauty of the city. So, I end the day with a nice dinner, good white wine, and a lazy, chilly walk at Chicago's Navy Pier. I think I deserved that.
Sitting in my room back in Charlottesville now, I re-live my first interviews by writing this blog entry. I smile, cringe, and wince at those crazy moments I had. All those emotions I had during and after the interviews are pretty much pacified now. All but one--anxiety. For when the interviews end, the waiting game begins.
I will probably hear more bad news than I am willing to bear now. But I still feel grateful to have been given the chance to interview. Perhaps I can take those first interviews as practice, as a warm-up to what will hopefully be many more along my way.
I remember a big mistake that I made in my job, only three months after I joined the company. It cost my company a few hundred thousands. I remember that feeling of stupidity, fear, and just utmost contempt at myself. My first boss, looked at the fear and regret in my eyes, smiled at me and said, "Just charge it to experience."
I never made the same mistake again. It was a small price to pay for what is more valuable--experience. But when you are an international MBA student who has invested a whole lot of money in your education, toiled long and hard on the unbelievably demanding school work, and fought your way for that rare spot of an interview at a company that actually hired non-US citizens, when someone says "just charge it to experience," you know that that experience is actually a very steep price to pay.
Friday, October 15, 2010
That (scary) thing called ‘Recruitment’
Caveat:
This is an amateur first year's take on what MBA Recruitment is all about. I'm hoping to create an updated blog entry for when I actually do know what the heck I'm talking about.
It’s only been three months since I’ve been out of the work force, two months since I started business school and yet, here I am losing sleep over every other MBA student's biggest source of anxiety--recruitment (aka the job hunt).
Darden devotes one week after final exams to recruitment events--company briefings, office hours (a small group of students interact with recruiters and company executives), and networking events. Darden does a good job in pushing (and scaring) students to start the job hunt early lest you don't get your dream job and ideal company. So like a scared mouse, I've been running to quite a number of company briefings and networking events in the past month including General Motors, 3M, Amazon, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, etc.
So what exactly is this scary thing called Recruitment and how does it work?
Getting to Know You.
As in all relationships, everything starts with getting to know the person, in this case the company. A company briefing in business school is perhaps the first step of recruitment for both the company and the students. This is a student's first peek of the company's culture, its personality and its people. To encourage better networking, most of the company representatives are Darden alumni. Darden students who interned in the companies are also invited to speak about their internship experiences. At the end of it, students ask some questions and the presenters address these. The student then does his/her own introspection, gauge his/her level of interest after hearing what the company is all about and decide if he/she wants to pursue a possible internship opportunity or full-time job at the company.
Up Close and Personal.
If a student finds these initial qualities appealing, then it's time to get up close and personal. This happens in a number of ways. Some of which are:
a. Pitt dive: After a company briefing, some students approach the presenters to ask more questions and network with the recruiters. This is usually challenging to do as the recruiter-student ratio is usually 7:1 or even 10:1. So a student's talk time is very limited hence he/she has to make each word count (scrap 'count,' replace with 'memorable'). This way, the recruiter will remember you when you write that thank you note after the briefing and pitt dive.
b. Office Hours: These are similar to pitt dives but is usually held in smaller settings. This is a good indicator of a student's interest in the firm. The recruiter-student ratio is also more favorable at say 5:1. So students get to ask more specific questions and get more detailed responses.
c. Networking socials: This applies mostly for the Banking and Consulting industries. From what I've seen, it seems like bankers like to network in bars a lot. Yes, that's networking and socializing under the influence of booze. I haven't figured out yet how that formula works because I'm not sure how well the recruiters will remember the students after five drinks but hey, I'm no expert. Consulting networking socials also include sponsoring tailgate events (the pre football game party).
The Date(s).
So you've met the company, you've gone up close and personal through pitt dives and other networking opportunities. It's now time to move on to the date, that is, the interview. If you're lucky, you'll get a second or third date (interviews). For now, I have very limited experience in this matter so I'll reserve my thoughts on this for when I get more first-hand experience in the dating game.
I do.
Those two word say it all. If the company likes you, you'll receive an internship offer. You'll get the details of the offer probably including scope, roles and responsibilities, compensation and relocation packages. Hmm... Pretty much like your standard pre-nuptial agreement.
This is an amateur first year's take on what MBA Recruitment is all about. I'm hoping to create an updated blog entry for when I actually do know what the heck I'm talking about.
It’s only been three months since I’ve been out of the work force, two months since I started business school and yet, here I am losing sleep over every other MBA student's biggest source of anxiety--recruitment (aka the job hunt).
Darden devotes one week after final exams to recruitment events--company briefings, office hours (a small group of students interact with recruiters and company executives), and networking events. Darden does a good job in pushing (and scaring) students to start the job hunt early lest you don't get your dream job and ideal company. So like a scared mouse, I've been running to quite a number of company briefings and networking events in the past month including General Motors, 3M, Amazon, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, etc.
