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Surviving an International MBA - Part 2 March 31, 2006

Posted by Simba in : MBA, Duke , 4 comments

Foreword: I guess this has been one of the most disappointing article of mine! Maybe things have not been so bright for me that I wasnt able to put some fantastic stuff, I kept hitting road blocks, its almost like the last few months of Term 2 & Term 3 have been like a distant dream! I had to sleep over this piece for a long time & also ask my good friends to remind me what we actually did! So, hopefully, you all, my readers & prospective B-School applicants can gain something out of this. Now, coming to the question of why I had to write this piece if I was not so ready! Well, time flies and I am almost coming to end of the first year and the moments pass by so fast that it is hard to document anything. If I hadnt written this, then I would have leaped directly into summers which would not have justified the whole experience! So, here I go… Comments, Brickbats all welcome, as usual ;)

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Welcome to Term 2 and you are back to losing sleep in the night and catching a few winks during the class. By now, you know who the class stars are and pretty much who are the people who just talk in class for air-time. You try to do everything around you, assignments and quizzes and club activities. But you will be warmed up enough and resigned to the fact that you might after all say adieu to your sleep and social life! But I feel that many of us get too carried away at this point. Things start looking too big and you go through the motions of everyday life without really savoring it. My advice, take it easy! It is just a 2-year stress period in life, all the hard work will pay off and at least you will know how much you are capable of stretching yourself. You survived Term 1 and I am pretty sure you will survive this one too, just keep the ball rolling. In Term 2, you essentially start off networking with alums and second years. You are ideally supposed to start off-campus research at this point but I can count on my fingers the number of people who actually did this.

Networking is the BIG thing in B-schools.You network with maximum number of people, on and off campus! ;-) Many people shy away from it as it makes them uncomfortable. Yes, networking is an art in itself, some people shine in such things but it is something that can slowly be picked up if you are really interested. Come on, why did you land in a B-school?! To meet people and to overcome challenges; now, networking helps you achieve both of these. But I like it because it takes a lot of nerve to do it initially. But, slowly, as you talk more often, it will make you a lot more confident and soon you will be clear of what your strengths are. I still need to do tons of this myself to land in a good internship position but the sooner you acquire this skill, the better for you!

And from my experience, I can tell you that the courses in Term-2 are harder than the ones in Term-1. This might not be the case in all the schools but at least we felt so at Fuqua. What might be the reason? Maybe the first Term was just meant to start you off. With so many guys coming from the work force, there is no point in loading them and scaring them right away. So, Term 1 is like… well, things might get mad & Term 2 is crazy! We had the biggies like Finance, Accounting, Marketing etc. Week in Term 2 makes you feel that Term 1 was indeed a cakewalk! But you will have enough courage to go through the strains of Term 2. You will just be used to stretching yourself and it won’t seem like a chore. And then again, if you haven’t had a Finance course, trust me it is interesting! It is hard but if you are lucky enough to get a great professor, you are truly blessed.

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Internship Rambling March 20, 2006

Posted by Simba in : MBA, Duke, Work & Beyond, General , 17 comments

Ok, Stop grinning! I am desperate! My time is running out! And I got this fantastic idea from a good pal, long time blogger, DMN. :) We all are looking for Summers aka Internships and with each passing day, I am losing patience! Now, lets not get into the argument about if I ever had some! Term 4 began today and I am the least loaded as I have to concentrate on job-hunt! Phew, I wish I was sitting in my cool,air-conditioned office way back in Mumbai taking my nice pay chek and fighting with my boss! Nah, I would never say that! Thank God, I am sitting here worrying about my summer job rather than be doing the kind of work that I used to do! LOLz! Puneet, I know, I still need to get to you about the kind of requirements I am looking at! In brief, I have been a techie, worked on Optical & Wireless technologies for about 6 years prior to MBA. Any strategy, business development or consulting position in the Technology or Telecom sector would be great as I would be helpless in coming out with creative strategies to sell some ketchup! :) Actually, for a while, I toyed with the idea of working on the Finance side as that really interests me but then again, without any prior experience, its hard to make a transition! Now, dont even get me talking about some of the interviews we, as international students, cannot apply! Hmmph!

