Marquis' Weblog: My journey to a Stanford MBA and a career in business

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR RSS FEEDS

2009-10-20T21:14:00.002-04:00

Hey, everyone. This is a quick entry to let all of you who follow my site through RSS feeds that I've moved my blog over to my own domain. When I moved the site over, I forgot to post a message on here to tell folks to update their feeds so they can keep following me on the new version of the site.

Here's the new info:

The new URL for my site is http://www.MarquisParker.com

The new feed URL for my site is http://www.marquisparker.com/feed/

I hope this message gets through to all of you who are following me through RSS feed readers...

Question from a prospective MBA applicant about Stanford and working in the art industry

2009-10-09T12:41:00.001-04:00

The message below is from a prospective Stanford GSB applicant who is seeking guidance on some specific items including how to address the "What matters most and why?" essay question and how Marketing is viewed at the school. To me, the most interesting part of the reader's message is the third question about how a career in the art industry is viewed in the business world. After answering that question, I realized that my perspective may not be shared by others, but I guess that's why I do this on my own site, right? :-) I hope my words provide some sort of clarity to this person as he moves into the MBA application process.

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H in Hong Kong wrote:

"Hi Marquis.
I found your awesome blog in searching for 'Stanford GSB' information. I read many of the entries in one sitting and it helped me a lot. Thank you.
I am now preparing the application package to apply this fall (I am planning to go for the 1st round) and extremely interested in Stanford.

I'd like to ask you some questions if that's ok with you. Thank you for your time in advance.

First of all, Let me introduce myself first, so that it can help you to understand me better.
I am a senior consultant in strategy consulting firm ('associate' in Mckinsey term, worked for 2.5 yrs after undergrad) , Korean, liberal art background, many expriences in Marketing (projects, internships) and..GMAT score is 740

Here are my questions.

1. As I spend really painful but surprisingly enjoyable time thinking about 'What I really want, What has driven me so far, what I want to achieve' these days, I reached this 1st cut conclusion that I am genuinely interested in understanding human needs and the differences of what human wants in different culture/society. To understand human better and deliver them what they want has been the pure joy and driver for me to move forward so far. - in business terms, I've been thrilled in matching the demand and supply in different markets. Do you think this idea/value/passion is too general to be the 'what matters most to me' topic? I don't get the sense of abstract level of what matters most quite well. Is this should be more specific, 'goal' driven theme? (e.g., Helping people suffereing from poverty is the most important to me and that is my life goal) or can pure passion inside can be the topic too? (e.g., intellectual curiosity has been the driver that made me excel in everything)
It would be great if you can give me some sense..

2. How is 'Marketing' area viewed in Stanford? I hear some people say Marketing is the least 'well-treated' field in business world from many MBA graduates. Do you think it would not be helpful if I write that my career passion lies in Marketing/strong marketing background entrepreneur? I read one entry in your blog that your good friend had a great passion for Marketing and opened a blog to share his knowledge and I wonder how he developed his dream while studying in Stanford. To sum up, I want to know how Stanford GSB view marketing field, and the balance of their programs between different functions.

3. This is the most difficult question, at least to me and as a realistic MBA graduate, I'd like to hear your honest opinion. I also have one more final goal aspiration which is working in 'ART business'. I'd like to either run an Art investment fund (similar to private equity fund) or run Art dealing company (such as Christies, Sotheby's) followed by establishing an institute for the talented yount people. I know this is a very rare idea and I want to know whether this would sound 'less serious' than other applicants. I know I have a passion for this industry but 'art industry' was not viewed as an important one in business world and thus, my dream may sound like a very nonsense, immature, idealistic one. What do you think about this? Even though I do not write about this aspiration in my essay, this topic is very important for myself, building my career goal and I'd like to listen to the honest opinion from a person who has more experience and deep insight...

Thank you for reading my long email. I think you putting all your ideas to the blog to share with others is a really great thing to do. It is very helpful and inspiring. Thank you so much. I will spend more time to read your past entries going forward.

Thank you again and will be looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
H in Hong Kong"
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My response:

H in Hong Kong,

I hope this message finds you doing well. I know it's been a while since you emailed me and, unfortunately, I'm getting this response to you after the GSB's first-round deadline. I'm not sure whether you decided to stick with Round 1 or pushed back to Round 2, but, if it's the former, then I apologize for getting this to you so late. There's a chance that this reply won't be helpful to you, but I wanted to follow-up anyway to make sure I answered the questions that you have about the school.

In the interest of time, we might as well just get to it...Let's tackle your questions in the order that they were posed in your email:

---
1. "To understand human better and deliver them what they want has been the pure joy and driver for me to move forward so far. - in business terms, I've been thrilled in matching the demand and supply in different markets. Do you think this idea/value/passion is too general to be the 'what matters most to me' topic? I don't get the sense of abstract level of what matters most quite well. Is this should be more specific, 'goal' driven theme? (e.g., Helping people suffereing from poverty is the most important to me and that is my life goal) or can pure passion inside can be the topic too? (e.g., intellectual curiosity has been the driver that made me excel in everything)" -->

My answer to this question is going to be VERY non-specific, but I'd say that you should write about what you truly feel...what TRULY matters to you. Over the years, I've helped over 100 kids put together their B-school applications and the biggest problem that I've seen comes when people write essays based on what they think the Admissions folks want to see. In these cases, the message either doesn't "pop" off of the page in the essay (because the applicant doesn't truly "feel" it) or doesn't come across well in the admissions interview (again, because te applicant doesn't truly "feel" it). B-schools pose these questions to find out what really makes their applicants tick, not to read a bunch of essays that were based on what the applicants thought they were "supposed" to write.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not saying that a person should be 100% honest if the thing that matters most is getting blunted off of weed and getting slizzered off of Grey Goose vodka. That sort of thing would be just plain silly. But, if the person has a reasonable and valid subject of his/her passion, I believe the person should just write about it and let the chips fall as they will. The business school application process is a time for people to reflect and, in most cases, learn more about him- or herself than he/she ever recognized before. In my opinion, writing from the perspective of what a person thinks the Adcoms want to see lessens this opportunity for self-exploration and learning.

As such, I always advise people to answer the "What matters most and why?" question on paper EXACTLY as they would when talking about it to their family and friends in person. That way, the applicant can hang his/her hat on having been completely honest to what he/she really believes. Others may think about this differently, so please don't take my perspective as the gospel on this topic. But, when i was applying to B-school, I wrote about what I really felt because it was my hard-earned money going toward those application fees and I figured that I owed it to myself to write about what was real to me.

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2. "How is 'Marketing' area viewed in Stanford? ... Do you think it would not be helpful if I write that my career passion lies in Marketing/strong marketing background entrepreneur?...To sum up, I want to know how Stanford GSB view marketing field, and the balance of their programs between different functions." -->

Once again, I would advise you to say what you feel and, in this case, that would mean stating that your "career passion lies in Marketing". Why craft your MBA story around a central idea about your goals that isn't 100% accurate? There are probably a lot of folks out there who would disagree with me on this, but, to me, honesty is always the best policy when it comes to this stuff.

To answer your initial question here, the Marketing area is looked upon very highly at the GSB. A strong proportion of every incoming class has an interest in pursuing a career in Marketing and others (like myself) come in knowing that Marketing is an important component in any General Management curriculum. The Marketing professors at the GSB are all top notch (I'm an especially big fan of Prof. Jim Lattin, who heads the Marketing department and was one of my top five favorite profs) and the courses offered are both informative and interesting (Prof. Heath's "Making Ideas Stick" course was especially fantastic and really changed the way I think about communicating messages). Stanford GSB is truly a General Management program and, as such, gives strong treatment to all of its business programs. Even though it doesn't have majors, the GSB provides a great foundation to kids interested in just about any sub-sector of business, from Marketing to Strategy to Finance.

My man Detavio (http://www.detavio.com) walked into the MBA application process knowing that Marketing was what got him excited and he stated that in all of his essays...and he was doing this as a young applicant too. In the end, he was a MONSTER in the MBA application game and came out with several acceptances, including the Holy Grail of MBA acceptances, the good word from the GSB. I never read his essays, but, knowing him, I'd guess that his key to success was standing behind his passion and crafting a strong MBA story around it. I would advise you to figure out a way to do the same thing in your B-school applications.

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3. "I also have one more final goal aspiration which is working in 'ART business'. I'd like to either run an Art investment fund (similar to private equity fund) or run Art dealing company (such as Christies, Sotheby's) followed by establishing an institute for the talented yount people. I know this is a very rare idea and I want to know whether this would sound 'less serious' than other applicants. I know I have a passion for this industry but 'art industry' was not viewed as an important one in business world and thus, my dream may sound like a very nonsense, immature, idealistic one. What do you think about this? Even though I do not write about this aspiration in my essay, this topic is very important for myself, building my career goal and I'd like to listen to the honest opinion from a person who has more experience and deep insight...
" -->

I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but, once again, I'd say to write about what you feel :-) You might think that the art industry is not seen as an important one in the business world, but I wouldn't agree with that. Sure, some people might not take the arts seriously, but others (including myself) would say that the arts are an important part of any culture and should be taken seriously. Plus, have you thought about how much money/value is associated with art around the world? I've heard stories of rich folk who have a high percentage of their net worth tied up in paintings, sculptures, and other types of art around the world. Some people might sleep on the art industry because they don't understand the dollars and cents behind it, but there really is a lot of value in it. Furthermore, it sounds like you have a genuine passion for art and, as my man Jullien (http://www.julliengordon.com/) says, anyone who pursues his/her passions will eventually find the success that he/she seeks.

The only issue that I can see with your proposed path into the art industry is that I can't figure out how you'd go from business school to eventually running an art investment fund or an art dealing company. There are a series of steps that you'd have to take to get from Point A to Point Z and, being completely ignorant of how the art industry works, I'm unclear as to what your path would be. I'm not telling you to explain that to me in a reply to this email (because I wouldn't have time to address or give feedback on it), but, if I don't get it, I'd guess that others might not get it either. So, it'll be your job to explain that path in somewhat specific detail because most of us in the business world don't have the context to understand what you're trying to do. I'd recommend coming up with a 20-year plan with a series of actions and milestones listed along with timing and dependencies as a way to crystalize your story. If you've already done this, please accept my apologies for stating the obvious, but, if not, this could be a great way for you to make the Admissions teams understand how an MBA will help you achieve your career goals.

---

I don't know if I covered your questions in as much detail as you were seeking, but I hope my answers were able to give you some of the insights you wanted. You might want to find some other GSB alums to get their reads on these questions because, as mentioned on my blog several times before, I'm just a data point of one and it makes sense for you to get other perspectives in order to form a more informed view.

Take care and I wish you the best of luck in your business school applications. And, I'm really pulling for you to get into the GSB...it truly is a special place to spend two years.

Marquis

For folks interested in the Education field -- Info on the Broad Residency in Urban Education

2009-10-08T01:32:00.001-04:00

What's going on, everyone. Y'all know that I like to do whatever I can to look out for my fellow Stanford GSB alums/students, right? Well, this is another entry to do just that...

The email below is from the Director of Recruitment for The Broad Residency in Urban Education, which is a fantastic program that places business professionals into leadership positions in America's educational system (both at the local and national level). It just so happens that the Director of Recruitment is a GSB alum and, when he asked me to spread the word about his program, I just HAD to do it. Aside from the fact that he's a fellow GSBer, I'm a true believer in what the Broad Residency is doing to bring much-needed skills into the realm of education.

I'm not sure how they found out about me as someone to spread the word, but I think it's safe to say that I've got a pretty extensive reach when it comes to getting the word out to people :-) Check out the email below for the basics and feel free to visit their website for additional information if you're interested in a position with the organization.

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Broad Residency Director of Recruitment wrote:

Dear Marquis ,

I am currently the Director of Recruitment for The Broad Residency in Urban Education. It is a nationwide program that places business professionals with graduate degrees (including 10 graduates of the GSB) into full-time management positions in school districts, charter management organizations, and the US Dept of Education. Broad Residents report to superintendents or top cabinet members and lead management projects which improve the education of all American children. They receive starting salaries of $85-$95K, two years of professional development and access to a nationwide network of education leaders. Experience in the education industry is not required.

Here is a link to a recent article on the program in US News and World Report: http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2009/08/21/a-new-path-to-a-career-in-education.html?PageNr=1

We are constantly trying to raise awareness of this opportunity. Do you know someone who would be interested? Can you forward this email through your own network?

Thanks in advance for spreading the word.

Chaka Booker
Director, Recruitment and Selection

the
broad center

www.broadresidency.org
Follow us on Twitter at “BroadResidency”
Find us on Facebook

One thing you can do today to make your essays more competitive

2009-10-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

What's good, folk. Today, I'm going to try something a little different with the content for the blog. I've posted externally-written content (links to interesting articles, links to other blogs, emails from other people, etc.) on here, but I've never had a guest blogger write a real entry for this site before. That is, until today...

My long-time readers might remember mentioning my man Detavio, who was my roomie for two years at the GSB and has been maintaining a great blog about marketing, personal branding, and life visioning for a little more than a year. Well, he's our guest blogger for today. As he was doing his regular blogging yesterday, he came up with the entry below and realized that it didn't really fit in his own blog, so he passed it along to me because he thought that it was a better fit for my readers. As soon as I read it, I knew that it would be just what some of you need to see...and it especially timely with the first-round MBA application deadlines coming up soon.

You can check out some of Detavio's other writings at his blog --> www.Detavio.com. Several of my readers have become followers of his site and the consensus is that he's posting some really great content. Having followed his site for a while, I'm really impressed at how he's developing a full suite of content to help his readers achieve their goals and live out their dreams...and I'm not just saying that because he's my peoples either.

By the way, Detavio has entered a blogging contest being held by SAM-e Nature Made to be a featured blogger on their site. Given his focus on helping people discover their passions and develop themselves, he'd be a perfect fit for that role. So, if you have 30 second to spare, please help him out by voting for him in the competition...You can vote for him here -->
LINK TO DETAVIO'S ENTRY IN THE COMPETITION. Thanks in advance for casting your vote.

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Detavio wrote:

"One thing you can do today to make your essays more competitive"

if you're planning on attending business school beginning fall 2010, chances are you are making sure your essays are tight. you've shifted through your memory bank for your best accomplishments and your peaceful dreams at night have been replaced with repetitious scenes of you explaining that, not only do you need an mba but you need it right now. as a graduate of stanford gsb, i am fortunate to be a part of this process every year. friends and mentees (and friends of mentees) send me their essays in order to get my "expert" opinion on how to get into the bschool of their dreams.

while i don't claim to be an expert, there is one flaw i often see: the essays are written in a vacuum. time after time, i see essay after essay of people writing as if theirs will be the only essay the admissions representative is going to read. there is no recognition that the essay before them might be from a marine whose greatest accomplishment is leading 100 troops during war for 9 months and bringing them all home safely. there is no understanding that the person after them wants an mba because they are the first person in their family to go to college and they are carrying a family's hopes, dreams, and legacy on their back. and of course, it all makes me wonder “what if?” what if the writers of the essays I read knew what their peers were writing, would they write the same essay?

still looking for the answer to the title of this post? it's simple. the one thing you can do today to make your essays more competitive is to realize that it’s just that…a competition. you will be the 10th essay of the day, the 100th essay of the month and guess what? every person applying is phenomenal. so then the question becomes: what is it about you that is going to differentiate you from the bunch? what is it about you that will create that emotional connection with the reader that makes them fight for your application amongst the other thousands? what is it about you that, after comparing you to the others, makes the admissions team say “we’ve gotta let this one in!”

my intention is not to scare you. my intention is to help you realize the context in which your essays will be evaluated and to challenge you to tell a story that is unique and unforgettable. and if you're worried that you can't compete because you have never been to iraq, don't be. i hadn’t either (and still haven’t). it's not necessarily about doing extraordinary feats, it is also very much about doing the ordinary extraordinarily well. good luck!

Great new blog for those seeking weight loss tips

2009-10-03T21:05:00.004-04:00

What's going on, y'all. I hope you're all enjoying your weekend so far. This is going to be a quick-hit entry to pass along the URL of a really good site that I've come across. This new site will be of particular interest to those of you who have fought the battle of the bulge...or, as I like to call it, trying to keep your swole right, which is something I have to hit the gym waaaay too often to do.

This new site is run by a friend of mine, Dr. Kalvin Chinyere, who is an M.D. that also has an MBA from Emory University's Goizueta School of Business. Kal has been covered in several new outlets, including CNN, for successfully winning his battle to control his weight. He was a pretty big kid in his younger years and grew up into a really big guy in his adult years. He'd tried fad diets and other off-the-wall tactics to lose weight, but none of it worked. While in his medical residency, he decided to change his diet and start getting his swole on, eventually losing 130 pounds naturally.

I first met Kal about a year ago when I lived in Atlanta and was immediately inspired by his story. Even more inspiring than his story is his desire to help others in their efforts to lose weight. You can find the link to his site here --> Dr. Kal's Weight Loss Tips. I've also added a link to it in the "Blog Links" section on the right-hand side of my blog (in the navigation section). If you're looking for some good tips and techniques to control your weight, you should definitely check out Dr. Kal's site.

Really good entry from another blog about diversity in the MBA game

2009-09-24T01:35:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, I posted a link to a new blog by a Northwestern University JD/MBA student named Jeremy and I've been following his blog ever since. He's written some really good entries about the B-school admissions game and the start of his journey at Northwestern and it's defiitely worth a read if you've got some time.

I'm bringing up Jeremy's blog in this entry because he wrote a fantastic entry recently about diversity in the MBA world and, specifically, Hispanic Heritage Month. Diversity is a topic about which I am very passionate and I've a bunch of stuff in that area off and on throughout my career. After seeing his entry, I couldn't help but post it on here to share it with other like-minded folks. If you're interested, check it out at the link below. If not, then there isn't much in this entry for you.

Link to Jeremy's entry: http://www.jeremycwilson.com/2009/09/mba-diversity-hispanic-heritage-month.html

Gotta love someone who will put his full government name on full-blast in his blog :-) Shout out to my fellow Stanford alum...

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Intro text to Jeremy's blog entry:

"This weekend, I’ve been doing a lot of research trying to finalize my plans for the NBMBAA (National Black MBA) and NSHMBA (National Hispanic MBA) annual conferences. Having recently won both scholarships as incoming business school student, I am lucky to be able to attend both conferences at no cost. Considering how fortunate I am to be in this position, I've been thinking a lot about diversity, and decided I would take a moment to talk a little about it here, especially in light of Hispanic Heritage Month.

