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February 29, 2008
Spring Break
I am currently out in Denver at the 2008 Cleantech Venture Challenge sponsored by the Leeds School of Business. There were 8 teams selected to compete in the competition, and the field was narrowed to 4 for the competition round taking place today. All 4 teams selected for the final round are from the University of Michigan. I also just learned that a Michigan team competing in a separate competition in Cincinnati just advance to the Final Four, which will take place tomorrow. Overall it has been a great week for the Michigan entrepreneurial program!
Ross is currently on break, so I actually got a couple of days of skiing in out in Steamboat prior to this b-plan competition. I was skiing with 8 Ross students, and we had a blast – lots of great powder and lots of great food (a couple of my fellow travelers are excellent chefs).
There were a bunch of trips similar to mine – student groups went to Aruba, Jamaica, Florida, Utah, and Panama, just to name a few. It was great to spend some time outside of the hectic pace of business school, and the fact that so many students chose to travel with classmates illustrates the strength of the relationships that have formed over just a few months.
Oh, I almost forgot. We had final exams last week (seems like a very long time ago), which means that core classes are all done. Very bittersweet because we will no longer share classes with our section mates. Going forward, classes will primarily be elective-based. We still have MAP to go before this first year is over, but if the last 3 quarters are any indication, the next 7 weeks are really going to fly!
Posted by leahyt at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2008
Good problems
Winter A is officially over. Well, I have to make up a final after spring break and before leaving for the Czech Republic for MAP, but Winter A is essentially over. Recruiting is almost all over. Just have some final decisions to make, which is tougher than it sounds. It’s a great problem to have though.
As the incoming President for the Healthcare and Life Science (HLS) Club, here’s my shameless plug for the organization: it’s incredible. From a recruiting standpoint, I can’t think of a single active HLS MBA1 who did not get multiple offers. From an educational standpoint, most of us are well-versed in the industry lingo and will likely be successful at jumpstarting our internships. All this is due to the club. HLS this year had more educational and networking activities than any other that I’ve joined, and its MBA2’s were more helpful and generous with their time than any other.
As for Spring Break, I’m heading to Jamaica for a few days to visit my friend from college who’s doing Peace Corps there. Can’t wait. In fact, my plane leaves in less than four hours! The temperature change is one which I welcome.
I also have to decide on my electives for next Fall. There are a handful that I have heard only good things about, so I definitely want to take those. I’m not sure how many more marketing and finance classes I’ll take, since I’ve taken electives in them already. Again, another great problem to have: too many great electives to choose from.
Highlights:
- Hard work + great school = multiple internship offers
- Back on track with my marathon training
- Success across the board with recruiting among my friends
- All electives from here
- MAP! First-choice project! Czech Republic!
Lowlights:
- Core classes with my section are officially over.
Things I’m looking forward to:
- MAP?!?
- Studying abroad at Koblenz, Germany
Posted by amyhuang at 03:44 AM | Comments (0)
February 22, 2008
Winter A ended
Winter A is over. Tomorrow I will do the last final and then I will fly to Brazil for Spring Break. Indeed, when school tells us Winter A has a great part of its time dedicated to recruiting it is 110% true, especially if you decide to do consulting. The consulting process for US positions finish earlier, however for international positions it is still going on. I do recommend taking fewer classes during Winter A so you can dedicate to recruiting if it is the case and also you can dedicate time to your core classes.
Some of my colleagues who are doing off campus recruiting are a bit nervous because they think they are behind in the process. But is not true, timing is different. Most off campus companies start to recruit in March, so they still have a road to go.
Wolverine Venture Fund is going great. I have so much fun with this group; students have a similar profile, which makes things smoother, although we come from very different backgrounds, this is an interesting characteristic. I noticed sense of humor is fundamental in this field.
