Today I went up the CN Tower. What a spectacle! It was fantastic. Well, in as much as feeling vertigo and being reminded of my fear of heights and hate for all things out of my control are concerned. I mention this because it is the holidays, and I took a nice little vacation from the 16th to the 27th, and have since been easing myself back into work, when my family called to say they had a stopover in Toronto and would I like to join them for lunch I said "yes". Despite what everyone says, you cannot be too prepared, study study study over the holiday break, and get completely up to speed on everything! It is simply not possible to do it all, and it is the holidays so spend some time with family if you are lucky enough for them to be in town! Please!
Now, this will go back to my previous preachings on preparedness, which is front load, front load, front load! If you have been accepted into the school of your choice and have access to their vault guides, start reading now! Well at least next summer, cause by this time next year you will be up to your nose in vault guide and recruiting material and "have you done enough practice interviews" type prep work that will be ten times easier if you already know the vault guide inside out. You can of course make it work, but your life will be ten times easier if you are not reading the vault guide for the first time over the winter break.
Also - if you are a prospective Rotman student and plan to come here next year, please keep up all the involvement! We have reveled in an energized class that is going to the MBA Games in Quebec city for the first time in a few years, and I hope the incoming class, whomever they are are as interested and enthusiastic as my classmates have been.
With that I bid you farewell and a Happy New Year.
Recruiting week approaches soon, and I hope to be giving semi- regular updates here as to the activities and excitement that we see unfold as we vie for interviews and positions at our desired firms, companies and banks over the coming weeks. Wish me luck! And good luck to all my fellow candidates!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Class & finals
Finals are upon us. We have 3 down and 2 to go. One thing I learned this week, is that nothing is at it seems, and you don't have to out run the bear. Meaning that if you think you didn't do well on an exam, and everyone else agrees, you can rest a little easier. So don't let an upset on one exam, muck-up your ability to study for the next exam.
I believe that the last 10 minutes of our finance class should be immortalized as well. I won't spoil it, because I think everyone should hear it straight from the horses mouth. But our esteem professor, Kent Womack, wrapped up class with some life lessons, advice and well wishes that were profound but not preachy, interesting but not obscure and most importantly heartfelt. Relevant by default of coming from a teacher with years of industry experience.
The social aspect of school will be back in full force this Friday as the first years and second years (and hopefully some of the part time students) all head out for a night on the town to celebrate the end of the term.
I believe that the last 10 minutes of our finance class should be immortalized as well. I won't spoil it, because I think everyone should hear it straight from the horses mouth. But our esteem professor, Kent Womack, wrapped up class with some life lessons, advice and well wishes that were profound but not preachy, interesting but not obscure and most importantly heartfelt. Relevant by default of coming from a teacher with years of industry experience.
The social aspect of school will be back in full force this Friday as the first years and second years (and hopefully some of the part time students) all head out for a night on the town to celebrate the end of the term.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wrapping up first term...
As we venture closer to exams (my postings will be sparse in the coming weeks... for which I apologize in advance) I realize how much I have come to think of my classmates as friends/family. Maybe its because we spend 15 hours a day together, either in class, studying or at some club event or other. Turns out we spend some of our 'free' time hanging out too!
My section has been fantastic, lots of laughs and a general good time. Its the old bitter sweet endings. I am thrilled that it is almost Christmas break and we will be done exams in 10 days. But not so thrilled to see my friends in all mix up for the new year. I am sure I will feel differently when January roles around and we all re-group in new sections and have an entirely new experience. However for now, I say don't go! My group mates are fantastic and we work well together, my class mates are wonderful and my study team is killer too. The 'shakeup' or disruptive technology may be more than I can handle.
In the mean time, looking toward the light at the end of the tunnel and the next 10 days to spent in the fishbowl.
My section has been fantastic, lots of laughs and a general good time. Its the old bitter sweet endings. I am thrilled that it is almost Christmas break and we will be done exams in 10 days. But not so thrilled to see my friends in all mix up for the new year. I am sure I will feel differently when January roles around and we all re-group in new sections and have an entirely new experience. However for now, I say don't go! My group mates are fantastic and we work well together, my class mates are wonderful and my study team is killer too. The 'shakeup' or disruptive technology may be more than I can handle.
In the mean time, looking toward the light at the end of the tunnel and the next 10 days to spent in the fishbowl.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
November - Movember
One really cool thing about my classmates, is they don't tend to do things halfway. This is proven by the various gents roaming the halls with fury things growing on their faces even during recruiting season! There are a handful of hard cores who have fully committed and grown the mustache for Movember. A tradition to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer.
That is definitely something I give my classmates props for. The ladies are kicking in too, and hosting an event on Monday to raise some money for the final draw and do a little slide show of the facial hair, but it is great to see.
School gets busy, recruiting gets crazy, everyone is looking for an edge, and then you have these die-hards who set a goal for themselves at the beginning of the month, to not shave off the 'stache and have stuck to it. Some of our profs have only known these guys with them, and will be shocked to see shining clean faces on Tuesday.
Anyhow - hats off to the Movember crowd and may the tradition continue!
Next on my conversation list is the rescheduling of the core classes. With Rotman experiencing some construction on the new building (to be put up next door) there is expected to be the odd interruption. There was plenty of warning, though apparently next week the type of work is so bad that the expectation is that we won't be able to do much in the building so have had everything completely re-scheduled. Thinking this will make for an interesting study period and exam period, and a bit of a chaotic last week of classes.
All I can say is - three weeks till winter break! Counting down the days, keeping up with the work and trying to post on this blog semi-regularly (which has been somewhat lacking for which I apologize).
That is definitely something I give my classmates props for. The ladies are kicking in too, and hosting an event on Monday to raise some money for the final draw and do a little slide show of the facial hair, but it is great to see.
School gets busy, recruiting gets crazy, everyone is looking for an edge, and then you have these die-hards who set a goal for themselves at the beginning of the month, to not shave off the 'stache and have stuck to it. Some of our profs have only known these guys with them, and will be shocked to see shining clean faces on Tuesday.
Anyhow - hats off to the Movember crowd and may the tradition continue!
Next on my conversation list is the rescheduling of the core classes. With Rotman experiencing some construction on the new building (to be put up next door) there is expected to be the odd interruption. There was plenty of warning, though apparently next week the type of work is so bad that the expectation is that we won't be able to do much in the building so have had everything completely re-scheduled. Thinking this will make for an interesting study period and exam period, and a bit of a chaotic last week of classes.
All I can say is - three weeks till winter break! Counting down the days, keeping up with the work and trying to post on this blog semi-regularly (which has been somewhat lacking for which I apologize).
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
This week at MBA school
Super Saturday was super! There is a lot of ebb and flow around what exactly goes on, but in general, its good times had by all. I think the mock interview went well, we had some tough questions and they put us on the spot in the spotlight, and I NEARLY blew it, but managed to recover.
If you are interested in finance and looking at opportunities like this one, definitely participate. If you are given the chance, it gets your name out there, if forces you to show up and impress, and worst case scenario they teach you what not to do.
Tomorrow night is Industry Night, were we get to go out with and meet and mingle while chatting with Industry people who know the business and can provide some insight.
Tomorrow is also our Strategy quiz - which should be good, after the bonanza of finance assignments and case write ups, a quiz is kind of refreshing. One thing that I have found in terms of Rotman and MBA school in general. Is not to sweat the grades, not because of importance, they are important, but because of how many times they get translated before showing up on a transcript. By getting a 9/10 that doesn't translate to 90% and therefore an A on the old scale, It depends on how many people got 9's or 8's or 9.5's and then there is some weird weighting metrics - and there are mid term feedback opportunities so you can check how you are doing and all that - but it all comes down to effort. Work hard and it will pay off. Work smart, and it will pay off more.
One big learning from the whole Rotman experience, has been that you CANNOT do everything. Not to say your shouldn't try everything that you are really interested in. But there is simply way too much work to be done to get through. While getting 5 + hours of sleep a night and staying on top of networking and school, and extra curricular activities. I highly recommend picking a focus, and understanding that the focus has got to be maintained. BUT not forgetting about other classes. (Example, don't ignore Accounting and Stats just because you have Finance homework).
My two cents for the week - prioritize and listen. Often times a prof will say exactly what they want, but if you aren't listening, its hard to deliver to their expectations.
If you are interested in finance and looking at opportunities like this one, definitely participate. If you are given the chance, it gets your name out there, if forces you to show up and impress, and worst case scenario they teach you what not to do.
Tomorrow night is Industry Night, were we get to go out with and meet and mingle while chatting with Industry people who know the business and can provide some insight.