I believe that in America today, we are in a “race” to bring diversity to our professional communities. Even in my short career, I've already learned that diverse teams are essential to success in the market place. Just as cross-functional teams are used to create value in the market, so too do cross-cultural teams offer the richest possibility to improve our businesses, laws, and policies in today's diverse economy. Hispanic Americans represent a large part of this diversity. They make up more than 15% of the US population and add immeasurable value to America’s economy and its communities."

Question from an MBA applicant concerning an unusual extracurricular activity

2009-09-23T23:31:00.001-04:00

The email below is from an MBA applicant who is seeking advice on whether to mention his involvement in massively multiplayer online games (or MMO; "Worlds of Warcraft" is an example) during his college years in his applications and, if so, how he should do so. Really interesting story, right? I can honestly say that this was a brand new issue for me to think about, which is unusual after all of these years. At first, I planned to take some time to think through some key points and write up something detailed that might prove helpful to this reader and others who might be in a similar situation but reluctant to ask anyone for advice on it. Then, things went a little off-track...

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HA wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I stumbled onto your blog while searching for information about Stanford MBA students! I was impressed by how open you've been and how well written and straightforward the blog entries have been. I have a specific, targeted question about a point on my application and hope that your background in computers - and your knowledge of Stanford's students, diversity, and admissions process - might give you a more informed viewpoint to suggest what I should do.

My undergrad picture shows a shaky GPA of [GPA deleted] while also showing I aced organic chemistry and then was specially requested to teach it the following year. I'm torn over whether to mention that this was, in part, because I was leading an organization of over a hundred people through a competitive game with challenging content.

I spent a good portion of my early undergrad in college playing MMO's (and working full time, and taking aikido, and singing in two groups, etc etc etc - I did not lack for things to do and I literally took one vacation in six years!) and some of my greatest self insight has come around leading groups of people that have no material incentive to follow me to victory. I took a guild from 12th place to 3rd in the course of a year and a half - increasing efficiency, improving member quality, managing personnel and policy disputes, etc... after I 'retired' to focus on classwork in my latter years, when I came back the top guild snatched me up on sight based on my reputation alone - I was quite honored, as their organization is extremely dedicated and competitive and I enjoyed tackling content on a server or world-first basis with them for the next year.

My post-college work record has been, I believe, competitive for a stanford MBA applicant - [overview of his professional profile]... but I worry that if I leave out my gaming experiences, I will have a *major* hole in my undergrad activities and the admissions council will consider me a deadbeat that did nothing with his time - I have never been one to sit around and dither away time!

I've asked several friends who are in other programs, and almost all of them have recommended I leave it out. I have an excellent work history, great recommenders, and a suitably high score [deleted GMAT score] on the gmat to be competitive. However, I worry that my undergrad will appear to have a large gap if I leave gaming out - and as an activity, I certainly understand how it can be regarded as highly trivial, yet I am extremely grateful for the management and politics lessons I learned in MMO's - they have been _hugely_ helpful in my corporate life!

Do you have any insight into this? I worry that the admissions council will literally laugh me out the door!

Thanks,
HA"
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When I read the email above, my first thought was "WHOA! This is one of the most interesting questions I've ever received"...and it was an especially cool story for me because video games were one of the things that motivated me to major in Computer Science in the first place. My mind immediately came up with several ideas that I could put into a reply to this message and I thought it could have been a fun response to write. Then, I got a follow-up email from the reader above and things kinda-sorta went left. I'll just let you read through the follow-up email yourself before I say anything else on it...

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HA wrote:

"Hi Marquis!

Apologies for hounding you a bit, but I'm settling to submit on Stanford (and a few other schools) by the end of this week. Do you have any further insight into my situation? Personal email is fine... I'd actually prefer not to have it blogged about.

I've been back and forth over whether to discuss in depth my undergrad... Stanford, in particular, seems the most likely school to be open to it, but at the same time it is a tremendous longshot. A friend (typical Harvard undergrad/fast riser) who is applying for her EMBA at the same time looked at my transcript and said, "yes, you have to explain this" ... but my explanation is most likely to be poorly received by any top adcom. I don't blame them, although I maintain running a top end organization was an outstanding experience. Again, I'm not concerned with my professional achievements being competitive - in addition to excelling at my day job, and teaching every new analyst for the past few years, I've brought Enterprise 2.0 to the company and rolled it out to the tune of [figure deleted] hits/month and potentially $[figure deleted]/saved in employee time per year, and I intend to spend this year making that figure skyrocket. Professionally I'm very satisfied - and even if I don't get into any of the MBA programs I'm looking at, I've already informed my management I'll be leaving to pursue that career come September one way or another. We have an amazing environment at [work], I'll definitely miss it!

Thanks once again for your time, and for your blogging. It has been great reading your updates! You actually inspired me to blog my application experience, and I've been blogging since the beginning of August (anonymously).

-HA"
-----

Some of you might think that it wasn't a big deal for this reader to send the follow-up email above, but it struck a nerve because it went against several boundaries that I've set in terms of how I interact with readers (which i'm sure I've mentioned on this site before). Part of me was pretty salty when I received the follow-up, but, instead of just deleting it, I figured it could be a good time to give him some feedback (and send out a "word to the wise" message to the rest of you at the same time) along with a very quick response to his email. I hope my message didn't come across as mean, but, sometimes, the words just come out of my head the way that they're meant to come out. The reader sent me a really nice reply to my email below, so I'm sure he understood where I was coming from...but, given some of the other emails I've gotten from readers before, there's no telling how the rest of y'all will read this.

All of this tells me that I HAVE to make carve out time in my schedule to make my preferences known to y'all at some point. One of these days, I'll post up something about it, but, until then, I guess I've just got to address it one by one and hope that others who read these post get the picture.

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My response:

HA,

I hope your don't take this the wrong way, but, with this email, you've basically hit several of my pet peeves in dealing with my readers that I may or may not have mentioned on my blog over the years, including:

- I hate when my readers contact me through my personal email address unless I've explicitly given them the green-light to do so. I set up that external email address for my blog for a reason...to separate that stuff from my real life. I do sometimes accept Facebook and LinkedIn invites from my readers, but I never intend for any of them to use it to contact me outside of that external email account to follow-up on emails they've sent me.
- I never give full responses to people who say that they don't want my responses to them posted on my site. Given the time I put into responses, I'm only willing to give in-depth informative replies if I can post them to share with the masses. When people make that sort of request, I just reply saying that I can't help them on that sort of one-on-one basis.
- It REALLY annoys me when send me follow-up emails as a way to rush a response out of me...and, I'm SERIOUS when I say this. I know I've mentioned how long emails and millions of questions bother me, but having someone try to rush me truly ticks me off. I've mentioned on my blog repeatedly that I work by my own timelines and, if someone needs something by a certain date, then that likely won't work for me due to the volume of emails I get. Whenever this has happened in the past, I've moved the person who does it to the bottom of my email queue.

The funny thing is that your original email was actually the next one in my queue and I was planning to write a thorough response later tonight. Your situation is probably the most interesting one I've been emailed about over the years. I spent some time thinking through your situation over the weekend and was ready to throw down on a great response...that's not going to happen now. Instead of that, I'll just give you a quickie reply to answer your question at a high level. It should still give you my opinion/insight at a high level, but it won't be as detailed as I had planned.

In answering this question, you should understand that I've never worked for the Admissions office at Stanford or any other business school and don't claim to be able to vouch for what the GSB Adcoms might think about your profile. That said, if I were in your shoes, I would DEFINITELY mention the experience with MMO's in my application. I understand your hesitation in mentioning it, but the fact is that it's something to which you devote a large portion of your undergrad time and some significant lessons came your way as a result. So, you could turn what seems like a negative into a big plus. I think the key will be the way that you position the MMO thing in your application essays. If you simply say that your GPA took a hit because you were playing video games, then it'll sound trivial and a waste of time that you could have spent studying. If you position it as you did in your email to me (i.e. an interesting way to develop leadership, management, and communications skills), it could come out looking like a great non-school-sancitioned extracurricular activity. Based on my time at the GSB and what I know from attending admissions info sessions, the Admissions office is looking to create a class full of people with diverse experiences and I doubt many other applicants will describe anything like your times as a big baller in the MMO world. Furthermore, your MMO experience showed some early signs of the leadership traits that you seem to have exhibited thus far in your early career. So, that's what I've got on your situation. Remember that I've never worked for a business school admissions office before, so take this as only my own opinion. You should consult some others and then make an informed decision for yourself.

I hope my read on your situation has been helpful. As I said above, it isn't as detailed as it could have been, but I wouldn't call it a terrible one. You seem to have a great profile and have demonstrated great leadership over the years, so I'm sure you'll do fine in the MBA application process. Just make sure you own your MBA story and don't feel like you have to apologize for any of your past experiences, even if you think someone in an admissions office might consider it friviolous. Good luck!

Marquis

Reader feedback: Pre-MBA Marquis vs. Post-MBA Marquis

2009-09-23T14:25:00.000-04:00

Hey, everyone. As many of my long-time readers know, I'm very open to receiving feedback from my readers about this blog and, at times, I'll post the feedback in an entry along with my response if it's relevant. This entry is another example of that.

Earlier today, an anonymous reader posted the following constructive (read: blunt) piece of feedback to me in a comment on one of my past entries about how I've pretty much become a less interesting person since I went off to business school. Apparently, the pre-MBA version of me from my first couple of years of entries was cool and the post-MBA version of me since then is lame...I guess it's always easy to be blunt when you're anonymous, but, instead of being upset, I realized that the reader made a good point in his/her comment. Gotta love getting feedback that provides examples that can be used to validate it, right? I posted a comment in response after reading the anonymous comment and have included it below. I'll have to think about whether I need to go back to that pre-MBA me a little more in my posts going forward.

-----
"Anonymous" wrote:

"Hey there,

I have to say - you sounded A LOT more interesting before you went to business school. The 3 points below make up a unique, interesting individual who rightly sees that YOU CAN work hard and do good. I'd like to grab lunch with this guy:

- Wore baggy jeans, Timberland boots, and a t-shirt to work on an average day,
- Had never done a full-time job interview without an earring in,
- Idealistically believed that one's career should only hinge on working hard and doing good work, "

But then, the guy below, sounds dull, predictable and cheesy. (Bring the thunder???) I would not like to have lunch with this guy:

- Has finally become a "grown-up" many years after leaving college,
- Knows how to act, dress, and carry myself like a true professional,
- Understands that career success is a balance of actual work performance and the "corporate game", and
- Can finally see that I "bring the thunder" in terms of talent/abilities and have a limitless career potential

Get back your originality. There are a ton of people who say the 4 points above - they're everywhere. Hope it isn't permanent."
-----
My response:

"Anonymous",

Thanks for your feedback about the pre-graduation and post-graduation versions of Marquis. Your read is probably correct (and sure is detailed enough), but the change was actually necessary, especially as it pertains to personal branding in the business world.

One thing I realized over the course of my two years at the GSB is that the pre-MBA me was a REALLY fun guy, but didn't really have the professional presence to be taken seriously. And, since the Internet is forever, I had to change the way I presented myself on this blog. I still act the same way that I used to in personal interactions, but, on here, it's imperative that I show a more "dull, predictable and cheesy" side.

It actually made me smile to read your characterization of the post-MBA me because the change has been deliberate. I arrived at Stanford as a "scraggly lil' dude from the country" who didn't have much of a filtering mechanism with the way I acted. By the time I graduated, I had the goal of trying to filter myself more around folk who aren't my peoples forreal-forreal and outwardly appearing as a standard business professional (with a little bit of my outside-of-work personality mixed in). You just confirmed that I was able to do it, so time for me to pat myself on the back for that.

Let me know if you have any other feedback because I really do appreciate this sort of perspective, even if it is more negative than I'd want. Also, thanks for reading through the blog. I hope you found some useful insights on it, even if you think I've become lame over the past six years.

Marquis

P.S. The "bring the thunder" line comes across MUCH better in person than it does when it is read in text...trust me on that one.

I guess some readers out there are still checkin' for The Kid...

2009-09-12T23:25:00.004-04:00

Hey there. I'm not going to include much of an intro to this entry because this is more in the category of "things that make me grin" than anything that most of you would consider productive.

The email below came in after I mentioned in my Sept 7th entry that I didn't think people came to this blog to hear stories about me anymore. When the reader sent his email, he probably didn't think much of it, but reading it truly left me with a smile on my face. After receiving so many emails where people are looking for me to give them the sun, mon, and stars (often without as much as a thank-you in response), I often forget that there might still be some readers who are interested in ME like during the first few years of this blog when I just wrote about my life as a knucklehead in B-school. :-)

-------
SR wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I am 'SR' from Bangalore, India. Your blog is a great source of information and inspiration for me just as it is for many others. I do not have a question for you :D (although I am applying to business schools this year). All I wanted to tell you was, please feel free to write more of your personal stories on your blog! I would love to hear more about your reflections on life, MBA, job, relationships, and i'm sure many others would love to hear them too. This is your blog, and you should not shy away from writing anything you feel like, you always keep posting about MBA and consulting to keep the others happy anyways :). In fact, some of your most popular entries are the ones that had you sharing your personal stories (such as the very entertaining post on your take on relationships in MBA programs :D).

Hope this finds you in great health, physically, mentally, emotionally. Thanks for maintaining your blog.

Cheers,
SR"
-------
My reponse:

SR,

Thanks for checking out my blog and taking the time to send me this email. When I first started writing my blog, it was a way for me to share my stories in hopes of helping people through my experiences. Then, at some point, it somehow became more about other folks than me, which I thought was fine because I was still helping people.

Emails like yours remind me that there are people out there who are interested in what's going on with me, so I'll likely start writing more about my own experiences again going forward. I just need to figure out what's suitable to write about because the Internet is forever and I'm much more conscious about that now that I've been out of business school for a few years.

Thanks again for the email and be on the lookout for some more personal blog posts in the future...unfortunately, I don't know if I'll ever be able to write one as good as that entry about dating in business schools though. That joint was CLASSIC! :-)

Marquis

Recent interview of for a GMAT prep company's website

2009-09-11T15:00:00.002-04:00

What's good, folk. One of the funny side effects of having done this blog for so long is that I've developed a sort of brand around providing great information about business school life and am approached to do interviews about it every now and then. Recently, I was approached by the founder of a GMAT prep company called GMATPill.com with a request to be interviewed as a part of its "Post-GMAT/Pre-MBA Interview Series". The founder of GMATPill, Zeke, is a Stanford graduate and former management consultant, so y'all KNOW I couldn't say 'no' to the request for an interview...Plus, it never hurts to be asked to talk about myself for a little while :-)

It's a pretty long interview (~40 minutes), so you might not want to listen to it while you're at work...don't want y'all blaming me if you get in trouble with your boss for it. Zeke was considering typing out the entire transcript of the interview, but we decided a better option would be for him to include an index with timestamps for different topics we discussed. If you'd like to check out the interview, you can hear the audio at the following link:

LINK TO THE INTERVIEW -- http://www.gmatpill.com/about-the-gmat/postgmatpremba-interview-blog-series-marquis-stanford/

I hate the way I sound on tape and I probably sound overly casual (I pretty much talk in the same way that write), but I had a lot of fun doing this. Gotta send a big shout out to Zeke for giving me the opportunity to share my insights on GMATPill.com

By the way, if you're currently preparing to apply to business school or are in the middle of the process now, you might want to check out the GMATPill.com site. It has lots of information that you might find helpful, including interviews from MBA-related folks (like me), MBA application tips, and GMAT advice. The best offering from that site is The GMAT Pill Method for GMAT preparation. Zeke and his team have developed a thorough test-prep strategy that I wish had been around when I took the GMAT exam waaaay back in 2001. If you're in need of an extra push to reach your desired score, the GMAT Pill Method could be a way to get you over the hump. I know I'd use it if I were taking the test again right now.

And, before anyone starts questioning my motives, I'm not being paid to advertise GMATPill.com...I just like passing along good resources when I find out about them (as my longtime readers know).

Questions from an entrepreneur who is looking at applying to business school

2009-09-09T14:14:00.001-04:00

Hello, everyone. The message below is from a reader who started his career as an IT consultant and then transitioned into a role as a founding member of a start-up in his home country. Now, he's ready to apply to business school and he has questions about how he should proceed and how to address his start-up experience during the application process.

As you'll notice, this reader's email goes into the long list of people who decided not to pay attention to my repeated statements of not liking crazy-long emails and, for some reason, it struck a nerve with me (probably because I've recently been going through the many long emails that have languished for months in my Inbox). The guy did send a follow-up email (which I've included below) to apologize for sending me such a long email, but, by then, 2-3 weeks had passed and a first impression had already been made. In fact, in my first draft of the response to his email, I had spit some venom at him (to the point that I looked back at what I'd written and said "daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn!!!!!"), but I softened those words quite a bit when I re-read his follow-up apology email. I guess the big takeaway here is that one never gets a second chance to make a first impression.

------
PC wrote (first email):

"Hi Marquis

First of all, I'd like to thank you for the continuous blogging and advice you give for wannabe-MBAs. I've seen a lot of MBAs who blog a lot during their time at bschool and stop doing so once they get into the corporate jungle, because of lack of time or maybe it no longer fits into their scheme of things. But your selfless approach really amazes me at how much time you spend reading mails such as mine and patiently reply to them, inspite of being wicked busy. Apart from what Iam asking below, I'd really like to know what makes you keep going in the blogosphere. If at all possible, and if I reach to a stage where you are, I can push myself to keep going and contribute something myself.

So, let me begin my rants. My questions are two-fold here : One, reg MBA and the other reg my career, both intertwined.

I am presently the [REMOVED --> his position at a start-up], and also a partner in the firm. It started out quite strangely. I was working as an IT consultant in the US couple of years ago and my friend, who's the other partner, asked me to interview some guys for the software company he was starting as he wasnt technically sound but had a vision [REMOVED]. Once, I chose the right people, he wanted me to provide guidance about best-practices in development and project mgmt. The more I worked with them , the more excited I was and drawn into working with them. So I finally, I called it a day at a very lucrative career [REMOVED] and start from ground-zero last year. Becaue of his groundwork, the initial months were good with generous revenues and we grew to 12 people but it really hit us during the end of last year where our revenues dried out and we had to lay off 2 employees this Feb. We struggled a lot and currently have the company at break-even.