So what exactly is this scary thing called Recruitment and how does it work?
Getting to Know You.
As in all relationships, everything starts with getting to know the person, in this case the company. A company briefing in business school is perhaps the first step of recruitment for both the company and the students. This is a student's first peek of the company's culture, its personality and its people. To encourage better networking, most of the company representatives are Darden alumni. Darden students who interned in the companies are also invited to speak about their internship experiences. At the end of it, students ask some questions and the presenters address these. The student then does his/her own introspection, gauge his/her level of interest after hearing what the company is all about and decide if he/she wants to pursue a possible internship opportunity or full-time job at the company.
Up Close and Personal.
If a student finds these initial qualities appealing, then it's time to get up close and personal. This happens in a number of ways. Some of which are:
a. Pitt dive: After a company briefing, some students approach the presenters to ask more questions and network with the recruiters. This is usually challenging to do as the recruiter-student ratio is usually 7:1 or even 10:1. So a student's talk time is very limited hence he/she has to make each word count (scrap 'count,' replace with 'memorable'). This way, the recruiter will remember you when you write that thank you note after the briefing and pitt dive.
b. Office Hours: These are similar to pitt dives but is usually held in smaller settings. This is a good indicator of a student's interest in the firm. The recruiter-student ratio is also more favorable at say 5:1. So students get to ask more specific questions and get more detailed responses.
c. Networking socials: This applies mostly for the Banking and Consulting industries. From what I've seen, it seems like bankers like to network in bars a lot. Yes, that's networking and socializing under the influence of booze. I haven't figured out yet how that formula works because I'm not sure how well the recruiters will remember the students after five drinks but hey, I'm no expert. Consulting networking socials also include sponsoring tailgate events (the pre football game party).
The Date(s).
So you've met the company, you've gone up close and personal through pitt dives and other networking opportunities. It's now time to move on to the date, that is, the interview. If you're lucky, you'll get a second or third date (interviews). For now, I have very limited experience in this matter so I'll reserve my thoughts on this for when I get more first-hand experience in the dating game.
I do.
Those two word say it all. If the company likes you, you'll receive an internship offer. You'll get the details of the offer probably including scope, roles and responsibilities, compensation and relocation packages. Hmm... Pretty much like your standard pre-nuptial agreement.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Adios Term 1!
Ah.. I miss this. I miss sitting down in my room and using my laptop for anything else but spreadsheets and Crystal ball models. I've been MIA from the blogging scene lately since I devoted the past two weeks for final exam preparations which comprised of re-doing cases and spreadsheets from scratch, creating review notes and attending our section reviews. More time spent in school and burning the midnight oil, less time exercising, eating and sleeping.. and yet, the exams were still a (forecasting) surprise for me. Another one of Darden's bootcamp treats I guess.
After 5 short weeks, Term 1 has officially ended. In another 4-5 weeks, our 2nd set of final exams will have me stressfully juggling between acadmemics and recruitment demands.
Silver linings:
(1) I'm learning new perspectives, new approaches, new tools and new models that I think I can actually use when I go back to the workforce. Our Decision Analysis (DA) class taught us regression and statistical models that were very similar to the Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) that my company used to pay an arm and a leg for before. The MMM was always an uncomprehensible black box to me, needing an uber analyst's IQ to execute. But learning the tools and methods taught in class, I think I just might take a crack at being a not-so-uber analyst.
(2) I'm getting my money's worth. Some people say that an MBA is mostly networking and party time. Not at Darden. Definitely not. I wish they'd let us squeeze in more time for networking and parties. Hint: A 50-50 split is not bad at all.
So with Term 1 over and Term 2 already tapping us in the shoulder, we are moving on to a bit of Recruitment preparations--company briefings and networking events. Both are very new to me but will be surprising and exciting I'm sure.
http://almondspeaks.blogspot.com
After 5 short weeks, Term 1 has officially ended. In another 4-5 weeks, our 2nd set of final exams will have me stressfully juggling between acadmemics and recruitment demands.
Silver linings:
(1) I'm learning new perspectives, new approaches, new tools and new models that I think I can actually use when I go back to the workforce. Our Decision Analysis (DA) class taught us regression and statistical models that were very similar to the Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) that my company used to pay an arm and a leg for before. The MMM was always an uncomprehensible black box to me, needing an uber analyst's IQ to execute. But learning the tools and methods taught in class, I think I just might take a crack at being a not-so-uber analyst.
(2) I'm getting my money's worth. Some people say that an MBA is mostly networking and party time. Not at Darden. Definitely not. I wish they'd let us squeeze in more time for networking and parties. Hint: A 50-50 split is not bad at all.
So with Term 1 over and Term 2 already tapping us in the shoulder, we are moving on to a bit of Recruitment preparations--company briefings and networking events. Both are very new to me but will be surprising and exciting I'm sure.
http://almondspeaks.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)