Last week concluded the MBA11’s CMC week activities during which first years get involved in career specific activities and treks both in Atlanta and throughout the country. Trek stops included Finance, Marketing and Healthcare Treks in Atlanta, and then, a Finance Trek to New York, a Marketing Trek also to New York and a Technology Trek to San Francisco (A post-CMC PE/RE trek to Chicago is also in the works).

To say the least, my week was busy. I decided to go above the required 2 CMC week activities and reap all the benefits I could from the week. It all started with a 2 day Valuation seminar – Training The Street – from Friday through Saturday. One word for TTS and our instructor: Awesome! I learned so much more about ‘real world’ (very different from academic world) Finance/Banking/Valuation than I thought I would going in. I feel that much more prepared for my technical interviews now. Though it was a very loaded 2 days, I wouldn’t trade the the value added for the world!

Next stop, I joined the Atlanta Finance Trek on Monday at the Coca-Cola headquarters. Everyone at Coca-Cola was extremely warm and pleasant and made us feel right at home. The campus was beautiful! Overall, a great trip! I came back to school afterwards to work on my Cover Letter and participate in some Behavioral Interviews to get me further prepped. By Monday night, I felt like I had already done enough for the week. But Tuesday saw me sitting in Crack the Case workshop, yet again, all day. By this time I was very exhausted, but Crack The Case was also awesome, so it had my full attention (a plug: all aspiring Strategists/Consultants must invest in this workshop…the instructor is great, and the material is extremely relevant!).

By Tuesday evening, I was on a plane headed East to my hometown, New York City for the NY Finance Trek, and boy, if I thought I was exhausted before, taking a look at the itinerary, I just knew I was in for a treat! Over a 3 day period, Wednesday to Friday, we were literally all over New York City. From Downtown to Midtown to Uptown, and back to Wall Street we went. Our visit included stops at almost all the major Investment Banks/Bulge Brackets (i.e. GS, JP, CS, UBS, BofA, etc etc), and the formats were mostly identical: presentations about the company/banking in general, opportunities for MBA Summer Associates and then a Networking portion. Everyone we met was nice and friendly, despite the numerous “warnings” about the intense banking lifestyle. Aside from the Networking opportunities it created, the trip was beneficial in the sense it helped provide clarity that a certain path was exactly what one wants to pursue, or exactly what one wouldn’t want to touch with a 50-yard stick! There was a networking event every night after trek stops (except Friday night), where the Finance Trekkers met up with the Marketing Trekkers for a mini “Goizueta Reunion”. We had drinks and finger food at Metrazur at Grand Central the first night, and on Thursday, the main event was the Emory mixer/social on the floor of the NYSE! Awesome times. Having drinks and hors d’oeuvres on the floor of the NYSE was a great experience! We even got to take pics right on the Opening Bell podium!

Overall, CMC week, though hectic, was very much value added for me. I got a lot done during the week, both tangible and intangible, and I feel much more prepared for my internship now. Of course, even though the official CMC week is over, it doesn’t mean my “CMC activities” will halt. I will continue honing my interview skills and working on arming myself with the arsenal for success when I do start my internship. My goal is to not only secure a great internship opportunity, but also to be fully prepared for said internship, so when I do begin, I will be a rockstar of an intern!

When I got to school on Friday, October 2nd, I knew the day would be a bit different. Students in blazers and no bookbags. Employers like Deloitte and Wipro setting up in our many crescent classrooms. Career Management Center personnel racing to put out last minute fires. Goizueta Career Connection was about to begin – and the density of business suits would have impressed a Hong Kong tailor.

GCC is our annual career exploration and networking event. What does that mean? Think career fair, but more personalized. We spend the day with actual company employees learning about everything from industry challenges to the typical day at the office. But GCC itself is no typical day at Goizueta. Consider the schedule:

11:30am: Sponsored lunches with companies like Capgemini and J.P. Morgan, with good conversation and delicious grub

1:00pm: Keynote address by the CEO of Turner Broadcasting – more on that in a second…

2:15pm: Something we call “Interactive Learning Modules” (ILMs), where companies like Atlanta Equity and WellPoint walk through their most interesting problems on topics like marketing, finance, and consulting. Wander into 208 and hear Humana talking about their beef with the public option, or slip into 304 and listen to a Goldman Sachs VP acknowledge that yes, some do consider a GS career to be “the Goldman ticket” (get it?) to bigger and better things.