As I looked at what I need to learn, from the past 5yrs of my experience(1yr in the start-up), I realized that marketing, strategy, opportunity analysis and networking are key things to run a company, so I began contemplating about an MBA to reach the next-level[REMOVED --> his GMAT score]. With the money we make here, it's not possible for me to come back after my MBA given the $150k loans. [REMOVED --> his immediate future plans]

But entrepreneurship gave a new leash of energy to my career where I want to start a company sometime down the path. I don't dream of starting another billion-dollar firm or invent ground-breaking technology, but I want to be on my own once I have the burdens cleared. So to get there I want to lean more about product mgmt, marketing and general strategy and mgmt. So I decided to pursue a career in product mgmt or business development after my MBA (which could do good both ways - financially and career-wise) and have a start-up again down the road.

Now my questions are
1) When Iam leaving a start-up that I helped found, not come back to it and instead pursue a corporate career, the most realistic reason is that I can't repay my loans. But how do I put it forward to the AdComs and interviewers at b-schools. What are the reasons that I can give for leaving MY start-up? Only loan payment doesnt sound to be a good argument. Could I just say what I felt when I thought of an MBA and leave out the "coming out of start-up" aside?
2) We haven't generated millions in revenues but had a decent figure [REMOVED --> initial annual revenues for start-up] during the past year, enough for us to break-even. So, when I speak of my accomplishments, [REMOVED --> the amount in US dollars] seems to be to neglibile of a figure to flaunt about. In this start-up scenario, is the experience worth more than the numbers or the numbers still important and can prove to be decisive?
3) With my career choices, I chose to go to either Kellogg, Haas, INSEAD, Tuck or Ross. I belong to the over-crowded Indian IT male but I do have a fair share of accomplishements. With my profile(given below), am I aiming too high or are my expectations reasonable enough.

[REMOVED --> his educational and professional profile details]

Given what I myself go through daily, I do understand how busy you could be. It took me a week to compile this e-mail, so I know that answering my questions would take sometime for you. But I would be indebted to you, if you could give me some advice reg. the above questions

And just for the sake of anonymity, I would appreciate if it's ok for your to not post the colored text( the ones enclosed in [] ) in your blog.
Many thanks for your help

--
Regards,
Proc

PS: An idea, that I wanted to spread in the blogosphere. If all bloggers of your stature and popularity who dont really rely on blogging for paychecks, sign up for Google Ads and lend that money through Kiva (www.kiva.org), it would be a great service. On one hand, you'll not loose any money as that would come back 80% of the time, and on the other , you'll be doing a great service to the struggling people in the third world countries."
------
PC wrote (second email):

"Hi Marquis

Hope you're doing good.
I'd like to apologize for sending you such a long mail that would've made it really difficult for you to read or reply back to. I read through some of your archives that mentioned that you no longer do resume reviews. But, I'd be grateful if you could give some advice on the situation Iam in and what would be the best step forward and ignore the resume and school selection part.

Thanks a lot."
------
My response:

PC,

I hope this finds you doing well. I know it's been a couple of months since you first emails, but, given the volume of mail I receive, it usually takes me a while to get through my emails. I'm just now having a chance to get to your message after a couple of months, but I figure that it's better for me to respond late than never. Anyway, from the sound of your first paragraph, I thought you might have read through several of my old blog entries, which is why I shuddered when I saw the length of your email and the number of potentially in-depth questions that you posed.

The following line from your email was pretty telling: "It took me a week to compile this e-mail, so I know that answering my questions would take sometime for you"...come on, man...if it took you a week to compile an email to me, did you ever wonder whether you might be putting too much into it? Before addressing your questions, my first piece of advice to you is that, when you ask for advice/help from someone that you don't know in the future, be thoughtful about your request and be respectful of the time/effort it might take to address that request. I did see your follow-up email apologizing for sending me such a long message in the first place (which was cool of you to send, by the way), but I still wanted to mention this and give you this advice anyway. It's often said that a person can't unring a bell and that we only get one chance to make a first impression. The last thing you'd ever want to do is to give off the impression that you don't care about someone's time when you're asking him/her for help, right? Think about that one for a little while...

OK, now that I've got that out of the way, I'll get to your questions. In the interest of efficiency, I'm going to give you some quick-hit answers to your questions. It took me so long to read through your email, think through it all, and consider your questions that it just wouldn't be fair to my other readers for me to delve too deeply into your queries. There's only one of me, so I've got to be mindful of how I spread my efforts around to help the most people. Anyways, let's get to it...

---
1) When Iam leaving a start-up that I helped found, not come back to it and instead pursue a corporate career, the most realistic reason is that I can't repay my loans. But how do I put it forward to the AdComs and interviewers at b-schools. What are the reasons that I can give for leaving MY start-up? Only loan payment doesnt sound to be a good argument. Could I just say what I felt when I thought of an MBA and leave out the "coming out of start-up" aside?
--> If I were you, I wouldn't leave out the idea that you're "coming out of a start-up" because that's what makes your story interesting. Given your experiences, it adds a dynamic to you as a candidate that I didn't have myself and that the vast majority of other MBA applicants didn't have. Schools are looking to put together a diverse class and the start-up experiences and skills that you've picked up definitely qualify as "diverse". As for your reasons for leaving your start-up, I don't see anything wrong with you being totally honest about them. The following quotes from your email jumped out at me as your resons for pursuing an MBA:

"I realized that marketing, strategy, opportunity analysis and networking are key things to run a company, so I began contemplating about an MBA to reach the next-level"
"I decided to pursue a career in product mgmt or business development after my MBA (which could do good both ways - financially and career-wise) and have a start-up again down the road"

I don't see anything wrong with either of these justifications and I know several people who weren't able to articulate their reasons as well as this at the start of their application journeys. Don't get me wrong...you don't have to mention EVERYTHING in your applications...For example, if I were you, I wouldn't mention the fact that your start-up has experienced struggles as of late and that you know you couldn't return to it because of your likely student loan burden because neither of them has to be considered relevant to your "Why MBA?" response. Just be honest about why you want an MBA, weave that into your MBA story, and trust that the AdComs and interviewers will understand where you're coming from when considering your application.

2) We haven't generated millions in revenues but had a decent figure [REMOVED] during the past year, enough for us to break-even. So, when I speak of my accomplishments, [REMOVED --> the amount in US dollars] seems to be to neglibile of a figure to flaunt about. In this start-up scenario, is the experience worth more than the numbers or the numbers still important and can prove to be decisive?
--> Oooooh, this is a tough one to answer because I've never worked in an MBA admissions office and I'm not 100% sure of how one would look at your start-up experience. As such, I'll just tell you how I would look at it if I were reviewing your profile. I'd say that the actual experiences that you picked up in working with your start-up are more important than the numbers. Through that experience, you've learned a tremendous amount about what it takes to build a company from the ground up, which is something about which most of us can only speculate. Besides, the vast majority of entrepreneurs fail at least once in starting companies and your start-up didn't even fail...your numbers just aren't off the charts yet. Just focus on what you did in that start-up setting and what you learned in the process. In terms of your B-school apps, I wouldn't trip too much about the numbers of the company for the time being because it sounds like it won't be the last start-up venture of your career. This is a topic that you should discuss with other MBA-related folks though because what I'm saying here is my own opinion only.

3) With my career choices, I chose to go to either Kellogg, Haas, INSEAD, Tuck or Ross. I belong to the over-crowded Indian IT male but I do have a fair share of accomplishements. With my profile, am I aiming too high or are my expectations reasonable enough.
--> Based on what you provided about your profile, you seem like a strong MBA applicant, but, as you mentioned, you're coming from a tough demographic for the B-school process. I wouldn't say that you're aiming too high in your target set of schools though. The challenge ahead of you is to find some way to differentiate yourself from the "over-crowded Indian IT male" group and the best way you can do that is to develop a knockout MBA story. I've written a LOT about this on my blog, so I'll leave it to you to hit my archives to find some extensive advice in this area. You seem to have an entrepreneurship streak in you, so that could serve as the foundation of your MBA story and then you'd just build around it based on your experiences and future career goals.

---

I hope you've found the above responses to your questions to be helpful. I imagine that you were looking for more details in my thoughts, but, as I mentioned above, it would have taken me too long to provide detailed responses to all of those questions. So, I thought it would be more useful for me to give you a little something on all of them instead of leaving a couple of them blank. If you need additional information and/or perspectives, you might want to approach other MBA graduates to get their answered to your questions. Once you've pulled together a broad set of perspectives, you should be able to step back and make an informed decision about how to proceed in your MBA journey. Take care and good luck with your business school applications.

Marquis

P.S. I'm really glad you mentioned Kiva.org in your email because I'm a huge fan of their organization. Kiva's founder, Jessica Jackley, is a friend of mine from business school and she's been putting in work on the organization for years. Recently, she's finally getting the recognition that she so rightfully deserves for her work in getting funding into the hands of people in third-world countries who need it to back their businesses. Hopefully, the readers who see your email posted on my site will hit up Kiva's website and do what they can to spread the word about it. Regarding your specific suggestion of signing up for Google Ads, I actually am signed up for it, but I've never generated any revenue from it so lending those proceeds to Kiva wouldn't move the needle much at all.

Question from a reader with high standardized test scores but concerns about his GPA

2009-09-08T21:08:00.001-04:00

Ahhhhh, another direct and to-the-point message from a reader...gotta love it. The email below is from a reader who is interested in a position with my former employer has concerns about whether his GPA will keep him out of the running for an interview. It's been so long since I was there that I can't really give any specific insights on his question, but I did try to give him some good general advice.

By the way, a piece of overarching advice that I'd like to share with everyone out there is that you should NEVER expect to be rejected, even if it might seem likely. You'll understand why I'm saying this when you read the email below. Over the years, I've heard many, many stories of people who thought they had the deck stacked against them and somehow were able to do it up big despite all of that. Hell, I've lived that sort of story over and over in my life, so I always try to have at least a little bit of faith wheneve I can, even if the odds seem to be working against me. I'd recommend that you all do the same when facing seemingly insurmountable odds because you never know what can happen on the positive side. If you go into a fight thinking that you'll lose, chances are that you're bound to get whupped up on...it's better if you think that you've at least got an outside chance of a positive outcome, right?

-------
FF wrote:

"Dear Marquis,

I read an interview you did about your blog on getting hired at consulting firms and would appreciate it if you could lend me some advise. I graduated from the University of Michigan a month ago with a 3.43 GPA. I double majored in Cell and Molecular Biology and Political Science. I did not take the GMAT/GRE, but did take the MCAT with a score in the 98th percentile (37 R). My SAT score is 1430 (out of 1600). I have, what I believe to be an extremely strong resume, with leadership experience in a political campaign, and several student organizations with major accomplishments. However, I know that my GPA is lower than it should be for getting a job/interview at [your former employer]. I know you cannot speak in certain terms, but what would you say my chances of getting an interview are? Do my standardized test scores and strong experiences make my GPA less of a factor, or should I expect to be rejected?

Thanks for your time, I am sure you are extremely busy.

FF"
-------
My response:

FF,

I hope this message finds you doing well. It's tough for me to answer your question because I've been away from my former employer for close to a year now and I'm not sure what they're looking for in candidates anymore. Once upon a time, your profile would have jumped off of the page at just about any firm from the strength of your standardized test scores, but, with the down economy, I don't know how your profile would be viewed now.

What I can say is that your scores make you a strong candidate at any job that you're considering, but you should know that there's a lot of competition out there. Your GPA is good, but there will be people with higher GPAs and test scores like yours so you'll want to find some other way to differentiate yourself, including your extracurricular activities, leadership experiences, and interactions that you'll have with company employees. Also, you should put some thought into developing a story that explains why you'd make a strong candidate for Firm X...there are a lot of people competing for these gigs nowadays and you'll need to make sure that you stick out in the minds of the company representatives that meet you.

I hope this helps. It likely wasn't the definitive "YES/NO" answer you were looking for, but it's the best I can do, given the limited knowledge I have about what's going on at the moment. Take care and good luck.

Marquis

Articles with tips and strategies for a successful job search

2009-09-08T14:50:00.000-04:00

This will be a quick entry to pass along some links that might interest those of you who are currently in the middle of a job search. The articles come to us from my friends over at GottaMentor.com, which is a goldmine for career guidance advice. The site sends out email blasts every few days and the following articles appeared in today's blast. With all of the craziness going on in the economy, I thought some of you might be interested in checking out these articles.

Articles from GottaMentor.com providing tips and techniques for a successful job search:

-----
The Student

Create Your Own Nepotism
5 Signs that Your Resume Sucks
Resume Template - Undergraduate Students
The 3 Most Important Interview Questions

The Working Professional

Networking: It's Not Who You Know, It's Who Knows You
Resume Template - Early Career Professionals
How to Make Yourself Stand Out in an Interview

The Career Transitioner

Resuscitating Old Contacts to Help Your Job Search
Resume Template - Mid-Management Professionals
5 Step Plan to a Successful Career Transition

The Recently Unemployed

Don't Have a Job Yet? You need to Think Like This!
Resume Tips for Professionals
How to Reinvent Yourself After Getting Laid-Off
5 Tips for Job Hunting During a Recession

Attending non-local company information sessions...does it matter in getting an interview?

2009-09-08T11:46:00.000-04:00

What's going on, y'all. This is going to be a short entry and serves as the PERFECT EXAMPLE of why I really like to receive short and to-the-point emails. This email came in a few minutes ago and, because the user was concise in his request, I was able to knock it out immediately. I didn't even think about letting it sit in my Inbox because I knew I could knock it out quickly...It would be cool if more folks would be mindful of this. If you send me a dissertation-length email, it'll likely take forever and a day for me to respond to it (IF I decide to respond to it at all...more on this coming later this week when I write up my guidelines for contacting me).

This reader had a simple question about whether it would be worth it for him to make a trip from DC to Boston to attend some consulting firm presentations at universities that he attended. It's a really interesting question because, in this job search environment, people recognize that they might have to go above and beyond to make an impression. I don't know if my advice is the RIGHT answer here, but it's certainly what I would do in this case.

-----
MS wrote:

"Hi:

Thanks for your help. I am currently based in DC and I have been considering attending the BCG and McKinsey presentations at MIT/Harvard on the 14th and 15th--I'm an alum. I attended them last year so there is not alot of new information that I can receive. I was wondering if you think it is worth the trouble to attend these presentations. Does it make it easier to get an interview or are firms indifferent to whether or not a person attends?

Thanks.

MS"
-----
My response:

MS,

The firms usually would have a sign-in sheet of some kind or a registration system to keep track of who attends these sessions, but I'm not sure of whether attendance makes it easier for you to get an interview. In this current job market, I'm a big fan of doing whatever possible to make an impression on the companies that interest you. With that in mind, if I were in your position, I'd make the effort to attend those presentations if it isn't too much trouble (especially considering how much you want to be at one of those firms).

These presentations are good for providing good general information, but the most useful thing about them is that they provide a chance to talk to people who work at the firms. You can learn about individuals' experiences, ask specific questions about the work and lifestyle at each firm, and establish connections with people that could prove helpful somewhere down the line. Also, these meetings are a great opportunity for you to make an impression on folks on the inside and possibly have someone be willing to serve as an advocate for you during the process. I'm not saying that it WILL happen, but I am saying that it CAN happen, which is definitely something to hang your hat on in this tough job market.

Before I sign off, I just want to remind you that this is what I would do, but I'm not saying that you HAVE to fly to Boston to attend these sessions. There are several factors at work here, including investment of time and financial resources, so you'll have to balance all of the factors at play here on your own and make a decision that works for you. Good luck!

Marquis

What would I do if I had six years to prepare to get into a consulting gig?

2009-09-07T15:05:00.001-04:00

What's good, folk. I hope you've all had a nice Labor Day holiday weekend (if you're in the United States, that is). Over the past couple of days, I've found myself returning to the reflective period that I shared with you guys a few months ago and it's really had the gears in my head turning. Exactly a year ago today, I received a surprising call that caught me totally off-guard and threw my life into disarray. I've written about this before, so I don't go into details here but I can't help thinking about how much can change over time. At this time last year, I felt completely lost and it seemed that everything around me was spinning out of control. I don't know if any of you have ever felt this way before, but it SUCKS, especially if you're the kind of person that's used to having a handle on everything. It's scary when I think back to how far gone I was and I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get my mind back right.

Then, one day, time and circumstances started making things make sense and I started understanding that everything happens for a reason. And, all of the sudden, I went from being totally lost to finally finding bits and pieces of myself. It's kinda like the lyrics from that old Johnny Nash song "I Can See Clearly Now"...

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day."

Kinda wild, right? Gotta love how far a person can come in a short 12 months. I guess the big takeaway is that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle, especially when He's trying to teach us a lesson. Hopefully, the road to understanding the next lesson won't be so rough to get through next time, but it's good to know that time does help put everything into perspective. OK, enough about me...I know y'all don't read this blog to read anything about my life nowadays :-)

The email below is from a reader who aspires to join a MBB consulting firm and has come up with with a six-year plan to make that happen. In his message, he asked me a ton of questions and, by now, y'all should know my standard reaction to those kind of emails. Instead of flipping out over it, I just chose one of his question and gave him the best I could come up with on it. I tried to put together the answer to that question so that it would address a couple of his other questions too, but I might not have done a great at it. Who knows...anyways, let's get down to business.

-----
BV wrote:

"Marquis,
I love your blog. You are helping tons of people, and for that you are truly capturing the essence of success in life. So thanks for your help!

On to my questions and background info.
I graduated 4.0 with Honors from the Honors College at University of South Carolina. I was a triple Business Major including International Business (ranked 1st in country at the undergrad level), Marketing, and Management.

I have some work experience(less than 1 year), mostly sales and marketing, but nothing with a pedigree and nothing all that substantial. I am going into the Peace Corps for 2 years to do economic development. I plan to get out and work with a non MBB for 2 years, make it to a target school and then apply to MBB. I have a feeling I will crush GMAT.
Will I even have a shot given my non-pedigree undergrad and pre-MBA work experience?

First, what else can I do to maximize my chance of getting into top 5 MBA program?

Second, what can I do to really beef up my resume, and what can I study given that I have at least 6 years before I apply to MBB? I have case and interview prep materials, GMAT prep, Vault and Wetfeet Guides, Mckinsey series books, and some things on PowerPoint and Excel. I read Consultingmag and periodically browse blogs and forums like this. I also am networking, and have managed to get in front of 3 Mckinsey employees, one an engagement manager, one from Accenture, and one from Bain.

I want to develop technical skills in the most important areas as well as soft skills. I want to know how and where to do impeccable research and data analysis. I need some specific topics to study, and some specific ways to study industries and functions. I'd like to find out specific analyses that are performed during the research and data analysis phases of the engagement. How they teach you to manage the project workflow, structure the hypothesis generation and gather, analyze and interpret the right data, and put it into charts and PowerPoints as well as reports. I need a pdf way to study modeling in excel, plus anything else in excel or that would help me be a good consultant. It would be great to get my hands on something that resembles the materials given during initial training for MBB analyst/consultant positions, as well as see something like the PowerPoints and reports created by the teams. This would let me see where the bar is, and specifically what I need to get really good at and study. Do you know if anything like that exist out there somewhere? What are the business topics I need to become really familiar with?

