We had our first recruiting event within weeks of joining school. If memory serves right, we started working on our resumes within a few days after orientation. Whoever said recruiting is a marathon and not a sprint was spot on. It's been a long journey and over the next few weeks more than a dozen firms will conduct their interviews (mostly for positions in finance/consulting) - the journey will come to a successful end for many. For some, they would continue their marathon hopefully in a better position from the experience they gained through these events.
I've been fortunate to receive over half a dozen interviews from many top firms. God willing, this could be the final sprint for me. Wish me luck!
Before I forget, Columbia Connect I for the next batch is on Feb 10th and 11th. I recommend everyone to make an effort to attend these admit events. If you wish to know what happens in these events, here are detailed reports from the ones I attended.
Admit event I - http://columbiambaclassof2012.blogspot.com/2010/03/columbia-mba-admit-event-1.html
Admit event II - http://columbiambaclassof2012.blogspot.com/2010/04/columbia-admit-event-act-ii.html
Happy new year!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, November 22, 2010
Sneak peak into the future
When you are deep inside this bubble called investment banking recruiting it's difficult to plan ahead for the upcoming semester. Nevertheless, we still had to bid for courses we wish to take in the 2nd semester, and more importantly decide the destination for spring break!
Bidding for courses is a new phenomenon for me and it does become difficult to come to terms with it at times (especially when you lose!) . Even though there is great diversity in backgrounds and interests among the class of 2012, there are still many courses that fall into the trap of a supply/demand equation. For instance, Professor Greenwald's course on Value Investing is legendary around here. When you stick a rumor (or fact maybe) that he is taking a sabbatical after next semester... you get the idea. Many of my friends who bid >3000 points (which is ~25% of your total available bid points) still ended up empty handed as the course cleared over 5000 points! Initially I thought about bidding for the course (and most likely not win) but then I decided against it. I wanted to focus on taking courses that might help me perform better during my summer internship in an investment bank (if I'm fortunate to get one, touch wood!). I got lucky and got all that I bid for- Capital Markets & Investments by Professor Tetlock, Financial Statements Analysis & Valuation by Professor Katz and Consumer Technology by David Pogue (New York Times Technology columnist). There are a few more courses we had to bid for and those bidding results are due in a few days.
Moving on to more fun things, I had to decide whether to participate in the lottery for Chazen study tours. Chazen study tour is basically a week long trip to experience the business and culture of a new country. Some of the main attractions about these trips are the opportunities we get to interact with senior managements of the top/most exciting companies in that area and also meet with the senior political leaders of that country. The main attraction is of course the cultural exposure you get to experience and share with your friends from CBS! For the spring, we were offered trips to Italy, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico. Most of them had a selection process that included a lottery or an application. (When you decide to attend an MBA program, get ready to accept this as a fact of life- there is more demand than supply for all things worthy, except beer during happy hour!) All that said, I was in two minds about applying for the trip. On one hand, I had missed out on the awesome CBS World Tour and I was excited about traveling with friends from CBS. But then, for good or bad, Chazen didn't allow significant others to accompany us on the tour. I was looking forward to spending time with my wife without stressing about internships and academics etc. Finally, my wife and I decided that it will be a good experience for me to take part in the Chazen trip :-) So I applied and was lucky enough to win the lottery for the Israel trip (my first choice!). Yay! The itinerary is exceptional- check it out here
So it's going to be a great start to a new year! Now before I start thinking too much about spring break, there is still final exams, cover letters, resumes, interviews and all that jazz standing between me and 2011. So for now, back to reality.
Bidding for courses is a new phenomenon for me and it does become difficult to come to terms with it at times (especially when you lose!) . Even though there is great diversity in backgrounds and interests among the class of 2012, there are still many courses that fall into the trap of a supply/demand equation. For instance, Professor Greenwald's course on Value Investing is legendary around here. When you stick a rumor (or fact maybe) that he is taking a sabbatical after next semester... you get the idea. Many of my friends who bid >3000 points (which is ~25% of your total available bid points) still ended up empty handed as the course cleared over 5000 points! Initially I thought about bidding for the course (and most likely not win) but then I decided against it. I wanted to focus on taking courses that might help me perform better during my summer internship in an investment bank (if I'm fortunate to get one, touch wood!). I got lucky and got all that I bid for- Capital Markets & Investments by Professor Tetlock, Financial Statements Analysis & Valuation by Professor Katz and Consumer Technology by David Pogue (New York Times Technology columnist). There are a few more courses we had to bid for and those bidding results are due in a few days.