7:00pm: Goizueta Casino Royale night at Aja Restaurant. Employer reps  + open bar + casino games = a surreally fun night of gaining contacts and losing bets.

One of the highlights was the talk by the Turner Broadcasting CEO, Philip I. Kent. First thing you need to know about Chairman Phil is that he’d been “banned” from speaking at Emory. Turns out that seven years ago he was speaking to the BBAs (undergraduate business students) and called an MBA degree nothing more than a “white-collar union card” – a statement only slightly less awkward for a business school dean than asking how he spends his salary.

In his talk, Chairman Phil touched on the value of youth, happiness, and not having much to lose. A few quotes stood out:

- “I’ve never read a business management book cover-to-cover, and I’m the only CEO of a Southeast company who doesn’t play golf.”

- “There’s nothing that you can do in the next ten years that you cannot undo, besides committing a felony or putting something inappropriate on Facebook.”

- “Your personal attitude is what is 100% within your control. Be positive, energetic, and happy to take on the hardest and most unpopular tasks.”

It’s this last message I enjoyed most. It’s the spirit of spending 12 hours with company reps exploring what the heck we might want to do after this thing called Business School. A different kind of day at Goizueta – and a good one.

–
Andrew K. Stein
Goizueta Business School
MBA Class of 2011

It has been a crazy month since GMSC presentation day, and the defined end of my first semester as an MBA student. That time, that stress has all washed away and given rise to a whole new (yet familiar) set of activities, known as the summer internship!

Let’s backtrack a bit, and fill you all in on the end of GMSC; after all, I was taking you through my journey, and so that is only fair. As classes ended, and the last finals were taken, the group of students in GMSC had the wonderful opportunity to spend a week keenly focused on achieving success on presentation day. Thanks to our awesome classmates, this task was fruitful, as we practiced our way to May 7^th. Not really knowing what to expect on presentation day, my team focused on ensuring our props were delivered to our room on time, and that we could get one practice run in before the big show. And a big show it was…we arrived to a room full of 50 judges, and other members of the GMSC family….enough to make you realize you would be speaking to a full, full house.

As the presentation began, our team felt the sense of accomplishment, and as the last question (of a 30 minute session) was finally answered, we realized we were done….really, really done. We ended the evening with a wonderful reception and dinner, where top performers and teams were recognized, and the coveted “Best Presentation” prize was taken by one of the teams. While we all felt like we had done our best, we were all very proud of the winning team….everyone was a part of the process together, and we all deserved a big pat on the back.

As GMSC ended, the time to relax was upon me…and it was a great time indeed. Spending a few weeks enjoying free time was wonderful, and I complimented it with some light reading on Organizational Design (business school really does get to you). When this blissful time was over, I packed myself up for a summer of work in a new city as a Human Resources Intern.

I, like many other MBA students, showed up at my internship on June 1^st, 2009, and spent 3+ days being oriented to the company, my office, my manager, and my projects….all 4 of them! This week was also my time to begin to kick-off my personal strategies for completing the work I was to accomplish over the following 10 weeks…a task which you cannot spend too much time on….after all, you have to deliver before you know it. The projects in my role, as a Labor Relations Intern, are challenging, enlightening, and unique for me. I am happy to admit that my previous experiences working in industry have given me a frame of reference for the landscape I am dealing with, and even happier that my curriculum at Goizueta has so far given me a glimpse of what I am set to deal with. In week one, I was excited to learn about a project which was related to a case I had read in my Marketing Management class, and I felt elated to realize that this baseline knowledge was really going to help me set the stage for the future of the project.

