10 INGREDIENTS FOR A PERFECT MBA INTERNSHIP Toward A Better Understanding of The Perfect 2nd Year Setup I am only three weeks into my summer internship here at Lehman, but I have already begun to consider the things that I want to have accomplished before I leave here in August.
Notwithstanding the current (psycho) market conditions in which I have found myself, it can still be difficult to find perspective on the "goal" of an MBA internship. Therefore, in the spirit of blogging (to live a more reflect live) and to make my friends feel better about my chances after I finish here and try to find a job, I have decided to filter my experiences here in the context of "a dream summer internship".
Without further ado, here are my top 10 ingredients of a perfect summer internship - and my current status towards attaining them...
1. Work somewhere you can make a difference. It should come as no surprise that if you can't contribute materially, it's very unlikely that you or your employer will enjoy your attempts to "drive value and create synergies throughout the value chain" (insert MBA-speak goals here). I took a job that I knew I could contribute to, and have been busy contributing since day 1.
2. Work somewhere that is challenging. No problem here either. I am working in a role that I do have some experience with (marketing consulting), but in a completely new industry. Without this ingredient one could get bored... not an option for an over-achieving B-school student.
3. Work for a firm that will add value to your resume. Again, check. Lehman is certainly undergoing a test of its operating model, but Lehman is still Lehman and their name is definitely a strength to my resume.
4. Clarify your role and responsibilities before accepting. This is something I could have done better one, because clearing up any miscommunications makes it a lot easier to "hit the ground running".
5. Live in the same city as your spouse/significant other. Hey, I said "perfect" MBA internship didn't I? These last few weeks would definitely have been better with my wife. But, since she surprised me last weekend by flying up here (*snaps) I've been feeling better. The above photo is from our Circle-Line tour of Manhattan island... so much fun.
6. Make sure that you like the people in the firm. Again, this seems obvious, but many students discount the strength of working with people you like to be with. In this regard I am way ahead of the pack. I knew my boss from California and (most) of the other people on my floor have a wicked sense of humor and a fun-loving attitude. I can't emphasize the importance of this point enough.
7. Intern in a city you are willing to live in. I know people that are doing internships in places that like... seriously... you have to break out the atlas to find. Unless you're ok with living in Muleshoe, TX (nothing against 'em) don't intern there. NYC is a great city that almost anyone would love to live in - no problems here, check.
8. Establish check-up points to evaluate your progress throughout the summer. I haven't really gotten very far towards this one, but I'm recognizing the importance of this more and more. These check-ups provide two-way accountability for you and your boss, and help ensure that you chart out the summer in line with the firms expectations and know where you stand.
9. Get a job offer. No matter how awesome you feel now, the job market is a strange beast and can change at any moment. Do everything you can to head back to school with a future job locked down. This is an essential ingredient of the "perfect" MBA internship.
10. Don't be a jerk. Many of your peers will work for smaller, lesser-known firms, while still others will work for bigger more prestigious firms. Who CARES! Never forget that many of the worlds richest individuals left B-School without an offer and then started their own firms. You never know who will be successful and who won't, so be cool to everyone.
If you collect all 10 of these ingredients, you will head back to school with the quiet satisfaction that comes from a job well done and enjoy a 2nd year much better than your first...
At least that's what I'm telling myself right now :-) Posted June 16, 2008 COMMENTS: (4)
THE DOUBLE-EDGED MBA Being an MBA in New York is Exciting But Challenging The days of "quantity time" are over. My wife currently lives in another state. I work a lot (but not as much as at Darden), and feel overwhelmed (just like at Darden). What must this mean? You guessed it... My summer internship has begun, and I'm officially employed by a bulge-bracket investment bank.
My title at the moment is "cross-functional MBA summer associate" - which basically means that whatever job the SVP's on my floor want done, gets handed to me. It's a lot of fun, but definitely hard work. The double-edged component I alluded to in the title is the analytics. You see, B-School student basically equates to "person who can turn real life into logical spreadsheets with the click of a mouse and a smile.