Tomorrow is also our Strategy quiz - which should be good, after the bonanza of finance assignments and case write ups, a quiz is kind of refreshing. One thing that I have found in terms of Rotman and MBA school in general. Is not to sweat the grades, not because of importance, they are important, but because of how many times they get translated before showing up on a transcript. By getting a 9/10 that doesn't translate to 90% and therefore an A on the old scale, It depends on how many people got 9's or 8's or 9.5's and then there is some weird weighting metrics - and there are mid term feedback opportunities so you can check how you are doing and all that - but it all comes down to effort. Work hard and it will pay off. Work smart, and it will pay off more.
One big learning from the whole Rotman experience, has been that you CANNOT do everything. Not to say your shouldn't try everything that you are really interested in. But there is simply way too much work to be done to get through. While getting 5 + hours of sleep a night and staying on top of networking and school, and extra curricular activities. I highly recommend picking a focus, and understanding that the focus has got to be maintained. BUT not forgetting about other classes. (Example, don't ignore Accounting and Stats just because you have Finance homework).
My two cents for the week - prioritize and listen. Often times a prof will say exactly what they want, but if you aren't listening, its hard to deliver to their expectations.
Friday, November 13, 2009
RFA Super Saturday
Happy to say we are finishing the third week of Q2 and first quarter grades finally came out. Depending on success rate, people are either drinking to celebrate or drinking to ward off the frustration. Either way - its the weekend! Any illusion prospective students have that that means 'free' time needs to be corrected.
Tomorrow is another all day RFA event 'Super Saturday' there should be some interesting speakers, an opportunity to mingle a little with second year students and a few folks on the street. Another fun added bonus is the event includes an on-stage Mock Interview for a role in Investment Banking. A number of my classmates (and myself) applied to take part, and two of us were selected. So wish me luck as I participate in an abridged (10-15 minute) on stage interview! Will be sure to update with some fun stories after the fact & try not to trip on stage!
Tomorrow is another all day RFA event 'Super Saturday' there should be some interesting speakers, an opportunity to mingle a little with second year students and a few folks on the street. Another fun added bonus is the event includes an on-stage Mock Interview for a role in Investment Banking. A number of my classmates (and myself) applied to take part, and two of us were selected. So wish me luck as I participate in an abridged (10-15 minute) on stage interview! Will be sure to update with some fun stories after the fact & try not to trip on stage!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Time goes on...
Many people come into the MBA program with deep experience in Business, from a consulting or finance background, or have a wicked story - Olympian, Quarterback for Varsity football, life altering experiences while back-packing through Africa and a couple of Doctors to boot.
Then there are the rest of us, mere mortals who are constantly struggling to differentiate ourselves via grades, participation, extra-cirricular events and networking. Every now and then, especially when I feel the struggle to see a light at the end of the tunnel and worry about grades and get concerned about big upcoming events, I stop and gain some perspective.
The thing I have to remember, is that by virtue of being in a top MBA program, your peers are all very smart, very motivated, with great experiences and community involvement. Being 'middle of the pack' among such a strong class is really a great accomplishment. In the spirit of gaining perspective, its great to be in such good company. Every day my classmates amaze me with how to interpret class material that I am not struggling with, and then the next day, I have the opportunity to teach them something.
I was concerned coming into this program that it would be competitive and it would hard develop friendships with my classmates, but generally speaking that hasn't happened. It will be interesting how this plays out in the coming months, as we get our grades back for Q1, and start to get more involved in the recruiting process.
One thing I mentioned earlier, that the class eventually 'divides' into industry groups - has for the most part happened. This is largely by virtue of time. We have such little free time, that our free time is spent attending industry events, and our friends become the people who we spend time with. Many of the people I was friendly with at the start of the year, I still chat with when I see them at class and look forward to catching up with when given the opportunity. But it truly comes down to a split based on chosen industry/career path.
Thats all for tonight, off to study stats and try to ensure I am up to speed by Friday's quiz!
Then there are the rest of us, mere mortals who are constantly struggling to differentiate ourselves via grades, participation, extra-cirricular events and networking. Every now and then, especially when I feel the struggle to see a light at the end of the tunnel and worry about grades and get concerned about big upcoming events, I stop and gain some perspective.
The thing I have to remember, is that by virtue of being in a top MBA program, your peers are all very smart, very motivated, with great experiences and community involvement. Being 'middle of the pack' among such a strong class is really a great accomplishment. In the spirit of gaining perspective, its great to be in such good company. Every day my classmates amaze me with how to interpret class material that I am not struggling with, and then the next day, I have the opportunity to teach them something.
I was concerned coming into this program that it would be competitive and it would hard develop friendships with my classmates, but generally speaking that hasn't happened. It will be interesting how this plays out in the coming months, as we get our grades back for Q1, and start to get more involved in the recruiting process.
One thing I mentioned earlier, that the class eventually 'divides' into industry groups - has for the most part happened. This is largely by virtue of time. We have such little free time, that our free time is spent attending industry events, and our friends become the people who we spend time with. Many of the people I was friendly with at the start of the year, I still chat with when I see them at class and look forward to catching up with when given the opportunity. But it truly comes down to a split based on chosen industry/career path.
Thats all for tonight, off to study stats and try to ensure I am up to speed by Friday's quiz!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Stock Pitch Competition
I promised I would be writing out about life outside the classroom. Lately I haven't felt like I had a life outside of school, but I am returning to my roots and looking at extra-cirricular activities as entertainment. My position as class rep has been great so far, I have a fantastic section and am really going to miss them when things shake up in January!
But this weekend, I participated in a stock pitch competition for the Rotman Finance Association. Brought together by a deep knowledge of the company Magna, a very interesting week in the news and a lot of smart work (can't say long work because out entire thesis changed on Wednesday when GM announced they were pulling out of the Magna SBerbank Opel deal) so we had to work fast and smart - making work we had done up to that point negligible.
It was an all around fun experience - incredible learning experience and has set me up for the first stage of interview preparation. A huge kudo's has to go out to my team mate who rocked it and the many other teams who worked hard. All the finalists had great presentations, with some interesting investment thesis's and a couple of brilliant decks!
So good job to all my fellow RFA members who participated this weekend. Catered to the mid-night on Thursday - worst day of the quarter -deadline and pulled off some great work!
But this weekend, I participated in a stock pitch competition for the Rotman Finance Association. Brought together by a deep knowledge of the company Magna, a very interesting week in the news and a lot of smart work (can't say long work because out entire thesis changed on Wednesday when GM announced they were pulling out of the Magna SBerbank Opel deal) so we had to work fast and smart - making work we had done up to that point negligible.
It was an all around fun experience - incredible learning experience and has set me up for the first stage of interview preparation. A huge kudo's has to go out to my team mate who rocked it and the many other teams who worked hard. All the finalists had great presentations, with some interesting investment thesis's and a couple of brilliant decks!
So good job to all my fellow RFA members who participated this weekend. Catered to the mid-night on Thursday - worst day of the quarter -deadline and pulled off some great work!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Its time to decide....
So far we have had a rush of experiences in Q1 and Q2 that have lead up to us being able to make "informed" decisions about what we want to be when we grow up. Into November, the Career Center and school has asked to get more specific, focus on an industry and roles within that industry. Its time to stop "flirting" with both sides.
Several students come to business school with an idea of what they want to do, but can easily question that idea in the early weeks of their academic rebirth as the flurry of career path opportunities are presented.
We joke around about the pro's and con's of the various fields, and debate the risk and potential reward as well as competitiveness in the different job sectors.
I have long since committed to capital markets, but I see many of my colleagues come to Finance Association events, and then attend the Consulting Industry events as well. I think the more information we can collect, the better informed a decision we can make, but I also believe that if you have not yet decided what path you want to pursue now is the time.
If for no other reason that time management! Some students (allegedly) apply for jobs of all sectors and industries, and end up empty handed. This is because it is simply impossible to be properly prepared for the rigor of the different types of interviews. The two most commonly pursued career paths for MBA's are consulting and finance. This week alone there was a marketing case competition and a on Saturday, a stock pitch competition. Either of these events, to adequately participate in, let alone succeed, require extensive time commitment. Both are fantastic events that will provide insight into the industry you are interested in as well as demonstrate interest. Some students are participating in both events within 4 days of each other. This would not be as impressive, except that we also have a regular class schedule to tend to, case prep for Strategy, a MCV write up, Finance Homework, Quiz and our group has the added bonus of a presentation.
Trying to balance it all means somethings will suffer, to succeed in either Consulting or Finance, you must participate in the relevant events, but your grades cannot suffer as a result.