It sounds all too good to be true, and probably is, but for the first few weeks I am feeling back at home in the workplace, despite the 6am alarms, and am enjoying the experience I have had so far. I am sure there will be road blocks along the way, but I feel like I am somewhat prepared to address them….

When I look back at my first year at Goizueta, I have to smile…I entered the workplace again and I was ready….GBS has been a great compliment to my past experience, which is exactly as it should be in this new stage in my career. I can only wait and see what the future brings….

Stay tuned for more from the internship front, leadership activities over the summer (what!), and how to stay cool in business casual

The last one year has been the most exciting, and challenging for all of us. A class of 200+ students with different backgrounds, skill sets, aspirations and motivations came together to earn a well-deserved MBA from one of the top schools in US, and it feels like so different now that I realize that I’ve graduated. I’m sure all the other graduating students feel the same.

For me the time spent in school was all about learning from others, faculties, guests and staff, but most of all, from my fellow classmates. They have been a continual source of knowledge and wisdom, and I hope to keep learning no matter where I am. Now that we are newly minted MBAs, I feel that I am part of a new program, Master of Learning and Application; and it’s all about applying what you have learned, to gain more from that experience and learn more.

What makes this MBA special is not what we discuss in classrooms or breakout rooms or seminars. The learning was 24/7. It started at 1300 Clifton Rd, but it continued at WinShape, in China, Brazil, and Dubai, during GALA, at The Skydive Farm, in Omaha, and so many other places. For me, nothing can beat the experience of watching soccer in the commons with an overwhelming number of Manchester United supporters (most of whom I believe are band-wagoners), or meeting the Oracle of Omaha, Mr. Warren Buffett, himself, or even climbing the Great Wall of China. And none of these things are part of an MBA curriculum. All these things happen because someone wanted it to happen, and they led the way.

Given the current state of economy, this year has been very challenging for us. However, I truly believe that a sound investment in education can never ever go wrong. We’ll all reap the benefits of our hardships much sooner than later. Many of us don’t exactly know what we are going to do in the near future, and I, similar to what other people have said, feel this is a blessing in disguise. This is the time to discover those hidden skills that we have, to try out new things; because you never know what you can do, or what you would want to do in future. Eight years ago, when our family business was on the brink of bankruptcy, I chose not to pursue an MBA, and move into technology. A couple of years ago, I made the transition back from technology into business because I feel that is where my strengths lie. I hope to keep trying new things and gain more perspectives about everything.

So, what’s the moral of this rambling? What did I learn from my MBA? Always try new things, but know where your strengths lie. Business is personal, business is based on relationships, and that is where you should be investing in school.

I’m sure many – if not all – of you are curious about the current job market for MBA graduates. If you’re on the fence about committing to a program, the grim economic picture painted by the media each day probably isn’t helping your decision. It used to be that a top-tier MBA magically unlocked the gate to the mythical realm of six-figure employment with companies that do stuff you can’t explain without obscure acronyms like TQM and KPI. Recruiting season culminated in a grueling decision among multiple offers in major cities across the globe, and then you went out for Halloween and pissed away every cent of that $10,000 sign-on bonus. That’s about as close as a civilian can get to feeling like a top pick with the Yankees.

Unfortunately, the days of 2006 are over – for now, at least. The situation has changed dramatically for this year’s graduates, and not just MBAs, but almost everyone who is diving back into the job market in May. I read this week that 3,000 lawyers were laid off in the first quarter, hapless victims of what was once regarded as a bullet-proof profession. Even some of my classmates with job offers are unsure of their status, as a number of companies have pushed their start dates to next year, if ever.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a “typical” MBA student in that I have entrepreneurial aspirations and did not subject myself to the traditional recruiting process during the fall. But when the market imploded and launching a new venture became unfeasible, I began scouring for opportunities in the two industries I know best: real estate and media. I sent out dozens of resumes and spent last weekend in New York City wearing out my shoes and meeting with anyone who would have me. The responses have been bleak, a stark contrast to the moderately healthy hiring environment when I graduated college in 2003. Most companies said they are still three to four months from considering new employees, and those who are hiring want candidates far more experienced than me. With the number of layoffs over the past year, there is certainly no shortage of those.