For some reason I was worried that my employers would read my fine arts background as a mandate to give me "fluff" work. This is definitely not the case. On the contrary, it seems that my fine art background gave an entire division (I'm working in a division that touches the arts quite a bit) license to assign me the task of working quantitatively in all area that are normally considered "soft"... Great.
On the other hand, the challenge of bridging the two halves of my brain has been very stimulating and makes it easy to come to work in every morning.
To answer the question most of you are thinking right now, but are too polite to ask: Lehman is an interesting place to be working at this moment in time. These very friendly people are working like ants before winter, working like their lives depend on it. Some say they do. But I doubt it. Quarterly earnings reports are always a big deal, especially in times like these, but Lehman is going to be fine. And, personally, if something big is going to go down on Wall Street, I want to be here when it happens.
Mantra: "Deciding to get an MBA got me to where I am today". I have to keep reminding myself of that, because about once a day I'm working on a powerpoint presentation when I suddenly get the feeling that I'm working in a very tall building, in downtown Manhattan, for a very powerful financial institution... and don't belong here.
In fact I do belong here, but it's still weird to think of where I've come from. During these brief existential moments, I'm often taken back home with thoughts of New Mexico - where my family still lives. Would I trade this all in for a chance to live there instead of here? Should I? I probably would, but that chance hasn't presented itself recently. And besides, I believe in providence, so I've got to believe that I'm here for a reason.
Thankfully, these moments pass, and I get back to calculating marginal ROI for each additional dollar spent on some big initiative. I'm far away from home, but I'm right where I'm supposed to be and getting more and more drawn in to the energy and fast pace of New York.
As an editorial aside, the picture above was taken out of my back apartment window, on the Upper West Side. Posted June 04, 2008 COMMENTS: (1)
THE VALUE OF "QUANTITY TIME" People Who Say Quality Time Is All That Matters Are Wrong Over the past few years I have been very busy, perhaps busier than at any other period of my life. Over the past few years I have also been married (and my anniversary is coming up on the 29th). This has presented a very unique set of challenges to my wife and I. How are we going to stay connected with one another? How do I convince my wife that I care about her even when I choose to stay at school, work, etc. until late in the night? You get the idea.
Typically our answer to these questions has been to make the few hours we do have to spend together REALLY meaningful. This is the old quality time vs. quantity time argument. It has worked fine for us so far, but the past two weeks have reminded me that there is a weakness to this model - it doesn't work half as well at building mutual affection and trust as quantity time does - at least in our relationship.
A short example is in order. Last week, with seemingly no planning at all, my wife and I planned a quick dinner with some friends. This would not normally have been possible given the time constraints we are normally under, but this time we just made a few phone calls, shifted our schedules, and made it happen. This dinner time was a lot of fun, but the overall "success" of eating dinner in Richmond really had more to do with the fact that we were already relaxed than anything else. And this week has been even easier. I work during the day on client projects and preparing for New York, and Megan still works for Deloitte, but once we eat dinner the work is done and we just hang out.
Perhaps the best part of this whole scenario has been the huge spike in silly jokes, laughter, and talking about our dreams that has occurred as a result. My new goal is to try and remember this later in life when I become tempted to think that spending really "quality" time with my wife and family is all that matters and that I'm not losing anything by seeing them for just a few hours a week.
Surely this is an area where a balance must be struck between career actualization and family happiness, but I don't know where the line is yet and just pray to God that I find it as soon as the kids start to show up...
If anyone has thoughts or advice I would welcome your input. More thoughts when I get to New York (on Saturday!). Posted May 21, 2008 COMMENTS: (4)
In truth I should have been doing this on a more regular basis, but better late than never I say... I updated my photo gallery on the left side with pictures from some of my more memorable occasions of the last semester. Oh yeah, and this time I added comments to every photo as well.
Hopefully this will make the entire gallery a lot more coherent and enjoyable to flip through. Posted May 16, 2008 COMMENTS: (3)
The following essay was what I submitted to Darden in response to the question they ask everyone, "What have you done during the past year to add value to Darden, UVA in general, and the Charlottesville community?"
