Cohort Cup Champions

Post By:

Ajay Mehta
MBA '11

It took two years to finally hoist the Cohort Cup Trophy and this year Cohort D was able to enjoy victory. As you probably know, as full time students at BU you are split into three cohorts which consist of approximately 50 students. Those 50 students become your close friends and teammates as you navigate your way as a first year MBA. Too add to the friendly competition, competitions and networking events are hosted by the Cohort Cup Committee pitting cohorts against each other in sports, trivia, and other friendly competition.

The year comes to an end with the annual talent show where you get to see entire cohorts perform dances and songs, as well as other members of your class display talent you never knew existed. The show is judged by professors picked by each cohort to add some interesting allegiances into the mix.

Last year…it was a battle to the end with Cohort C and Cohort D taking every other competition and C finally squeezing out enough points to take the lead and win the cup. Needless to say, Cohort D was slightly bitter and with motivated first and second years, D remained in the lead the much of the year. It was a competition that brought us together as classmates. It was a nice distraction and much needed break from the rigors of a full time MBA.

The end

Post by:
Juan J Estrada
International MBA 2011

The academic year flew by and it has finally come to an end. There is a confusing bitter sweet taste in completing this program. The sweetness of the victory of completing a demanding program in one year and of joining the ranks of people trained to take decisions, manage resources and make things move forward. At the same time the bitterness of moving on from a group of people you have come to appreciate and hold dearly close, an environment of learning and camaraderie and the advantage of being a student in a student in a city of students.

In this entry I will pick what made each of my three semesters in this program bitter and what made it sweet.

Summer:

Bitter: the intensity of the work in China was harsh. Classes six days a week, three to six hours a day, a parallel project running all summer long made it challenging.

Sweet: China is an amazing country, so different in terms of culture, ideology, business practices and ways of interacting- yet so similar in its hunger for growth, for the luxurious comforts and trends coming from the west- totally worth experiencing.

Fall

Bitter: Feeling lost in my job search. As an example, I attended NSHMBA, big job conference in Chicago and the first day was rough, feeling one more of the bunch of job seekers, struggling to differentiate myself and to overcome the limitations from being an international student.

Sweet: life sciences strategy and commercialization courses. It took my best courses in the program this semester. I did a real new technology commercialization feasibility assessment and also climbed the steepest part of the business learning curve both for general business.

Spring

Bitter: The academic load + the job search. The spring is stressful. Graduation is approaching and all you hope for is a job. But you still got your last six courses stinging you the whole time, dragging you away from that one objective.

Sweet: the weather gets warmer and life gets more fun. To make things even busier, it’s in the spring that your social life will be most demanding- and rewarding. You know each other already and you will want to hang out as much as possible before it ends.

Enjoy.

The Ins and Outs of the Summer Internship

Post by:
Anya Thomas
Public and Nonprofit MBA, '12

What kind of internships do BU MBAs get? Where do they work?

You could learn banking in North Carolina, or how to lead 100 people in the telecom industry in Chicago. You could develop a growth plan for high schools in New England, or work for the Mayor’s office in Boston. From Seattle to New York City, from Tanzania to Pasadena, Boston University MBAs are spending the summer honing their skills and building relationships that will help them launch the next phase of their careers.

Finding an internship can be grueling at times. A balancing act where class projects, exams, and papers often seem to outweigh the importance of an informational interview or filling out an application. Even so, students must be diligent to build their network, figure out how to make the most of their summer, and then secure the internship that will move them forward professionally. It is exciting during the Spring semester as classmates get hired. However, it can be stressful for students who are searching for internships in industries that tend to hire late. In the end, whether you get your internship in December or May, the hours devoted to searching and preparing for an internship pay off.

I started my formal internship search in January and I was thrilled to secure my internship in Ghana by mid March. This internship embodies everything I was looking for. In a nutshell I get to apply the business skills I have been learning in class in an overseas setting. I get to work with a team of other graduate students, and if we are successful we will help people get access to clean water. What could be better than that? But there are always challenges: finding housing in a foreign city, realizing that the product you are marketing may be too expensive for the target population, adjusting to a new business culture . . .. Anyway, there is no way to tell whether success or failure is ahead of me, but regardless of the results, the depth of the learning and the relationships I will build will be priceless.

You can never start too early on your internship search. If you have a few spare hours, make a list of companies and functions that you are interested in, and start doing some informational interviews. You will thank yourself later.