Basically, if you knew you had 6 years to prepare to get into an MBB and then excel once there, what would you do? Also some specific recommendations for extracurricular involvement post undergrad, which demonstrates the level of leadership they are looking for would be helpful.

Is there anything I'm forgetting to ask or that isn't on my mind that should be?
I am aware I asked many questions and gave lengthy background info, but I feel a lot of it is necessary for you to provide a relevant and helpful response. Thanks for any advice and recommendations you may have."
-----
My response:

BV,

I hope this message finds you doing well and enjoying the last few days of summer. I know it's been a while since you first emailed me, but my Inbox stays packed with emails and, in your case, there are other reasons that it took me a while to get to your message. Before I dive into my response to your email, I've got to call out one of the sentences from the end of your email: "I am aware I asked many questions and gave lengthy background info, but I feel a lot of it is necessary for you to provide a relevant and helpful response." I'm not sure how many of my past blog entries you've read, but I've got to let you know that your email hit a pet peeve of mine that I've mentioned MANY times on my blog...I don't like to receive long emails with lots of questions because they take a long time for me to read, process, and respond to and leave me wondering if the reader put any thought at all into how long it would take for me to get through all of those questions. When I saw that sentence at the end of your email, I was left thinking "hmmmmm..." and chose to address emails that I could get through faster before yours. I was just scanning my Inbox and realized how long yours had been there, so I figure that now is as good a time as any to get to it.

That said, I don't intend to answer all of the questions you posed in your message because it would take me a long time to do so and that's not fair to all of the other people who've emailed me requesting help. Instead, I'm going to answer one of your questions and see if I might be able to touch some of your other questions in that response. Of the many questions you posed in your email, the following one seems the most interesting to me:

"Basically, if you knew you had 6 years to prepare to get into an MBB and then excel once there, what would you do?"

I've been asked this question in bits and pieces over the years, but I've never had someone put it all together as cleanly as you did in your email. So, if I had six years to prepare for the path you've planned, I would do the following:

- Take the GMAT immediately: The GMAT exam is the biggest hurdle for most people who apply to business school and I always advise that people get it out of the way as early as possible. I took the GMAT two years before I applied to business school as a part of applying for my first grad program and found the MBA application process to be a lot less stressful with that test out of the way. You seem to be sure that you'll crush the GMAT, so you might as well get it out of the way now so you won't have to worry about it later.

- Start learning how to tackle consulting case interviews as soon as possible: As you can imagine, the case interview process is a beast to get through and is the big differentiator between those who get the offers and those who don't. Some people take naturally to the sort of structured problem solving required to do well on cases, but I'd guess that the majority of candidates have to work hard to adopt that manner of thinking. A key to success is for the case process to seem second nature and the best way to make this happen is to practice-practice-practice, which is what I would do immediately if I were you. With a two-year runway, you could be a case interviewing master by the time you approach the MBA summer internship cycle during your first year of B-school. If you go back to my November 2006 archives, you'll see an entry with a link to a case prep guide that I wrote a few years ago. That guide has some tips that could serve as a decent starting point for you.

- Seek out leadership opportunities at work (even if they're outside of core job responsibilities): Business schools are looking for applicants to exhibit leadership potential and one's workplace is a great place to do this. Depending on one's pre-MBA job, these opportunities could be easy to come by, but it isn't as easy for most folks, including myself. In these cases, I would look for places where I could move the needle on some initiative about which I was passionate and take it upon myself to drive that initiative forward. Not only will this provide experiences to describe on a resume and in applications essays, but it will also provide recommendation writers with interesting stories to share with the admissions committees. In fact, this is exactly what I did back in the day and I found that it made the difference in making my profile jump off the page...I likely wouldn't have done as well on my apps if I hadn't been able to create opportunities to shine outside of my standard software development duties. You've got two years to do this and, in that time, I bet you could have major impact in the process.

- Ramp up participation in extracurricular/outside-of-work activities: You seem to already understand the importance of extracurriculars, so I don't need to go into depth on that. Having never worked for a B-school admissions office, I don't know if there's a particular type of extracurricular activity that business schools seek, but I always recommend to my readers that they pursue activities that interest them most. That way, they'll be more passionate about them and will have more of a desire to lead them. Whatever activities you choose, you should do more than simply be a member...if I were you, I'd get involved in committees, drive initiatives, and pursue leadership roles as a way to show that I was playing a notable role. I've written a lot of entries about this topic, so I'll leave it to you to find those entries and get more details about extracurriculars.

- Develop an MBA story and build experiences around it: When I was approaching the business school application process, I spent significant time upfront figuring out what my application positioning (or "MBA story") would be. This way, I knew that I'd be painting a consistent picture of myself as a candidate across all of my applications, conversations, and interviews. I found this as a great way to maintain my focus while putting together my applications. Once you've determined what your MBA story will be, use it has a guideline for the professional, leadership, and extracurricular experiences that you acquire over the next couple of years. Basically, this one step would be a way to pull together the four steps described above into what should ultimately make you into a strong business school applicant. Over the years, I've written several blog entries about how to build one's MBA story, so I'll let you find those entries to my advice to other readers on this topic.

So, that's what I've got on your question...dang, this email ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would. I'm sure you still have other questions because of the ones I left unanswered from your email, but I've covered many of those topics in past blog entries and you'll probably find a lot of the advice that you need in my archives.

Anyways, I'm still in awe of the fact that you've got your six-year plan laid out already and feel that you're on the right track. At this point in my life, I basically think ahead in six-month increments because the crazy economy of the past year or so have convinced me that external factors can do a lot to derail a longer-term plan. Anyways, I hope my words above provided you with the kind of ideas you were seeking to weave into your six-year plan. Take care and good luck with reaching all of the goals that you've set for yourself.

Marquis

P.S. Next time you reach out to someone for advice on something, you REALLY need to be mindful of the number of questions you ask and the amount of time and thought it might take to address them...seriously. I'm pretty much used to this sort of thing by now after all of these years of blogging, so I didn't trip too much after reading your email. But, I have a feeling that many other people might not have as decent of a reaction as I did and could write you off completely for it.

Reader concerned about his chances of getting a good job or MBA despite some great accomplishments

2009-09-01T22:33:00.004-04:00

What's going on, y'all. Looks like I broke a six-day consecutive blog posting streak over the weekend, but I've been pretty busy over the past few days. Now, it looks like I may have a bit of a blog posting drought over the next week or two because I've got several things popping up in the near future, including the upcoming holiday weekend. I'll see what I can do between now and when Real Life decides to bury me in things to do...

The email below is a little different from most of the ones I receive, but pretty similar at the same time. In it, the reader expresses concerns about his chances of getting into a top investment bank or management consulting firm because he graduated from a "non-target" school. That's something I've seen many times before, so I've got a whole arsenal of responses for that sort of thing. The unusual thing is that he's about to start a year-long Fulbright fellowship, which, if you don't know, is one of the most prestigious fellowship programs available to kids coming out of college. When I saw that, I was somewhat perplexed by the fact that this kid was buggin' out about his undergrad institution with such a ridiculously great accomplishment in his back pocket. I tried to be as understanding as possible in my response, but I think I might have let a little of my "Huh? Are you for real?" reaction come out in my words. Hopefully, that won't offend him and make him overlook the advice that I tried to provide.

-----
KC wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I am a non-target aspirant who fears the only window of opportunity has closed.

I'm a new reader of your blog. Made my way through half of it but have to send you some ups as well as questions, both for making yourself available. "I'm an aspiring iBanker, Consultant, whatevermakesmethemostmoneyintheshorestperiodoftime," ah, that phrase never gets old. Just out of undergrad I'm doing a Fulbright fellowship next year and while the opportunity is great I'm fearful I just blacked my own balls! Long story short, I studied my junior year in Asia, went to a non-target school <--- definite key here, and managed to claw my way to an internship in banking last summer. The internship was excellent. I made friends, identified potential mentors, made a first year analyst's salary, and successfully received an offer. But then shit hit the fan when I was recommended by my school to apply for a boat load of fellowships. Only receiving the Fulbright I thought, thinking long-term, it would help me get into a good MBA. But then I soon found out the bank would NOT be able to defer me a year "due to uncertainty in the economic realm and therefore hiring process." So now here I am, leaving on July 31 with an excellent credential as a Fulbright scholar but drifting gradually into the world of academia and (non-business) graduate schools. For example, I browsed literally over 100 Fulbrighter bios and only 7 of them were undergrad business majors. 7!!! I don't want to be a professor, I know that much, and I want to break into finance but I fear I just passed up a great short-term opportunity by working in NYC at a bank that I'll get done the Fulbright but be back on my parents' couch next summer after the one-year fellowship is over.

I've consulted a few people, one of which is the director of career services at an MBA. They are all consistent with "Oh, Fulbright! What an opportunity! Everyone will want you!" However, they are forgetting that not only am I from a non-target school, but additionally the only connection I have is with a career I have no real interest in except as a stepping stone into the more technical, demanding, dare I say...--better-- world of equity research, investment banking, and management consulting.

I've read every Vault, LinkedIn, message board, blog, career services website Google has to offer, and I've gathered a 219 Excel worksheet of investment banks and consulting firms organized by headquarters location, specialty, and size, but despite literally obsessing over this ever since I was a lowely freshman in undergrad I can't land anything because--and I know this sounds naive--I went to a non-target school! The reality is, what school you went to matters. When I have to click on the school drop down box and select 'other' I realize that immediately forwards my resume into HR's Recycling Bin.

What a rant, my apologies Marquis. But can you offer any advice, strategies, suggestions as to how a kid with nothing but a laptop and $70k in student loans can make his way to the top if he simply did not go to the right school? And from Princeton I'm guessing you know a few people who may have received fellowships as well, how would you suggest getting back in the game now that I'd be classified as an off-cycle (not on-campus, out of undergrad) hire. I have the greatest appreciation for your blog, and hope whatever it is you want to do with yourself you get there and do it.

KC"
-----
My response:

KC,

I hope this message finds you doing well. By the time you receive this message you'll likely be settled into your new home for the next year abroad. I'd like to start by congratulating you on the huge accomplishment of winning the Fulbright. I'm pretty sure you understand how big of a deal that is, but I just wanted to make sure I made a special comment about it. I never even thought about gunning for any of those fellowships because my undergrad grades wouldn't have even given me a decent shot at them, so, as far as I'm concerned, you're "kinda like a big deal". Before I jump into responding to your issue, I've got to warn you that my comments below may have some "strong-ish" language, but I hope that won't be too off-putting to you. I tend to do that sometimes when I'm trying to shake someone up a little and give them some truth and wisdom that I think they need. So, we're all good, right?...Cool, let's get at it!

First off, you've got to stop whining and complaining about having gone to a "non-target" school...and I'm being deliberate in my usage of the terms "whine" and "complain" because those are the words that popped into my head as I read through your email. I don't mean to belittle your concerns, but I KNOW for a fact that folks from non-target schools CAN GET great jobs with great companies. At this point, you've already finished college and there's nothing you can do to change where you went to undergrad. Plus, it looks like you've done a fantastic job of building upon the foundation you established at [your school], so don't sell yourself short. Clicking on the school drop-down box on a company's online application and selecting "other" doesn't automatically send your resume to the HR recycling bin. I'm not sure about the investment banks, but I know that several consulting firms have programs that look for top talent at their non-core schools. You need to figure out the best way to get your resume in front of the people who matter in the process and have confidence that your background and profile will impress the recruiters. All you've got to do is get your foot in the door and then let your performance get you across the finish line.

OK, point #2...you do realize that winning the Fulbright fellowship is a RIDICULOUS accomplishment, right? Do you understand how far above the rim you're playing by having been selected for that joint? I know several highly-qualified Princeton grads who didn't get it and I bet any of them would have bent over backwards to win it coming out of school. It seems that you're overlooking the long-term benefit of having the fellowship because of some perceived short-term difficulties, like [your summer employer] not letting you defer your offer for a year. You're kinda-sorta right when you say that where you went to school matters, but I'd say that only factors in when it comes to how easy it is to get your foot in the door. I know plenty of graduates of smaller schools who've kicked butt and received offers from some of the top companies in the business world...and none of those people could drop the F-bomb (I'm referring to the "Fulbright-bomb", not what you probably immediately thought...get your mind out of the gutter, man) :-). If I were in your position, I would start reaching out within the Fulbright program network to build connections that could lead to job opportunities to follow that year in [your new location]. As the old adage goes, it's not necessarily what you know...it's often who you know...and you're part of a pretty exclusive group of people in having won that fellowship. Who cares where you went to school at that point? I would think the common achievement of having been a Fulbright Scholar would get you a lot of run with people in that network. You mentioned that many of the Fulbrighter bios listed non-business majors, but does that really matter? I'm a perfect example of someone who started off in that boat and righted my ship by earning an MBA. Don't think about your current ingoing cohort when thinking about your career possibilities...think about the folks who were Fulbright Scholars 10, 15, and 20 years ago. If you can find someone like that who is well-placed in an investment bank or management consulting firm, you could leverage that to get your resume into the hands of the right people at your target firms. Focus on the fact that the Fulbright puts you into a special category that literally thousands of people would kill to be in each school year, not on the "shortcomings" that you see in your profile.

So, once you think about all of this, then you've got to start believing that you CAN get into a top business school. I've posted several entries where the reader displays a self-defeating attitude that makes him- or herself sound like the war is lost before engaging in the first battle. In all of those cases, I advise the person that he/she needs to go into the B-school application believing in his/her own candidacy. If not, then it isn't worth it to go through the expense and time required to apply...at least, I wouldn't think so. You might think that you've made an early career misstep, but it sounds to me like you've got some good building blocks for an MBA profile. Your undergrad performance had to have been strong to win the Fulbright, you've got international study experience, you completed an internship at [a major investment bank], and you do have that Fulbright as a sparkling part of your profile. I know people who have gone straight from undergrad into a top MBA program who didn't have those type of assets backing them up. It seems like you're stuck on the fact that you went to a "non-target school", but there's nothing that you can do with that now and it isn't necessarily a roadblock to getting a good job and gaining admission to a top business school. If you look at the student body of top B-schools, you'll find people from all types of undergrads and the common denominator among all of those students is that they had a strong application package...and they weren't all Ivy grads. Hell, I had a reader post a comment a couple of years ago describing his admissions to Kellogg and Chicago-Booth with an undergraduate degree from the University of Phoenix. If he can make that happen, then I'm pretty daggone sure that you can gain admission to a top business school with that Fulbright, even if you graduated from a "non-core school". You've just got to KNOW that you can kill it and then go out there and make it happen. It's just that simple, man.

Good luck on your Fulbright year. You owe it to yourself to stop beating yourself up about having attended a "non-target school" and to start giving yourself credit for this HUGE accomplishment. Make sure you enjoy your time over there because you've been given an opportunity that thousands of your peers would kill for right now. You have to adopt the mindset that you WILL be successful and know that others have emerged to be successful with far less sparkling backgrounds than yours. Seriously man, take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back for what you've been able to do. Stop worrying about what you can't change and enjoy the ride ahead because I'm sure that it'll be a wild one with a nice pot of gold at the end :-) Take care.

Marquis

Reader wondering whether it's worth it to apply to B-school in the current economy

2009-08-29T00:08:00.001-04:00

Hello, all. I sure have been on a tear in terms of posting new entries in the past week, haven't I? I guess that's what happens when the weather takes a turn for the worse and I end up not wanting to go out. Maybe I'll finally be able to get back to some of the readers who've been waiting for responses from me for 6+ months. We'll see...

The email below is from a prospective MBA applicants with a Technology background who wonders whether B-school is the right move for him based on what's happened in the economy since last September. In particular, he's wondering if an MBA is a good use of his money and whether he'd be able to find a good job on the back-end after graduation. I have a feeling that many other kids are going through this same sort of thinking right now with the new application season upon us. I hope my response provides some decent ideas for this reader and anyone else thinking through this issue.

By the way, you might notice that I gave this reader a shout-out for being thoughtful about the length of his email in my response. I felt like I had to do that because I skipped over eight emails from other readers that felt more like dissertation proposals than emails before I decided to reply to his. I know y'all get tired of seeing me write about how much I hate to get long emails, but I'm going to keep on saying it until people get the message. If I look at your email and determine that it'll take me a long time to read and process it, chances are that I'm going to deprioritize it in favor of ones that I can read through and address quickly. I'm sorry for having to state this yet again, but I guess I need to keep giving reminders. It's all good though because I'm going to type up some new guidelines regarding the emails that I will and won't deal with over the next few days and y'all won't have to read these kind of statements anymore. In other words, my whole "I'll get to everyone's email eventually" thing might end up changing a bit.

-------
DR wrote:

"Hello Marquis,
Good day. i just got to read your blog today while googling for MBA admissions and Gmat stuffs. It was really a great blog and i m sure thousands would have gained from your advises. so i see u can give me right advices for my aspirations. so i decided to write u. i will keep my story simple since i believe u have much more mails to read. i had graduated Bachelors of technology, 2 years 4 month back and i work as a software programmer for the IT company Infosys technologies in India since then. So i have 2 year 3 month work experience till date. My interests are always towards business and want to startup a business sometime later. My family is of a business background, but it was never a success story..i feel the reason of failure as my dad not having a formal business education. i always believe i would turn those failures into success one day. All these had made my mindset to go for an MBA degree. but i dont want to get it for a name sake. Though i aspire for a top b-school, i m confused whether i could make up to such a top notch univ. The series of things which are happening post september 2008, makes me to rethink if i really should go for a business degree spending so much and is it really worth it. so i look for your advice in choosing up right path.
here are my questions..

1. I will be 3.3 years experienced by the time i complete the Gmat tests, done with applications and stuffs..i have around 3.7 gpa in undergraduate..
will i be able to make up to a top b-school with this undergraduate grade and work exp? i believe i can get a very good GMAT score
2. If i have two choices left for my money, one to invest for a good MBA degree, second to invest in an startup with confidence, which one can i chose taking into account the
curent economic situation?
3.Will the B-schools be able to provide good placements amid worse market.

hope to read your advice.