Back to my rambling, till date, I have given 4 interviews and only the first one I managed to make it to the second round. For all others, I still havent heard from them! Now, does that mean a Ding from them! Maybe or may not be, but one thing is absolutely sure, they are not crazy about you! If they are, they will get back to you a day or two after your interview. So, I might be in for a surprise if I actually get to hear something positive from these. Anyway, moving on, the off-campus job search is painful as there are no rules for this game. You might turn out lucky if the alums reply back or you might get some real bad, cold shoulders. So, how am I going to wade through these things. I dont know but I guess, I will survive! No, at this point, I am not hopeful of getting an awesome job but it helps to get a decent one that I would enjoy for my summers. Most of the engineers are in pretty much the same position, at least the desis but some of them have been lucky to beat the rest in this cat race! Most of the commerce grads have accepted various positions in different sectors of the Finance world. So, does this thing gotto do anything wrt the engineering bit, I am not really sure but sadly, most of the technical companies that were here called only US citizens which kinda made it hard for all of us! If the tech sector dont want the tech junta, I cant see anyone else needing us! There are a few tech consulting firms around and they are doing a host of activities in the wireless domain! Would I be interested.. absolutely! But they are a very few and you need some tremendous patience to follow through till the end. So, with time running out.. I have just about a month to finalize this else I am pretty much free for the summers! :|

Now, am I disappointed about being at this stage. I guess not when you talk about the whole grand scheme of things, that is basically when I sit down with my grand-children to tell them gory tales about how recklessly I survived a summer with no food & no money but with tremendous energy! But for time being, I must accept that it is very disappointing not to have the opportunity (mind you, not the job perse!) to put forth a stellar candidature. So, what will I do? LOLz, you will see a lot more action in the PaGaL land and a lot of thought-dump here on this blog! So, would I be considered a failure..and should not be writing my MBA articles…Ahem! Only time can answer this question! :) Hey, Class of ‘08.. dont be scared when you read this! I wish there were many many more desis who were writing blogs who would convince you that getting a summer is a stroll in the park.. but there aint many! So, take my words with a pinch of salt! Its better to be aware of the reality bites, not to be disheartened! Fuqua is a great school and my getting/ not-getting a job is not a good estimate about the school perse! Comments in form of job offers would be highly appreciated ;) LOL!

Edit - I have started the Internship Hunt page to keep track! I have no reason to crib if I dont try enough! :|

Its just not my day! March 15, 2006

Posted by Simba in : Wiggles, Frivolous Me , 19 comments

Okai, if you are not in the mood of reading an extremely painful nagging post, just go! Now! Ok, if you are reading on, then accept my deepest sympathies, this will be a long post. Either you are jobless or you love seeing people nag or you care enough to stay. If its the first, jeepers, you better think about what ya doing with yar life! If its the middle reason, then you are plain sick! And if its the last, Ahem, Ok… Thanks! You know how attimes life is sucha bitch and you wonder what the hell is the man doing up there.. Knock Knock, Hey Goddy, are you around.. now what the hell happenned today!? Dont ya like me…I may not be the kindest soul around but like hell, I am like probably a 6 on your scale of 10. I blog randomly, read innumerable painful mails, reply to most of them & I also smile at strangers! Doncha think, I could have done with a better day.. Now, come on! *Sigh* HE must be courting some of the pretty angels up there. Hmmph!

It all started with this brilliant idea of getting my driving license. I thought it would be nice if I get hauled down at any point by the cops. I read the entire DMV book, first to last. I knew all the rules. I also took some free sample tests online, now come on, how many of you have prepared so much! I tell ya, if I had studied for my Operations this much, I would have topped my class! So, me & my pal set out bright & early. We go to the DMV office which is far .. far as in my lingo, about 45 mins drive! We reach there and as we are about to get off, we see the DMV cop taking some test where she is testing the brake lights. So, we decide to check my brake lights just incase. And Jeez, one of them has gone Kapoot! So, we drive around & search for a mechanic shop to set right just 1 bulb and we find the bulb in the form of a mechanic! We tell him to change the bulb, we are made to sit down for an hour & then the mechanic comes & says, we need to change the bulb! What, did you want 1 hr to figure out something we exactly told you to do! Anyway, got it done & went to the DMV office! Ok, so everyone finally woke up today morning and discovered that they need to take up the Test! The place was crowded like crazy. So we thought we will grab our lunch and by mid afternoon, the crowd would be kinda lax. And after lunch, we head back & LO, there are more people now! What, what about your afternoon siestas, guys! So, I make my way and get my slip and wait my turn. And everyone around me are almost devouring the DMV book..you are right, I pick up mine & start doing the same. I swear, I dont want to flunk! So, when my number gets called, I walk in to talk to the cop to give all the details, smiling et al. (Didnt I tell God that just now!) I am checked for vision. I dont wear glasses and I can perfectly see without them but I thought why take a chance and wore my reading glasses which has the slightest power. And I am doing fine identifying etc etc and I am sent for the test.