I am, however, optimistic that the overall picture will improve in the coming months, and I’m not yet willing to chase a mindless job just for the refuge of a paycheck. A peer recently remarked that perhaps right now is not ideal to have a full-time gig. He may be right: Last weekend I managed to scrape together several projects that will keep me occupied through the summer (albeit without definitive compensation) and could lead to something bigger. If there is one, the moral of this story is always to watch for the breadcrumbs that will line your path and maybe feed you too.

The atmosphere at school nonetheless has remained somewhat upbeat despite the staggering full-time and internship placement levels this year. Ticket sales for the MBA formal this weekend have been brisk (where are people getting this money?), and earlier today an energetic bunch crowded around the TV to watch Manchester United’s win over Porto in the Champions League semis. I guess this is evidence that the dour economy hasn’t robbed us of our capacity to enjoy ourselves.

In any case, the situation undoubtedly will be better for the classes of 2010 and 2011. I don’t mean to preach, but I’ll leave you with this: Work hard and be persistent and you’ll find what you’re looking for. Lunch is never free.

And don’t forget the offering plate on the way out.

-Chris Wang, guest writer, MBA09

Hello out there, this is your host Parul, here to deliver another installment of “What the heck is GMSC?”…

When I last wrote about GMSC, our team was in the discovery phase of our GMSC project. The timeline for the class is designed for us to systematically go through this process, by doing an industry and competitor analysis, and conducting secondary research to begin the process. When we have defined the problem, then we begin the process of developing our survey for quantitative analysis. The survey is designed to collect data about your specific topic from users or relevant parties; ours is along the lines of usage patterns for data analytics. This survey can be internal to the client company or external, which has given many GMSC, groups the extra experience of working with email list brokers. The survey is reviewed and re-reviewed, by GMSC academics as well as industry experts, and can be a really intensive learning process…if you thought the simple days of check boxes were still around, you have another thing coming! Needless to say, when our team finally crafted our survey and sent it out, I was thinking… “Houston, we have landed”!

Our team is currently collecting survey data, a bit behind the “schedule” as it is laid out, but actually finding that our initial thoughts are very concurrent with the responses so far. The main challenges, as can be seen in any consulting-type deliverable, are ensuring that the work keeps going, that the client in involved in the process, and that everything we do will help us get closer to presentation day. If I had not mentioned it before, Presentation Day is one where each team competes in a competition (Case Competition to be exact) in front of several judges, both academic and from industry. The end result is a prize for best presentation, and best team…with a monetary reward. Anyone in GMSC will attest though, the glory is more attractive!

The coolest things for me so far with regards to GMSC are:

1. Interacting with a client I have never worked with (did I mention I consulted before B-school)

2. Working on the preliminary phases of a yet unexplored project

3. Interfacing with my awesome team

4. Working with faculty, and other students within GBS, who are experts in a certain area

5. Developing something which will potentially become a full-scale project at a very cool company, and

6. Competing with other teams, to produce the best quality product for our clients, and gain the glory of winning GMSC!

For the next month, our team will be working on some analytical data crunching, and presentation development. We have a long way to go, but we are beginning to really feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Stay tuned for the results in May!

Every year our school’s career management center (CMC) arranges a career trek to New York. This year was no different, even more exciting. There are two treks; one was for marketing, (which Marissa covers) the other one I joined was for finance. One interesting thing was that we could see how Wall Street actually kept going on in this financial crisis situation, although some banks do not exist anymore. Before the trip started, we had several meetings to prepare research on the companies that we would visit and to cover logistic issues to make sure everyone would be ready for the trek. We separated into groups and presented our company research to each other, mine was on HSBC. We had 10 companies on the list this year. The trek took three full days.

