LBS R2 results are out: congrats!

I hear that London Business School sent out last week the invites and results of their second round of applications for the Class of 2010 MBA. Congratulations to all those accepted.

If you were waitlisted, maybe you want to re-read my notes on waitlist management. Keep it up, and remember that not being rejected is already a success!!

differences between home and exchange schools

It has taken a bit long for me to write, because I wanted to post a long, researched article on the differences between home and exchange schools during an MBA. I am enjoying every moment of my time here in New York (who wouldn't!), and I strongly recommend the experience to anybody who is doing an MBA with an international profile. Here is how being abroad compared with my home London Business School:

- since I've accepted a job offer, I can focus on my academics, extra-academics, and the city itself!! This clears your mind from worries, and your schedule from the time-consuming job search. Coming on exchange is a decision that should be meditated (since it's to be taken around march of your 1st year), but if you think you'll get a job offer from your internship, or from the october milkround, go ahead!

- if you take a look at the euro-dollar exchange rate (and bearing in mind that my future salary is in euros!), you'll see why every time Bernanke goes out there and cuts interest rates, I smile...

- New York's weather is different than London's. It doesn't rain so much (although we've had some snow). It's also colder here (but you can easily solve that by wearing another layer, or turning on the heating).

Now, the US MBA experience is a bit different from the European MBA experience. US schools, in general (and God knows I should not generalize, but you can look at the BusinessWeek's rankings to contrast this). For starters, my impression is that students are much younger (maybe it's me who is feeling older in my 2nd year?). Also, they have less business experience, which makes class discussions less rich (still, American students tend to compensate this by being more outspoken). Also, even though there are a few Spaniards, Italians, and French among the students, there tends to be less diversity than at LBS.

Professors, on the other hand, are very good. I'm taking 4 full credit and 1 half credit courses, and I'm very happy with both the topics and the instructors:

- Valuation with Aswath Damodaran. A real valuation, and finance in general, guru. Doesn't get any better.
- Real Estate Operations with Harry Chernoff. An insightful professor and entrepreneur who has made a fortune in NY real estate, trying to share his knowledge.
- Venture Capital Financing with Roy Smith. Professor Smith has been Managing Partner of Goldman Sachs, and has been involved in a great deal of transactions involving start-up firms.
- Advanced Strategy Analysis, with Prof. Gonçalo Pacheco de Almeida, is a great course on some cool strategic concepts (disruption, critical mass, industry convergence, etc)
- Finally, my favorite is Competitive Strategies in the Marketplace, by Prof. john Cziepel. This course considers strategy from a military standpoint (who is attacking, who is defending?), is very applied and implies working on a case and presenting it to the class at the end of the term.

As during the rest of my MBA, you can see a combination of both Finance as well as Strategy courses.

Apart from the academics, the exchange is also an opportunity to do some more networking. The group of exchange students here in NY is very nice, and we do quite a few things together (among them , of course, going out for drinks and dining out!). And there are some interesting conferences and events at NYU, just like the ones at LBS, which allow you to interact with the broader business community of New York.

So, as you can see, there are some differences, as could be expected, but in general, I am very happy with the experience of coming here and living again in the US. And this city is great, I am actually starting to wonder what could I do to come back work here....;)

any troubled company out there?

For my Valuation class with Damodaran, we have to select a company that we want to value, with certain characteristics. I have to value a troubled company, with negative earnings this (or past) year. It can be either American or European.

Since there are many companies that fit that profile given the recent turmoils, I was wondering if my readers had any suggestion. I have until the weekend to select the company, and will be accepting your suggestions until then. Thank you!

Cherrypicking, a.k.a. signing up for elective courses

Hi have just finished a course (block week, again what a great idea) at London Business School on "Strategies for Growth", and must say that I'm really happy. It's a fantastic course taught by a fantastic professor. He has developed a few concepts and frameworks for companies who want to grow the business, and the course was all about that: what has worked in the past and what hasn't, the role of the managers, the environment, the team, the investments bankers....;)))

It has made me think about my elective choices, reaffirming what I suspected: there are no courses, there are professors. So if you take an interesting looking course, but the instructor is not a good communicator, you'll get bored and not get as much from it as otherwise. In this case, the instructor is really one, IMHO, of the best professors at the school. Dynamic, a good facilitator and entertaining. Besides, he has taught this course several times and to different audiences (so he knows how students and executives react to the things he presents), and he uses mostly cases written by himself (so he can provide additional material, details about the different actors in the case, or just his own impressions).