I start off and *Bump* I get the 3rd question wrong. What the hell! We take a computer test and we need to get 20 right out of 25 to pass. I curse the bicycle riders for making me get the wrong answer. Then I come to 6th question & its from the chapter my friend said they wont ask from! Now, I curse him and skip the question! Ah, we have a skip button and we can get back to it in the last. Now, why dont GMAT guys take the software from these guys! Hmmph! I am happily going on with my 10th or so question when the computer next to me gets filled in by a dude. Now, this dude reads aloud the question! I am like, what! And I give him glares.. he reduces volume ..but hes making some weird diagrams in air to understand the questions! Poor thing! So, I came to 21st question & got the message, you passed with just one wrong! Phew, that was good. So I smile & go back to the same cop. I think, gone are the days, when people congratulate you on passing the driving exam!

So, now we set out for the driving skills test. Trust me! I am a safe driver! I do all the right things, reflexes are ok…we drive around and the cop seems to be ok with my skills! After about 5 min drive, we are getting back to office & I make the last right turn & in my mind, passed the test! We park & head back, she says, You were great, very nice et al but… These ‘buts’ kill me, I swear! And my smiling face became :| .. but the last right turn, you kinda srewed up! And I cant give you your Driving Licence. Oh my God! What the hell, one mistake, thats it. Just one! Come on, I will take you on more right turn, we will keep taking rights till we hit eternity! And she failed me. :( But gave my my permit, which means, I am still a learner! $%&#*% Whatever! We drive back home with me cribbing about my license. And we get back home & I see that my Decision Course results are out & I am damned, the only paper, I thought I did my best! So, best is not enough anymore I swear! And then, I trying logging into my this blog & it keeps throwing me out. I am sooo frustrated! I have so many accounts, so many passwords & if I try all combinations, it might just take me about a day to log in! Hmmph! For like an hour, I fidget around & finally get it right with the help of Forget ‘Password’. Even WordPress seems to play games on frusto people these days! Now, I am all disapointed & frustrated. If you all reached here, you must be awesome! Great patience. May God bestow good things on you! I go now! What a Holi day, washed off the color from my day! Anyways, Happy Holi guys! Hope you all had the fun I didnt! Take care. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Tada.

Ahh.. the break March 10, 2006

Posted by Simba in : MBA, Duke , 6 comments

Finally the break.. yohoo, Term 3 is gone! Phew! And almost 50% of my MBA is over.. almost! Times fly I guess! And I have been busy with building up my forum PaGaLGirL and man, it takes a lot of time. I would have never guessed the amount of work that goes into building sucha place. At times, I am so beaten with a lot of work but still keep going online and thinking about what else can be done! Fresh dose of entrepreneurism!! :-) And it gives me kicks. Hope to see the community grow & prosper.

On unrelated side (ahem!) I am happy that Term 3 is over. 2 courses went okie dokie but Operations went off my head. I might need to take a couple more courses if I have to get the funda of logistics right! I am looking forward to my Term 4 courses which has more of quantitative like Corporate Finance and Fin Statement Analysis. Also I have the GATE course. I am going on a Travel program to Japan, China & Hong Kong in May & we have a couple of reads & presentations during the Term. I am actually looking forward to the GATE classes. And there are a few companies coming in the next few months & I might have like a 1% chance of getting in. Am I being pessimistic, LOL, just realistic! I am still hunting down Alums to help me with my internship hunt! But am not sure whether I even want to get back to Telecome/IT stuff, you know, it will be a difficult choice for me. For summers, I am fine with just about anything but for Full Time, I have better ideas.

Congrats to all R2 admits. Welcome to Duke and make sure you meet me :) LOL, no big deal even if you dont! And guys who heard the Dings, I am sorry, maybe there are better things waiting for ya all. If you need any assitance, do email me. And waitlists, what can I tell ya all. You all need to fortify your chances this minute. Try to send sufficient materials to fortify your case. Do your best to improve your chances. This might be the last chance for this fall atleast! :)