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SEPTEMBER 2000 MBA JOURNAL: YEAR TWO Raghu Ponnapalli: Academics, the Placement Process, and More
With the summer job over, my thoughts were now tightly focused on making the right decision regarding my choice of career. My experience over the summer made me very conscious of the lifestyle choice I would be making if I decided to stay in investment banking. The subsequent decision would be whether to accept a position with the firm I summered with (ABN Amro) or to talk to other recruiters. After hearing about my classmates' experiences, the only other career choice that really appealed to me was to join the mad rush into a new venture. Startup fever had hit Europe pretty hard over the last year, and there was a critical shortage of qualified people. It was becoming as easy as picking your favorite new venture, calling them up, and presto! You have the job. Although choosing this route was very tempting, I decided to stick with banking. Why? Because it became clear to me that the choices and learning opportunities I would receive if I stayed in a banking career would add far greater value to someone with my previous skillset. Second-Year Academics Meanwhile, on the academic front, I was about to start my "elective" year at London Business School (LBS). I had already chosen most of my courses for the whole year, and they were heavily weighted towards finance. I really wanted to get as much as I could from the finance faculty, since I came into the school with very little formal corporate-finance knowledge. I balanced out the course selection with a few courses in marketing. There was also the second-year project to start worrying about. This process required me to partner up with another student and undertake a professional-consulting assignment. This was to be the culmination of everything I had learned in my two years in business school, so it was important that I pick the right project (with the right company). Luckily, the school had a great staff that helped me line up good project offers. In addition, I enrolled in an independent course to help with my Spanish, so I could meet the second language requirement upon graduation (at LBS, the third term won't finish until the end of June, so I hope to have plenty of time to learn to speak fluently). Finding the Right Job Now, back to the recruitment process. I decided not to stay with ABN Amro. I enjoyed the experience, but the opportunities it offered were limited compared to joining some of the larger bulge-bracket investment-banking firms. The wider scope at most of the bigger banks made it easy to explore different business areas. These opportunities were just not available at ABN. By choosing a larger bank, not only would I be exposed to more deal flow but I could also choose to join some of the related, more quantitative sides of corporate finance. To my great relief, the job process was almost the total opposite of what I experienced in the summer. I guess the summer job on my resume was a big positive for the recruiters. It helped cast away their doubts about whether I had the right background. I received calls from almost every single bank that I had applied to. Some banks (and even consulting firms) contacted me with unsolicited invitations to interview. Another helpful factor: I had made many more contacts with people from other banks during the summer. Most of the major I-banking firms got my contact information through LBS, and invited me (and the rest of my classmates who were working in finance) to receptions and dinners throughout the summer. It was a good opportunity to meet with their senior people and explore more opportunities. Also, the school had recently doubled its Career Management Center (CMC) staff, and the extra help and wider reach were much appreciated by the entire student body. The CMC had also been relocated and refurbished, adding dozens more interview rooms. This made the whole interviewing process much easier and more relaxing. Of the firms I chose to interview with, I kept my focus narrow, sticking with the larger firms with greater deal flow. I also wanted firms that would allow me to work in the U.S. or Europe. I didn't want to be limited to New York. In what turned out to be a very short process, I was happy to receive several great offers. In the end, I decided to go with the firm that offered me the best training program, rotations, and global opportunities -- so I accepted an offer with Salomon Smith Barney. I'll be starting in their generalist rotation program in August, and I'm thrilled to get the opportunity!  Raghu Ponnapalli  | | [an error occurred while processing this directive] Learn about your online education options |
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