My advice (do with it as you please) to incoming students, do as much research coming as possible. Read the recommended literature for the industry you may be interested, start reading the paper today! If you can get your hands on vault guides for your industry, read them. Twice. They will be invaluable in making decisions.
When you get to Rotman, be prepared to flirt a little, sign up for all the clubs if you like, you are buying information and invitations to events, and explore. But by Q1 exams, make a decision, and the already challenging workload will seem almost manageable.
Several students come to business school with an idea of what they want to do, but can easily question that idea in the early weeks of their academic rebirth as the flurry of career path opportunities are presented.
We joke around about the pro's and con's of the various fields, and debate the risk and potential reward as well as competitiveness in the different job sectors.
I have long since committed to capital markets, but I see many of my colleagues come to Finance Association events, and then attend the Consulting Industry events as well. I think the more information we can collect, the better informed a decision we can make, but I also believe that if you have not yet decided what path you want to pursue now is the time.
If for no other reason that time management! Some students (allegedly) apply for jobs of all sectors and industries, and end up empty handed. This is because it is simply impossible to be properly prepared for the rigor of the different types of interviews. The two most commonly pursued career paths for MBA's are consulting and finance. This week alone there was a marketing case competition and a on Saturday, a stock pitch competition. Either of these events, to adequately participate in, let alone succeed, require extensive time commitment. Both are fantastic events that will provide insight into the industry you are interested in as well as demonstrate interest. Some students are participating in both events within 4 days of each other. This would not be as impressive, except that we also have a regular class schedule to tend to, case prep for Strategy, a MCV write up, Finance Homework, Quiz and our group has the added bonus of a presentation.
Trying to balance it all means somethings will suffer, to succeed in either Consulting or Finance, you must participate in the relevant events, but your grades cannot suffer as a result.
My advice (do with it as you please) to incoming students, do as much research coming as possible. Read the recommended literature for the industry you may be interested, start reading the paper today! If you can get your hands on vault guides for your industry, read them. Twice. They will be invaluable in making decisions.
When you get to Rotman, be prepared to flirt a little, sign up for all the clubs if you like, you are buying information and invitations to events, and explore. But by Q1 exams, make a decision, and the already challenging workload will seem almost manageable.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Strategy! Accounting! Finance! Oh my!
We are officially 3 days into Q2 and many of us are already behind. The second quarter marks the beginning of Strategy & Finance & Managing Customer Value. The amount of course work is increased significantly, the time commitment required for recruiting events heightens and by the way, there is noooo social life. This heavily impacts my ability to write about life outside the classroom! Thus I will digress a little from my plan as the quarter progresses... and discuss some class material.
Last week was exams, I am warning you all now, the week is chaos. But everyone is equally disadvantaged, everyone is juggling the same course load and managing to come out OK. Remember it is hard to get an A or A+, but it is also hard to fail (provided you keep up and stay on top of the work).
The weekend between exams and Q2 is a fools break. By this I mean, Friday at 12 noon until Sunday at 4 pm, you can chill out. Then you look at your course list and you realize you have 2 chapters and 2 cases due for day 1. Some people jump on this over the weekend, others are still playing catch up. By day 2, we are swimming in work, and Tipsy Tuesday is like a memory that you attended the first two weeks of school, and won't be going to until the last day of Q2 exams.
This Friday we have a GBC Event, the Semi Formal Masquerade Ball, which should promise to be a fantastic night, followed by a busy weekend doing all the work required of us. Somewhere in there we are also supposed to be on top of our career research/ prep and by the way get some sleep!
Obviously life is a little busy now, and I am off to do more of that work!
Last week was exams, I am warning you all now, the week is chaos. But everyone is equally disadvantaged, everyone is juggling the same course load and managing to come out OK. Remember it is hard to get an A or A+, but it is also hard to fail (provided you keep up and stay on top of the work).
The weekend between exams and Q2 is a fools break. By this I mean, Friday at 12 noon until Sunday at 4 pm, you can chill out. Then you look at your course list and you realize you have 2 chapters and 2 cases due for day 1. Some people jump on this over the weekend, others are still playing catch up. By day 2, we are swimming in work, and Tipsy Tuesday is like a memory that you attended the first two weeks of school, and won't be going to until the last day of Q2 exams.
This Friday we have a GBC Event, the Semi Formal Masquerade Ball, which should promise to be a fantastic night, followed by a busy weekend doing all the work required of us. Somewhere in there we are also supposed to be on top of our career research/ prep and by the way get some sleep!
Obviously life is a little busy now, and I am off to do more of that work!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Study, paper, presentation, paper, study.... repeat
I have a theory that the social scene at MBA school is inversely related to the % of our grades be being determined in the next 10 days. So for example last weekend, there was some socializing (I missed out as I was in Ottawa, but there was still some activity). But that's because we had 1 paper due and 1 presentation due.
This weekend - on the eve of exam week, there were even fewer people from our class out last night. A cross grad school party with the Lawyers and the Doctors which I heard was fun. This afternoon, I went and checked out the Homecoming game. Sad to say U of T lost, but one of the players is in my class and he scored a Touch Down so that was very cool. Unfortunately - we were studying ECON in the stands with our trusty cue cards. Not tail-gating with a beer. So that was disappointing.
Number of students are finishing their FIT papers now, and moving on to ECON, our first exam. And this is where the true test of time management comes in. I have said before (and will say again I am sure) the MBA is a training operation on how to manage your time. So front loading can be a good skill to have. For example, our last exam is accounting, so leaving it till Thursday afternoon is simply a flawed strategy. But with ECON right around the corner, it is much more tempting to spend the next 48 hours focusing on that.
The most important point of this blog - is the Friday night of next week. We have been working on a bar/club of choice to go to Friday night and celebrate surviving Q1. A grassroots event popped up to go to the bar at 12:01 as soon as we finish our exam on Friday and manage to start making up for all the missed beers as soon as possible.
I suspect as our grades will have been behind, we will see a very large proportion of the student body out on Friday. At least I hope so!
This weekend - on the eve of exam week, there were even fewer people from our class out last night. A cross grad school party with the Lawyers and the Doctors which I heard was fun. This afternoon, I went and checked out the Homecoming game. Sad to say U of T lost, but one of the players is in my class and he scored a Touch Down so that was very cool. Unfortunately - we were studying ECON in the stands with our trusty cue cards. Not tail-gating with a beer. So that was disappointing.
Number of students are finishing their FIT papers now, and moving on to ECON, our first exam. And this is where the true test of time management comes in. I have said before (and will say again I am sure) the MBA is a training operation on how to manage your time. So front loading can be a good skill to have. For example, our last exam is accounting, so leaving it till Thursday afternoon is simply a flawed strategy. But with ECON right around the corner, it is much more tempting to spend the next 48 hours focusing on that.
The most important point of this blog - is the Friday night of next week. We have been working on a bar/club of choice to go to Friday night and celebrate surviving Q1. A grassroots event popped up to go to the bar at 12:01 as soon as we finish our exam on Friday and manage to start making up for all the missed beers as soon as possible.
I suspect as our grades will have been behind, we will see a very large proportion of the student body out on Friday. At least I hope so!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Turkey and MBA's
For those of you Canadians who may be coming to Toronto but have family near by, a tricky decision comes at Thanksgiving. What is traditionally a relaxing holiday, in undergrad is usually before or after a couple of midterms (ie some stress but manageable), and when working means one less day of the week.... becomes a "fake holiday" and hopefully you get to eat some turkey.
I have family in Ottawa, and while I really did want to see them, I also had to manage the balance of getting a lot of work done this weekend. You see, the whole Wednesday off thing, means that holiday Monday's classes just shift to Wednesday, so its not a lighter week, just more work to do in less time.
Plus, I have to mention, we have a paper due on Thursday and three midterm, two finals and a paper due next week. Now - hopefully we are all caught up and totally on top of things and have long since written amazing A + papers, mastered every bit of course material and are prepping for some light review next weekend in order to get straight A's on our exams.
One thing the Rotman MBA stresses is understanding that we see the world through our own eyes, and it is not reality, but our own reconstruction of reality. So in theory that model is entirely possible. If you are that student, I beg of you, please tell me (and my peers) how you do it. Because the general pulse i am gathering (and feeling myself) is that:
1. Hopefully paper number 1 due Thursday has a complete draft, with a couple of edits and reviews to ensure strength in content, for a quick re-read on Wednesday and then submitting the final paper with plenty of time for technical difficulties. (most of my colleagues are comfortably on this one)
2. Ideally - paper number 2 due next Tuesday has a healthy outline, maybe the workings of a introduction and some sketching of how you are going to build and rebuild the paper a few times. (some of my colleagues are well beyond this stage- but I bet most are just about here)
3. Course material - each exam will have different levels of comfort for each student, depending on their own strengths, education and how much that class has caught their attention to date. We don't really know all the details, and are relying a little too heavily on conjecture from second years to determine whats the most scary exam and which ones should be more manageable.