I am looking forward to initiating Winter B, when MAP starts. I am going to work with Interface Fabrics, one of the icons in the sustainability field. My team is traveling to Interface different locations in Michigan Grand Rapids, Maine and North Carolina. We will spend entire March traveling. It seems an interesting project and I can see Interface lead team is very interested in our contribution. When the project starts I will let you know how the dynamics are. Now I am really looking forward to resting during Spring break, at this time of the year we can use some leisure time to recharge our batteries.
Posted by rsoares at 12:14 AM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2008
Finals Again!
Finals week has been pretty easy this time. I only took three classes this quarter to leave time for recruiting, so my exam schedule isn’t nearly as bad as the previous terms. I had one take home case analysis for my Corporate Financial Policy class, did my Operations exam yesterday, and only need to finish up a semi-take home Managerial Accounting exam before I’m done and off to the Caribbean. If everything goes as planned I should be able to recover from a “not so great” academic performance last term.
I decided to take some time off during spring break to get away from the cold and celebrate a very productive and successful term. My wife and I are going to meet my parents in St. Barth’s and spend a week toasting on the beach and living large. Winter is still in full fledge in Ann Arbor, and it’s starting to get a little long. It will be nice to actually be able to stay outside for more than a few minutes. I’m beginning to get a little cabin fever. The good news is that the chipmunks are starting to come out again, which is a telltale sign that spring is just around the corner (I just made that up, I hope it's true though!).
When I return, MAPs will start at full steam. I am very excited about my project, and think it will be a great learning experience. It will also be the conclusion of my first year as an MBA. It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun!
Posted by jtlynch at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)
Well the end is here in terms of Winter A. Again, yet another fast term, however a good one. Finals are a bit lighter this term in that I only really have two. I had a group project my Marketing class that was due a couple of days ago. I take my last final on Friday and then its off to Florida for Spring Break! I am really looking forward to a relaxing break. Its also very cold here and I need a climate change.
I’ve finally decided where I am going for the summer. I will be at Dell in their Consumer Marketing group. I am really excited about my internship opportunity and look forward to learning a lot more about Marketing. Also, I can’t wait to get to Austin! I should be a great place to be for the summer.
One of the other things going on around the school is the election for next year’s club board members. Many of the students have stepped up and taken on leadership positions. This is great because it really exhibits Ross leadership. Next year, I will serve as the Chair of the UpClose Weekend, which is a preview weekend for students interested in increasing the presence of minorities in business. Since I attended this weekend as a prospective student and this event was one of the major factors in my decision to attend Ross, I am extremely excited to serve in this role. I am also thinking about leadership positions in other clubs as well, so I will see how that works out.
GBR is right around the corner so I hope that you are planning to attend. GBR was a fantastic event for my last year. I was able to learn more about Ross’ action based learning style through a project and class visit, meet other classmates, and figure out important things such as housing. About 70% of your incoming class will be at GBR so it is a great time to meet your classmates and start forming those friendships. So I hope to see you at GBR!
Posted by alantria at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2008
Almost done with Winter A
Interviews are over… Exams are almost over… Final write-ups almost over…My MBA experience? Just beginning. This past few weeks were really spent preparing for interviews, researching the Tauber projects and meeting the company execs. In all, I interviewed with six companies: Steelcase, Cummins, Target, BorgWarner, Intel and Boeing. The common thread in all these projects is that they offer me an opportunity to expand the scope of my previous experience because they are either national or global in scale. What also made me pick these projects was that I believe my background and experience will prove valuable for these projects and thus I will be able to make a big positive impact. The interview process itself was surprisingly enjoyable. So much preparation and practice gave me a good sense of confidence, so I entered each interview with the intention of giving recruiters a sense of who I am and what I am about. Most interviews were really just 30 minute chats about my background and why I would like to work for the company over the summer. Now all I have to do is wait for about two weeks while Tauber faculty run the algorithm that will match our preference with the company’s interest. Supposedly, once I return from spring break I will know where I will work this summer.
