February 01, 2009
MAP Mania
For those nonbelievers – it’s true, Michigan feels like the tundra in January! When people are writing daily Facebook status updates about the negative temperatures, you know it’s real.
Onto positive and warmer thoughts. MAP assignments have been released and I am excited for both the topic and the opportunity to work on an international assignment. I got one of my top five choices to work on a project for the North American product launch for the hybrid/electric vehicle battery market. The best part is that I will get to spend a week in Graz, Austria! I’m still a bit envious of my classmates that will be spending up to a month in locations like India and Peru but I consider myself fortunate to have been assigned to an international MAP in the first place.
Now if only the last two weeks of classes could just wrap up already….
Posted by monicaea at 09:19 PM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2009
International Woes
As I nervously wait for close list interview results to be posted, I wonder if the 30+ jobs I've dropped for will be enough to secure me some interviews and a summer internship offer.
In the sky light lit lobby of the new Ross building, students are sitting around chatting about upcoming interviews and going over practice cases and questions. Some are disappointed that they didn't get close listed for their top choice companies and wonder how much they could afford to bid for one of the few open interview spots. As companies continue to reassess their summer hiring needs, we continue to get emails of reduced or cancelled campus interviews.
I have been moderately fortunate in getting close list invites and open bidding interview slots, but I have also received my fair share of rejections. However, in the occasional moments of self pity, I remind myself of how fortunate I am to have an American passport. Many of my international counterparts are truly feeling the pinch of the difficult economic environment. Their options were already limited by the number of companies that are willing to hire internationals. But as companies continue to scale back the number summer interns they are looking to hire, it seems that my international friends will have to search far beyond U.S. borders for a summer internship.
To those that have interviews, I wish you luck and the ability to respond to recruiter questions with ease and charm. To those that are still waiting for interview offers, I hope that you will stay positive and cast your nets a little wider.
Posted by monicaea at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2008
Job Search Momentum Builds
“The focused student gets the job� - These were the words of advice repeated several times to us during our RLI orientation week. This was effective in steering individuals like me into concentrating my time and efforts on one function versus attending consulting club meetings, marketing company presentations, the hi-tech industry trek to California, and a host of other opportunities available to schmooze and hopefully impress recruiters. All this in an effort to get an invitation to a private dinner or a closed list interview.
My focus on learning more about the differences between a marketing career with a CPG (consumer packaged goods) company versus a retail company versus a marketing function in a corporation has allowed me to better understand the marketing career paths I can take. I’ve also limited the amount of time I need to devote to making small talk to recruiters while trying to balance a plate of food and a drink (because I go straight from classes to recruiting events in the evening and haven’t had time to eat dinner). This has allowed me to allocate more time to pursue other activities like trying to figure out how I can help Hitchsters.com achieve a critical mass of users and to focus on school work.
Although I still believe that I received good advice, I’ll have to wait to see if I “get the job� before I can assess the outcome. And I have to confess that some part of me still wonders if maybe I shouldn’t have left the doors open for just a little bit longer…just to see what else is out there.
Posted by monicaea at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2008
Section Bonding
We've completed Fall A and we are on break right now. Many first years are in NY on the Marketing, Finance, or Real Estate trek to network with and learn more about the companies they are interested in. Others have headed out to the west coast for the Hi-Tech Conference and to participate in the West Coast forum. Despite all of the current excitement, I just wanted to share a moment from the start of school that was a memorable moment for me and many of my section mates.
The Ross MBA experience begins with a week long Ross Leadership Initiative series. We participated in activities and seminars that introduced us to the type of intense teamwork experience we would be engaged in during our two years at Ross. It is an opportunity for self-reflection on the leadership skills we believed we had, and a chance to reevaluate the areas where we could benefit from further development. Most importantly, it was a time of bonding to get to know our section classmates, who would be integral in helping us learn both in an academic environment and through collaborative interactions.
Below is an email that was sent by a member of my section that was a jolting reminder of what a culturally diverse world we live in and how Ross has brought together a truly international student body. At Ross, there is a genuine attempt to foster an environment of teamwork that will transcend the academic experience we have at school and extend to our career and personal interactions.
"As you may know, I'm one of the international students from our section that are struggling because of the language, new environment, cultural differences, etc... I confess that it has been hard to me, and until today I was kind of shy even to talk to some of you guys, even though I'm not a shy person.
I say until today, because today was a memorable day for me: I played soccer, cheered a lot, and got almost crazy when our team was announced champion. And for that, I didn't need to say anything, what made everything more comfortable to me (since my English is very poor). And this way, feeling this spirit of camaraderie among us, today I talked to more people from our section (even speaking all wrong) than I did from the beginning in RLI until yesterday!
Well, I don't need to say that I am REALLY very proud of us for everything in this MBA Games! I'm truly on the best section of the Class of 2010 [that would be Section 4 of course]!!
Congratulations to everybody!! And have an excellent weekend!"
Posted by monicaea at 03:23 PM | Comments (0)