Thanks in Advance
DR"
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My response:

DR,

I hope this message finds you doing well. Thanks for checking out my blog and trusting me enough to provide input on your situation. It sounds like you've got a lot of anxiety around the choice you're facing, so I hope I can provide some helpful guidance as you think through it. Before diving into my response, I'd like to thank you for writing a relatively short and direct email. As I was going through my Inbox, I skipped over several MUCH longer emails before getting to yours because I didn't feel like spending two hours writing a reply to one of those crazy long joints. You'd be surprised at how few people actually think about how many emails I receive. They're usually too worried about getting their own questions answered. I'd like to thank you for being thoughtful about that when you wrote your message to me.

OK, let's dive right into your questions because I know that's what you've been waiting for :-) :

1. "I will be 3.3 years experienced by the time i complete the Gmat tests, done with applications and stuffs..i have around 3.7 gpa in undergraduate.. will i be able to make up to a top b-school with this undergraduate grade and work exp? i believe i can get a very good GMAT score " --> This is a tough question to answer because there's so much to a business school application than grades and work experience. The admissions folks take one's extracurriculars, GMAT, recommendations, essays, and interviews into account, so there are a LOT of moving parts in the application process. My quick answer to your question is that I believe you'll be able to get into a good business school with what you've told me so far, but you'll have to work hard to put together a strong application package to make that happen.

2. "If i have two choices left for my money, one to invest for a good MBA degree, second to invest in an startup with confidence, which one can i chose taking into account the curent economic situation?" --> I'm always cautious when answering questions like this because I fear that people will use me as THE authority on the topic and make a choice based on what I say. So, I'll qualify my response by saying that I'm answering this question as if I were in this situation...this is only based on my own opinion on the question and I'd HIGHLY recommend that you talk to others about this before making a final decision. Now, on to my response...if I had those two choices, I'd invest in the MBA degree because I believe there's no better investment that one can make than in his/her own education. Having high confidence in a startup is good, but that doesn't automatically translate into a successful business. There are just too many external factors involved in whether a startup will do well or not. On the other hand, I'd feel confident that I'd always be able to make a living by leveraging that MBA degree and would hope that other startup opportunities would come my way in the future. I'm not saying that this is the right answer for YOU, but that's just how I'd think about it.

3. "Will the B-schools be able to provide good placements amid worse market." --> This is a question that thousands of current MBA students and even more MBA applicants are asking themselves every day. I don't know if I can give you a definite answer to whether the B-schools WILL be able to provide good placements in this down market. But, I can say that the B-schools ARE TRYING their best to provide good placements. No school wants to see its students unable to find jobs and pay off their loans after graduation because it would make its MBA program look bad. Career placement offices at B-schools are working overtime to generate job opportunities for their students, but the students have to also be willing to bear some of the burden of sourcing opportunities. Kids can't expect their schools to just give them jobs...they've got to be out there networking, job hunting, and being creative on their own too. I guess the quick answer to your question is that B-schools are doing their best to provide good job placements, but, until the economy gets better, it'll be an uphill battle for everyone.

I hope you find the above responses to your questions to be helpful. You're off to a good start in plotting your path just by having been thoughtful enough to try to work through these questions. The decision to apply to business school shouldn't be taken lightly, so I'd suggest that you talk it over with a couple of other folks that you trust to get a fully informed perspective. Take care and good luck with your business school applications.

Marquis

P.S. Just wanted to give you a tip in terms of writing your emails in the future. I noticed that you used "u" in place of "you", which is not the kind of language you want to be using in professional business email communications. I'm probably the most laid back dude on the planet, so I don't have any issues with stuff like that but everyone in the business world isn't as chill as me. Be mindful of that as you reach out to people during the rest of your B-school application process.

Announcing a new MBA student blog from a friend in Wharton's Class of 2011

2009-08-28T01:30:00.001-04:00

What's good, peoples. With the start of the new school year, many new first-year business school students have started their two-year journey toward the MBA...and many of started their own blogs to share their stories like I did waaaay back in the day. As I find out about new ones that interest me, I try to share them with you and this entry is to share one more of them with you.

This entry is to tell you all about a blog by a new first-year student at Wharton named Muoyo that reminds me a lot of myself...and I'm not just joking when I say that. It's like this kid is literally following in my footsteps. Get this...he's a Black dude who graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Computer Science and spent a few years as a Software Engineer before leaving that to enroll at a top business school with dreams of entering the Consulting industry. Even wilder, when I met him in person this summer, I was shocked to find that he's the same height as me too. It was actually kinda spooky :-) All he has to do now is end up at McKinsey and keep his blog going for years and I'll officially be obsolete (actually, I know y'all couldn't go on without me...hahahahahahaha!). Anyways, you can check out his site at the following link --> Link to Muoyo's blog

Those of you who have been in the B-school game for a while know that the Wharton student blogs are known for being very detailed and thorough, so y'all might want to check out Muoyo's blog in the future. Judging from his first couple of entries, he's got a lot to say and he might just follow in my footsteps once again and create a great blog for years and years and years :-)

Reader with background in Marketing and Advertising looking to transition to Consulting

2009-08-27T22:29:00.001-04:00

Hey there, everyone. It's a rainy night here in Chicago, so, instead of heading out and hitting the town, I've decided to stay in and put a dent in my Inbox. With the busy summer I've had, my Inbox backlog has gotten pretty bad and, with the inevitable flow of emails that'll come with the new application season, I'm pretty far behind. Hope I can get caught up soon.

The email below is from a reader who found me through the interview I did for ManagementConsulted.com. She's currently working in Europe, but wants to come back to the US for grad school and eventually end up working in Consulting. She's asking for my perspective on her fit for the industry and how she can make a move into it. After reading her profile, I had some feedback for her that may or may not come off well...let's see how it goes.

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MK wrote:

"Hello!

I´ve come across an interview you did with managementconsulted.com. First of all, thanks for taking personal time to help others- this is truly invaluable for aspiring consultants. If you have the time, I wanted to shoot you an email with my brief background and to see what your thoughts are on my future ideas.

I´ve recently graduated from Quinnipiac University, a small private university in CT in May 2008 with a B.S. in Business Advertising. A month later I landed in Madrid Spain and started to work at a foundation and research institute doing various marketing and communications activities. I landed the job through extensive networking and a convincing interview despite not having EU citizenship (which is usually a dead end for all foreign interviewees). I´ve been here for almost a year now, and will probably continue on for another year. My responsibilities have been specific as graphic designer/web designer to broad as marketing and business strategy. It is a small startup, with less than 15 people and only 3 years under its belt. I´ve definitely have had my opportunity to participate in high-level meetings regarding the future of the business, and find that the most interesting part of my job.

I´m planning on going back to the U.S. to start on my Masters and to continue working. During college I had an internship at McCann Erickson, international ad agency and also Sesame Workshop, international non-profit educational organization. I´m sure I don´t want to go in the advertising industry, and I´m exploring the idea of the consulting industry.

My question is: How do you think I fit in with a prospective consulting candidate? I´m no doubtedly adaptable and fast-learning, but will the job be a big step from where I stand now?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. I appreciate any feedback you may have for me.

Warm regards,
MK"
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My response:

MK,

Thanks for checking out my blog and thinking of me as a resource for your question. I'm sorry for taking so long to respond to your email, but I'm sure you understand how it is when I've got people from around the globe hitting me up. I'm not sure how many of my past entries you've read, but I'll start off by letting you know that I've never worked as a recruiter for a Consulting firm, so a lot of the advice I give is based on my own perspectives and read on how things go in these firms. What I say here isn't the end-all and be-all, so don't treat it as such. Rather, just take it as an informed perspective that you should consider along with opinions you receive from others with whom you discuss your situation. With that in mind, let's get going and look into your profile as a fit for Consulting...

In your email, it seemed that you were wondering how your CURRENT profile would fit as a prospective candidate for a Consulting firm, so that's what I took into account when thinking through this. In a few years, your profile will be totally different and, at that time, your fit for the role may change, so the items I mention below may be useful to think about in the meantime. Also, I'm assuming that you're referring to larger global management consulting firms, so my feedback might not apply if you're targeting smaller boutiques. So, what do I think? You've got an interesting background and set of experiences, but it seems like you might have a few skill gaps that should address between now and when you start applying to Consulting firms. Your profile is screaming out "I have good soft skills...", but I'm not also hearing it scream out "...and I've also got the hard skills" to back them up. I've written several blog entries about what some of those hard skills are and, in the current job market, you'd be competing with several candidates who have a balance between the two. So, if I ran a Consulting firm and were considering you for a position, your profile would make the following questions pop into my mind:

1. Do you have the analytics and "hard business skills" that one would need in a generalist firm?
2. How are your problem solving skills currently? How might you have been able to build those problem solving skills in an undergrad Business Advertising program and with your current work experiences?
3. Would you be able to hit the ground running if I were to put you on a consulting engagement? Or, would I have to give you a lot of upfront training to position you to add value to a team?

I don't know what the answer to those questions are for you, but you might want to figure out responses to them just in case they come up as you move into the recruiting process. One thing that could help answer some of these questions is the Master's degree program that you plan to pursue. You didn't mention the subject that you plan to study in your email, but, if you're looking at an MBA, you might be good to go to make a transition into Consulting. If you're thinking of a different area of study, you might have to put in a little more legwork to get an in with the firms. Several of the large Consulting firms recruit candidates from non-MBA grad programs, but the bulk of grad school hires come out of MBA programs. Think about that as you're considering the types of programs to which you plan to apply.

If you're really interested in making the move into Consulting and don't want to get an MBA, perhaps you could focus on firms that specialize in Marketing and/or Branding. Your background in advertising and marketing could position you well as a candidate for those types of firms. Plus, the nature of that work could expose you to a variety of projects that could add to your business experience set. After a few years of that deep-dive functional focus, you could probably transition over to a larger global management consulting firm and work within a practice area focused on Marketing but aim to work on projects in other functional areas to further round out your business acumen. This might not be as direct a path as you were hoping for, but, when one starts off with a non-traditional background for Consulting, he/she might have to be creative to make the transition without attending business school first.

I hope you found my feedback/perspective helpful as you approach your grad school application process and the rest of your career. I would never refer to myself as THE authority on the Consulting industry, so you might want to seek out a few other opinions on your case to get a more balanced view. Take care and have a nice day.

Marquis

Reader seeking info on opportunities available to graduating MBAs in the healthcare industry

2009-08-26T00:39:00.000-04:00

What's good, folk. To start off this entry, I'd like to send a huge shout out to one of my Stanford GSB roommates, Rashad B., who recently launched his new company, Power Learning (Link to the site). Power Learning is basically an online community for teachers that provides value-added tools for lesson and curriculum development. At Stanford, Rashad completed the same MBA/MA.Ed joint degree program as me and he and I spent countless hours talking about his vision for the company. I'm so proud to see that he has finally reached his launch date. He's going to do a whole lot to help kids during his career and this is only the first stage of those efforts. If you have any interest in education, you might want to give his site a look.

This entry's email is from a reader who is interested in business opportunities available to MBAs in the healthcare industry. Messages like this always make me chuckle a little because I don't have any sort of healthcare background and don't know much about the industry aside from what I read and see on TV. So, in order to answer the question, I have to step back and try to break it into pieces for which I can come up with something. After having answered a few emails like this over the years, I think I'm getting the hang of this sort of thing.

------
VK wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I read through your blog and felt that you had a pulse of the market and would be in a position to address my query. Could you comment on the business opportunities available to graduating MBA students in the healthcare industry? My background is in IT of Clinical Data Management ?

Regards

VK"
------
My response:

VK,

Thanks for reaching out to me as a resource for your question. You're question is a good one that I don't think I've ever seen before, but I don't know if I'm the best resource to answer it. I know a little about the healthcare from what I've seen in news coverage and heard from friends, but I'm not really an expert in what's going on there. That said, I'll try to put together a rough framework that you can use to think through the types of opportunities that might be out there for you. I can't guarantee that it'll help you find the perfect job in the healthcare industry, but I hope it'll spark some ideas for you to work with.

Once again, I'll remind you that I'm not an expert on the healthcare industry, but I'm certain that we can back into something to answer your question. To generate ideas for healthcare jobs, you might want to think about the following three areas:

- Segments of the healthcare industry: As you know, the healthcare industry covers a wide range of sub-segments, which gives you a lot of options in looking for positions. One could move into medical research, hospitals, payer-provider companies, or nursing homes...there are so many options out there that one would have to think long and hard about which ones would interest him/her most. With the current debate over healthcare reform in the US, the most desirable segments could change significantly over the next few years. If I were making a run at healthcare gigs and wanted to target some potential high-growth areas, I'd look at:
--> Medical/diagnostic research: I have a feeling that there will be some major breakthroughs coming in the next few years and this segment could be positioned well. Also, this could bring some great industry context could be lucrative in the future
--> Nursing homes and other elder-care segments: Americans are living longer and the average age of the population is getting higher. As these folks get old, someone's got to take care of them and players in this space could see some serious revenue growth in the next 10-15 years. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't expect there to be many MBAs in this segment, so one could move the needle quite a bit by bringing in some strong business practices.

- Roles tied to business functions: Once you've figured out the healthcare segment that interest you, the next step could be to think through functional areas that match up with your career goals. So, what do I mean by "functional areas"?...In this case, one would basically look in the areas that make up a standard MBA core curriculum, including strategy, operations, HR, IT, and marketing. Off the top of my head, I can't think of many specific position titles, but I know that there are lots of functional positions in healthcare that could lay the groundwork for a great career.

- Healthcare-related consulting: When all else fails in coming up with jobs directly in the industry, you can always go with consulting to the industry, right? There are plenty of healthcare-related positions in the consulting industry at both the larger global firms and the smaller boutique shops. Often, the best candidates for those positions are people who've worked in the industry previously, so your background in healthcare IT could give you a decent foundation to make that sort of transition. But, previous healthcare experience isn't always necessary from what I've seen if the person is coming in out of grad school. If this might be an area that interests you, I'd recommend doing some Google searches to see what you can come up with on this one.

As I read over what I've typed above, I'm recognizing that I might not have provided you with the "answer" you were seeking, but I hope this serves as a framework to help you think through your options. I'm not sure if you're currently in business school or are about to apply, but I wish you the best of luck in your quest to re-position yourself in the Healthcare industry. Take care.

Marquis

Interesting article -- "Why should I interview you?"

2009-08-25T01:18:00.000-04:00

I know the job market is a killer right now and many of you might be in search of a new job. Well, I recently came across a good article written by an executive search professional about making one's resume and overall profile "pop" to a hiring manager. It's a pretty concise article and might be worth reading, whether you're in job search mode or not, because you never know what could happen in the current economic environment...

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"Why should I interview you?"
Author: Denise Palmieri
Source: PEHub.com (LINK)
Date: August 5, 2009

Intro text from article:

"There’s a great line in the movie Wall Street when Gordon Gecko first meets Bud Fox. Gecko says to Fox: “This is the kid, calls me 59 days in a row, wants to be a player. There might be a picture of you in the dictionary under “persistence” kid. So tell me ‘Why should I be listening to YOU?’”

It’s exactly what you don’t want an interviewer to think when they read your resume. I’ve been amazed at the level of sameness that I’ve seen lately in resumes and I realize that resumes are a misunderstood tool.

The purpose of the resume is to get you an interview. It’s your Super Bowl ad, your one shot to generate enough interest in you as a unique, special candidate that the employer feels they must in person without delay. It must demonstrate your specific qualifications for the role you are being considered for and, more importantly, offer concrete evidence of why you are worthy of being listened to."

Info about the author:

"Denise Palmieri is the Director of Client Relations at Pinnacle Group, an executive recruiting firm specializing in recruiting investment professionals for firms in the alternative investment community. "
--------------

Responding to a lower-than-expected GMAT score

2009-08-24T12:49:00.001-04:00

What's going on, peoples. I hope you all had a nice weekend and took the time to enjoy the quickly passing summer. The gorgeous days in Chicago over the weekend were nice, but they also had me thinking a lot about the impending winter. I spent my first 5-6 months here being told that the Chicago summers make dealing with the winters worth it and I ALMOST agree with that...but those winters are a BEAST!!! Be prepared to read a LOT of stuff about how those sub-zero months are hitting me in a few months.

The email below is from a long-time reader of my blog who hit me up after taking the GMAT and not scoring as well as he had hoped. He and I have been exchanging emails about his application process for a while, so I could feel the frustration in his words. He was seeking some advice on how to proceed from here and I thought some of you might get something out of my response from him. It's never an easy thing to go into the application battle with a weak point, but that one weakness doesn't have to sink your entire application. I hope this reader recognizes and can get himself ready to go back into the battle with his head held high.

-----
DP wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I am bit depressed with my GMAT score as I write this email to you. I got my lowest ever score in GMAT today, which I did not get even in the mocks. I was stunned for some time after seeing the screen.

I am in a bad mood but not given up yet on GSB. I have made up my mind to go ahead with the GSB in the R1 only. Its tough when you loose nerves at the D-time after 4 months of studies and preparations.

I would appreciate if you could provide some tips. I know its tough but not impossible.

Well, on the good front, the essays are coming really good. Got sealed recommendations from my manager, a social activist with whom I have worked on and off and a colleague, who is a student at [a top-20 US business school].

Though I am feeling very low at this juncture with a major setback with GMAT but as one of my friend said today "FUCK the trend, tell the admission who you are and if you could sound genuine, you will be there.", I am trying to recover slowly and start my applications as strongly as possible.

DP

PS: I feel you did not mind sharing some of my inner setbacks/thoughts here. I really wanted to speak out and as (I feel) you share the same values as me, I wanted to talk it out loud to you."

-----
My response:

DP,

I'm sorry to hear that your GMAT didn't go well. Are you certain that your score isn't good or is the issue more that you didn't reach your expectations? Either way, it's always distressing when the score on that test doesn't go your way. With as many people as I've advised on B-school stuff over the years, I understand how you must be feeling.

It might feel hopeless right now, but just know that the GMAT is just one part of a business school application and there are many other parts that can still help you achieve a successful result. With that in mind, I'd offer the following advice for you as you move forward:

- Focus on telling YOUR story: As I've mentioned on my blog several times before, I believe that the majority of a successful B-school application is having a strong MBA story. You might not be happy with your GMAT score, but that still shouldn't change the MBA story that you want to tell in your application. So, at this point, I'd recommend that you get your MBA positioning as tight as possible and tell a compelling story about why School X, Y, or Z should send you an admit letter. Average GMAT scores are just that...averages..., so there are always admitted applicants who score below that average. If you have a dynamite MBA story as part of a strong application package, I have a hard time believing that a school wouldn't at least give you a second look, despite your GMAT score. In other words, "FUCK the trend, tell the admission who you are and if you could sound genuine, you will be there." :-)

- Get one or two supplemental recommendations: It sounds like you've got three good recommenders lined up and that's a good start, but, given your GMAT issue, you want your application to be as blockbuster as possible. A way to ensure that is to get a couple more folks to write supplemental recommendations for you to include with your application package. Policies on these extra submissions vary by school, but it can never hurt to give a school more data points about you to think over when reviewing your app. I had to do this for a couple of my applications back in 2003-2004 because one of my recommendation writers came up with some janky, poorly-written stuff on the reco that he wrote for me. The supplemental reco would be more of a general, one-page essay providing a testimonial for you than the question-based submission formatted for each school. That way, you can submit a single supplemental reco to multiple schools.