On a different note, core classes are basically done, except for two more requirements that I need to take before graduation. It is really up to me now as to what classes I take. Last week, the faculty presented the classes that each department will offer in the coming semesters. I also looked at my Tauber requirements and mapped out the rest of my MBA. I have included in my plan some classes I never expected to be interested in, like some marketing and accounting courses. I think that these classes, along with other finance course, will provide me with a new dimension to analyze operation problems.
Posted by jolaiz at 01:47 AM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2008
MAP assignments announced!
The MAP projects were finally announced a few weeks ago. The last time I was this excited to find about anything was about a year ago when I was hearing about admissions into MBA schools…
I was very eager to find out about my MAP project. Deep breath…a little prayer…and I was ready to click on my MAP project link. Yes!!!! I am headed to India for MAP! It was one of my top 3 choices. At 5pm on the day of the announcement, it seemed like people across the school had just won the lottery. I saw at least two people almost fall out of their chairs when they found out that they got their first choice.
In addition to the MAP project announcement, I was also keen to learn who would be on my team. My team is compromised of people with diversified work experience and background. Although I am almost 75% done with the first year, I have not had any classes with any of me MAP teammates. Since I have met most of my team outside the classroom, I truly believe that we will work well together on the project.
The MAP office provides a great support system as teams prepare for their projects. Each team assigned a faculty liaison advisor, advisor, and a communication coach. The advisors and coaches will be a great asset for each of the teams.
My MAP presents an excellent opportunity to practice action-based learning and solve real-world issue in the emerging markets. I’ll keep all of you posted on my MAP experience in the coming months.
Follow the links to learn more about how MAP works and list of 2007 MAP projects.
Posted by jbal at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2008
One more quarter over...
Finals week is here again! It seems like just yesterday I was scrambling back to school all worried about interviews, and now the quarter is almost over. Everything went very well this quarter, and I really couldn’t have hoped for anything else. I got my dream job with JPMorgan in San Francisco, my classes were all very interesting, and last Sunday I was elected the Vice President of the Finance Club responsible for Investment Banking. After finals I will spend a week in the sun in the Caribbean before coming back for MAP.
The finance club position will be a great leadership opportunity for me, and I look forward to passing on all the knowledge I gathered during the recruiting process and making the next generation of Ross investment bankers successful. All the elected Finance Club officers are great people and I look forward to working with them.
With MAP quarter coming up, the projects are starting to take shape and there is a lot of buzz around campus about who is doing what and where. This week I had a conference call with my MAP company, where they introduced our project and our contacts within the company. It seems like our project will be very challenging and will have a serious impact on the company we are working for. The fact that our project will have a big impact on the company is very motivating, but also brings with it great responsibility. I met with my team last week and they are all very intelligent people, and I’m sure we’ll do a great job and have a great time.
On a lighter note, last week we had winter formal (MBA prom) it was a lot of fun to see everyone dressed up and having fun together. The event was very well organized and held at a very posh venue a few minutes away from Ann Arbor. My wife and I had a great time dancing the night away with all the other MBA’s and partners.
Posted by jtlynch at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
MAP, Boyne, Ross Follies
We are in the final stretch of Winter A with finals coming next week followed by a weeklong vacation, after which MBA 1s will make their way back to Ann Arbor and then disperse throughout the globe for MAP projects (http://www.bus.umich.edu/MAP/ProspectiveStudents.htm).
Back in January all first-year MBAs had to rank their top 10 MAP choices – the only restriction in selecting a MAP related to the number of international MAPs everyone could put in their top 10 (just because international MAPs are so popular). That said, most people I’ve spoken to have gotten one of their top choice projects. I actually got my first choice – I’ll be analyzing the alternative energy industry, which is exactly what I returned to school to study. While I got my first choice, I would have been happy with any of the 10 projects on my list. In fact, there were so many interesting projects focused on Cleantech and/or Sustainability that I had trouble narrowing down my list to only 10.