This was my first time in New York City. I was very excited about this event. I spent a lot of time doing research. However, my research was not only company research, but also my “trip” research (remember that it was my first time in New York). Fortunately, I have a friend studying in New York so I could stay in his apartment….for free! Since the trek lasted for three days, my plan was to arrive in New York one day early and stay one more day after the trek. Many classmates recommended me that I buy the 7-day unlimited MTA pass, cost $25, for transportation. I had planned a very condensed schedule for my trip, including  visits to the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, and so on. I should also go to have dinner in china town. OK! Let’s go back to the career trek topic.

This is the schedule for the trek. Day 1 was kind of a warm up since we just had two stops for company presentations. After I finished the J.P. Morgan presentation with tons of valuable information about how life as an investment banker, I did not hesitate to capture this moment of the first visit (see picture below). Next stop was UBS, which was just across the street.  We had quite a long break, so, my trip destination was to go visit Rockefeller Center.

But on Day 2, the schedule was so awesome, right?…Please do not think that we had time between companies to take a rest, because we had to arrive to every company 30 minutes before the scheduled time. Actually, sometimes we had to run. Even worse, it rained all day for the second day. We had fun and lots of knowledge, though. We could see a much clearer picture of what actually happened on Wall Street at this time. Every company presentation mentioned not only the career opportunities for its firm, but also current market situations and how each of those top firms had its own strategic move.

Then, one of the highlights of the trek was the event at the New York Stock Exchange You might not be able to imagine what it’s going to be. It was a fantastic event for the entire Emory family! After the trading day closed, the New York Stock Exchange’s trading floor, which I only saw on TV, was open for a  networking event exclusively for Emory. We had lots of alumni who joined the event. Even more surprisingly to me, my friends and I could go up to the IPO podium and take a picture (see evidence below…unbelievable!). After that, we had another networking event, the private equity and venture capital social, held in Millennium Hilton Hotel. This event gathered a large number of Emory alumni who are interested or work in this industry. It was another opportunity to expand our connections and strengthen our alumni network. 

On Day 3, we gathered lots of information from the other three firms; helping us to understand the culture of each firm and the firms could also assess our interest in them. It would be a very long post if I describe every single firm I visited. However, I would say, in general, we have alumni in almost all of these firms who are very eager to help current students explore any opportunities in their firms. Moreover, one important takeaway to be successful in finding a finance internship, particularly, investment banking, is developing our networking skills. Most investment banks really want to know the potential candidate because they have to work in teams and require an extremely high time commitment.

On my last day in New York, after absorbing the amazing lifestyle of investment banker in New York, it was a time to discover other New Yorker aspects. With my rigorous research, I bought online tickets to the Empire State Building before arriving to New York. Unfortunately, I could not go the top floor of the building because of the weather with the visibility of zero. However, in a crisis there is usually an opportunity behind. My friends who live in New York could buy tickets from me and they can use them whenever the weather is good. So, I spent most of my last day in Central Park and and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hopefully this post could explain what I appreciated about  this trek. It was one of the most exciting trips in my life – I had a chance to enter ten world-class financial firms and listen to their executives’ presentations within three days.  Plus, visiting New York City attractions also made it one of my favorite destinations. 

Follow your passion and find your fit.

I am told those are the keys to a successful career. With so many intriguing career opportunities, where should a girl begin? So, I trekked to Washington D.C. (on my own dime, of course) to confirm my passion and attended a career fair the size of three football fields, well maybe not three but it was huge! For two days, I walked up and down the aisles talking to representatives from financial services to food and beverage manufacturers. For a moment, I thought my dream job would be working in waste management. Before you laugh, the company had a cool booth…the employees performed concert worthy karaoke and everyone in the vicinity had a good time. Then reality had set in and I remembered those critical words “follow your passion and find your fit”, so I moved on.