- Sign up for one or two extra quant courses: I'm not sure if your GMAT was weak on the verbal or quant portion, but, if it was the latter, you might want to sign up for one or two quant classes at a local community college to show that you can actually handle the rigor of that type of work. It certainly won't be an apples-to-apples replacement for the GMAT, but it doesn't hurt. Plus, a strong score in those extra courses could show the admissions folks that your GMAT score isn't representative of your true abilities. At this point, it might be a little late for this option though.

- Consider retaking the GMAT: Normally, I would tell people to forget about the GMAT and focus on everything else, but, depending on your score, you might want to consider retaking the test. With the continued down economy, everybody and their mother is applying to business school now and, with that trend, I imagine that the bar is going to be raised at the top B-schools. The last thing you'd want is to work your butt off cranking out a super-strong application and then have the GMAT sink your chances. You said that you spent four months preparing for it, so there's a chance that your nerves just got to you on your test day. I bet you'd have a different result if you take a couple more weeks to refresh your memory on the GMAT content and then go in there again with a clear mind. I understand that there may be financial concerns around this option, but I wanted to put it out there anyway for you to think about...

I don't know if this message is going to provide the "silver bullet" solution that you're seeking, but I do hope that my words give you a bit of a boost. Just know that you're not totally sunk despite the GMAT result. Just make sure you don't take yourself out of the game mentally before you have a chance to even compete in it. Keep your head up and keep pressing forward on those B-school applications. Good luck!

Marquis

Interesting job opportunities at Teach For America...they're seeking Management Consultant types

2009-08-12T16:17:00.001-04:00

What's good, folk. Looks like I'm mkaing up for lost time by making lots of posts in the month of August. I'm in the process of thinking through responses to some reader emails, but this entry isn't one of those. Instead, it's an entry to help a fantastic organization with some of its recruiting efforts. They're looking for Consulting types and I guess I've got a good reader following among their target group, so they reached out to me :-)

A couple of days ago, I received the following email from the Director of Talent Recruitment for Teach for America, Alice G. Many of you have probably heard about TFA, but, if you haven't, you can find more information about the organization at their website. In short, TFA aims to resolve inequities in education by placing highly-qualified recent college graduates into two-year teaching positions at schools located in communities in need. Their long-term vision is for all kids in the US to have an opportunity to receive a great education, regardless of where they happen to have grown up. I learned quite a bit about TFA during my days in the Education School at Stanford and I'm a HUGE fan of what they're doing to help kids who need it most. Over the years, I've had a couple of friends go through the program as teachers and they all rave about it. As an additional plus, its founder, Wendy Kopp, first proposed the idea for TFA in her senior thesis at Princeton University...that's right, she's a fellow Princetonian, so I just HAD to do what I could to help them out.

Anyways, here's Alice's email followed by some more text from our email exchange:

-------------------------------
Alice G. wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I recently came across your blog via a twitter posting by someone in my network. I enjoyed reading your posting about management consultants and I just wanted to reach out and let you know that we currently have a number of opportunities open on staff calling for the management consultant profile. These roles run the gamut in level (ranging from manager to vice president positions). Given your background and professional network I thought I would reach out and make the broad request for you to send great management consultants my way.

In case you want details to share with your network, I have provided some external language below for you to pass along: a brief intro on Teach For America and some short format job descriptions with hyperlinks to our website and the full job descriptions. These only represent a small sampling of the many opportunities for which we are actively seeking management consultants.

Thanks in advance for your consideration of this request and please let me know if you have any great people you think I should speak with. I would love to connect with people in your network.

Best,

Alice"

-------------------------------

After seeing Alice's email, I forwarded the opportunities to a few folks that I know. Also, I figured that posting them on here might be a good idea, so I apporached her with the idea of doing that and the following is her response:

-------------------------------
AG wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

Thanks so much for your quick response and your willingness to share this with people in your network. I am dying to find talented consultants who are interested in making the move to nonprofit and I would love to connect with any great people you have in your network. It would be AMAZING if you could post these roles on your blog and feel free to flag my contact information. I can’t thank you enough for your willingness to spread the word.

FYI--I am not sure how much you know about us, but one thing I like to flag for people considering the move from the private sector is that we do offer a nice blend of mission focused work (i.e. people find the sense of meaning and reward they may be lacking in for profit work) with a fast-paced and highly efficient operating environment (our president is a former McKinsey partner—we are obsessed with goals and metrics). Essentially I like to call it the “have your cake and eat it too syndrome”, where people can work for something they believe in without sacrificing professional rigor.

OK, I will step down from my soap box now, but if there is any additional information that you desire please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks so very much!

Alice"

-------------------------------

So, now that you've seen the emails from Alice, here is an overview of the organization and some descriptions of some of the open opportunities at Teach for America. If you or anyone in your network is interested in opportunities with TFA, Alice can be reached at the email address linked here.

-------------------------------
Teach For America Overview
Who we are:
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding college graduates and professionals who commit two years to teach in public schools in the nation's lowest income communities and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Just as we seek great talent to join the corps and teach, we also need great talent for staff. We seek talented individuals of all backgrounds, with a strong record of achievement in their professional areas, to join our staff and play a critical role in enabling us to reach our ambitious goals. Visit www.teachforamerica.org/careers for a full list of open positions and more information.

How we operate:
Teach For America is a high-growth, outcomes-oriented organization comprised of more than 1,200 staff members who bring a diversity of personal and professional backgrounds to their roles. Our entrepreneurial atmosphere and results-driven approach give staff members both latitude and structure in their work. Within the organization, there are a wide range of roles and teams, all of which operate with an unwavering focus on quantitative measures, a commitment to continuous improvement, and a relentless pursuit of our mission.

Teach For America Opportunities

Vice President, Strategy - Student Achievement Measurement

Teach For America seeks a vice president of student achievement measurement systems to lead the team that is designing, testing, and implementing the next generation of our student achievement measurement system (while maintaining our current system in parallel). The vice president will lead all aspects of our student achievement measurement strategy, including shaping and executing a multi-pronged strategy to get better assessments and related instructional tools in the hands of our corps members, designing and building a new system of metrics and goals to convert these assessment results into actionable data, driving the testing and implementation of the new system, and representing the strategy in interactions with senior internal and external stakeholders. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of building and leading teams in entrepreneurial and highly data-driven environments.

Managing Director, Design

Teach For America is seeking a managing director of design to create and implement robust large scale staff trainings in the areas of operating and managing skills, interpersonal skills, and strategic thinking skills. The managing director will partner with the vice president of organizational effectiveness to determine the vision, parameters, measures of success and workflow around staff related design initiatives and will identify and evaluate promising learning & development activities across the organization, codifying and disseminating best practices as appropriate. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with at least five years of professional work experience and exemplary critical thinking, writing and organizational skills.

Managing Director, Strategy - Student Achievement Measure Analytics

Teach For America seeks a managing director of student achievement measurement system analytics to lead the team that is designing, testing, and implementing the next generation of our student achievement metrics and goals (while maintaining our current system in parallel). The managing director will lead all aspects of the redesign, including framing the critical design choices and their implications, facilitating the decision-making process with regard to these choices, overseeing the construction of the metrics and goals through data collection and analysis, translating the design into concrete policies, and working with others in the organization to test and implement the new system. Experience with student achievement data systems, econometrics/statistics, and/or other highly quantitative performance management systems are all major assets for the role.

Director, Strategy

We are seeking a director, strategy to provide high-level support to the chief people officer. The director of strategy will manage the planning, communications, and operations of the Human Assets' (HA) senior leadership team and will develop and oversee cross-cutting HA initiatives, working independently and across teams. This position provides a unique opportunity for an individual with superior critical thinking, communication, and relationship-building skills to play a central role in supporting the advancement of the organization's human assets priorities, gain an in-depth understanding of Teach For America, and prepare for leadership roles throughout the organization. The director of strategy will report directly to the chief people officer.

Director, Applied Research and Analysis

Teach For America is looking for a director of applied research and analysis to partner with leaders of each of our alumni initiatives to conduct data analysis and market segmentation of our alumni population. The director will conduct research that applies rigorous and objective analysis, and will report results using qualitative and/or quantitative techniques. This position will also develop statistical models to support the application of insights to our initiative work. This is a great opportunity for someone with at least three years of professional work experience as well as a Masters degree in Economics, Statistics, Math, Education, Public Policy, Sociology or a related field to increase the effectiveness of our alumni impact.

High-level summary of Management Consulting written for another site

2009-08-07T21:28:00.001-04:00

What's going on, y'all. I hope you've all had a nice week and are ready to enjoy the weekend. With only a month left in the summer, I'm starting to see visions of the Chicago cold returning and I don't know if I'm ready for that to happen. I guess all I can do until then is make the most out of the remaining warm times in 2009 and then get ready to hibernate along with the rest of the city. Whew, this is a great summer city, but the Winter wonderland that's coming sure isn't exciting to think about...

Remember when I made a post about a new site called GottaMentor.com that provides career advice to early- to mid-career professionals a couple of weeks ago? At that time, the founder of the site approached me and requested that I write an Industry Research Summary piece about Management Consulting, based on my experiences in the industry. I agreed and promptly got really busy and let it slip over and over and over. Well, she hit me up again asking about it and I felt so bad that I'd let it slip so far that I knocked it out soon after. The resulting Management Consulting Summary can be found on the GottaMentor.com site at THIS LINK. I'm not sure if this link is viewable to folks who aren't registered users on GottaMentor, so I've posted the content that I wrote below.

Before you read through it, I must remind you that what's written below is just my read on the industry, roles, and important issues, so don't take it as the only "gospel truth" definition. I believe in what I put together here, but other folks who've worked in Consulting might interpret things differently. I just thought it might be a useful resource for someone who is interested in the industry and is starting from zero in terms of his/her understanding of it. Enjoy!

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Overview of the Industry:
According to Wikipedia, "Management consulting refers to both the industry of, and the practice of, helping organizations improve their performance, primarily through the analysis of existing business problems and development of plans for improvement. Organizations hire the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice, access to the consultants' specialized expertise, or simply as extra temporary help during a one-time project, where the hiring of more permanent employees is not required."

A much simpler definition of what Management Consultants do is analyze, diagnose, and recommend solutions to business problems across a range of industries, functions, and organization types. Consulting firms vary in size from huge global organizations that cover a wide range of issues (examples include McKinsey, BCG, Bain, IBM Global Services, and Accenture) to smaller boutique shops that specialize in a particular industry or functional areas. Core skills required in the industry include structured problem solving, analytical skills, structured communication, ability to work in teams, leadership acumen, and overall professional presence.

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Macro trends:

What current news stories are dominating the industry?
The big news stories dominating the Management Consulting industry are all related to the current global economic crisis. The recession is the news story in business in decades and it has produced ripple effects across just about every industry, including Consulting. Some of the stories resulting from the recession's effect on the Consulting industry include:

- Negative impact on client companies in several industries (including automotive, airlines, energy, and retail)

- Consolidation within the Consulting industry as a strategic response to the down economy

- HR moves at Consulting firms in an effort to "right-size" due to potential pull-back by existing and propective clients

What major trends will rive growth in the business over the next 12-24 months?
Some trends that will drive growth in the industry over the next 12-24 months are:

- Consolidation among firms: M&A activities aimed at adding competencies, leveraging shared industry/functional strengths, promoting efficiency in operations.

- Innovation in solving business problems: The current economic crisis is something that hasn't been seen since the Great Depression. Firms that develop innovative solutions will be presented with significant growth opportunities as client work toward an economic recovery.

- Entrepreneurship: Down economies often present the best opportunities for launching one's own business and that will likely happen in the current case. With so many talented professionals having been laid off, many people have turned to independent consulting/contracting as a means to make a living without a corporate paycheck. Chances are that many of these independent consultants will incorporate and form small boutique firms that will add to overall industry growth as the global economy recovers in the next 12-24 months.

What challenges are facing the industry?
Some of the challenges currently facing the industry are:

- The war for talent between Consulting firms and with companies in other industries (investment banking, financial services, technology, etc.)

- Opinion among some existing and prospective clients that Consulting fees are a discretionary, non-core expense that should be reduced or eliminated in the face od a down economy

- Perception issues for Consulting in the greater overall market related to the current economic downturn

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Business Fundamentals

Describe the role of each of the major administrative and operating areas of companies in this industry?
Specific titles vary from firm to firm, but the individual roles are usually as follows:

- Analyst: Entry-level consulting role with candidates usually coming in straight from undergrad; Often a two-year program with Analysts expected to venture off and get some other experience (different job, grad school, etc) before coming back as an Associate; Role involves strategic analyses, participating in team problem solving, client interaction and leadership, and communication of recommendations and analyses

- Associate/Consultant: Candidates often come in after business school or some other graduate program, but there are also cases where Analysts are promoted directly to Associate and others when candidates come in as experienced hires from other industries; Role involves the same sort of tasking as the Analyst, but there's an expectation of greater business knowledge/insight and greater role in client leadership; People usually stay in this role for 2-4 years, depending on the firm

- Manager: At this point, the consultant start driving the problem solving effort and leverages the work of the Analysts and Associates to do so; Role involves high-level problem structuring, resource allocation, process management, direct client leadership, "managing upward", and providing quality control on final deliverables; People usually stay in this role for 2-3 years, depending on the firm

- Associate Partner: Transition role between Manager and Partner where a person begins to add value to multiple teams and/or clients concurrently; At this point, the consultant also takes a greater role in business development and selling work for the firm; By this point, the consultant should have developed an area of functional and/or industry expertise that he/she will leverage as a platform to work toward a promotion to Partner; Consultants usually stay in this role for 2-4 years, depending on the firm

- Partner: The "mountain top" of the consulting industry; Partners work to balance the tasks of maintaining the client relationship at the highest levels, working to sell work at current and prospective clients, and provide value to individual project teams (which are often geographically dispersed); Partners are relied upon for their industry and functional expertise often drive the problem solving effort of on-the-ground team based on their previous experiences in addressing similar client issues

What are the drivers of profitability for companies in this industry?
Consulting is a "people business" and, as such, the majority of each firms cost structure goes toward salaries and benefits for staff. So, on the cost side, the primary drivers of profitability are compensation/benefits expenditures and utilization of consulting staff. Compensation can vary from person to person, but usually stays within a certain range for staff in a given role. The utilization point is a key one because the goal should be to have consultants staffed on projects more often than not so they can generate revenues to account for their individual people costs. That said, consulting firms usually keep a close watch to make sure consultants don't end up with utilizations that are too high, which brings about the risk of burnout.

On the revenue side, companies focus on the number and duration of projects and the pricing of each of those projects. The goal of the Partners (and often the Associate Partners) is to strike a balance between these factors to maximize revenue to be booked while concurrently building a backlog of work that will generate more revenues in the future. Also, an important issue on the revenue side is the length of relationships with clients, which reduces the effort to sell new project work and allows teams to leverage institutional knowledge built up over time.

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Competition:

Who are the major industry participants and what are their strengths & weaknesses?
According to Wikipedia, "Currently, there are four main types of consulting firms:

1. Large, diversified organizations that offer a range of services, including information technology consulting, in addition to a strategy consulting practice (e.g. Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte, IBM). Some very large IT service providers have moved into consultancy as well and are also developing strategy practices (e.g. Wipro, Tata, Infosys)

2. Medium-sized information technology consultancies, that blend boutique style with some of the same services and technologies bigger players offer their clients (e.g. IDS Scheer, arinso).

3. Large management and strategic consulting specialists that offer primarily strategy consulting but are not specialized in any specific industry (e.g. Bain & Company, Booz & Company,McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Oliver Wyman, A.T. Kearney).

4. Boutique firms, often quite small, which have focused areas of consulting expertise in specific industries, functional areas or technologies (e.g. Heidrick & Struggles, Towers Perrin, the Avascent Group, Newton Industrial Consultants, Kaiser Associates) . Most of the boutiques were founded by famous business theorists. Small firms with less than 50 employees are often referred to as niche consultancies (e.g. Agility Works, iProCon HCM). If they have a unique concept and market it successfully, they often grow out of this segment very fast or are bought by larger players interested in their knowhow."

It's difficult to provide strengths and weaknesses of all of the players in the industry because I've only worked at two of the large consulting firms. Also, the determination of strengths and weaknesses for specific firms are rather subjective. When evaluating a firm, a prospective hire should look at several factors that could be indicators of job satisfaction and interest in the role, including company culture, specific area(s) of focus, growth potential and advancement opportunities within the firm, brand in the overall marketplace, and methods used in completing projects.

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Research:

What are the best ways to get smart about this industry (i.e. websites, books, people, exercises)?
Some good ways to get smart about this industry are as follows:

- Review the Management Consulting sections of general business sites, like Vault.com

- Visit sites or read periodicals devoted to the Consulting industry to learn about industry, such as ConsultingMagazine.com and its companion periodical

- Read case interview prep guide books to get an idea of the type of problem solving and issue analysis used at Management Consulting firms (examples include "Case in Point" and "Ace the Case")

- Review corporate websites of a range of consulting firms across specializations and company sizes

- Read books focused on the type of work done in Consulting firms (examples include "The McKinsey Way" and "Perspectives on Strategy From the Boston Consulting Group")

Request from a reader for consulting case interview partners and an interesting article from BusinessWeek

2009-08-06T01:20:00.000-04:00

Wow, I've been able to post entries in three consecutive days...but they've all been short ones and haven't been responses to reader emails. If you're waiting on a response from me, I'll get to you eventually. It's just easier for me to post these quick-shots ones when something pops into my head. I always get back to folks to write to me, even if it takes me a while to do so. This quick-shot entry comes in two parts:(1) a request from one of my readers and (2) an article that I thought my non-U.S. readers interested in B-school might want to check out.