(most of us are focusing on one or two classes - Econ and Accounting for me - that we feel farthest behind on, but have the most potential to be successful if we get caught up)
Keep in mind, that the pace of these classes are much more rapid than anything you'll have experienced (likely) so getting behind in reading by two classes (like two lectures, not weeks) can mean you are behind 2 or 3 chapters.
The quizzes to date are a good way to force us to stay on top of things, but we have been warned (and so I pass the warning on to potential incoming students) the quizzes are not necessarily indicitive of the exams.
This week is the last week of classes - and then we have exam week, I will be sure to post some overall thoughts on Q1 next weekend, while they are fresh in my mind....
I have family in Ottawa, and while I really did want to see them, I also had to manage the balance of getting a lot of work done this weekend. You see, the whole Wednesday off thing, means that holiday Monday's classes just shift to Wednesday, so its not a lighter week, just more work to do in less time.
Plus, I have to mention, we have a paper due on Thursday and three midterm, two finals and a paper due next week. Now - hopefully we are all caught up and totally on top of things and have long since written amazing A + papers, mastered every bit of course material and are prepping for some light review next weekend in order to get straight A's on our exams.
One thing the Rotman MBA stresses is understanding that we see the world through our own eyes, and it is not reality, but our own reconstruction of reality. So in theory that model is entirely possible. If you are that student, I beg of you, please tell me (and my peers) how you do it. Because the general pulse i am gathering (and feeling myself) is that:
1. Hopefully paper number 1 due Thursday has a complete draft, with a couple of edits and reviews to ensure strength in content, for a quick re-read on Wednesday and then submitting the final paper with plenty of time for technical difficulties. (most of my colleagues are comfortably on this one)
2. Ideally - paper number 2 due next Tuesday has a healthy outline, maybe the workings of a introduction and some sketching of how you are going to build and rebuild the paper a few times. (some of my colleagues are well beyond this stage- but I bet most are just about here)
3. Course material - each exam will have different levels of comfort for each student, depending on their own strengths, education and how much that class has caught their attention to date. We don't really know all the details, and are relying a little too heavily on conjecture from second years to determine whats the most scary exam and which ones should be more manageable.
(most of us are focusing on one or two classes - Econ and Accounting for me - that we feel farthest behind on, but have the most potential to be successful if we get caught up)
Keep in mind, that the pace of these classes are much more rapid than anything you'll have experienced (likely) so getting behind in reading by two classes (like two lectures, not weeks) can mean you are behind 2 or 3 chapters.
The quizzes to date are a good way to force us to stay on top of things, but we have been warned (and so I pass the warning on to potential incoming students) the quizzes are not necessarily indicitive of the exams.
This week is the last week of classes - and then we have exam week, I will be sure to post some overall thoughts on Q1 next weekend, while they are fresh in my mind....
Saturday, October 10, 2009
MPO - managing procrastination opportunities
I have decided to provide the long since promised list of three letter accronyms you will learn by day two of MBA school at Rotman:
MBA: Masters of Business Administration (This one is important!!)
JDMBA: The combo degree for Law students and MBA students (Juris Doctor)
MFIN: masters in finance
GBC: graduate business council
PSO: program services office
CCC: corporate connections centre
BIC: Business Information Centre
UOT: University of Toronto
FIT: Foundations of Integrative Thinking
MPO: Managing People in organizations
IFRS: International Financial Reporting Standards
GAAP: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
GMAT: Graduate management admissions tests
There are a million other three letter acronyms and opportunities to make fun of them. I frequently update my facebook status with my interpretation of the day.
As we have a paper due this week for Managing People in Organizations, I have cleverly restated it as Managing Procrastination Opportunities. Currently procrastinating by updating my blog instead of re-writing my paper. First draft done, painful edit and confirmation that it is in fact correct... still to do.
At my mom's in Ottawa for the weekend, will update later on my thoughts on whether or not I recommend heading home for the long weekend, when finals are 10 days away...
MBA: Masters of Business Administration (This one is important!!)
JDMBA: The combo degree for Law students and MBA students (Juris Doctor)
MFIN: masters in finance
GBC: graduate business council
PSO: program services office
CCC: corporate connections centre
BIC: Business Information Centre
UOT: University of Toronto
FIT: Foundations of Integrative Thinking
MPO: Managing People in organizations
IFRS: International Financial Reporting Standards
GAAP: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
GMAT: Graduate management admissions tests
There are a million other three letter acronyms and opportunities to make fun of them. I frequently update my facebook status with my interpretation of the day.
As we have a paper due this week for Managing People in Organizations, I have cleverly restated it as Managing Procrastination Opportunities. Currently procrastinating by updating my blog instead of re-writing my paper. First draft done, painful edit and confirmation that it is in fact correct... still to do.
At my mom's in Ottawa for the weekend, will update later on my thoughts on whether or not I recommend heading home for the long weekend, when finals are 10 days away...
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Money makes the world go round...
Friday morning I think I iced my stats quiz. The good news, is that had I studied more, I would not have even looked at the material that was tested on, so it was a curve ball, and I got other stuff done instead. The bad news is, if that is any indicator of the final, I am between a rock and a hard place. Hoping I can encourage some statistically inclined friends to walk me through some of it. And while I am at it, learn something for the economics quiz on Tuesday!
This blog posts in on "Money" because of the kick off of the RFA event on Friday. If you have ever checked out info sessions on starting careers in the Finance industry, you will learn about selective hearing and money. Selective hearing, because it seems like no one actually registers that the speaker just said "you have to work 100 hour work weeks, you don't control your time, and its super competitive to get in." All they hear is the starting salary is money, and the bonus is more money. I won't quote what they said, cause I am not sure it is backed up, but check out the graduating stats on approx earnings, the dollars won't be exactly bang on, but the idea is there.
After the meeting, two funny things happen. Half the attendees start planning how to get those lucrative jobs, lets start a group to practice together, lets read the paper everyday, lets do all this wonderful stuff that we don't really have time for, but now that we have heard the money we will make time for!
The other half are still scratching their heads trying to decide between consulting and finance and the many, many other lucrative careers available to post MBA's.
I fit in the former group. I am 99.99% sure I want a career in Finance, and have signed up for the stock pitch competition and have already been reading the paper every day. I was talking to my friends about getting prepared if we go the finance route. The short story is, prepare, prepare, prepare. Even if you are a finance rock star and know everything there is to know about finance. The interview process is demanding and grueling and doesn't allow for errors.
So as of right now we are in the prepare and study mode of school, which will continue for the next two years!
This blog posts in on "Money" because of the kick off of the RFA event on Friday. If you have ever checked out info sessions on starting careers in the Finance industry, you will learn about selective hearing and money. Selective hearing, because it seems like no one actually registers that the speaker just said "you have to work 100 hour work weeks, you don't control your time, and its super competitive to get in." All they hear is the starting salary is money, and the bonus is more money. I won't quote what they said, cause I am not sure it is backed up, but check out the graduating stats on approx earnings, the dollars won't be exactly bang on, but the idea is there.
After the meeting, two funny things happen. Half the attendees start planning how to get those lucrative jobs, lets start a group to practice together, lets read the paper everyday, lets do all this wonderful stuff that we don't really have time for, but now that we have heard the money we will make time for!
The other half are still scratching their heads trying to decide between consulting and finance and the many, many other lucrative careers available to post MBA's.
I fit in the former group. I am 99.99% sure I want a career in Finance, and have signed up for the stock pitch competition and have already been reading the paper every day. I was talking to my friends about getting prepared if we go the finance route. The short story is, prepare, prepare, prepare. Even if you are a finance rock star and know everything there is to know about finance. The interview process is demanding and grueling and doesn't allow for errors.
So as of right now we are in the prepare and study mode of school, which will continue for the next two years!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Stats Quiz & Season Opener don't mix...
So one thing we have learned as MBA students, with a few exceptional situations, is that the MBA program doesn't really care that you have a life outside of school. A couple of students are expecting / observing religious holidays. For example this weeks Yom Kippur meant we had a more than usual number of absence in class. Professors and the program services office are very willing to accommodate reasonable situations that require some adjustments.
But, they are not flexible if you do poorly on a stats quiz because you had to watch the season opener of the Canucks versus Flames and simply could not settle for watching the highlights. Even though there are something like 80 more games to watch this season before post season, and a little exciting event I like to call the winter Olympics hosted in Vancouver (home town hollar!) so there will be plenty of hockey to follow this year, I simply cannot miss the first real game of the season.