While things have been crazy with recruiting, classes, and MAP, there have been a bunch of fun b-school activities recently. A couple of weekends ago, the Ross Ski Club sponsored a trip up to Boyne – the 550 foot vertical drop is intimidating, but the 100 or so students who made the trek returned largely unscathed. Joking aside, the Boyne resort is a great place (it’s not their fault there are no mountains in Michigan), and there were plenty of other activities – dog-sledding, cross country skiing, tubing – to keep the advanced skiers busy once they’d had their fill of the mountain.
Last weekend was Ross Follies (http://www.rossfollies.org/), a mostly live performance (there are some taped segments) written/produced/directed/performed entirely by Ross students – there were, however, some guest performances by some faculty, including a cameo from Dean Dolan. My favorite part was a b-school rendition of Flight of the Conchords’ “Business Time,” which took the audience through a (satirized) on campus interview. It was absolutely hilarious.
That’s all for now – all you admits, make sure to attend your local Ross Reception and save the weekend of April 10-12 for Go Blue Rendezvous!
Posted by leahyt at 03:49 PM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2008
Recruiting, Recruiting
As foretold in my previous posting, there are a lot of very happy MBA 1s walking the halls these days – summer internship offers have been coming through, and I know a lot of people who have gotten very good offers. The process is still unfolding, so we will see how everything shakes out in the end.
I got some good news recently as well – a business plan that some fellow students and I submitted for a business plan competition was selected for the final round. So I will be traveling at the end of February to pitch the plan to a group of judges, many of whom work for Venture Capital funds. If you are interested in entrepreneurship, be sure to check out the Zell Lurie Institute website (http://www.zli.bus.umich.edu/). The folks at ZLI were a tremendous resource as my team and I crafted our plan; the strength of the entrepreneurial program here is evidenced by the fact that Michigan is represented on 4 of the 8 teams selected for the final round in this competition.
Now turning to another type of recruiting - to anyone out there trying to decide whether Ross is the right fit for you – or if you’ve already been sold on Ross, but just want to meet an engaging group of people – I would strongly encourage that you attend the admitted student reception (coming soon to a city near you!). The reception was a great opportunity to meet alumni, current students, and admissions staff, not to mention future classmates. I attended the reception in New York City, which took place at Stone Tower Capital’s offices in midtown Manhattan.
It was a memorable night for me because of the size of the turnout and the enthusiasm of the crowd. I spoke with then-MBA 1s who were doing their MAP at American Express in New York, alumni from dozens of companies (lots of folks in finance, it is New York after all), and I was finally able to put some faces to the names of the admissions staff with whom I had been in touch.
The reception was my first experience getting to know Michigan alumni, a vibrant network that has played a very important role in mine and my classmates’ career searches. I would highly recommend attending the reception – you will get a flavor for the Ross community and will undoubtedly meet some great people. Go Blue!
Posted by leahyt at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)
The end is near...
It's hard to believe that we are reaching the end of Winter A. Things are going good so far. I have two offers right now from both Dell and Cisco and I am in the process of scheduling a second round interview with Microsoft. The recruiting process actually went by fairly quickly, however there was a lot of work, stress, and anxiety getting ready for interviews. I do not plan to interviews with any other companies other than my second round interview. This weekend I am attending a sell day at Dell in Austin. I am excited about the day so that I can learn a bit more about Dell and Austin. I am pleased with my results so far and I will let you all know what the final decision is for me.
My MAP will be with Equinox, a luxury fitness center in New York. Our project is to determine how to place Equinox on the top employees to work for list. It is a good project because I get to incorporate HR strategies along with some strategy and marketing knowledge as well. I meet with my MAP team last week and everyone is extremely excited about the project and we should work well together. I am really looking forward to the project and getting a chance to work on a real business project before my internship.
Things are also starting to ramp up with my Board Fellowship project. I will work on developing a Marketing plan for Girls on the Run. This will help them to reach a greater amount of young females interested in the program and also increase the name and visibility of the organization. I am eager to work on this project since I am totally passionate about the cause of the organization and also marketing. There should be some good results from my work.
Well, that’s all that I have today folks. Things are still busy, but good. I will catch you all in two weeks once I get ready for finals!