The message below is from a reader who first hit me up with a question about moving into a top-tier consulting firm last year. Now, he's trying to get prepared for the upcoming recruiting season and would like to connect with case interview practice partners in the Washington DC Metro area. I couldn't connect him to anyone directly, but I thought that posting his request up here might generate some interested parties for him. If you're living in the DC area and looking for someone to practice cases with, check out his message below and reach out to him. As I've stated on here before, practice makes perfect when it comes to making one's case game tight.

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MS wrote:

"Dear Marquis:

Thanks for the offer to allow me to post to your weblog. Please post the following:

Looking for Case Study Practice Partners in the DC metro area

I am new to the DC area. I am looking to start practicing cases for the fall recruiting season with the strategy consulting firms. The best way to prepare is to practice lots of cases with similarly interested people. I have a ton of case materials but I need practice partners. If anyone is interested in joining a case study group that I am forming or knows of a group in the DC area that I can join, please contact me at ms0077@gmail.com. Thanks!

MS"
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Before I go, I want to leave you guys with an interesting article that I found on BusinessWeek.com earlier this week. It describes how U.S. business schools are seeing their enrollments of international students decline due to visa issues, financial hardship, and sometimes through deliberate strategic actions. Pretty interesting stuff when you consider that international enrollments had been steadily increasing for the past five-plus years. Because so many of my readers are from outside of the United States, I thought the article would be especially relevant to some of you. The following is some summary information about it:

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"U.S. Business Schools: Why Foreign MBAs Are Disappearing"
Author: Alison Damast
Source: BusinessWeek.com (LINK TO ARTICLE)

Introductory excerpt from article:

"Over the past five years, admissions officers at business schools across the country watched gleefully as the number of international applicants applying to MBA programs grew exponentially, fueled largely by rapid growth from India and China.

This year that trend has collapsed. International applications were down at business schools across the country, challenging admissions officers to meet diversity goals and posing questions for the future. "
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Throwback entry: MBA graduates sharing insights from their B-school experiences

2009-08-05T00:10:00.001-04:00

Hey there, peoples. In this entry, I'm going to hit you guys with something a bit random, but it'll make sense to those who might find it helpful.

My long-time readers might remember that I was interviewed for a podcast for a site called MBAPodcaster.com a couple of years ago and was asked to talk about my business school experiences, much like I've been doing on this blog. Well, I was recently contacted again by MBAPodcaster.com with a link to that podcast and I thought I'd post it on here for my newer readers. The audio and transcript of the podcast can be found at THIS LINK. Since the original release of the podcast back in late 2006, I've had several people roll up to me and say "I listened to you at MBAPodcaster.com and loved it"...I try not to react when I hear those statements, but I always end up with a big ol' smile like " :-D "

Anyways, I'm far from a self-promoter, but I thought this entry might be useful to some of you out there who will soon be starting your MBA journey and others who will be starting the application process. The interviewees all discussed issues around the every day ins and outs of being in business school and the road to graduation and beyond. The audio runs for 25 minutes, so, if you don't have time to listen to it, you can read the transcript of the podcast on the same page. Enjoy!

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VB wrote:

"Hello Marquis,

I’m passing along this link to our interview with you from the show entitled, Words of Advice From Current Grads.

You sounded great in the show and provided some extremely valuable information for our listeners. In fact, that show has been downloaded tens of thousands of times already! In addition, our Web site where this podcast is posted receives approximately 60K unique visitors each month. Feel free to share this link on any of your social networking sites if you would like.

Here is the link:

http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/WordsofAdvice.asp?iEpisode=38

Thanks again for being a great interviewee,

VB

Marketing Manager

MBA Podcaster

www.mbapodcaster.com "

Passing along the link to a new JD/MBA-focused student blog

2009-08-04T11:04:00.000-04:00

What's going on, everyone. This is going to be a really short entry for me to tell you about an interesting new blog that I stumbled upon recently. This new blog is from a Stanford alum (gotta show love for my fellow Stanford folks) named Jeremy W. who will be starting the JD/MBA program at Northwestern University in the Fall. The link to his blog can be found at THIS LINK. Jeremy emailed me recently to tell me about his site (his email is below) and, since then, I've been checking out his posts...he's getting off to a really good start covering topics like the JD/MBA application process, job interviewing, admissions, and Management Leadership for Tomorrow. He offers a different perspective than I could because I know nothing about the JD side of things. If you get a chance, it might be worth taking a few minutes to see what he's go going at his site...

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Jeremy wrote:

"Hey Marquis-- I'm Jeremy, and I went to Stanford for undergrad.

Just writing to say congrats on such a great blog. You've definitely a resource for a lot of people. Because b-school blogs can definitely be helpful, and because I saw how far yours has come since inception, I actually decided to start a blog myself. I plan to talk about my experience at Kellogg and the JD-MBA program there. While I don't have much about my personal application process, I do plan to have a lot of info from here on out. Hopefully, I'll have half the success that your has. We'll see how it works out. Congrats again man.

My JD-MBA blog
http://jeremywilson-jdmba.blogspot.com/

Warm regards,
Jeremy"

Suggestion for the site from a reader to introduce a donationware system

2009-07-26T23:08:00.003-04:00

What's going on, everyone. I'd like to start this entry by passing along an interesting article that was posted on BusinessWeek.com a couple of weeks ago. The article is called
'How to Write an MBA Admissions Essay' and the author breaks down the steps to compose a good B-school essay. When I first read the article, I found it to be pretty basic and didn't think it would be useful to post up here. Then, I read it a second time a couple of weeks later and thought back to myself six years ago when I was approaching the MBA application process. Back then, I didn't know ANYTHING and an article like this would have been a godsend. So, if you're about to start the MBA application process, you might want to take a few minutes to read the article. At a time like this, one can use all of the information he/she can get when preparing to take the MBA plunge.

The email below is from a reader who has a very interesting idea for me to introduce to this blog. I won't summarize it here...I'll just let you guys read it and then see my response below. I really like when my readers help me think through how to improve the site :-)

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CL wrote:

"Hello Marquis,

hope your all good. I've been a follower of your blog for a while now. Thanks for the fantastic job.

I am a french MSc in information systems grad currently in a MBus in Finance in Sydney. After a stint as a programmer in Zurich at a FoHF I am hoping to integrate a "Top 10" MBA in Fall '10 to transition to a social/hybrid role.

I was reading "Whatever It Takes" that relates Geoffrey's Canada fantastic job with the Harlem Childrens Zone, and just had an idea.

Obviously u have lots of people asking u questions (lots of demand) - have u ever thought of putting a "donationware" system in place? Say people could make a $20 donation to a charity of their choice to ask a question, $100 for an admission review...

Just a thought, most probably u have had such an idea already!

Cheers and keep up the fantastic work.

CL"
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My response:

CL,

Thanks for checking out my blog and taking the time to reach out to me. Also, thanks for passing along your idea of setting up a "donationware" system for my blog. I know that you said it was "just a thought", but I found it to be a fantastic one so I wanted to give you a thorough response. I'm sorry that it has taken me a while to send you a response, but better late than never, right?

Over the years, I've had many friends tell me that that I need to find a way to monetize my blog, so the idea of charging a fee to answer user questions is something that I've thought about before. But, so far, I haven't been able to bring myself to make it happen. In particular, while your idea is a good one, there are some issues that might make it tough for me to implement:

- If funds are going to be generated by me responding to people's emails, I'd want to at least get a little piece of a sliver or a slice of a cut of those funds. Yeah, I know that might sound selfish, but, at least, it's honest :-D But then, I'd feel like I'd have to get a response to people within a couple of days of their emails coming into my Inbox. As you now know, it can sometimes take me months to get back to people, so that could be a major issue once people are paying me for my insights. Since I do it for free now, I feel like I could take as much time as I want/need to get back to folks because I'm basically gifting my wisdom to them...that would change if I were to make them pay to ask me a question.

- I originally started this blog to help people and I think that's what helps me connect with my audience well. I wonder if requiring people to donate/pay $20 per request for advice might make it more difficult to see me as the "Marquis" that they all know and love, as opposed to a random guy trying to make some extra money. I probably shouldn't care so much about how I'm seen through that blog, but, after so many years, the site has strangely become a part of my personal brand.

- There's no way I'd ever have enough time to do full admissions reviews for people and still be able to work my day-job. When I've done it for my friends before, it's taken many hours and the sheer volume of requests I might get from readers could overwhelm me. It's a shame there aren't 40 hours in a single day because I'm pretty daggone good at reviewing applications and could probably make some major loot from doing them as a side hustle :-)

- Most importantly, I fear that requiring people to make a $20 donation to a charity might shut out certain segments of my reader-base. I receive emails from all over the world, including certain countries where US$20 is a LOT of money. These folks often have MBA aspirations and have to save up for a while to even afford to apply to their target B-schools. Lots of questions come from these folks and I wonder whether these folks could afford to make that $20 donation to get my advice. Also, from my perspective, I'd probably feel a lot of pressure to give the "right answer" to someone who had to struggle financially to make a charitable donation. Whew, this is probably the toughest part of this idea for me...

One of these days, I might switch things up, but, for right now, I'm going to stick with the status quo to help as many people. Thanks again for your suggestion though and please know that I'm SERIOUSLY considering something like you mentioned. If I do end up implementing it, I'll be sure to give you a shout out for it ;-)

Good luck on your upcoming MBA application process. I don't know how many of my old entries you've read, but I'm pretty sure there might be a few nuggets of wisdom in my archives that could help you as you're shaping your applications. Take care and have a nice day.

Marquis

Reader seeking advice on preparing for a Stanford GSB admissions interview

2009-07-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

What's good, y'all. I hope you're all enjoying your Saturday so far. This weekend, I've got family in town visiting me and I'm looking forward to a couple of days of foolishness and laughs. Unfortunately, I was too busy with work this week to plan anything out, but one of the great things about Chicago is that there's a lot to do during the summer weekends. So, I'm just going to wing it and hope they have a good time with whatever I can come up with.

The email below is the kind that pains me to receive because it's from someone in need of my advice who had a time constraint. I received this email at the beginning of May and, at the time, the reader had just been invited to do an admissions interview with Stanford GSB. The GSB invites few people to interview, so this was kind of a big deal for this kid. He wrote to me seeking advice on how to prepare for this interview, but, unfortunately, he was so far down in my Inbox queue that I'm just now getting a chance to respond to him. In his email, he understood that I probably wouldn't be able to get to him in time, but he wanted me to type something up anyway on the off chance that it might help one of my other readers out...I like when people look out for other folks in their requests to me :-) After sending my response to him, I was pleasantly surprised to hear back that he was actually admitted to the GSB and will be starting classes in September...guess he didn't really need my advice after all :-)

Before I go, I want to give a shout out to the founder and 2009 participants in the MBA Jumpstart program. MBA Jumpstart is a three-day event that exposes incoming MBA1 students to Consulting and Finance careers to give them a foundation upon which to build their job search strategies. The following is some text about the program from its website:

"MBA JumpStart is a targeted, prematriculation forum through which consulting and financial services firms can identify, educate and recruit diverse talent at top-tier MBA programs. MBA JumpStart was created to address the lack of diversity and under representation of minorities and women in the consulting and financial services industries. The program strives to bridge the gap between diverse talent entering top business schools and firms actively seeking to increase representation."

I've written about the program on here before, but I'm giving them a special shout out now because this year's session took place this past weekend and I participated on a couple of their panels. I met many of the attendees and they were a great group of kids. Desipte the down economy, the soon-to-be students were incredibly optimistic about their job prospects and looking forward to diving into the Consulting/Finance job search process. Plus, they were a fun group and I had a great last night out at the club with them before they all left the city. I wish all of them the best of luck as they start their first-year courses in a few weeks...I'm really jealous of the experience they're about to begin. The founders of MBA Jumpstart are doing a HUGE thing for incoming MBA students by exposing them to Consulting and Finance insights, experiences, and professionals and I hope to have a chance to participate in it again in the future.

-------
SS wrote:

"Dear Marquis

I was googling today and found your blog. I am really thrilled that i have found such a resource. Thanks man... I have applied to Stanford MBA in the third round for the Fall 2009 session. I have just got the invitation for an interview from Stanford. I am excited as well as terrified. How should I prepare myself? I was searching through your blog for any advice that you have given related to this issue as i didn't want to bother you with my query as you are a very busy person. But I could not find any. I know that with the large que of mails, probably by the time you will get to it....i would have faced my D-Day.....nonetheless, i can always take my chance, can't I? Thanks in advance.....

SS

P.S. - please extend your advice about the interview to all....if not for me, it can be helpful for some fellow friends like me......"

-------
My response:

SS,

I hope this message finds you doing well. Thanks for thinking of me as a resource for your question about how to prepare for your Stanford GSB admissions interview. I know it's been a couple of months since you first emailed me, but, due to my backlog of messages, I'm just now getting to your email. I'm sorry about the delay in responding to you, but, from the sound of your email, I get the sense that you would understand the reasons for this delay. I know that this message is likely arriving too late to be of any help to you, but, as you said in the P.S. of your email, this response could be helpful to others, so I decided to write it anyway.

If I'd been able to send you a response back in May when you originally sent your message, I would have given you the following advice:

- Get to know the GSB as well as you can: By now, you should know the GSB well from the research done to prepare for filling out your application. Now, you should redo this research in hopes of reinforcing your existing knowledge and, hopefully, finding out new things. You'd want your interviewer to KNOW that you want to be a student at the GSB and the best way to demonstrate that is to show that you know the school. I won't go into details about how to do this research, but I'll just say that this should be the first step of your interview prep.

- Re-read your application and be consistent with your MBA story: I don't know if the GSB alumni interviewer will have access to your application essays, but I'd still recommend that you refresh your memory about the MBA positioning used in your application. You'll want to make sure that your story is consistent between what you wrote and submitted to the school and what you say in your responses to the interviewer's questions. The last thing you want is for the interviewer to mention something in his/her report back to the Admissions office that conflicts with something from your application. At this point, you've done so much to establish yourself as a candidate with a certain background story, so the last thing you'd want is to undo it by not having that background story tight enough all the way through the process.

- Generate a set of stories about your successes and failures: I might be wrong, but I'd guess that just about any B-school interviewer would ask you to give some examples of times that you've been successful and others when you've failed. And, if the interviewer is about his/her business, then he/she will ask you lots of probing questions to find out more about each of the stories. It's imperative that you develop a good list of stories to use. These stories should be 100% true and you should know those stories inside-and-out because you don't want to get tripped up by one of those probing questions. I'd recommend developing a template for each of the stories that would include a high-level headline for the story, a list of the key role players, a bulleted list of the story details, and some ideas about what you would have done differently. Fill out the template for each of your stories and you'll be in great shape.

- Be yourself and try to be as relaxed as possible during the interview: This is probably the most important of the advice I'll give about the interview, but it's also the most difficult because of the pressure you'll probably feel. The last thing you'd want is to sabotage yourself and drive your interview performance into the ground. If you'd like an example of how letting your nerves and make you crash and burn during an interview, check out my entry describing my HBS interview back in 2003 (http://marquisweblog.blogspot.com/2003/12/my-harvard-business-school-interview.html). It's hilarious as I look back on it all these years later, but it's still a cautionary tale about how badly one can perform if his/her head isn't in the game.

Since you've already completed your interview, I hope you used some of the above tactics to prepare for it. Again, I apologize for taking so long to respond to your message. I hope everything worked out for you to gain admissions to the GSB. If not, I wish you the best of luck on whatever your next steps end up being. Take care.

Marquis

Message from a younger MBA aspirant planning to apply with no work experience

2009-07-12T23:37:00.000-04:00

Hey there, everyone. I hope you've all had a nice weekend and are ready to tackle another week on the grind at work. Some of you may have noticed that my frequency of posting entries has slowed in recent weeks. I apologize for that, but I guess that's what happens when work gets busy and the summer starts getting fun. I'm going to try to ramp up my posting going forward because my Inbox is filling up, but we'll see how that goes as the summertime activities keep me busy. Gotta love having time for a real life, huh? :-)

The message below is from an MBA aspirant who is planning to apply to business school with no work experience. As I've written on here before, this is no small feat, but it isn't an impossible task. It just takes a well-thought out approach and a killer application. I've written several entries on this topic before, so I refer the reader to my archives. I hope the combination between my response below and my responses to others is helpful to this applicant.

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KP wrote:

"Hello Marquis,

I just started reading your blog. It’s very interesting. Hey, can you please help me to solve few of my confusions or questions? I am just 23 now. I graduated with a Bachelor in Pharmacy from India. Currently, I am in a 2nd year of PhD in Pharmacology in USA.
I want to go for an MBA from a good university. However, I have no work experience or business background. So do you think that I have no chances of getting into top MBA school in United States even though I get a very good score in GMAT? How tough would it be for me to get into Stanford GSB? I can get a very high score in GMAT. That’s what is in my hand. Other than that, I can produce any work experience.

I would appreciate your reply on this email.

Thanks
KP"

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My response:

KP,

I hope this message finds you doing well. I'm glad that you found my blog and see me as a resource for your questions. I won't call myself an expert, but I hope that my words help to clear things up for you as you approach your MBA application process. It looks like you've got two questions, so I'll address them in order.

First, it sounds like you're wondering whether you have no chances at gaining admission to a top MBA program in the US with your profile. Nothing that you've shared in your email would make me think that you have "no chance" at admission, but it'll be a challenge because you'd be a young applicant with no work experience. But, just because it's a challenge, it doesn't that you CAN'T get into a good US school. You'll just have to do your part to find the right school for yourself and put together as strong an application as possible. Getting a very high GMAT score would certainly improve your chances of admission into a top program, but don't underestimate the challenge presented by that test. It is no small roadblock to make it through that test, but, if you can perform well on it, you'll be able to present a much stronger case to gain admission. As I've mentioned before on my blog, I believe the most important part of the MBA application is the candidate's position (i.e. the MBA story). In your case, you'll have to convince the admissions teams that it makes sense for you to pursue an MBA following your PhD in Pharmacology. I'm guessing that this sort of transition makes sense in your own mind, but you'll have to figure out a way to articulate that story and have it be believable. Check out the archived entries on my blog for advice on developing your MBA positioning. I'd recommend that you focus on this part of your profile for the immediate future until you're sure that MBA story is as tight as possible.

Your last question was about how tough it would be to get into Stanford GSB and my short answer is that it would be VERY tough...but that's not because of your application profile. Frankly, it would be difficult for anyone to get into the GSB because of its small class size and low acceptance rate. With that said, it will be even harder for you due to your lack of work professional experience. You would have to make a hell of a case for why you should be accepted over other applicants who may have as much as 5-10 years of work experience backing them up. This is a common concern for younger applicants and you should be mindful of it for every school you're targeting. I've written several blog entries offering advice for yonger applicants in the past, so I'd suggest reading through my archives to see if you can pull any insights from them.