Moving on to more fun things, I had to decide whether to participate in the lottery for Chazen study tours. Chazen study tour is basically a week long trip to experience the business and culture of a new country. Some of the main attractions about these trips are the opportunities we get to interact with senior managements of the top/most exciting companies in that area and also meet with the senior political leaders of that country. The main attraction is of course the cultural exposure you get to experience and share with your friends from CBS! For the spring, we were offered trips to Italy, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Mexico. Most of them had a selection process that included a lottery or an application. (When you decide to attend an MBA program, get ready to accept this as a fact of life- there is more demand than supply for all things worthy, except beer during happy hour!) All that said, I was in two minds about applying for the trip. On one hand, I had missed out on the awesome CBS World Tour and I was excited about traveling with friends from CBS. But then, for good or bad, Chazen didn't allow significant others to accompany us on the tour. I was looking forward to spending time with my wife without stressing about internships and academics etc. Finally, my wife and I decided that it will be a good experience for me to take part in the Chazen trip :-) So I applied and was lucky enough to win the lottery for the Israel trip (my first choice!). Yay! The itinerary is exceptional- check it out here
So it's going to be a great start to a new year! Now before I start thinking too much about spring break, there is still final exams, cover letters, resumes, interviews and all that jazz standing between me and 2011. So for now, back to reality.
Monday, November 8, 2010
James Gorman and Chris Dixon
Yes, you read it right. Normally, there is no reason that would require them to be mentioned in the same context. But if you attend Columbia Business School, you get opportunities to interact with both. If you wish to do an MBA, you would want to be in a school that promotes diversity in all aspects. It can't get any better when there are no seats left in the room whether it is James Gorman who is the speaker or Chris Dixon.
I worry about the high interest (~10%) I'm paying for my student loan as an international student. When Mr.Gorman spoke about having a long term view about the MBA, he meant it- his interest rate was 24%!
It was insightful to understand his perspectives on leadership. He mentioned the importance of being able to reduce complexity. As a leader, you need to be able to decide on what matters and what doesn't. Once you decide that, you need to be able to communicate that well to your people. Above all, you should be equally equipped to deal with less information than ideal during decision making and also have the ability & desire to dig into the details when required.
As expected, there was a discussion on the recent financial crisis, what happened at Morgan Stanley and the ongoing financial reforms and regulations. He expressed some reservations on the Volcker rule on principle- the ability of the government to dictate what businesses a financial services firm can participate in versus what it can't. His point was to let the government give guidelines on the capital requirements and other matters and leave it to the shareholders to decide the business focus of the firm and whether they find certain businesses attractive or not given these guidelines.
The focus went back to leadership again and he mentioned that one needs to care about what one is leading and be true to self. He recommended to keep our focus on the quality of the institution and the people and reminded us that we will have many careers in our lives, so we shouldn't judge by what happens in the next one year. He spoke about the importance of being able to communicate well and suggested that we get ourselves recorded in front of a camera to improve our communication skills (Every single student at Columbia Business School is recorded in front of a camera and given feedback as part of our career development program!)
The talk ended with him sharing his thoughts on the current economy and the importance of having patience in this turbulent period while things change for the better.
I worry about the high interest (~10%) I'm paying for my student loan as an international student. When Mr.Gorman spoke about having a long term view about the MBA, he meant it- his interest rate was 24%!
It was insightful to understand his perspectives on leadership. He mentioned the importance of being able to reduce complexity. As a leader, you need to be able to decide on what matters and what doesn't. Once you decide that, you need to be able to communicate that well to your people. Above all, you should be equally equipped to deal with less information than ideal during decision making and also have the ability & desire to dig into the details when required.
As expected, there was a discussion on the recent financial crisis, what happened at Morgan Stanley and the ongoing financial reforms and regulations. He expressed some reservations on the Volcker rule on principle- the ability of the government to dictate what businesses a financial services firm can participate in versus what it can't. His point was to let the government give guidelines on the capital requirements and other matters and leave it to the shareholders to decide the business focus of the firm and whether they find certain businesses attractive or not given these guidelines.
The focus went back to leadership again and he mentioned that one needs to care about what one is leading and be true to self. He recommended to keep our focus on the quality of the institution and the people and reminded us that we will have many careers in our lives, so we shouldn't judge by what happens in the next one year. He spoke about the importance of being able to communicate well and suggested that we get ourselves recorded in front of a camera to improve our communication skills (Every single student at Columbia Business School is recorded in front of a camera and given feedback as part of our career development program!)
