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MAY 2001 MBA JOURNAL: INTERNSHIP INTERVIEWS Tangwena Nelson: Navigating the Process "It's hard to imagine being more psyched about school, but my second semester has been even more enjoyable than the first."
Of course I'm being sarcastic! Instead of partying away on some island in the Caribbean with a bunch of teenage college revelers or on my long awaited trip to Cuba, I am home for the break. Nonetheless, there is a lot going on this semester. It's hard to imagine being more psyched about school, but my second semester has been even more enjoyable than the first. Just as with last semester, my second semester has been split, with two classes (Financial Statement Analysis and Strategy) for seven weeks and another two (Financial Modeling and Operations Management) the remaining seven weeks. However, unlike the first semester, I have a third class (Intermediate Accounting) that spans a traditional semester from January through May. Additionally, I had to return to school a couple of days after the New Year for a one week condensed and intense version of Valuations, a course that is normally taught in seven weeks. This one week version is primarily for participants in the Investment Banking (IBI) and Managerial Finance (MFI) Immersions and is structured early to help students prepare for the job interview process. [Traditionally, investment banking interviews are the first on campus]. Though it has been a lot of work, this semester has been decidedly less stressful than the last as classes are now more specifically tailored to students' career interests and time management skills have improved as students get into a work "groove". As well, the courses in the Investment Banking Immersion (IBI) that I am taking have provided a thorough grounding in finance. The subject matter is terrific and the faculty, especially those for Valuations and Intermediate Accounting, are incredible masters of their fields. Perhaps the ultimate evidence of this is the fact that accounting has now become one of my favorite subjects. The semester also had a decidedly different feel. The atmosphere was more affable, as my classmates and I have formed an even closer-knit community than last. With the job search out of the way for most in the IBI and MFI, people have really begun to "let their hair down". Teamwork has been the unofficial theme this semester in support of the tons of papers due. This past week saw the IBI and MFI folks really pull together as we worked around the clock to complete final projects that included a 10-page financial research report on a company of our choice and an 18-page strategy study on an industry. Internship Recruiting A lot of this closer feel resulted from us all going through the grueling internship recruiting process, which for some brought a tremendous amount of stress. Internship recruiting started in December with resume drops. This is the process of submitting your resume along with a cover letter to selected online job opportunities listed on the Career Services Office (CSO) Web site. For many like myself, creating the "perfect" cover letter for each company started out being time consuming, and proved difficult given our course loads. However, through the help of second year classmates, the process was made less strenuous. In late December, for Investment banking in particular, firms began posting their closed lists. This is a list of students from the resume drop who they've selected for first round interviews (usually anywhere from ten to 25 students). For those who were not selected, there is a bidding system wherein you can bid points (allocated at the start of the semester) for an interview. Usually the firm has an additional space for 10-12 students wherein those with the highest bids are added to the interview list. Before the first official interviews begin, both the Finance club and the CSO host optional interview workshops that include having professional interviewers and second year students provide objective critiques of your interview ability and advice on what can be improved. These sessions proved invaluable and in most instances provided a competitive edge for those who attended. They addressed a range of topics including how to approach technical vs. behavioral interviews and even walked through examples (potential questions) of typical investment banking questions. The interview process for those in the IBI is unbelievably quick as a result of the fact that investment banks have traditionally been the first to campus. The immersion is not exclusively for those interested in investment banking careers. The process is lumped together for sales and trading, research, asset management, private client services, and private equity, and was over in just a couple of weeks. The actual interviews consisted of one on campus and an invitation for a "Super Saturday" in another city if you made the second round. And so, within three weeks, offers had been made, offers accepted and the inevitable dings issued. The quick process proved a blessing this year, as a couple of weeks later firms began announcing hiring freezes and layoffs as the economic decline began to gain momentum. I was on both ends of this spectrum and, like most of my classmates, was fortunate to have choices at the end of the day. The consulting interview process, though dramatically different in technique (case based as opposed technical questions conducted in investment banking interviews), happened just as quickly. General management, marketing, technology, and "other" interviews have a more stagnated schedule that has just now begun to pick up steam. I was fortunate to make all the closed lists (no bidding) of the firms I dropped for (all major investment banks) and additionally, interviewed with a number of niche venture capital firms. I had success in both arenas and at the end of the day I settled on an offer with Banc of America Securities in New York largely because they were the only firm to offer me the opportunity of both Debt and Equity products for the summer, an experience that should bode well for my long term objectives. And so with job interviewing out of the way, it has been one party after the other. Well maybe not exactly, but there are certainly more social events and more people at these events. As for me, I have begun to throw myself into rugby. Despite suffering a possible concussion, I am now picking up on the sport and look forward to going to the Duke Rugby tournament which is in a mere two weeks.  | | Learn about your online education options |
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