Graduation Brunch

Post by:

Lauren Abrahams
MS-MBA 2011
Public & Nonprofit Management
MBA Council, PNP Club, Net Impact

Last Friday was our Graduation Brunch and what might considered the kick-off to a month of festivities leading up to the big day. After organizing so many events over the past year as a member of Graduate Student Council, it was a welcome opportunity to have someone else throw the party and be in charge for a change! I don’t want to give too much away to current first-years and future students (there are a lot of fun surprises that the faculty and staff manage to keep from the students), but it was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to spend some quality time with our professors and classmates outside of classrooms and teamrooms. It was also a lot more emotional than I expected—I saw a lot of sniffing, a few tears, and TONS of running around and herding friends into one more precious photo. I’m looking forward to what seems like the hundreds more events over the next month, but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold it together!

I’ve also been involved lately with the 2011 MBA Class Gift. As a Cohort Captain, it’s my job to encourage my fellow cohort B-ers to participate in the gift campaign by making a pledge to support the MBA Class of 2011 Alumni Relations Initiative. Earlier in the semester, the cohort captains all sat down and brainstormed about where we thought our class gift would have the most impact. It was actually a pretty easy decision to recommend to Dean Freeman that it support something related to alumni, as that is an area that both the dean and my classmates feel strongly about. While we don’t yet know exactly how the gift will be spent (since a lot depends on how much money we raise), everyone has generally seemed enthusiastic and supportive. While we’d like to raise a good amount so that we can have a real impact, it’s really about getting everyone to participate at whatever level they feel comfortable. We are working on setting a record of 90% participation—still have a long way to go, but the momentum is picking up and hopefully we’ll make it!

Spring Gala

Anya Thomas
Public and Nonprofit MBA, '12

This year’s Spring Gala was at “Top of the Hub” located on the 50^th floor of the Prudential Center. The 360^o views of Boston were spectacular and BU MBAs celebrated the end of the semester in stunning dresses and classy suits.

The evening started with appetizers and dinner. After a little bit of mingling the MBA Council held a short ceremony. First the 5 professors chosen by their respective cohorts were given their awards (this year’s winners: Professor Rimer, Professor Weil, Professor Wilson, Professor Heineke, and Professor Kadaras), then next year’s MBA Council members were introduced.

Dessert was served a short time later, and after everyone had relaxed people started moving towards the dance floor. For 90 minutes the dance floor was packed as the DJ played a wide variety of songs and everyone showed their dance moves. It was exhilarating to dance while looking out over the whole city and there was a general groan when the DJ announced the last song. The Spring Gala was a wonderful time to celebrate the year and to say goodbye to the Class of 2011.

Photo Credits: Tim Hall

MBA Time Machine

(above) Ajay and other Cohort D students enjoy their trip to Guatemala

Post By Ajay Mehta
MBA Candidate 2011

MBA Time Machine

Two years of school in the middle of my career was the perfect break from the working world. It was tough to adjust to the no-income student lifestyle but looking back it was one of the best decisions to advance my career and grow as a professional. BU was able to give me the tools necessary to succeed, but I think that’s only part of the business school experience. For me it was the group of friends and team members I will keep in touch with throughout my career, as well as travelling with them across the world learning about business and experiencing different cultures. From drinking Gallo in Guatemala to climbing the Great Wall, all of these experiences have shaped me as a person and as a leader.

As corny as it sounds, it did change my outlook on life and help me organize my career. Looking at my classmates and the wide variety of career and job possibilities let me really understand what I want in life and my next opportunity.

Math Finance: To Gamble or not to Gamble

Post by:
Rob Pierce
Math Finance candidate

Math Finance: To Gamble or not to Gamble

Hey everyone, Rob here!

I have another blurb from my life as a Math Finance student this Spring. We were smack in the middle of our midterms 2 weeks ago, having completed 2 out of 4 them, when everyone decided enough was enough! So we all took a break for a week, each of us spending some time to recuperate and relax, some of us traveling farther away from Boston than others to do just that. Yes spring break was upon us, but just as quickly as it sprang upon us (pun intended), it also came to an end. Time for 2 more midterms!