Now the stats professor might say that if I am comfortable with the material, then that is perfectly acceptable. But I won't know if I am well and truly comfortable with stats until I never, ever have to take a statistics course ever again.
In my research to decide on Rotman, I spoke with students at other schools I had applied to, including Schulich. The student at Schulich was introduced to me because he was a Commerce undergraduate student from McGill (like me).
His (very sound) reasoning for choosing Schulich over Rotman (!) was that he already had a job, he required the MBA to receive promotions and would not be making a major career change, and had been offered advanced standing at Schulich. A lot of the benefit of Rotmans two year program is the opportunity to get a flavour of all the different disciplines and recruit for summer positions. His candid reason for choosing Schulich "I sure as hell wasn't going to take stats again."
I am thinking about that statement, and if I felt that I was in any course where I wasn't learning anything, I would be much more upset. But for the time being, I am getting something from every single class I attend. Sometimes its more than others, but there hasn't been a 'waste of time' class yes, not something I can say I believed in undergrad.
Today's quote of the day: "Studying for stats is a stable process in what on earth am I talking about?"
This weekend is the CIBC Run for the Cure, followed by my first 'official' networking event of the year - a brunch with the folks at McKinsey. Will be sure to post some thoughts on that & maybe some insight into the Rotman Finance Association club which kicks off tomorrow night.
But, they are not flexible if you do poorly on a stats quiz because you had to watch the season opener of the Canucks versus Flames and simply could not settle for watching the highlights. Even though there are something like 80 more games to watch this season before post season, and a little exciting event I like to call the winter Olympics hosted in Vancouver (home town hollar!) so there will be plenty of hockey to follow this year, I simply cannot miss the first real game of the season.
Now the stats professor might say that if I am comfortable with the material, then that is perfectly acceptable. But I won't know if I am well and truly comfortable with stats until I never, ever have to take a statistics course ever again.
In my research to decide on Rotman, I spoke with students at other schools I had applied to, including Schulich. The student at Schulich was introduced to me because he was a Commerce undergraduate student from McGill (like me).
His (very sound) reasoning for choosing Schulich over Rotman (!) was that he already had a job, he required the MBA to receive promotions and would not be making a major career change, and had been offered advanced standing at Schulich. A lot of the benefit of Rotmans two year program is the opportunity to get a flavour of all the different disciplines and recruit for summer positions. His candid reason for choosing Schulich "I sure as hell wasn't going to take stats again."
I am thinking about that statement, and if I felt that I was in any course where I wasn't learning anything, I would be much more upset. But for the time being, I am getting something from every single class I attend. Sometimes its more than others, but there hasn't been a 'waste of time' class yes, not something I can say I believed in undergrad.
Today's quote of the day: "Studying for stats is a stable process in what on earth am I talking about?"
This weekend is the CIBC Run for the Cure, followed by my first 'official' networking event of the year - a brunch with the folks at McKinsey. Will be sure to post some thoughts on that & maybe some insight into the Rotman Finance Association club which kicks off tomorrow night.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Week at a glance...
This blog post will be more of a diary entry on how busy this week has been, than any particular theme.
Thursday: Quiz, all day classes, Greys Anatomy
Friday: Class, quiz, Afternoon of work, MCA kick off, event with fellow classmates
Saturday: work alllll day on readings, homework, prep for stats project, dinner with friends
Sunday: Work in the morning, Ultimate practice, study at school, grocery shopping & clean apartment
Monday: All day classes, study in the afternoon, brief meeting with group, first ultimate game, dinner and drinks with some of the team, home to do readings before bed
Tuesday: Classes, lunch with fellow class reps, study & project prep, dinner, RAMA kick off meeting, FIT Tutorial, Tipsy Tuesday
Wednesday: morning work, Rotman Ambassador interview, group emails & meetings, case prep session, FIT paper discussion with professor, work on application to international study tour, attend Google speaker session (which was fantastic!), dinner with friends, back at Rotman studying.
I guess there is a theme, life is incredibly busy but on the plus side, there were a few social events thrown in there. I have heard from some of my new second year friends, that we ain't seen nothing yet. So I anticipate seeing the hours of sleep go down, the hours of social time go down and the hours of study/ group work rise significantly.
Another event worth noting, we tied our ultimate game on Monday! Next week going for the win!
Thursday: Quiz, all day classes, Greys Anatomy
Friday: Class, quiz, Afternoon of work, MCA kick off, event with fellow classmates
Saturday: work alllll day on readings, homework, prep for stats project, dinner with friends
Sunday: Work in the morning, Ultimate practice, study at school, grocery shopping & clean apartment
Monday: All day classes, study in the afternoon, brief meeting with group, first ultimate game, dinner and drinks with some of the team, home to do readings before bed
Tuesday: Classes, lunch with fellow class reps, study & project prep, dinner, RAMA kick off meeting, FIT Tutorial, Tipsy Tuesday
Wednesday: morning work, Rotman Ambassador interview, group emails & meetings, case prep session, FIT paper discussion with professor, work on application to international study tour, attend Google speaker session (which was fantastic!), dinner with friends, back at Rotman studying.
I guess there is a theme, life is incredibly busy but on the plus side, there were a few social events thrown in there. I have heard from some of my new second year friends, that we ain't seen nothing yet. So I anticipate seeing the hours of sleep go down, the hours of social time go down and the hours of study/ group work rise significantly.
Another event worth noting, we tied our ultimate game on Monday! Next week going for the win!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Intramural Sports @ Rotman
So we are officially half way through the first quarter. This means we have been in class for 3 weeks, we have 3 weeks of class time left, followed by 1 week of exams/papers.
One thing that the 2nd years told us early in the quarter was to exercise. The more school builds up in terms of time demands and deadlines, the more likely it is to put off going to the gym. I am definitely one of those people who will come up with any excuse not to work out (I am so tired, sick, behind in school, I just straightened my hair... you get the idea). But the reality is, we all need to clear our heads a little, and running around, stretching out the muscles, and working up a sweat is a great way to do that.
This brings me to my main point. The constant balance at MBA school is to develop friendships and your network, and study, study, study. I have always signed up for intramural sports teams at school, work and more recently the Rotman Ultimate team, because its a commitment to exercise once a week AND a great chance to meet people outside of your immediate program.
This morning we had our second Ultimate practice, with a smaller turnout than last week, but fun non the less, and I met second years and a part time student. These are people that it is often difficult to mingle with throughout the regular means because they are exceptional busy. (still working and or recruiting for jobs etc).
But, by simply joining a sports team, you hang out once a week, occasionally go for dinner/drinks after and getting that oh so important little bit of exercise to prevent the MBA version of the Freshman 15.
We have our first game tomorrow night, so I am sure I will be going back to this topic from time to time, keep you posted on whether I still think its a good idea in the first week of November when the season is wrapping up and I am freezing my butt off.
In reference to a previous post on clubs, we also had the kick off meeting for the Management Consulting Club. It was both informative and discouraging, and had one major message. Thanks for signing up & if you don't get the grades that put you in the top 20% of the class then good luck. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a general idea. It is how consulting firms work, they hire MBA's and they generally hire the best of the best, taking advantage of the selection mechanism that MBA school in general provides.
I'll post about that more as the quarter moves on. For now I must go study for Statistics because I have a quiz coming up this week and am watching my calendar book up at a rapid fire rate, so I need to get a jump start.
One thing that the 2nd years told us early in the quarter was to exercise. The more school builds up in terms of time demands and deadlines, the more likely it is to put off going to the gym. I am definitely one of those people who will come up with any excuse not to work out (I am so tired, sick, behind in school, I just straightened my hair... you get the idea). But the reality is, we all need to clear our heads a little, and running around, stretching out the muscles, and working up a sweat is a great way to do that.
This brings me to my main point. The constant balance at MBA school is to develop friendships and your network, and study, study, study. I have always signed up for intramural sports teams at school, work and more recently the Rotman Ultimate team, because its a commitment to exercise once a week AND a great chance to meet people outside of your immediate program.
This morning we had our second Ultimate practice, with a smaller turnout than last week, but fun non the less, and I met second years and a part time student. These are people that it is often difficult to mingle with throughout the regular means because they are exceptional busy. (still working and or recruiting for jobs etc).
But, by simply joining a sports team, you hang out once a week, occasionally go for dinner/drinks after and getting that oh so important little bit of exercise to prevent the MBA version of the Freshman 15.
We have our first game tomorrow night, so I am sure I will be going back to this topic from time to time, keep you posted on whether I still think its a good idea in the first week of November when the season is wrapping up and I am freezing my butt off.