Discussing this with other people, I have come to develop some recommendations for anybody when it comes to choosing elective courses:

- decide early on the topics that interest you. The earlier you do, the more information you'll be able to gather
- don't worry (let me repeat this: DON'T WORRY) about the supposed knowledge you'll need for a job you want in a bank, consultancy, or the like. Rather choose things that interest you, and remember that for some subjects, it might be the last time you'll ever have the chance to learn about
- make sure to dig into the syllabi, websites, prof's resumé, etc....
- talk to 2nd year students and alumni about the different courses. Bearing in mind that the most important component of a course is the professor, make sure that it's the same one that taught them!!!
- alumni (graduated 1-3 years ago) have a different view, because they can tell you also whether a course you thought would be uninteresting might become very useful for othe purposes (e.g. a job lead, potential investors for a venture....)
- in almost all schools it's possible to see the course evaluations, be it online or on hardcopy. They are there for a reason (other than to measure faculty performance)
- some clubs might maintain databases of electives evaluations for their members, with more comments than the "official ones". If you have access (because you are a member of that club, for instance), they might also be a good resource

Then it all comes to planning, bearing in mind the environment and some events: when are the courses offered, do the schedules conflict, when is the recruiting high season, am I going on exchange....but if you have finished your 1st year, building an optimization model for this one should be a piece of cake!!!

back online!

Life has been extremely busy in the past weeks, and that has been the main reason why I haven't been able to post anything. Note to all future MBA students: distrust completely those who claim that after the first term, the workload goes down considerably. It doesn't.

In my case, I have been involved in all of the following:

- writing yet another application for an internship (alea jacta est)
- studying for a management accounting exam last saturday
- receiving visits at home over the weekend, with baby included
- working on the final deliverable of our MOB audit project (we audited a nice trendy Indian restaurant in Westminster) and Markstrat (where my team managed to recover and finish third after a really bad start)
- working on other papers: finance cases, accounting assignments, Operations Management simulation report paper...
- going to Dubai for the Middle East Career Trek, and visit some really interesting companies there!
- working on the preparations for the upcoming Spanish Career Trek to Madrid
- interviewing for a possible part-time project next year
- partying at the SANZA party with our South African and Australian classmates (and trying the kanguroo meat at the BBQ!!!)

All in all, I guess this has been one of the busiest periods of my life as a student. Now, in order to recover, I will leave tomorrow for Paris in order to take place in the MBA Olympics.

Wish me luck!

MBA applicant waitlist management advice

A friend just told me that he has been waitlisted in his application to a top-notch MBA (the other school that he applied to dinged him after the interview), so here are some thoughts on how to manage the waitlist process:

- first and foremost, review why you want to do an MBA. Sometimes people are waitlisted because they don't have enough work or international experience, or because they don't manage to pull out a convincing story in their application. So review it!! Did you sound convincing? are you convinced that an MBA at this point in your life and career is the right thing?

- have a backup plan ready. Again, think of the different possibilities, along the lines of "what would happen if I don't get into school XXXX?" Check alternative schools' admission dates: some have pretty late rounds (visa problems might apply here, so the best strategy is always to start early with your applications!). Last year, my backup plan was based on some Spanish schools in Madrid and Barcelona that have a last round in late june (luckily I didn't have to use them! ;)

- consider the possibility of delaying your MBA for a year. In the midst of the application process, it is difficult to even think of this option, but better to be mentally prepared for an eventual ding that would kill all our options.

Once the above is ready, it is time to start the action. You have been waitlisted, so the door is not closed. What could you do to possibly maximize your chances???

- Be polite and don't lose your nerves. Send an email to AdCom reconfirming your interest in the school and its programme.

- network, network, network: most schools have outreach or ambassador programmes in which current students liaise with applicants. If you have visited the school already, you might know some of those: ask their advice and support! Most probably AdCom will take students' opinions into account.

- if you haven't done so yet, visit the school. Go for a drop-in session (usually monday or friday), try to meet with current students. It will boost your motivation, and most probably will help you (see the point above).

- Of course, if there are any changes in your career to date (e.g. promotion offer, change, increase in responsibilities, etc.) let AdCom know. Don't bother them by sending them a weekly email, but do send them a short note with the info, and reconfirm again your interest in that particular school and that specific MBA programme.

Even if you follow this advice, remember that it is very competitive and that there are many people who are rejected. Especially now: I heard that MBA applications are up this year 50% compared to last year, at least here in London. So it is very difficult.

However, the MBA application game is all about keeping your options open and maximizing your chances.

New York, New York!!!

The results of the Exchange programme allocation are out, and I have been awarded a place to exchange in Stern, School of Business at NYU. So, I will be moving to New York for a term during the next academic year!!!