The talk ended with him sharing his thoughts on the current economy and the importance of having patience in this turbulent period while things change for the better.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Clubs and leadership
CBS offers many outlets- clubs, conferences, competitions and other events one could participate and contribute to, be it professional, social or something in between. When the Association day (the day when we can officially join the clubs) arrives everyone goes crazy with all the choices available- Wine society or Microbrew? Soccer or Rugby? Banking or Consulting? Almost all of us end up spending 500$ and join a ton of clubs, this behavior may be explained by the phenomenon -Fear Of Missing Out.
Through my application process, I had networked with current students and was aware of this issue. So I decided early that I won’t spread myself thin and end up not enjoying the experience as well as I could. I promised myself to pick not more than two-three things to focus on each semester.
This semester, I'll be focusing on Hermes Society (selected group of students who assist the admissions committee), and South Asian Business Association, as the AVP of Careers. I'll also be dedicating a lot of time and energy on the Investment Banking Club activities as that's my professional area of interest. Recruiting for an IB internship merits its own post and I'll cover this topic once my midterm exams are over.
That said, I did sign up for one more activity initially only to drop out later. I enjoy writing and I wanted to actively participate in the CBS Follies club. After participating in a few sessions pitching skit ideas and working on a draft I could already see why everyone says Follies is one of the most fun/rewarding thing you can ever do here. Kate, Imran and rest of the leadership team go to great lengths in making this so much fun. The only reason I dropped out was because I couldn't do justice to the opportunities presented to me. Some of the workshops I attend to prepare for my future career were being scheduled at the same time Follies met... I do hope I will get a chance to join the team again in future.
CBS MBA is all about making choices, sticking to them and not falling into the trap of FOMO. In my opinion, that’s the secret sauce to getting most out of this two years!
Through my application process, I had networked with current students and was aware of this issue. So I decided early that I won’t spread myself thin and end up not enjoying the experience as well as I could. I promised myself to pick not more than two-three things to focus on each semester.
This semester, I'll be focusing on Hermes Society (selected group of students who assist the admissions committee), and South Asian Business Association, as the AVP of Careers. I'll also be dedicating a lot of time and energy on the Investment Banking Club activities as that's my professional area of interest. Recruiting for an IB internship merits its own post and I'll cover this topic once my midterm exams are over.
That said, I did sign up for one more activity initially only to drop out later. I enjoy writing and I wanted to actively participate in the CBS Follies club. After participating in a few sessions pitching skit ideas and working on a draft I could already see why everyone says Follies is one of the most fun/rewarding thing you can ever do here. Kate, Imran and rest of the leadership team go to great lengths in making this so much fun. The only reason I dropped out was because I couldn't do justice to the opportunities presented to me. Some of the workshops I attend to prepare for my future career were being scheduled at the same time Follies met... I do hope I will get a chance to join the team again in future.
CBS MBA is all about making choices, sticking to them and not falling into the trap of FOMO. In my opinion, that’s the secret sauce to getting most out of this two years!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Yours truly, on CNN
To represent the hopes and dreams of Class of 2012 on CNN and on top of that seeing my own quote become the title of a news story- words can't describe this feeling!
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/09/30/mba.students.innovate/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/09/30/mba.students.innovate/index.html
 |
| Obama, Jiabao and I |
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Fun at CBS
Classes took prominence in the coming week and our professors didn't waste anytime to impress upon how much work is ahead of us. Soon I found myself spending long hours at Watson (our library). That said, we still had fun! Our first official CBS happy hour was coming up and each cluster's pride was hanging on the balance.
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As you must have guessed by now, I'm lovin' it!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Career Management
When it comes to career choices there is a temptation to make sweeping generalizations. I offer my own story here requesting that you take it with a grain of salt. I think the takeaway should be not the actions I took but the process I followed. There are some people out there who develop a strong affinity to a particular subject at a very young age. For them the road ahead is more clear, for the rest of us it's more tricky. During my high school, I did very well in the exams but I didn't display out of the ordinary brilliance in any one particular subject. When the time came to make a decision about an undergraduate degree, I chose engineering because I didn't like biology. This was the first and last decision I made by the choice of elimination.
It is not that I disapprove completely the choice of elimination process. Sometimes that's all we have got. But once we reach a certain age, even if we are not a born genius with some introspection we can unearth what we are really passionate about. And without passion one would always find the cost of excellence too high. Again I believe this issue will be a common one for most of the above average students, those who can and will do well in their studies but haven't yet unearthed their strong foot. In other words there is no escaping this intellectual exercise for discovering your passion. One criterion I found useful and I touched upon this in a blog post earlier in my own blog is - if you can pick up a book on an industry and find yourself tempted to read a few more pages before lying down, that could be an industry you are passionate about and could excel in. And as you grow in your professional life you will get exposed to new roles and industries and may develop new interests.