In reference to a previous post on clubs, we also had the kick off meeting for the Management Consulting Club. It was both informative and discouraging, and had one major message. Thanks for signing up & if you don't get the grades that put you in the top 20% of the class then good luck. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a general idea. It is how consulting firms work, they hire MBA's and they generally hire the best of the best, taking advantage of the selection mechanism that MBA school in general provides.
I'll post about that more as the quarter moves on. For now I must go study for Statistics because I have a quiz coming up this week and am watching my calendar book up at a rapid fire rate, so I need to get a jump start.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Information as a Commodity
In my initial post I pledged to keep my blog focused on the Rotman Experience outside of the classroom. I am going to stretch that a little, and propose that tutorials are not included in the class time requirements, are optional for attendance and are run by other students (scholars) and are therefore fair game.
It is now week 3 of our program, which actually means that we are half way through our first term! If you can believe it, we have had 3 of the 5 quizzes that we are responsible for this quarter, and have another one next week. We are knee deep in project planning for stats, and completely confused in terms of paper/presentation expectations everywhere else.
In undergrad, part of earning good grades was recognizing when you needed extra help and attending the available tutorials to gain a deeper understanding of the material. In grad school, everyone got B+ or higher in undergrad, many earning A's and A+ marks, especially in fourth year. So when the work load starts piling up, we look for additional sources of information.
We take five classes a week, and can attend up to five tutorials a week. Students tend to attend a tutorial to find out what is being covered, then depart at varying intervals until the end of the session. In a program where 275 people are trying to accomplish the same thing, with very similar information sources, information becomes a bit of a commodity. If you want to make friends share your notes!
I have attended at least one tutorial for each class and my insights are as follows; you can measure peoples level of comfort/interest in any given class by the rate at which they leave the room. Several sessions start with over 60 people, and end with less than 20 as people get antsy, hungry, bored and otherwise distracted. The MOST frustrating thing is if you are trying to get help, and people are they goofing off and making noise. I admit I am sometimes that person (so I try to get up and leave) to avoid being disruptive.
Word to the wise, attend tutorials early and often so you can determine their level of helpfulness, meet your scholars and make an informed decision later. The last thing you want is to show up day before an exam and go "wow this was helpful, I should have been coming here all along!"
It is now week 3 of our program, which actually means that we are half way through our first term! If you can believe it, we have had 3 of the 5 quizzes that we are responsible for this quarter, and have another one next week. We are knee deep in project planning for stats, and completely confused in terms of paper/presentation expectations everywhere else.
In undergrad, part of earning good grades was recognizing when you needed extra help and attending the available tutorials to gain a deeper understanding of the material. In grad school, everyone got B+ or higher in undergrad, many earning A's and A+ marks, especially in fourth year. So when the work load starts piling up, we look for additional sources of information.
We take five classes a week, and can attend up to five tutorials a week. Students tend to attend a tutorial to find out what is being covered, then depart at varying intervals until the end of the session. In a program where 275 people are trying to accomplish the same thing, with very similar information sources, information becomes a bit of a commodity. If you want to make friends share your notes!
I have attended at least one tutorial for each class and my insights are as follows; you can measure peoples level of comfort/interest in any given class by the rate at which they leave the room. Several sessions start with over 60 people, and end with less than 20 as people get antsy, hungry, bored and otherwise distracted. The MOST frustrating thing is if you are trying to get help, and people are they goofing off and making noise. I admit I am sometimes that person (so I try to get up and leave) to avoid being disruptive.
Word to the wise, attend tutorials early and often so you can determine their level of helpfulness, meet your scholars and make an informed decision later. The last thing you want is to show up day before an exam and go "wow this was helpful, I should have been coming here all along!"
GBC Election Results
The GBC Election results are in. I am happy to share that I have been elected as the Section 4 class rep, and get to work with a wonderful group of people (11 other first years in sports, social and class rep roles) as well as the existing 2nd year executives of the GBC.
A quick note of thanks to everyone for trusting me with this role! I will be sure to provide some more insight in the position (as I am able) as the year progresses.
A quick note of thanks to everyone for trusting me with this role! I will be sure to provide some more insight in the position (as I am able) as the year progresses.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Politics and MBA's
This week we have elections for the representatives to the GBC. To break it down for you, we have 3 reps in each of the four sections, 1 social, 1 sports and 1 academic (class) rep. The different sections had different levels of interest and it turned out I was in the keener section.
I am running for class rep (speeches were yesterday - votes tallied tomorrow & announced the day after - stay tuned) and had 3 other candidates for class rep in my section, 5 people interested in social and another 5 interested in sports rep. In one of the other sections, there were 2 class reps, 3 socials and the sports rep won by default. The other two sections fell somewhere in the middle.
In our class, I have noticed that people aren't really campaigning, its more about "give a quick speech & if after the past 2 to 4 weeks plus 1 minute speech, you don't know me... then toss a coin." I say this because, by default, everyone in our program would make a "good" class/social/sports rep. To do any of these positions, you need to have some social/networking inclination, and some organizational skills. In order to convince two of your former bosses to write you a reference letter, and jump through the hoops of the MBA application process, you need to have organizational skills.
Speeches were yesterday, mine boiled down to "please vote for me!" and I don't think there was a significant difference in the class rep speeches. BUT I will give kudos to the Sports & Social reps who came up with some pretty creative 1 minute summaries of why they would be great. Including some songs turned into speeches, a video from a class mate who was out sick, a creative social math equation, an invitation to a party & a full on sports get up complete with Leafs Jersey.
The second years I have spoken with have said "its a popularity contest" so the speeches may be a mute point. But my advice to incoming students, if you run for a spot - make your speech fun, because even if you don't win, your section has to stay after class to listen to about 30 minutes worth of speeches and you can certainly make some friends by being a little entertaining.
To conclude this post - 2 of my friends from another section, the only 2 candidates for social rep, decided to do their speeches together, and then proposed to decide the "winner" by way of a drinking event. Some students rejected the idea of taking the democracy out of the process, so in the end they defaulted to votes & had the drinking contest for fun. Two guys who will a) go to the bar on a Tuesday when they have a Thursday AND Friday quiz, and b) chug not one, but two (they tied first round), beers to decide on social-ness both deserve major high fives.
For your information - GBC is Graduate Business Council. And my next post will likely be a summary of the three letter acronyms you can expect throughout your Rotman experience.
I am running for class rep (speeches were yesterday - votes tallied tomorrow & announced the day after - stay tuned) and had 3 other candidates for class rep in my section, 5 people interested in social and another 5 interested in sports rep. In one of the other sections, there were 2 class reps, 3 socials and the sports rep won by default. The other two sections fell somewhere in the middle.
In our class, I have noticed that people aren't really campaigning, its more about "give a quick speech & if after the past 2 to 4 weeks plus 1 minute speech, you don't know me... then toss a coin." I say this because, by default, everyone in our program would make a "good" class/social/sports rep. To do any of these positions, you need to have some social/networking inclination, and some organizational skills. In order to convince two of your former bosses to write you a reference letter, and jump through the hoops of the MBA application process, you need to have organizational skills.
Speeches were yesterday, mine boiled down to "please vote for me!" and I don't think there was a significant difference in the class rep speeches. BUT I will give kudos to the Sports & Social reps who came up with some pretty creative 1 minute summaries of why they would be great. Including some songs turned into speeches, a video from a class mate who was out sick, a creative social math equation, an invitation to a party & a full on sports get up complete with Leafs Jersey.
The second years I have spoken with have said "its a popularity contest" so the speeches may be a mute point. But my advice to incoming students, if you run for a spot - make your speech fun, because even if you don't win, your section has to stay after class to listen to about 30 minutes worth of speeches and you can certainly make some friends by being a little entertaining.
To conclude this post - 2 of my friends from another section, the only 2 candidates for social rep, decided to do their speeches together, and then proposed to decide the "winner" by way of a drinking event. Some students rejected the idea of taking the democracy out of the process, so in the end they defaulted to votes & had the drinking contest for fun. Two guys who will a) go to the bar on a Tuesday when they have a Thursday AND Friday quiz, and b) chug not one, but two (they tied first round), beers to decide on social-ness both deserve major high fives.
For your information - GBC is Graduate Business Council. And my next post will likely be a summary of the three letter acronyms you can expect throughout your Rotman experience.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Facebook in Higher Education
A little facebook history to preface today's entry. Originally launched as The Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg created and launched the site while he was a student at Harvard University, so Facebook has been intended for use of University students for social means since its inception.
