It's a Small World Afterall

One of the perks of being a bum, or the very definition of "bumdom/bumhood" is all the free time in the world. TheLadiesChoice decided to make better use of this precious commodity by creating a yahoogroup for fellow MBA students (from my country) about to leave abroad. After all the introductions were made, it turned out that a lot of us were all fairly connected somehow. A disproportionate number of us were former eagles who used to nest UpOnTheHill with nary a representative from those green bowmen bastards, haha!

As is customary in the PearloftheOrient, we all agreed to meet and greet one another at a local watering hole. I couldn't seem to explain it, but there was really a very strong ( a bit nervous) vibe in the group. I haven't been to a livelier soiree in years. Then it hit me (along with that 5th glass of long island iced tea...but more on that later). These people got along so well together, and were so willing, no desperate, to reach out to each other because finally we've found other human beings in the same boat. These other MBA students felt the same excitement, nervousness, hope and anxiety of leaving the mother land as I did. We could talk. We could connect. We could understand.

My only regret was that I got plastered a bit too soon. For some reason, I got from tipsy to drunk in record time. TheLadiesChoice was hammered enough to sincerely insist the HBS guys pay for the bill! I was telling the MIT guys that we'll all get lonely together or some crap like that. I'm sure my "party" school in Chicago would have been proud of me. Good times all around.

What's Been Going On

Admittedly, TheLadiesChoice has been to lazy to blog. The summer heat has been killing me. It seems to get hotter by the day. No doubt a freezing Chicago winter will quickly change my mind. Nevertheless, because I promised that this blog will capture this endless summer (which is fast approaching it's end!), I've listed the things which I've been up to, and what they really mean.

1. The housing lottery just came out and (un)fortunately I've been assigned a twin-studio along with a fellow MBA from my own country.
What this really means: Although I'm glad that I got lucky in the lottery thus saving me a pretty penny and all the hassles of looking for off-campus housing, I'm quite terrified of sharing a bathroom with another human being.

2. I've started a Yahoogroups for all the MBA students leaving my country. This starry-eyed group of hopefuls is set to meet tomorrow at a local bar.
What this really means: As a naturally introverted person (though some might disagree), I've started to realize the value networking (oh, horror of horrors). And while a part of me will always consider networking as "selling out", I'm realistic enough to know that it's part of the game. And TheLadiesChoice always plays to win.

3. Been working on a slideshow for my highschool class's Ten Years After reunion.
What this really means: The nostalgia trip has officially begun. This is part of my own personal way of saying goodbye to the closest people in my life. What struck me the most was how exceptionally close we all were back in the day. We literally did anything and everything together. But now, we've all grown up and are leading separate lives. Nonetheless, it's always good to look back once in a while.

4. Just signed up for an optional pre-MBA field trip for incoming first years.
What this really means: Amongst a list of dozens of international destinations, I only sorted out and chose the trips with high-comfort and high-nightlife rankings. TheLadiesChoice isn't shelling out almost $2,000 for a glorified hiking trip to leave me battered and bruised. Give me tequila shots, and margaritas anytime!

5. Just narrowly evaded a blind date.
What this really means: In my half-hearted attempts to find an IntheMeantimeGirl, I almost managed to secure myself a disastrous date. I know I always say that I look for good conversation first and foremost, but this presupposes that the aforementioned date passes a certain threshold for physical attractiveness. Let's just say that this prospective date did not pass this threshold to say the least. Thank the Lord for Friendster stalking. So thanks to a certain KPie for rescuing me from a harrowing experience!

VISA in the Bag

TheLadiesChoice woke up at 5am to join the throng of my countrymen hoping against all hope of securing their license for their shot at the American dream. My own student visa application proceeded without a hitch. I aced the finger-scanning portion quite easily (no sweaty hands for me!). The consul just asked which school I was attending, how long the program was and how I expected to pay for the tuition. As a certified Mama's boy, my mom had already prepared all the necessary supporting documents and even colored-coded all the files. Everything was a breeze, and by 930 I was already paying Delbros to have my passport and new student visa delivered to my house.

Again, as Third Eye Blind once said, "I remember the stupid things." I was a bit saddened to see my countrymen wheedle, plead, beg and almost prostrate themselves in front of the almighty consuls. Even as they were applying for non-immigrant visas, I could hear through their heavily accented English that raw desire to just get to the land of milk and honey. I'm sure the consuls could also feel the desperation in their voices. Applying for non-immigrant visas are a shame and a sham. I'm sure close to 80% of those applying have 100% intention of finding work in the States and snagging the elusive greencard.

They aren't coming back. As a matter of fact, I can't blame them either.

A Uniquely Humbling Experience

TheLadiesChoice quite unexpectedly found himself in the midst of a debut party in his long-forgotten hometown, a far-off barrio and a lifetime away from TheMetroCity. It's been decades since I've participated in such a provincial celebration. But, it was not the unsanitary food, not the stinky stench of a nearby canal nor the unsightly, gaudy and garish color schemes that struck me the most but rather the earnest smiles, the wistful dreams and the simplicity of life of the common folk. These are the people who truly make up the backbone of my third-world country. More importantly they are the self-same clients of my family's business. Ours has forever been a refuge for the rural poor. And there I was last night amongst the salt of the earth who are ultimately responsible for sending me to business school.