Here are some tips I learned along the way:

Know your story. I can remember that phrase being echoed by business school students, admissions representatives and corporate recruiters alike. At the time, I thought it was a no brainer…I knew where I came from, where I was educated, what job I was currently working and why I wanted to go to business school. So, as I drafted my admissions essays I wrote what some would consider “my story”; an individual with insurance experience looking to pursue a marketing career. That was my story and still is to this day, but I like to think of it as my personal testimonial. I propose changing the dictum from “know your story” to “know your personal testimonial.” Think about it…a testimonial conveys positive evidence of a product’s value; in this case the product is you. I am not suggesting audacious bragging; just stressing the importance of knowing who you are and what value you can bring to a given school, company, organization, etc. Knowing your personal testimonial may help you determine what organizations best align or “fit” with who you are.

Be open to explore. Goizueta provides opportunities for current students to discover their career preferences through online assessments, industry panels, networking events and individual coaching. While these tools provide ample opportunity to explore different career paths, it is important to keep in mind your personal testimonial and what will fit with you. While I knew I was considering marketing, I was tempted by the allure of Wall Street and attended several corporate presentations and events. As I thought about my personal testimonial, I could see how my experience could align with a job on the Street, but would it be a good fit for me? Sometimes it is difficult to know where you could thrive without actually being there. It is important to speak with people in the industry, from a broad spectrum of companies, to know which types of organizations would work for you. Be open to explore and when necessary, know when it may be time to return to base camp.

Follow your passion and find your fit. At the end of the day, stay true to who you are because recruiters can tell when you are putting on a show. Remember to give your personal testimonial and make sure the values you are proposing align with the benefits sought by the school, company or organization. Goizueta has many tools to help you refine your testimonial, executive presence, and target company list but only you will know if a given company will lead you on the right path. These tips have helped me tremendously and I hope they will help you on your journey.

During Goizueta Career Connections of GCC, all the MBA student in the school get a chance to interact with representatives from companies sponsoring the event, work on real business cases and test their knowledge and abilities. This year we were privileged to have Mr. Douglas Lattner, the Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting LLP, as the key note speaker of the event. In addition to his prepared remarks about our school, the current state of the economy and its effect on recruitment and career preferences, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, he spent a lot of time answering questions that all the students were impatiently waiting to ask. One of the most interesting aspects about the key note session was the speaker’s ability to instill humor in his responses to keep the interaction informal, and informative.

Interactive Learning Modules

The Interactive Learning Modules or ILMs feature interactive business cases presented by company representatives from sponsoring companies. This gave the students a great opportunity to interact with the experts, test their ability to solve complex business problems and help them comprehend the intricate nature of business world. This year many companies came to our campus and worked with the students to give us a taste of real world scenarios and everyone loved all the sessions.

I attended the Consulting ILMs where we interacted with teams from two leading consulting firms, working in tandem on business problems that they had experienced. As you know, case based teaching is a norm in business schools, and ILMs take this learning to another level by bringing people who work on real business cases every day to the school to provide the background and the challenges faced by them in coming up with solid recommendations, and help their clients succeed. In each of the sessions, students got the opportunity to put on their consulting hat and think like a pro. We got a great opportunity to present out ideas, ask relevant questions and understand the logical steps of problem solving.
At the real estate panel of ILM, reputed senior professionals from industry leading firms came to give us the general ideas of real estate consulting career. One of the more fascinating realizations was the use regression analysis in real estate consulting, which I’m told was a novel insight. More interestingly, last year a team of Goizueta students prepared a comprehensive case study for the redevelopment project of City of Copperhill, Tennessee. Those students were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by The City of Copperhill and their work was very much appreciated.

From left to right: Thomas Greco, Aaron Kuney (both MBA ‘09), Professor Roy Black (Head of the Goizueta Real Estate program), and John Blankenship (MBA ‘92) from GVA Advantis

In one of the marketing modules the discussion consisted of an overview of one of the leading consumer goods products company’s brand, an analysis of how they determine different prices, and how the dynamics of competition change with each consumer segment. The students formed teams and developed strategies for firm to gain market share back from competitors for one of their product lines. Similarly in one of the Healthcare modules, a pharmaceutical company went through the pricing scheme during the event of a new drug’s introduction to the market, and how it is related to physician prescribing and patient purchasing behavior.