In my undergraduate days the site was getting started, had gained wide spread popularity and was still a campus only network, where you had to have a email address with a participating university to get logged on. This created a feel of exclusivity on the site. As users built their networks, they were comfortable 'friending' people because it was all in good fun.
These day's facebook is much much more than that. It is not just your friends from school, its your boss, your brother, your mother and the girl who is a waitress at the bar you always go to. This is a mixed blessing. You can easily get in touch with people if you lost a phone number, can't reach them on email, or have simply been out of touch. But it also means that your old boss see's that photo that the waitress tagged you in from Friday night. See where I am going with this?
In Rotman Orientation, we were told about the do's and don'ts of recruiting. One thing they touched on was to pay attention to your facebook. The recruiter you are talking to may be curious enough to see what kind of social life you have before they call you in for an interview, and they may see the aforementioned picture and decide they are looking for someone more 'serious.'
Now that I have outlined the facebook evils, let me touch on the great things about facebook. When I had applied and been offered admission to Rotman, I also searched the facebook world to see if there was a group. The wonderful program services people had set one up that required all members be part of the incoming full time MBA class. This meant that as many as 6 months before the program even started, and I was even living in Toronto, I was trading messages & moving tips with other students from class. In effect, we met online.
Now that we have (almost) all met, and are normalizing into a routine and studying (which means procrastinating) we are having a new facebook world. In planning a few social events these past few weeks, I have shamelessly used facebook as a tool to communicate, and while it is great, there is a fine line between spamming your new friends and including them in events.
The solution is a facebook group for fun - social events for members of the Rotman Community. We can all host events for everyone, if you are looking for someone who wants to go for sushi or plan a ski trip, we can communicate with each other there. By starting this group, and adding on many many admins, we are hoping to have a many to many communication flow.
So far over 150 members of our class have signed up, factoring for people not on facebook, and people not interested in hearing about every social event, we have a pretty great sign up record. Here's to hoping the 'model' works and that it can be passed on from year to year.
In my undergraduate days the site was getting started, had gained wide spread popularity and was still a campus only network, where you had to have a email address with a participating university to get logged on. This created a feel of exclusivity on the site. As users built their networks, they were comfortable 'friending' people because it was all in good fun.
These day's facebook is much much more than that. It is not just your friends from school, its your boss, your brother, your mother and the girl who is a waitress at the bar you always go to. This is a mixed blessing. You can easily get in touch with people if you lost a phone number, can't reach them on email, or have simply been out of touch. But it also means that your old boss see's that photo that the waitress tagged you in from Friday night. See where I am going with this?
In Rotman Orientation, we were told about the do's and don'ts of recruiting. One thing they touched on was to pay attention to your facebook. The recruiter you are talking to may be curious enough to see what kind of social life you have before they call you in for an interview, and they may see the aforementioned picture and decide they are looking for someone more 'serious.'
Now that I have outlined the facebook evils, let me touch on the great things about facebook. When I had applied and been offered admission to Rotman, I also searched the facebook world to see if there was a group. The wonderful program services people had set one up that required all members be part of the incoming full time MBA class. This meant that as many as 6 months before the program even started, and I was even living in Toronto, I was trading messages & moving tips with other students from class. In effect, we met online.
Now that we have (almost) all met, and are normalizing into a routine and studying (which means procrastinating) we are having a new facebook world. In planning a few social events these past few weeks, I have shamelessly used facebook as a tool to communicate, and while it is great, there is a fine line between spamming your new friends and including them in events.
The solution is a facebook group for fun - social events for members of the Rotman Community. We can all host events for everyone, if you are looking for someone who wants to go for sushi or plan a ski trip, we can communicate with each other there. By starting this group, and adding on many many admins, we are hoping to have a many to many communication flow.
So far over 150 members of our class have signed up, factoring for people not on facebook, and people not interested in hearing about every social event, we have a pretty great sign up record. Here's to hoping the 'model' works and that it can be passed on from year to year.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Fast Times @ Rotman High
I am working on this theory (and I may refer back to it from time to time), that MBA school is like High School except we are of legal drinking age and are spending a hell of a lot more money to be here. A great chit lit book that painted this picture is Sarah Mlynowski's* Monkey Business. She writes a fictional story about an entering class of MBA students who are all living in the same on campus residence building and it makes you wonder just how far you have to come to be back in high school.
The first comparison I will make is in terms of the actual environment. All of the classes are in one building, our class of roughly 265 students is segregated into 4 sections, and you stay in the same room all day, while professors come to you. Students are given lockers to store belongings and tend to socialize, eat, study and just hang out at school.
Being in an MBA program means you have a group of people who are very diverse in terms of experience, academic and ethnicity, but have 2 very important things in common.
The first is that they have an interest and have made a commitment to get an MBA. This can mean they have a strong desire to better manage a business and believe that the MBA will give them the tools to do this. Or that they want to increase their ability to generate future cash flows. (ie get paid more money).
The second is that they got into B-School, and at Rotman, more importantly they got into the best school in the country. This means the student body is smart, can demonstrate community involvement and has quality work experience to draw from.
For these reasons students don't exactly break out according to their breakfast club characters (brain, athlete, basket case, princess and criminal) as we might see in the high school setting, but we do break into groups according to career interest. I am told by second year students that as the year goes on, the Management Consulting students all hang out, the Finance students all stick together, the Marketing students team up etc.... We have yet to see this in our class, but the job hunt has yet to begin so we can only wait and see.
As you can see this theory is scattered and will either develop over time or completely disappear. For now, I must sign off to get some readings done.
*Note: (Mlynowski is a fellow McGill Alumni though I have never met her, I do enjoy her novels)
The first comparison I will make is in terms of the actual environment. All of the classes are in one building, our class of roughly 265 students is segregated into 4 sections, and you stay in the same room all day, while professors come to you. Students are given lockers to store belongings and tend to socialize, eat, study and just hang out at school.
Being in an MBA program means you have a group of people who are very diverse in terms of experience, academic and ethnicity, but have 2 very important things in common.
The first is that they have an interest and have made a commitment to get an MBA. This can mean they have a strong desire to better manage a business and believe that the MBA will give them the tools to do this. Or that they want to increase their ability to generate future cash flows. (ie get paid more money).
The second is that they got into B-School, and at Rotman, more importantly they got into the best school in the country. This means the student body is smart, can demonstrate community involvement and has quality work experience to draw from.
For these reasons students don't exactly break out according to their breakfast club characters (brain, athlete, basket case, princess and criminal) as we might see in the high school setting, but we do break into groups according to career interest. I am told by second year students that as the year goes on, the Management Consulting students all hang out, the Finance students all stick together, the Marketing students team up etc.... We have yet to see this in our class, but the job hunt has yet to begin so we can only wait and see.
As you can see this theory is scattered and will either develop over time or completely disappear. For now, I must sign off to get some readings done.
*Note: (Mlynowski is a fellow McGill Alumni though I have never met her, I do enjoy her novels)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Blast From The Past - Thoughts on Pre Program / Orientation
The pre program is designed to create an even playing field for all incoming students. There is some basic jargon, TLA's and commonly used formula that are introduced as pre-requisites because the content of the core courses assume each new student is in the know.
As I had a commerce background I was debating the value of attending. Turns out the class material was interesting - even if it was review, and a great chance to practice being a student again. Yes I am saying I needed to practice the art of education. It is a big change to go from an office environment to a classroom setting and it takes some serious adjusting.
The other added benefit of pre program is the definitive social aspect. Coming from out of town my Toronto network was very limited. I was planning on relying heavily on school to develop friendships and knew my enjoyment of the MBA program would be largely linked to this assumption. So while I was setting up my new home, getting internet and basic kitchen gadgets, I attended lectures and more importantly - I meet about 50% of my classmates before we even attended orientation.
Since starting proper classes (which are all in the same room with the same people and the professors come to you) there are many of my pre program friends whom I don't see much of anymore. The question some people ask - can you make friends if you don't attend pre-program? is easily answered: YES! Everyone in our class is friendly and willing to introduce themselves (sometimes more than once) and there is plenty of opportunity to mix and mingle.
A big part of that comes at Orienation Camp. If there is one thing in the pre program line up that you must not miss, its camp. This is a 3 day bonding session with about 70 second years and 230 other members of your incoming class.
There is a lot of scheduled activity, 15 different 'networking' events, a wicked costume party, lots of available food and beverage, and lots of shaking hands. But this is a great opportunity to spend time with your new classmates in the most laid-back environment you will see them in all year.
Come fall, the events and club fairs start, and people start dressing in business casual most of the time.... and the reality of the MBA program starts to take hold. (i am still happily naive and will let you know when I start to stress out seriously.)