It's been a while since I touched base with my roots, but I am deeply grateful that I did. I am truly humbled by the experience. It's a very, very long way from the town of Gawilab to Chicago. A long way from goat's milk, farmers and fishermen to one of the top business schools in world.

A Rather Rudimentary Attempt at Choosing a Post-MBA Job

Okay, TheLadiesChoice is in the doldrums of the MBA matriculation process. I know I should be neck-deep in preparing the paperwork for my visa but I can't seem to find any inspiration in filling-up tedious F-1 forms, I-20s and SEVIS fees. So I've decided to try to determine what would be the best career for my post-MBA. Here's the simple exercise that I did during my last week at work (you can see that I had way too much time on my hands). As mentioned previously, I find myself inclined to join the typical MBA bandwagons of management consulting and investment banking. I'm such a sucker for peer pressure. Of course, I really enjoy marketing and do believe I have a natural knack for the job so I've included going back to industry as part of my options. I listed the job-related concerns that I have and gave weights in order of importance. Then I rated each career option on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the most favorable. The first table looks like this:














Multiplying the weights to the ratings gives the the final table below.






Some caveats: I have absolutely no first-hand knowledge about management consulting and investment banking. The ratings above are a reflection of the impressions I've gotten from people I've talked to, message boards I've read, and of course Hollywood's portrayal of the said professions. A lot of people will have different job-related concerns but these here are my own. The weights I hope are representative of an afternoon's worth of deep soul-searching in front of my office PC at the expense of course of my previous employer, ThePlaceToBe.

For me Compensation is 30%. I have a family to feed, places to see and Ferraris to drive so shoot me.

Work Hours is also a concern; I've never heard anyone who actually enjoys being cooped up in a cube 20 hours a day.

It may come as a surprise, but I hate travel. I hate the anxiety of long lines, delayed flight schedules and I hate flying.

I'll give in to my inner prestige whore and allocate 15% to wow-factor.

Entrance difficulty is also a concern. As an international student with no finance or consulting background I have a gnawing fear of not having a job at graduation due to my lack of prior work experience. My demons keep me company.

Exit strategies to industry are also a concern. Eventually I do want to go back to industry and hopefully be fast tracked to a C-level position. I'm a corporate ladder kind of guy and I can't help it.

The last 15% goes to all the other self-actualization factors that go into job search. Will I fit in? Will I have find meaning in my work? Will I enjoy doing what I do? Basically at the end of the day, I still want to give props to all the values and principles I learned UpOnTheHill.

Looks like it's Investment Banking for me for now. Will let you know TheLadiesChoice's thoughts on this startling development soon.

Asking Alex (about IB)

Probably one of the most insightful people in the net these days is this guy Alex Chu from mbaapply.com. Alex is also very active in the Businessweek forums that I mentioned in my earlier posts. Out of all the consultants giving free advice on those boards, I find Alex's opinions and insights the most grounded. Below, I have posted his response to TheLadiesChoice's inquiry regarding Investment Banking. I'm currently exploring post-MBA options and I'm afraid that I have fallen for the MBA bandwagon of consulting and investment banking (more on this in a future post). I've edited the school names to minimize debate, but you can still see how helpful Alex can be for people trying to get to b-school, studying in b-school, and graduating b-school. I'm quite sure we'd all appreciate an opportunity to have this guy over for a bottle or two.

From Alex Chu:

You won't have trouble getting an IB job out of SchoolXYZ. It's a core school for all the major banks.

Yes, SchoolXYZ doesn't send armies of people into IB, but it's simply because there's less people at SchoolXYZ who are interested in banking.

Here's how IB recruiting works. For the schools that a bank would consider a "core school", they have IB associates assigned as the primary recruiting contact for each core school. Usually, these associates are alums of the school. So the associate who is a SchoolXYZ alum would lead the SchoolXYZ effort, the SchoolABC alum would lead the SchoolABC effort, the SchoolDEF alum would lead the SchoolDEF effort and so on. They will interview most of the candidates from their school, but their primary job is to serve as the liaison between the bank and the school's career center to coordinate company presentations, shrimp cocktails, resume submissions, interview scheduling on campus, etc. However, even though they are primarily administrators/coordinators, they do have a say in who gets hired from their school. And even though SchoolXYZ doesn't send as many folks into banking as say SchoolABC, there's still enough XYZers who end up in IB that you'll have them at every bank.

So don't worry. The IB recruiting thing is set up at SchoolXYZ to make it as easy as possible for you to get the job. They will come to you - they have their presentations early on for 1st years (Oct onwards), some will schedule company visits or "day in the life" kinds of thingys, and then they will coordinate with the career center on resume submissions and interview scheduling on-campus. The banks wouldn't be spending this much effort and resources to send their junior and senior bankers to recruit and interview @ SchoolXYZ if they didn't think it was worth it.