In my case, software engineering was the subject that piqued my interest the most in undergrad. The fact that most of my peers found it boring didn't bother me at all. I remember browsing the Software Engineering Institute website with child-like enthusiasm. Having discovered a real interest I yearned for more opportunities to learn more. I was fortunate enough to have two great friends who encouraged me to take up GRE and apply to the top Master's programs in USA. A year later, I was attending classes taught by Prof.Mary Shaw and Prof. David Garlan. These were the same people who wrote our undergrad texts! The icing on the cake was getting an internship at the same Software Engineering Institute I read so much about. The takeaway here is to follow your passion and chase excellence. I could've followed the herd and carried on with the job offer I got from Wipro. But I knew Wipro was not the best place for me to pursue my interests- not being complacent is vital.
My consulting experiences after Carnegie Mellon exposed me to the financial services industry and I was hooked like never before. I spent a lot of time reading about the business of my clients and acquiring knowledge that was not entirely necessary to perform my daily job. My benchmark was to be able to grasp the big picture of the op-eds in NYTimes written by folks such as Paul Krugman. I also extensively conversed on topical issues with friends from the industry to learn from their insider perspectives. As I learned more about the broad landscape I gravitated towards certain areas of the industry- Investment Banking. While I was in this pursuit, financial services transformed from the hottest career path to the deadbeat one. Nevertheless today I'm pursuing an MBA at one of the top business schools to succeed in making this transition to a career in Investment Banking. The takeaway here is to not let macroeconomic developments completely change your career choice.
If you find yourself passionate about an industry/function, figure out ways to excel in it- whether it means pursuing a new degree or just spending sometime in the public library and then get your foot in the door. Do not worry too much about whether your friends are interested in the same industry or whether the media recommends this as "the next big thing". Chasing excellence always pays off. There will always be great careers waiting for the best, no matter whether it's a recession, recovery or a bubble.
I wish you all the very best!
It is not that I disapprove completely the choice of elimination process. Sometimes that's all we have got. But once we reach a certain age, even if we are not a born genius with some introspection we can unearth what we are really passionate about. And without passion one would always find the cost of excellence too high. Again I believe this issue will be a common one for most of the above average students, those who can and will do well in their studies but haven't yet unearthed their strong foot. In other words there is no escaping this intellectual exercise for discovering your passion. One criterion I found useful and I touched upon this in a blog post earlier in my own blog is - if you can pick up a book on an industry and find yourself tempted to read a few more pages before lying down, that could be an industry you are passionate about and could excel in. And as you grow in your professional life you will get exposed to new roles and industries and may develop new interests.
In my case, software engineering was the subject that piqued my interest the most in undergrad. The fact that most of my peers found it boring didn't bother me at all. I remember browsing the Software Engineering Institute website with child-like enthusiasm. Having discovered a real interest I yearned for more opportunities to learn more. I was fortunate enough to have two great friends who encouraged me to take up GRE and apply to the top Master's programs in USA. A year later, I was attending classes taught by Prof.Mary Shaw and Prof. David Garlan. These were the same people who wrote our undergrad texts! The icing on the cake was getting an internship at the same Software Engineering Institute I read so much about. The takeaway here is to follow your passion and chase excellence. I could've followed the herd and carried on with the job offer I got from Wipro. But I knew Wipro was not the best place for me to pursue my interests- not being complacent is vital.
My consulting experiences after Carnegie Mellon exposed me to the financial services industry and I was hooked like never before. I spent a lot of time reading about the business of my clients and acquiring knowledge that was not entirely necessary to perform my daily job. My benchmark was to be able to grasp the big picture of the op-eds in NYTimes written by folks such as Paul Krugman. I also extensively conversed on topical issues with friends from the industry to learn from their insider perspectives. As I learned more about the broad landscape I gravitated towards certain areas of the industry- Investment Banking. While I was in this pursuit, financial services transformed from the hottest career path to the deadbeat one. Nevertheless today I'm pursuing an MBA at one of the top business schools to succeed in making this transition to a career in Investment Banking. The takeaway here is to not let macroeconomic developments completely change your career choice.
If you find yourself passionate about an industry/function, figure out ways to excel in it- whether it means pursuing a new degree or just spending sometime in the public library and then get your foot in the door. Do not worry too much about whether your friends are interested in the same industry or whether the media recommends this as "the next big thing". Chasing excellence always pays off. There will always be great careers waiting for the best, no matter whether it's a recession, recovery or a bubble.
I wish you all the very best!
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