By the way, TLA's (Three Letter Acronyms) will be very present in the entire MBA experience - and every now and then you will realize you said an entire sentence with half words and half acronyms and wonder what happend.
As I had a commerce background I was debating the value of attending. Turns out the class material was interesting - even if it was review, and a great chance to practice being a student again. Yes I am saying I needed to practice the art of education. It is a big change to go from an office environment to a classroom setting and it takes some serious adjusting.
The other added benefit of pre program is the definitive social aspect. Coming from out of town my Toronto network was very limited. I was planning on relying heavily on school to develop friendships and knew my enjoyment of the MBA program would be largely linked to this assumption. So while I was setting up my new home, getting internet and basic kitchen gadgets, I attended lectures and more importantly - I meet about 50% of my classmates before we even attended orientation.
Since starting proper classes (which are all in the same room with the same people and the professors come to you) there are many of my pre program friends whom I don't see much of anymore. The question some people ask - can you make friends if you don't attend pre-program? is easily answered: YES! Everyone in our class is friendly and willing to introduce themselves (sometimes more than once) and there is plenty of opportunity to mix and mingle.
A big part of that comes at Orienation Camp. If there is one thing in the pre program line up that you must not miss, its camp. This is a 3 day bonding session with about 70 second years and 230 other members of your incoming class.
There is a lot of scheduled activity, 15 different 'networking' events, a wicked costume party, lots of available food and beverage, and lots of shaking hands. But this is a great opportunity to spend time with your new classmates in the most laid-back environment you will see them in all year.
Come fall, the events and club fairs start, and people start dressing in business casual most of the time.... and the reality of the MBA program starts to take hold. (i am still happily naive and will let you know when I start to stress out seriously.)
By the way, TLA's (Three Letter Acronyms) will be very present in the entire MBA experience - and every now and then you will realize you said an entire sentence with half words and half acronyms and wonder what happend.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Student Clubs Fair
Last night we were invited to attend the Student Clubs Fair. My experience with these things is you get a lot of information, everyone wants you to sign up for their club/event/activity and you leave with a little less in your wallet and a little bit more scrap paper.
The Rotman Annual Student Clubs Fair did not digress from this model. The difference I found (and this applies to grad school in general) is that the average person that attends, actually wants to be there. There are very few people who are not committed to the program, and most students who show up for the club fair are genuinely interested in at least one club.
That, of course, is another issue. Almost every Rotman student is interested in either Management Consulting or Finance, or both (with varying levels of commitment). These two clubs are highly prescribed to because the option to get help when recruiting season kicks off is a hot commodity. They offer networking opportunities, help writing your applications as well as prep and feedback for case and technical interviews.
A little info regarding the first year calendar: September is for information gathering and studying for first quarter. January is for recruiting. From what I have learned everything in between is a lead up to Recruiting (disclaimer! specifically for consulting and investment banking jobs - more on that later).
The relationship between recruiting and September's clubs fair is closely tied to FOMA (Fear Of Missing Out). Few students know exactly what they want to do and so they sign up for everything and wait for the dust to settle.
It may not surprise you to learn that I don't know what I want to do, so I have signed up for multiple clubs and will be selectively attending events hosted that catch my fancy. Check back in December to see which I have stuck with and which have fallen by the wayside.
Katie's First Year Clubs:
The Rotman Annual Student Clubs Fair did not digress from this model. The difference I found (and this applies to grad school in general) is that the average person that attends, actually wants to be there. There are very few people who are not committed to the program, and most students who show up for the club fair are genuinely interested in at least one club.
That, of course, is another issue. Almost every Rotman student is interested in either Management Consulting or Finance, or both (with varying levels of commitment). These two clubs are highly prescribed to because the option to get help when recruiting season kicks off is a hot commodity. They offer networking opportunities, help writing your applications as well as prep and feedback for case and technical interviews.
A little info regarding the first year calendar: September is for information gathering and studying for first quarter. January is for recruiting. From what I have learned everything in between is a lead up to Recruiting (disclaimer! specifically for consulting and investment banking jobs - more on that later).
The relationship between recruiting and September's clubs fair is closely tied to FOMA (Fear Of Missing Out). Few students know exactly what they want to do and so they sign up for everything and wait for the dust to settle.
It may not surprise you to learn that I don't know what I want to do, so I have signed up for multiple clubs and will be selectively attending events hosted that catch my fancy. Check back in December to see which I have stuck with and which have fallen by the wayside.
Katie's First Year Clubs:
- rotman finance association
- business design club
- energy and natural resources group
- management consulting association
- women in management association
First Tipsy Tuesday
First year Rotman Students operate on a very busy schedule. We have approximately 20 hours of class a week, spread over four days, with numerous tutorials that are optional but very useful and a whole bunch of extra-curricular activities, clubs and events offered.
By spreading classes over four days, we get Wednesday's off. Don't be fooled, this is designed for group work, catching up on readings and networking. Of course in typical student fashion, a regular night out has been introduced on Tuesday nights, aptly named Tipsy Tuesday.
The first examinable event was the Managerial Economics Quiz. The first real Tipsy Tuesday same day. The turn out at Tipsy Tuesday last night was lots of fun. It was one of the first real opportunties to meet and chat with 2nd Year students, who are a very valuable resource, as they were in our seats exactly one year ago and are able to provide some guidance.
And most importantly, it was a great chance to relax with our classmates. I may have stayed a little too late, making my first Wednesday off less productive, but also met a bunch of people and learned a bit about the various student run clubs. Trying to capture the perfect balance between studying and networking is going to be a big part of the MBA experience.
This afternoon is the student club fair, so I will update on my impressions of that in the near future. Stay tuned.
By spreading classes over four days, we get Wednesday's off. Don't be fooled, this is designed for group work, catching up on readings and networking. Of course in typical student fashion, a regular night out has been introduced on Tuesday nights, aptly named Tipsy Tuesday.
The first examinable event was the Managerial Economics Quiz. The first real Tipsy Tuesday same day. The turn out at Tipsy Tuesday last night was lots of fun. It was one of the first real opportunties to meet and chat with 2nd Year students, who are a very valuable resource, as they were in our seats exactly one year ago and are able to provide some guidance.
And most importantly, it was a great chance to relax with our classmates. I may have stayed a little too late, making my first Wednesday off less productive, but also met a bunch of people and learned a bit about the various student run clubs. Trying to capture the perfect balance between studying and networking is going to be a big part of the MBA experience.
This afternoon is the student club fair, so I will update on my impressions of that in the near future. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Who am I? (In 226 words or less)
In a round about introduction to this blog, I'd like to talk about myself. This is hopefully the first and last blog post that will focus on me.
If the Vancouver Canucks are doing well, they may be mentioned in this blog, otherwise I will aim to stay on the topic of one students MBA Experience outside of the classroom. This will include, but not be limited to, the student clubs, the recruiting, the general program and of course the "social scene."
First and foremost, I pledge to write candidly. I will NOT be writing about gossip. And I will aim to inform the readers (prospective students & fellow classmates) of the many benefits that can come from what is ultimately your network of relationships developed throughout the MBA program.
Finally some vital stats for those who are curious:
name: Katie L Schwitzer
gender: female
age: 24 (for a few more months)
hometown: Vancouver BC
undergraduate degree: Commerce (Marketing/Finance)
alma matter: McGill University
most recent job title: Business Development Coordinator
most recent company: Blast Radius Inc.
some descriptive stats:
reason for getting an MBA: to improve my marketability & develop a lifelong network
reason for writing a blog: to inform the prospective students of some aspects of the Rotman experience that you gain from your peers instead of your professors
reason for calling the blog "our world": a clever play on words for the Rotman website "RWorld"
If the Vancouver Canucks are doing well, they may be mentioned in this blog, otherwise I will aim to stay on the topic of one students MBA Experience outside of the classroom. This will include, but not be limited to, the student clubs, the recruiting, the general program and of course the "social scene."
First and foremost, I pledge to write candidly. I will NOT be writing about gossip. And I will aim to inform the readers (prospective students & fellow classmates) of the many benefits that can come from what is ultimately your network of relationships developed throughout the MBA program.
Finally some vital stats for those who are curious:
name: Katie L Schwitzer
gender: female
age: 24 (for a few more months)
hometown: Vancouver BC
undergraduate degree: Commerce (Marketing/Finance)
alma matter: McGill University
most recent job title: Business Development Coordinator
most recent company: Blast Radius Inc.
some descriptive stats:
reason for getting an MBA: to improve my marketability & develop a lifelong network
reason for writing a blog: to inform the prospective students of some aspects of the Rotman experience that you gain from your peers instead of your professors
reason for calling the blog "our world": a clever play on words for the Rotman website "RWorld"
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