So what did I do over my spring break? I studied for my classes, but I also had fun doing it; let me explain. Right now we are enrolled in an algorithmic trading class, where we are being bread to think in the fast paced world of letting our computers trade for us. In courses like this, it is becoming apparent that having some experience playing games like poker or blackjack, where probability takes over in our decision making process to make money, could be very important. It’s not a coincidence that many poker players seen on TV in the World Series of Poker were former traders and employees on Wall Street.

So I decided to try my luck, and with a couple of friends, went to Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. There, we tried our luck at the poker and blackjack tables. It was very fun and exhilarating, but scary at the same time. You are putting your chips on the table, and trusting the odds that your hand beats your opponents’ hand (or in blackjack, the dealer). Sometimes things didn’t go your way, and sometimes things did, but in the end, if you rely on your best guess (the expected value), then, you have the best chance of winning (which is usually below 50-50). I would say that poker is the closest game that we played to trading and finance, because you are competing against several other players at the same time. You have to constantly be updating your perception of how good your hand is, based on the bets made by the other players, and the extra cards that are being put on the table. You can also bluff, and push the other players at the table to believe something that is not true, which is akin to pushing the market by moving a lot of shares, for instance.

All in all, I would not recommend going to the casino to everyone, because they are very good at taking your money, and it can be very nerve racking for people who are risk averse. It was, however, a fun and educational experience, and I’m glad that I went!

Thus, that is how I studied for my classes, and enjoyed it too! Sometimes it’s a good idea to find the unusual ways to get your work done, which helps you appreciate the material you are working so hard to learn, just a little bit more.

Now, it’s back to the usual form of studying!

Until next time,

Networking

Post By Juan Estrada, International MBA candidate.

I continue to write about job search related subject as this is my top priority this semester. Last semester I focused on raising my GPA and didn’t do much more related to looking for a job than attending the NSHMBA conference in Chicago and interviewing with a couple of companies.

This final semester I am spending just enough energy on keeping up with my courses. They are a little less demanding and more qualitative oriented than the courses in previous semesters, which helps. Plus, I feel I’m forward in the learning curve, I spend half the time I used to at the beginning of the MBA reading and analyzing a case and I am able contribute just as much during class. Most of my energy I am spending building up a network. Following the advice of a speaker that was brought to school by the Feld Career Center, Dan Beaudry, author of “Power Ties” (a guidebook on job search strategies for international students in the US), I am looking for a job through this method instead of the traditional, direct approach of filling out internet applications and the upfront “I’m interested in applying to position X at your company” at career fairs.

As explained by Mr. Beaudry, the traditional approach always goes through the Human Resources department, which he explains (and I have experienced it) is not anywhere close to being an international student’s best friend. They are not to blame; their job is to deal with company policies and human capital. Policies and standards require criteria to filter candidates and very common criterion is to avoid the hassle and the cost of sponsoring an international student for a work visa. Perfectly understandable, but it doesn’t help me. Plus, he estimates (don’t ask me how), that only 20% of jobs and open positions get posted through the traditional channels. The remaining 80% are filled through word of mouth and personal acquaintances. It’s cheaper for a company to rely on one of its manager’s recommendation or instruction to fill out a position with someone he knows than the costly and lengthy process of screening and interviewing candidates. He recommends international students to pursue the constructions of relationships and networks of people that will keep you in mind when they come to need to fill out a position, and most importantly, of people who have the power to do so (regardless of the HR policy- so managers and high level executives).

I decided then to attend conferences and career fairs from a different angle. I don’t ask for open positions or jobs but instead I look up the companies beforehand, find a concise reason to justify my interest for them and ask the recruiter for 10 minutes of their time for a meeting in person some other day. This got me five contacts at companies I have an interest for at the last Harvard Healthcare conference. Three of them actually got back to me and two have kept in touch. One I already met in person (for almost an hour), and he provided me with a list of companies similar in size and industry, a referral to the recruiting manager and personalized tips for future interviews. It’s not a job, but it is certainly much more useful than the “Thanks for applying” the computer displays when you submit an application online.

Additionally, I have let a lot of the people I work with and go or went to class with in the past that I am looking for a job in the life sciences industry. At least five good contacts and a couple more informational interviews (also over half an hour) have emerged from people who know people and who have been willing to help.

The process doesn’t necessarily go fast but it is certainly much more dynamic, didactic and in parallel than the traditional approach. When a lead or an application doesn’t turn out to become a job it doesn’t get to you because you have a bunch of remaining leads on the works. Slowly but surely, and hopefully, one of these leads will land me the job I am looking for.