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FEBRUARY 2001 MBA JOURNAL: YEAR TWO David Chang: Academics, the Placement Process, and More "About a week into the semester, it became very obvious that the first and second years were nothing like each other."
On the night before our first day as second-year MBA students, I stood in the middle of Shay's, a local bar in Harvard Square, and refused to budge. Although it was late, I tried my best to persuade everyone to stay for just one more drink. But after an entire year of listening to each other in class, my sectionmates were not persuaded, and their prudence overpowered my protests. Knowing that there would be more nights like this in the year to come, I succumbed to the desire of the majority to call it an evening. As we walked out of Shay's, I was struck by the stark contrast between the start of the first and second years of business school. Looking back to first-year orientation, I remember going home early on the night before the first day of class, even though a group of people rallied for drinks after the Orientation Show. For me, random thoughts and feelings filled my mind that night, and I found that the only way that I could channel that nervous energy was excessive preparation. A lot has certainly changed in one year. A Different World About a week into the semester, it became very obvious that the first and second years were nothing like each other. The work during the second year is extremely unstructured, and overall the environment more closely resembles that of the professional world. Much more time is spent working in groups, speaking to companies on conference calls, and even ordering food to be delivered for late night meetings. As for the classes themselves, second year courses at HBS consist only of electives and commonly employ group projects/papers in lieu of final exams. Despite the widely held belief that the second year is a cakewalk, the volume of work is nearly as heavy as the first. In fact, for a good part of December, days and nights blended together as I put in several all-nighters. But overall, the second year has been spectacular, and simply having the discretion to schedule my own time has made all the difference. Instead of rushing home to cram reading for the next day, I spend my time on campus working on group projects, building a new product with a local design company, and even catching up with people over lunch. I have also become more involved in extracurricular activities that I truly enjoy. In fact, I nearly forgot about how much I missed the interpersonal/counseling aspects of the professional world until I started helping first-year students with their resumes and tutoring. In addition, as Co-Director for Community/Partner schools for Cyberposium, a high tech conference that involves over 1500 participants, I get to speak with students from thirty other MBA programs on a regular basis. Through these avenues, I work with many first year students, and I am frequently reminded of the antics from my first year. I already feel nostalgia for those days of sitting through all the same classes and experiences together, especially when I bump into people from my section in the hallways. Occasionally, I see a cluster of Section B's gathered, and I stop what I am doing to catch a part of the impromptu mini-reunion. But the clock always runs faster than I would like it to, so I wait until the next gathering... Facing Uncertainty in the Job Search Hunting for jobs might be a burden to most people, but I see it as an opportunity to let my mind wander and to lose myself. Hours quickly pass as I imagine the different possibilities of the future and daydream about the range of industries and functions. This year, I started my job search in earnest via the conventional on-campus recruiting route. Unfortunately, I quickly exhausted the possibilities at traditional MBA employers such as banks and consulting firms since I found most of the positions to be too narrowly defined. During interviews, I steered attention away from the specific position that I was interviewing for in an attempt to craft my own role. In some cases, the groundwork for future discussions was laid, while in others, I was clearly headed for a dead-end. By the end of the semester, I realized that my best bet would be the networked/independent job search. Although with no fixed deadlines, it's far too easy to fall prey to procrastination – to let things slip one day, one week, even one month. There are no landmarks or milestones, and it is completely unnerving that I cannot tell where I stand in the whole process. But I have switched into high gear, and I am constantly keeping an eye out for potential opportunities. Many places do not make hiring decisions until much later in the year, so at this stage, the results of most of my meetings with companies are nebulous. As I learn to deal with the subtleties of ferreting out other people's true expectations, I keep in mind that my ideal job could emerge right around the corner. Or it could still be another two hundred conversations away. Stepping Outside the Circle During this introspective time, I think back to a talk given to our section by Career Services last year. On the board, they drew a large circle representing our range of career choices and a small dot in the center representing us. At that time, each of us had virtually 360 degrees of freedom. However, once we selected an industry and function for the summer, the range of options open to us began to narrow. In general, as time passes and we gain more expertise in specific industries, our mobility into other areas becomes even more restricted. Since I hate to make hasty decisions that I end up second-guessing, I find it difficult to commit to a career choice. Right now, as I approach the inside edge of the circle, I watch my peers spreading out in all different directions. I am very happy for my friends that have already decided on the next step of their careers, but it will be some time before I am ready to do the same.  | | [an error occurred while processing this directive] Learn about your online education options |
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