"My commitment to becoming fully immersed in the community of Charlottesville, the broader University, and Darden in particular is rooted in the circumstances surrounding my admittance to the school. After being disappointed by the lack of emphasis on real learning at many top B-Schools, I thought I would give up on the application process and skip B-School to focus on my small business. However, after an alumnus of Darden strongly recommended I attend a cocktail event in LA, I decided to give Darden a closer look. At the cocktail event, Dean Bruner met with me personally and pledged that if I gave Darden a chance, I would find it to be very different. In the end, I only applied to Darden and was, thankfully, accepted. The following events blew me away, and every day I find new cause to reaffirm my commitment to be fully present and fully committed to making the most of this experience.
Following in the footsteps of our namesake Colgate Darden, I participate weekly in foreign policy, UVA politics, and other lighthearted debates as a regular member of the Jefferson Society on main grounds. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet people from the broader University community and make new friends. I serve on the Jefferson Society Appropriations Committee and also mentor younger Society students in refining their resumes and helping them with job-hunting tips. Additionally, I sing in the choir of All Saints Anglican church every week. This is both a joy and a serious time commitment, but something that allows me to get my mind off class and serve our parish in a very tangible way. Finally, my wife and I have made a conscious decision to participate in area charity running events and have enjoyed running in several large fund-raising events.
However, I haven’t only spent my energy away from Darden. I also spend a lot of my time building into my first year class. Over the course of the year I led several review session in Marketing, Operations, and LO. This was a lot of fun, but also gave me the chance to repay some of the investment that has been made into me in subject areas where I was not as experienced. Building on my background as a marketing consultant I was constantly busy designing over a dozen logo’s and t-shirt designs for such diverse organizations as the Darden Black Business Student Forum, Darden Marketing Club, Section E events, and student projects.
After noticing an opportunity to enhance our reputation as a school I spoke with several other creative students and helped launch the Darden Student Blog page. I chaired two well-attended Faculty/Student Symposiums on the topics of the recruiting advantages of Darden’s LO program, and the value of the cutting-edge research faculty are doing here. The last event was very exciting and featured Dean Bruner and several other beloved faculty members.
Finally, I applied for and was selected to be a part of Darden Marketing Management (DMM) next year, and was selected to be Vice President of the Darden Christian Fellowship – in which I will be responsible for planning nearly 30 events throughout the year."
While it can certainly be argued whether or not I did a good job at Darden, it's pretty clear that I was busy around Darden, and in that at least... I take a great deal of satisfaction. Posted May 15, 2008 COMMENTS: (0)
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK Trying to Remember What I Did During My First Year It's amazing what can happen when one is forced to take a moment and reflect upon what ones's present circumstances really are. For example, I have been feeling a strange mixture of relief, anxiety, and depression at the thought that I have finished half of my MBA program at Darden. My initial reaction to this discovery was that I have simply too much to do still to be done. It can't be! I shouldn't be! I must do something to stop the forward progress towards next year!
Alas, it is not to be.
Today I finished up the last real "First Year" activity - filling out a bunch of forms and applications pertaining to financial aid for next year. Once this was done and I hit sent, all kinds of feelings came rushing in as it dawned on me that my first year was gone and was never coming back.
My mother-in-law called me somewhere in the middle of all of this and began to ask different questions and point certain things out (all quite good by the way) but in the end I realized that in my moping around I had forgotten some of the very obviously cool things I had done. I was forced to write an essay in answer to the question: "What have you done during the last year to contribute to Darden, the broader University, and the community?"
I read my essay to my mother-in-law and it seemed very good for my soul so, in case anyone else out there is wondering what good my MBA has done for me... I will include my essay in a separate post shortly.
In the meantime, please be aware that I love you all (readers of my site) very much and wish I could be more attentive and fully present than I have been over these past 9 months in grad school. My time here has been good, but it has also been very busy (almost a cliché by now) and I can't let the year officially end without saying that I do miss many of you a great deal and look forward to talking more on the phone and sending more emails over the summer.
Take a look around this site at some of the things I've accomplished here in Charlottesville, and/or simply look at the pictures. The one above is of my father (Doyle) and wife (Megan) inspecting Thomas Jefferson's house Monticello. May you be blessed by taking time to reflect and not neglect the truly important things in life - the few things we take with us into the grave - memories and love.