There were many things that attracted me to Stern/NYU, among them:

- high quality academic standing. At NYU there have been Nobel prizes like Severo Ochoa, Paul Samuelson or even the father of modern freemarket theory Frederik Hayek. Not only that, but the business school is the alma mater of Mr Alan Greenspan himself!!
- the possibility to enhance my knowledge in Finance, Marketing and Media, areas where NYU is one of the world's leading schools, and of course
- being able to live in NY, NY for 4 months!!

The school is located in Greenwich Village, in one of the funniest and most interesting areas of the whole Manhattan island. I cannot be happier!!

Of course, it will be sad to leave London, which is a fantastic place, but this will only be a temporary fling and I will stay loyal to my current hometown....I cannot help thinking, however, who would have told me that I would end up living in the city that never sleeps???

I am already meeting some exchange students from Stern next week, but any practical information on the school, the city, accommodation, etc, will be highly appreciated!!

Now there are many decisions upcoming: which term to choose (this is going to be like doing 'encaje de bolillos' with all the open options regarding electives, my flat in London whose lease expires in August, the search for a full-time job and for a second year project, etc). However, it's time to celebrate! WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

BTW, thanks to Patxi for letting me know about tinyurl, a great tool to avoid copying & pasting lengthy links over the internet. I wonder whether and how the guys who created it make money, though...

great weekend back in Spain

The Spanish Club at London Business School (i.e., me and some other pals) just organized a great trip to Barcelona, my home town for the past 3 years before business school. It was fantastic to go back, eat at the same places, hang out at night partying in Luz de Gas and Sutton, enjoy the weather, and see a lot of people again. I even dropped by my old office and greeted my old fellow workmates, my former boss, and everybody. I was very happy to see them, even though some sad incidents has put the morale of the office a bit down.

One thing that surprised me is how lively the city was. Hordes of barceloneses walking around in the Ramblas, the Gòtic, the Raval or the Borne. Full restaurants and bars. Maybe I got a bit nostalgic, but to be honest, I didn't remember it that way.

In any case, congratulations to the people at the Club who put together a lot of hard work organizing a tapas night, a guided tour and a fancy dinner. I am sure everybody loved it, specially the ones who originally went to Barcelona for the IESE conference on Responsible Business but ended up joining our plans...

internship!!!

It's been a pretty hectic 2 last weeks:

• interviewing for many companies, trying to do well on crac-the-case type of interviews. It really feels like I improve with time. On the other hand, all this Milkround / recruitment process looks a bit random. Why did Company XXX call him and not me?? etc. I've heard some people comparing it to dating: I gave you 2 precious hours, and we had fun, why didn't you call me back?? The most important outcome, though, is that I already have an offer for interning in a London-based company this summer, so I can relax. I will continue looking for other opportunities, though: I am particulary interested in carrying out some short-period projects as a freelancer in the summer term
  

• studying for the Finance exam (which turned out a OK exam: the highlight was one of our Brazilina classmates who received an SMS right after the exam telling him that he had just become a father, so he rushed out and skipped the traditional Windsor Castle post-exam pint-sharing). I think I did OK, and enjoyed the beers that night...

• playing Rugby! Last weekend, the London Business School hosted the 3rd Investec Rugby Tournament, and I had the opportunity to play for the first time. It felt good!! We didn't win, but it was a lot of fun. Besides, it felt like a top-MBA, since the other teams were Harvard, Wharton, Columbia and Smurfit MBA students...

And of course, the other usual stuff: reading cases, doing some homeworks, going out, taking care of the house chores....

and there goes another application...!!

yes, another one!! So far the internship search has not been very successful. Have some 3 interviews lined up this week, but if they fail....I still have not heard from any other firm!!

I didn't know this period was going to be this stressful. You see people on campus on suits, usually with sad faces (after pressure interviews). Don't know many people with offers yet, although rumor has it that some banks have already extended some.

Of course they told us that the so-called 'milkround' provides summer internships for only 30% of students....but one always thinks that s/he won't be in the other 70%!!!

So, have to come up with a backup plan. Industry companies, are you there?? the London Business School Summer Consulting Team is another good idea, although competition to get a position in it is at least as tough as for a position in a major consultancy.

Worst case scenario, I could explore some opportunities in Entrepreneurship...although that does not pay the bills!! Or just take a loooooooooong holidays and recover from all this stress :))))

application overload....

Dear Mr Recruiter,

I am a first year MBA student and I wanted to give you some advice, on behalf of (almost) all my fellow students. I really think that, for the next time, it would be much more efficient to set up a centralized application website for all milkround companies coming to campus.