Posted by alantria at 08:34 PM | Comments (0)
Fall B and Winter A
Fall B was over and it was a good term. It was important because it was when I started preparing for recruiting. In this process the Consulting Club was very helpful. I do recommend joining the Consulting Club if you want to persue a consulting job. The club helped us in several areas: case prep., fit interview and firm specific points. We had several meetings every Sunday for 7 Sundays in a role and each student had a mentor to help and guide us throughout the process. In addition, we organized groups of 6 students to practice case interviews. After that MBA 2 were very supportive in also doing case interviews with us. It is in deed a competitive process because we are all good students, however what stroke me is that we are very supportive. I was surprised to see how my colleagues helped one another in this process. We shared information about the companies and case and fit interviews. The process by itself is a little stressing and demanding and Michigan students make it smother throughout the process. This is a great experience and feeling.
Career process started with full strength during Winter A, especially IB (Investment bank) and consulting. School recommends we do at most three class if not only the two core and I highly recommend doing so if you are recruiting for one out of these two positions. I am doing the two core classes and Wolverine Venture Fund. It is more than enough. If you decide to interview for international consulting positions most of your interviews will be in Chicago. So account for traveling, firms pay for it. If you apply for US positions, most of the interviews are on campus. I am doing both process and still doing interviews.
As I am a dual degree student last year I did an Erb/sustainable internship and it was a self direct search. The process is different especially considering timing; most of the self direct search start late in the game after IB and consulting process. So if things do not work out in either of the two positions, there are several other options either on campus or off campus.
I think Global Warming is hitting us strongly. This winter in Michigan is a lot warmer than last year; moreover we experienced some crazy difference in temperatures from 40F to 4F in two days. We had a lot of snow, which is beautiful and allows us to go slicing and have lots of fun.
Wolverine Venture Fund is going well and we will have some more Bootcamp sessions, which I am looking forward to. We are going to strengthen our background in the field. Our team is very cool. I am very glad to participate in this community. I am also happy that my blog helped some prospects students interested in entrepreneurship. It is a pleasure to help you.
Posted by rsoares at 01:21 PM | Comments (0)
The last few weeks have been intense. I underestimated the amount of time and energy that interviews would take. In addition, to interviews there are generally receptions the night before to meet the interviewers and learn more about the organizations. The receptions are good in that they present the opportunity to meet people in a more informal environment. However, it is hard after a long day to go and mingle. Fortunately interviews are starting to wrap-up now and the atmosphere is calming down around here as people prepare for Spring Break and MAP.
We found out MAP assignments a few weeks ago and it was like Christmas, but with a little bit of anxiety. I was beyond excited because I was placed on my first choice. We are going to be working with a social enterprise for a non-profit organization whose mission is to rehabilitate women and children in crisis. We are going to be working on a market entry strategy for a soy product they created. In addition, to being excited about the organization and the project, I am happy with the team. We are meeting this Friday for drinks and I am looking forward to getting to know everyone.
The other big thing going on is that the Ross Winter Formal was last Saturday night. Basically over 500 MBAs showed up at the Inn at St. John in black tie attire. University of Michigan Business Student Association (UMBSA) did a fabulous job of arranging the event. Michigan shuttle buses took people to and from the venue, which was about 20-minutes away. Everyone had a great time at the event, including me. The timing was perfect for the event, since we were all running around with interviews we had not had a chance to catch-up. The night was a good opportunity to relax and dance!
Posted by cmkohl at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)
February 04, 2008
New term brings excitement with classes and summer internship search…
I hope all of you are staying warm this winter. I, on the other hand, can’t seem to shake off the cold I came down with last week. Oh…what I would give for a beach vacation!
The winter term will be challenging for all MBA1s not only in class but also in the summer internship search. The core classes for this term are Managerial Accounting and Operations Management. In addition to the core, students have the opportunity to take additional electives. For my elective, I am taking Valuation with Professor Uday Rajan. It is a great class that is a continuation of Corporate Finance from the fall term. I am excited to learn various valuation principles through comprehensive lectures and cases. My case group meets weekly to discuss and apply principles learned in class to value businesses across various industries. I would highly recommend this course to all incoming MBA students next year.