As for your chances, land the summer internship and you'll be fine. Go to the company presentations, schmooze with the bankers who show up there (they'll usually try to bring as many SchoolXYZ alums from MDs down to associates, so they're on your side), submit your resume, and interview well.

And one last thing. Bankers don't care about prior experience or whether you're from New Jersey or Madagascar. They can't afford to. They need an army of people each and every year (it's a high employee turnover industry after all), and most ex-bankers in b-school aren't interested in banking anyhow.

When you go to a top school like SchoolXYZ, keep in mind that the investment banks and consulting firms set themeslves up in a way where both are the easiest jobs to get for students. They need an army of MBAs in good times and bad (the difference is in bad times, they will hire you, then renege on your offer in the summer after you've graduated, or fire you in the following Fall).

Alex Chu
www.mbaapply.com
alex@mbaapply.com
The MBA Field Guide (sample essays and more)

Living Quarters...choices, choices, choices

In a couple of days, the online application for my bschool's on-campus student housing will be up and running. It's going to be lottery-based so there is no guarantee that I'll be able to secure a spot. Nonetheless, I remain very optimistic since I've read quite a few posts in the student-discussion boards hosted by the school that pretty much everyone who wanted a slot got one. Turns out, that despite the relative convenience of living in-campus, this type of housing is significantly more attractive for international students like myself. The locals, or those living in the States prefer to source their own living quarters from the vast array of surrounding apartments and condos. No doubt, they aren't afraid of the extreme weather conditions or the culture shock that are sure to send tropically-inclined people like me scurrying for cover. I hear the cost-savings of living off-campus are quite tempting as well.

I've pretty much decided on on-campus housing. I have no plans of buying a car during bschool, and since the units all come furnished that also solves any problems of buying furniture, setting up Internet and phone access and all the hassles of moving into a new place. My dilemma now is whether to choose a studio unit, a one-bedroom unit or a twin-studio(!). If costs weren't an issue, I'd go for the one-bedroom unit. Think of the parties, poker nights and PS2 tournaments that can be accommodated by my spanking bachelor pad! But alas, the price is not right. So I'm stuck between a studio or a twin-studio with the latter being the more economical choice.

So what's the problem, you ask?

The thing with the twin-studio is that I'd be sharing a common kitchen and bathroom with a roommate (horror of horrors!).

Well, if you must know, TheLadiesChoice is actually one big mama's boy. Yup, that's right, I've never lived away from home and thus have never felt any compulsion or need to do any household chores. I'm like an undomesticated wild animal...well as wild an animal as a 27 year-old who can't cook, clean, or do laundry can be. Failure to launch indeed.

My thinking is that, if I'm going to have to clean the toilet, then I might as well be assured that I'm cleaning my own crap. I really can't imagine sharing something I hold so sacred with another human being. If it's going to be a mess, then it might as well be my mess.

The price difference is a whopping $300 a month. A small price to pay for my peace of crap. Haha.

What the heck...B-school Rankings!

Everyone makes a lot of fuss about b-school rankings. I think it's just human nature. Everybody loves rankings and talking endlessly about them. It's just that deep down everybody feels an intrinsic need to share their own opinions, to have their voices heard, to have their OWN rankings.

And so, here are mine. Some disclaimers first. I don't have any formal methodology to my rankings (apologies to rankingsgod1 from the Businessweek forums) but I have done my fair amount of research. Before the actual rankings, let me list down a few things which I believe in, and which in turn have greatly influenced TheLadiesChoice's MBA rankings:

1. I'm a marketing guy. And so I firmly believe in the power of prestige, branding and brand names (no matter how subjective or unquantifiable).
2. From all the official and published rankings, the only ones which I trust are Businessweek and USNews. I think that WSJ, Forbes, and FT vary too much from year to year to make them credible.
3. The school stereotypes (Kellogg for marketing, Sloan for techies, Columbia for finance) are true, but only to a certain extent. The top schools especially the so-called M7 reputedly can open almost any door to whichever industry one chooses (provided the hard work is put in.)
4. I do believe in determining that elusive "fit" when applying to b-school. Thus I encourage all applicants to do their research and come up with their own rankings. The most useful sites I've found are the discussion forums in Businessweek and College Confidential. Just learn to be wary of the trolls that lurk.

So here goes. TheLadiesChoice's B-school Rankings:

1. Harvard (brand name without par)
2. Stanford (most selective, great location)
3. Wharton (exceptional academic program, strong brand especially for finance)
4. Kellogg (marketing powerhouse, overcomes 'weak' NW name to still be top tier MBA program )
5. MIT-Sloan (MIT name and strong ties to the engineering school)
6. Chicago (reputedly the strongest academic program, starting to shed it's uptight image)
7. Columbia (finance in the finance capital of the world)
8. Tuck (most active alumni network, great community)
9. Haas (leverages on Berkeley name and proximity to Silicon Valley)
10. Duke (Go Blue Devils!)