As MBA students, time is one of our most precious assets. We shold not spend so many hours:

- researching your company
- adapting our CV/resume to the particular traits, skills and experience your company requires
- networking with insiders about the opportunities within your company, the prospects for MBA interns, etc, etc.

At least the 'common' part of the application (name, address, undergraduate university, etc) should be centralized, avoiding thousands of repeated entries in your recruitment databases and saving the MBAs hundreds of man-hours.

If you are interested in this idea, do not hesitate to contact me for further information.

Your sincerely,

k.

moments of truth...

Last week it was used car salesman week. We had banks, consultancies, and big industry companies coming to campus to present themselves and try to attract the brightest minds of yesterday, today and tomorrow: MBA students. In the so-called milkround, companies tour the top business schools on Earth trying to lure students with promises of bright careers, high compensation packages, challenging workplaces, and so on.

Myself, I am trying to decide now what to do. Finance careers look interesting, but I lack any experience in the industry. An Investment Banking internship would, therefore, be a great way to learn more and also a door to enter as a full-time associate later, if I perform well. I am not 100% convinced that I can 'fit' easily in a bank, though. Moreover, the current bullish markets suggest that there will be a slowdown in M&A activity (or corporate finance activity, in general), which might lead many banks to cut back their hires in the near term. Pity, it happened in 2001 when I just graduated from engineering school, and it might happen now as well.

I guess the only interesting department where I see myself working in a bank is the advisory business. M&A or corporate finance. Sales & Trading or Capital Markets don't look so interesting to me. This makes the challenge of getting an internship even higher, since M&A is traditionally one of the most competitive careers.

On the social side, I must say that I was greatly impressed by several bankers that I met last week. In the networking events, the people from Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers appeared as completely normal human beings, and were very helpful with hints and tips on how to approach the upcoming recruiting season. I guess I wouldn't mind working with such bright, nice folks.

On another front, there have been few strategy consulting firms as well. Some did a terrible job in presenting themselves, appearing as disorganized and pretty chaotic. Others, however, looked really professional and appealing. Given my engineering/management background, I think this is also a very suitable career path for me. And it has a very big advantage: it is much easier to return to Spain, if I wished to.

So, it looks like it's the moment of truth...am I going to do NPVs or two-by-two matrices next summer??

a day off....

Accounting can wait. So can Strategy. I have decided to take a day off school duties. We started by cleaning and housekeeping (a much needed thing, especially since we'll have guests for the next 10 days), then I indulged in some aimless internet browsing, chatting with old friends over the IM, and now I'm going to go for a walk in regent's park before it gets too dark.

And later, i might swim a bit before joining the LBS Spanish Alumni cocktail & dinner.

I guess some times one needs a break in order to breath, and also a step back to reflect of what has been accomplished so far. In my case, I cannot be happier with the decision I took to do an MBA. Maybe I'm not working towards becoming a VC (since I'm not convinced about my future perfect career path yet), but I'm enjoying my time enormously. Maturing, Growing, Learning...

wine & cheese

The wine & cheese club is usually one of the most active clubs in any MBA....and I can understand why....hicks!!! I just came back from an event with 6 zifandels, 3 from California and 3 from Italy (the lat
ter are pretty strong ones, so be careful!!!). It has had some strange effects on Esther, who is currently singing some 80s' songs from her iPod....

Again, I proved that time stretches away when you are doing an MBA. I had classes in the morning (Finance and how to value risk in stocks), a meeting with my study group, some time for self-study Econ for the upcoming midterm test on thursday, I gave a tutorial to some classmates (since I am a bit advanced in that classs), attended a panel event about Business Development roles in Industry (truly interesting speakers from a variety of companies, from Microsoft to Sainsbury's), and enjoyed the wine & cheese event....and even found some time to blog!

One side note if you are thinking about what to do before your MBA. You can do like me old mate Chimo, sell all your stuff and start travelling. If you are in or around Paris, look for bargains at his website...good luck with your Asian experience, buddy! I'll try to
visit you in spring or summer term!!!

time flies...

Yeah, it does. It's been already 10 days without posting anything...and this time I'll have to make it short: there is a CV (resume fo rthe Northamericans) waiting to be finished, another assignment pending for tomorrow, and a case to be read....

However, I can't but reflect that this past week has been pretty close to my expectations. Even though the "real" programme hasn't started yet, and we are getting "soft" courses on Leadership and Teamwork, everything has been really interesting. Ok, there's business stats as well which is even a graded course, but I don't expect many issues from that one. What makes me feel really good is that everybody is so motivated! Example, for our Global Leadership course we were asked to make a short sketch, 2 minutes max, and people were coming up with incredible, very creative ideas. One of the groups even shot and edited a 4-minutes video in about 3 hours!!

The bar is raising...