In my previous posts, I had mentioned all of the networking opportunities with the recruiters in the fall term. Well…now is the time to see the results of the networking…the summer internship interviews are upon us. Every major firm visits Ross to recruit over the next month for their summer programs. The first week of recruiting was the time for the I-bankers to shine...and my section mates truly did! Many of them received multiple offers and now have the tough task of deciding between offers. The last week was a big week for marketing and consulting interviews. In a few weeks, the interviews will be over and many of the students will begin looking forward to the spring break, MAP project, and summer internships.
Since I am doing a self-directed search, I get to enjoy the recruiting month from the side. The Office of Career Development at Ross (OCD) is a great source for students who are working on self-directed searches for their summer internships. OCD offers various tools to help students stay on track to secure an internship. I am using my network and the Ross alumni network to target strategic development positions in the emerging markets (India). I am hoping to complete my summer internship search soon…can’t wait to lock down a great summer opportunity!
Posted by jbal at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)
Tauber interview prep
Getting Ready for Interviews
This week marks the start of the official Tauber Institute interviews for summer projects. After sitting through about 20 presentations over the past several weeks, all close lists are in and it is time to interview. Out of the 20 projects, I was able to find 6 that really interest me. I plan to interview with Cummins, Intel, Target, Steelcase, BorgWarner and Boeing. I was fortunate enough to be placed on several close lists, so I had plenty of points to bid for interview slots for the companies that did not place me on their closed lists. It is very important to understand that getting a spot on the close list does not really give you any advantage over those that bid for the interview, so I have spent some time preparing hard for the interviews. One of the things that I really like about Ross is how all the second-year MBAs are willing to lend a hand and help us prepare. It really helps when someone who has just gone through what we are going through takes the time to share their insight and experiences. I am confident that this level of dedication from the second-years is one of the reasons Ross is a top school. Great professors obviously help as well ahahahahah.
Besides recruiting stuff, classes are quickly coming to the end of the Winter A term. I have now begun to appreciate all the hard work the faculty puts in to “linking” classes. It’s funny how topics from all classes I am taking this period somehow are building on each other and I am starting to feel as though my way of thinking about business situations is changing. I am really excited about getting my MAP project started and putting some of this new “knowledge” to work, but before I can do that I need to survive my six interviews which are priority #1 right now.
Posted by jolaiz at 12:21 AM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2008
I have an internship!
I have an internship! The networking, mock-interviewing, researching, and etc. have paid off, and I received my first offer yesterday. I would be remised if I fail to mention that I’ve also been dinged by a few companies, some of which were high on my list, but this first offer is pretty sweet. I’m just relieved and can slightly relax now and maybe focus on class.
I’m just so fortunate to be where I am right now. I definitely would not have been as prepared as I was for interview season without the help of MBA2’s from the OCD (Office of Career Development) and the Healthcare and Life Science Club. Next year I’m definitely going to give back as much as I received, which is immeasurable.
Coursework definitely took a backseat to recruiting the past two weeks, and now I feel I can actually re-focus on the classroom material. The core classes this term are not comparable to those of Fall B. However, they’re on topics I know little to nothing about so I still want to stay focused.
My MAP assignment (my #1 choice!) is a healthcare incubator in Europe. In a few short weeks I’ll be traveling to Czech Republic with my MAP team. There’ll actually be 5 or 6 other MAP’s at the same site, so it’s going to be tremendously fun. A great learning experience, sure. But, working and visiting Prague with friends is going to be amazing.
Highlights:
- INTERNSHIP OFFER!
- Pre-interview dinners hosted by companies at the fancy restaurants in Ann Arbor
Lowlights:
- Interviews day-in and day-out
Things I’m looking forward to:
- MAP
- Spring break at the end of February
Posted by amyhuang at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)