Good luck on your MBA applications. As I mentioned above, Stanford GSB is an incredibly difficult school to get into, so set your expectations correctly going in...I truly do wish you luck on that GSB application though. Take care.

Marquis

Prospective MPP/MBA student with doubts about her chances

2009-07-02T21:38:00.001-04:00

What's going on, people. By now, I hope those of you in the U.S. are getting ready for a nice 4th of July weekend. You've gotta love three-day weekends, especially in the middle of the summer. Many of you are probably planning on traveling this weekend, so I'd like to encourage all of you to be careful while you're on the road. With all the stuff going in the world right now, one can never be too careful, especially when he/she is away from home.

The email below is one of the more unusual ones that I've seen in the years of answering questions. At a high level, the reader would like to gain admission to a good MBA/MPP program and is looking for my advice...but that's not anything unusual. And, she has questions about whether her profile is strong enough to get into a strong program...but that's not unusual either. The unusual part is how down on her chances she sounds. I hope I'm not out of line by saying it, but, when I read her email, it seemed like she was defeating herself before she ever even applied. I can only remember one other reader with this kind of outlook and my response turned into an intervention of sorts...I hope my response has the same sort of effect in this case because it feels like something big has to change here.

------
OO wrote:

"Dear Marquis,

I saw your blog and wanted to get some feedback on my current quandary. As the title suggest, I am looking to gain acceptance to a joint degree graduate program in Public Policy and MBA with a focus in International Development. It seems that there are very few programs that offer this joint degree. The schools that do offer this degree are generally very competitive… such as UCLA and Stanford. I honestly don’t think will be able to get into those types of schools. I had a 3.0 GPA in undergrad and worked a number of entry level jobs since then. Over the past three years, I haven’t been with a company for very long. The one bright side is that I’m currently traveling Africa at the moment. My internship in South Africa wasn’t the stuff to write home about. But I will be traveling to Nigeria later in the year and hope to have a more meaningful internship there. I am certain that I want to go graduate school next year and have settle on trying to put a good application in for an MPP program.After completing the MPP, I’ll go on to apply for an MBA. That’s the hope. But I’m not sure what kind of schools will admit me. My resume is attached to this email. Please pass along your thoughts.

All the best,
OO

PS: I am planning to take the GRE in the next month or so. But I fear that my nerves will get the best of me. Hopefully, that' wont' be the case"

------
My response:

OO,

I hope this message finds you well. I know it's been a while since you emailed me, but I'm sure you can understand how difficult it is to get through the volume of emails that I receive from my readers. I hope this response is arriving in time to be helpful to you. If I'm remembering correctly, the grad schools won't release their new applications for another a month or two, so this might be the perfect time for you be getting this email. Let's see if I can sprinkle some knowledge and have some clarity about your situation sprout up out of the ground :-)

I don't know how long you've been reading my blog (or if you'd read any past entries at all), but one rule that I've mentioned several times is that I don't do resume reviews for readers. I used to do it, but it simply took too long to give the resumes a good read, think through how to improve them, and provide feedback on the contents. That said, I took a QUICK look at yours to get an idea of what you meant when you said "I haven't been with a company very long"...and you certainly weren't lying about that. After reading your resume, I was left thinking "why has she bounced around to six employers in four yearsw since undergrad???"...Mind you, I don't see that as necessarily being a killer for your chances, but it's something you'll have to address in your MPP and MBA applications. If there's a reason for your many career moves, make sure the admissions people understand it. Also, it seems like you're selling yourself short on your educational background. You went to a strong undergrad and had some international study experience, which are both things that many applicants don't have working for them. By the way, you should round that 3.06 GPA up to a 3.1, not down to a 3.0. It's only a 0.1 difference, but it could make a world of difference in how you see your own applicant profile. Your GPA and work experience are already set in stone and can't be changed, but you can certainly change the way that you frame them in your own mind and I suggest that you do just that. As for your plan to apply to MPP programs first and then the MBA once enrolled, I like it and that's actually what I would have recommended for you to do, given your background. You've worked for a series of organizations upon which you should be able to build a good MPP application story. From there, you could build an MBA story and you'd be off to the races.

Before closing out this email, I want to bring something to your attention that has me a little concerned. As I read your email, I read your message, I couldn't help but think that you were defeating yourself before you ever went into battle. I can understand trying to do some level-setting early on, but your message literally screamed out to me saying "I don't think I'm a good candidate, but I'm hoping for a miracle"...It'll be pretty difficult for you to convince a business school that they should admit you if you don't believe it yourself. Don't feel bad though because you're definitely not the first MBA aspirant to feel this way. In fact, I've had several kids hit me up with a similar mindset. One of them in particular sticks out in my mind because he sounded so without hope in his email. So, I sent him an email with some motivation truth and wisdom in it and he ended up doing very well in the application process once he'd gotten his mind right. Instead of recreating that same advice in this message, I'll just give you the link to that entry and advise you to read it and think about my words to him --> "I wanna break free" - the story of pigeonholed techie. You CAN do this, but that won't be possible unless you switch up your mindset...and I'm serious about that!

By now, you've probably taken the GRE and I hope your score helped your confidence going into the application process. Remember, believing that you can gain admission to a B-school is the job #1 when applying. It all starts with KNOWING that you can do it. If you go in assuming that you won't be successful, then you might as well not apply. Spend some time thinking about your MBA story and which qualities might make you a strong and unique candidate and then go out there and make it happen. It's all about your own mindset...and don't forget it! Take care and good luck with the upcoming application season.

Marquis

Interesting initiative to promote education for poor children in New Delhi

2009-07-01T10:54:00.002-04:00

Hey there, folk. This is a quick entry to pass along a link to an initiative that caught my eye. Recently, one of my readers emailed me to inform me about a project being launched in New Delhi, India (one of the cities that I visited back in February). According to the project homepage, the JAAGRITI project is "an initiative to impart basic education and bring about a productive change in the lives of poor and underprivileged children in Dwarka, New Delhi (INDIA)."

I know that I've got a large contingent of readers from India, so I thought those folks would be especially interested in the project and its blog. Also, as someone interested in education, the goals of the initiative really spoke to me. The email below came from the founder of the JAAGRITI project and contains the link to the associated blog site. Check it out if you're interested...

-----
AG wrote:

"Hi Marquis

I must say you are really doing a great work by helping prospective MBA students. Kudos to you !!

I would like to you to visit my JAAGRITI project blog:

http://jaagriti-india.blogspot.com

I am sure it will interest you a lot.

Have a great time.

Thanks and Regards
AG"

Goodbye to a legend -- RIP Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

2009-06-25T21:59:00.003-04:00

By now, I'm sure all of you have heard about the passing of The King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I was completely SHOCKED when I heard the news this afternoon and I've been watching new coverage about it ever since. At first, I didn't want to believe it because CNN was reporting that he was only in a coma and not dead. But, then the LA Times reported that he'd died and all of the other news services reported the same thing. I'm still stunned by the news and haven't been able to look away from the news coverage for hours.

As a tribute to MJ, I've decided to post a couple of my favorite YouTube clips of his performances. I know that this post isn't related to business school, consulting, careers, or any of the other things that I usually write about and it's probably pretty daggone unprofessional too...but, it's my site, so I'm going to give that man a shout out if I want to :-)

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This first clip is of the Jackson 5 performing "Maybe Tomorrow", which is my all-time favorite song by the group. There's something about the words of the song combined with Little Michael's voice that has always made this song a winner in my book. Also, this is how I like to best remember MJ because it was before all of the stories, rumors, and other events that affected the way people saw him later in his life. He was just an innocent kid singing along with his brothers and making people happy.

--------

This next clip is from a show during his HIStory tour, where he performed a medley of songs from his "Off the Wall" album. Anyone who has seen MJ perform on stage knows that he's one of the GREATEST performers ever. I especially love this clip because "Off the Wall" is one of my top-five favorite albums of all time. Enjoy!

--------

Whew! Maaaaaaaaan, I'm sitting here right now in shock watching the MTV tribute to Michael Jackson and still can't believe that he's gone. I have so many memories from my childhood of enjoying his music that I actually felt like I knew him. I can still remember doing the moonwalk and owning one of those Michael Jackson "Beat It" dolls as a little kid. I'd like to send him a big shout out for creating music that was such a big part of so many people's lives, including my own. I know that many people will call him a weirdo, a drug addict, a molester, or any other number of terrible things, but, even if they think that, they can't deny that the man was a musical genius.

My mother has always said that MJ was just a sad person trying to find happiness...I hope he can finally find some peace now that he's moved on to a better place. See you at the crossroads, Mike...Rest in peace.

Moving from IT Consulting into Strategy

2009-06-21T23:03:00.003-04:00

Hey, peoples. I hope you all had a nice and relaxing weekend. I'd also like to send a Happy Father's Day shout-out to all of the dads out there. Ever since hearing President Obama's comments about fatherhood on Friday, I've been thinking a lot about the topic, particularly as it relates to pursuing a high-flying career. I won't dive too much into my thoughts on it because I've written a LOT about work-life balance over the past few weeks. But, I do hope that all of you hard-charging career-focused dads out there are setting aside time to spend with your kids. I know it's important to have a great career and you've all worked hard for that, but there's no more important job out there than being a father, especially if the kid(s) is(are) really young...but y'all already know that, right?

Now, lemme step off of my soapbox and into this entry...The message below is from a recent college graduate who will soon be starting a job as an IT consultant with Accenture. He was looking for advice on how to transition from this sort of position to a strategy role. In the current economy, making any sort of transition is going to be tough, but it would be possible if he's looking at a longer runway for the change. I put together a few ideas for him below, so I hope he finds them helpful.

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T wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I dig the blog! I'm cool with you posting this on the blog so that it might help others - just anonymize it, of course :-)

I found you from Management Consulted. I was hoping you could offer your perspective on what a fresh undergrad going into Accenture should do to best position themselves for an MBB-type position in the next couple of years? My resume is pretty typical of a consulting-geared type; strong GPA, internships, and extracurriculars.

I've read a lot about Accenture pigeon-holing you into an IT consultant. And while I do really like IT, I think strategy is where I want to be. I don't know if it'll help, but some added info is that I did interview at two of MBB for full-time this past fall; but recruiting numbers were just really tough. I'm based in Canada, and from what I've heard, each of the 2 MBB firms that I interviewed with took on only about 2-3 full-time undergrads this past fall. And that was for all of Canada.

I've looked around and took away that I should be networking with alums (friends, school's career centre). What are your thoughts other than that? Is an MBA a necessity?

Cheers! Thanks for all the advice.

T"
-----
My response:

T,

Thanks for checking out my blog and seeing me as a resource to answer your questions. I'm sorry that it's taken me a while to respond, but I'm sure you can understand the volume of emails that I receive. Before diving into your question, I'd like to congratulate you on finishing up your college journey and for winning a job with a great organization like Accenture coming out of school. I deliberately used the term "winning" because it has really been a huge competition to graduate college with a job this year. You've won big and I hope you're proud of this accomplishment. That said, it's good that you're thinking ahead to the next step in your career and I hope my words can be helpful to you.

Your primary question was about how you could best position yourself for a gig at an MBB firm in the next few years. My first recommendation would have been to network with current staff from those firms to get an in, but you've already been given that advice before. Aside from this, you could try to gear your staffing assignments toward a particular industry/function to build a strong understanding of IT systems and associated issues in that area. This could give you an industry/functional expertise angle if you were to apply as an experienced hire candidate. Also, you could try to get involved in some research efforts within ACN to get your name listed on whitepapers or other research pieces. This is another approach to the industry expertise angle and it may be a bit of a longshot at the early-career level, but I've heard stories of it working for people at more senior levels. In addition to these actions, you could also try to make an internal transition from the IT consulting group into the Strategy group. I did my summer MBA internship in ACN's Strategy Practice and found the business-focused strategy work to be a great challenge. This sort of internal transfer could be a much more straightforward way to start doing strategy work than trying to move over to a different firm...you might want to look into this more once you start your job in the Fall.

Your last question was about whether an MBA is a necessity to make this sort of move. I've heard of some folks making the transition over to your target firms as experienced hires without an MBA, so, technically, the answer to your question is "no". But, I don't know how often this sort of transition happens and I believe that earning an MBA would make it MUCH easier to move into the type of role/firm that you seek. As I've mentioned in past blog entries, B-school is basically a big two-year long "RESTART" button for one's career, but it can also serve as a "career power-booster", as well. In your case, the MBA would play the latter role. You'd be going into business school with IT consulting experience, which, while not a direct match to strategy consulting, shows that you have experience with the clients, working in teams, and handling the lifestyle of the job. Also, I've found that folks with backgrounds like the one you'll develop before business did well during consulting case interviews and were fantastic at the fit interviews. Plus, I'm a big fan of B-school as a place to build one's self into a well-rounded business professional, which is never a bad thing. So, in short, you don't NEED an MBA, but it certainly wouldn't hurt for you to have one.

Take care and congratulations on your college graduation. This is a huge step and the start of what could become a limitless career. Just focus on doing well at Accenture and everything else should fall into place for you.

Marquis

Message from a reader describing her comeback from "rejection" and pursuit of work-life balance

2009-06-15T23:15:00.001-04:00

What's going on, y'all. I'm writing this entry with a big smile on my face because today was the second warm day in a row here in Chicago. That may be a weird thing to be happy about, but y'all weren't here on those days when the temperature was in the -20's a few months ago. Walking outside and not needing a coat here is amazing. I know that it'll probably get ridiculously hot soon, but I'm loving the few days of Springtime weather that we'll see in 2009. Even better, the folks outside just looked happier now that the sun has started shining brightly. Now, I can understand why the folks here rave about the months of June, July, and August and this probably won't be the last time you guys see me raving about it too :-)

OK, on to the rest of the entry...the message below is from a reader who found my blog recently and reached out to me to let me know about its impact. I'm posting this reader's email because of her story of "rejection" and making a fantastic recovery from it. She shares her own story from school through early career into her impending matriculation at a top business school and also includes some notes about her desire for work-life balance as she continues her career, which really jumped out at me. Although she didn't ask any questions for me to answer, I thought her email might serve as an inspiration to some of you out there. And, when I raised the idea of posting it to her, she was cool with it, so here we go. I hope her message inspires some of you as much as it inspired me. Also, don't forget to check out the two quotes she included at the end of her message.

By the way, I REALLY liked reading this email because the reader used a couple of the phrases that I regularly drop into my entries. After hearing over and over how unprofessional I sound on here at times, I couldn't help but smile when seeing the reference to "bringin' the thunder"...bet you won't find to many other B-school related blogs with that kind of lingo, huh? hahahaha! Gotta love it!

---
BC wrote:

"Dear Marquis,

First off, I want to say thank you. I discovered your blog only days ago, but I have already read 99% of it, and it has been an amazing read. Insightful, humorous, and chockfull information I only WISH I knew about back when I was applying to business school.

Second, don’t worry, this is not a “question email,” I know better than to badger a busy man. :) You’ve given such great advice to a lot of people, some who quite frankly don’t seem to deserve it ;) - you’re a better man than I.

Rather, this is a private response to your recent musings on the work-life balance. I wanted to give you congratulations on your [latest position], for seeming to find your equilibrium, even if it meant moving to the cold-azz city of Chicago to do it. You’ll notice from my email that I too, am moving to [Chicago], and as a Los Angeles native, I already foresee the pain I will be in in a few months.

To give you a bit on my background, I graduated university with my BS in Business Admin when I was 16 with big ambitions, much like you mentioned, of being a “baller,” making heaps of money and taking care of my family and those that are needy. As the typical ultra-competitive Type-A “must have it all and now,” I applied to both Harvard (this was back in 2002, before the 2+2 came out) and Stanford b-schools, and got rejected flat out. I do have to mention, that GSB was kind enough to give me an interview, before the rejection. :P It was discouraging to say the least, but I set out to gain the most work experience possible and make myself an attractive candidate, and somehow, along the way of these 7 years, my ideas of “success” have changed significantly.

Even more so than the valuable corporate experience I’ve gained, I feel like I’ve matured and the way I view the whole world has changed. Before, I would have been pitching a fit that I didn’t get into Harvard or Stanford, but now, I see that some things aren’t meant to be, and maybe, just maybe, for somebody like me, the awkward “child prodigy” with the quantitative analysis down pat, I can gain more from Kellogg’s teamwork and collaboration focus. I’ve been living in China for the last 2 years, working as the operations manager of an MNC startup subsidiary, and let me tell you, my eyes have been opened up to the disparity that exists in our world. Sometimes, I feel so grateful for what I have already, it feels like anything else I can accomplish is just gravy.

I guess my point is this, that as a “child prodigy,” (somebody else’s label, not mine) I always thought my future was carved in stone, that I MUST be a millionaire by the time I’m 30, MUST be a CEO, MUST be jetsetting, well-traveled, speak 7 languages, etc etc... And really, I now realize, that I don’t have to do any of it. I can be happy anywhere, as long as I know I’m utilizing my potential, and making a difference. Furthermore, I don’t want to do any of it, if it means sacrificing my health, or my sense of myself. Of course, it would still be nice if I was a millionaire (I’ve got a few more years, gotta make them count!) but somehow it’s no longer as important because I know now I can make enough money to support myself, and buy me the things that make me happy... Really what more would I need, and what would I do with it, except give it away? Yes, I would one day like to set up a competitive school for bright, impoverished children, and yes, I will need a good deal of funds to do that, but I will never be able to reach my goals if I get an ulcer or god forbid a heart attack from the stress of my job, and furthermore, I would be doing my mother a disservice after her hard work raising me.

Anyway, I know I’ve still got to get through business school, and if I’m lucky, maybe a good “finishing school,” job where I know the times will be rough, but ultimately, I hope to be in a position similar to yours. So just know you’re a role model for just one more person (out of the thousands who email you), and because of your story, I am even more inspired to make the most out of and enjoy every minute of my journey.

Sorry it turned out to be such a long email, but you touched on such a good point and overall you’ve told such a great story that I felt compelled to reach out. Thanks again, and best wishes. Maybe I might run into you some day in Chicago. :) I’d like that.

Regards,
BC

PS. If on the off chance you choose to “reprint” this email, please keep me & my blog anonymous. Many thanks.
PPS. There will be ups and downs for all of us, just remember that the quest for balance is an ongoing one and sometimes there are no right & wrong answers. Just gotta roll with the punches. My 2 favorite quotes: 1) The best way to predict the future is to create it. 2) “I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.”
PPPS. I’d also like to thank you for introducing me to what is now one of my favorite phrases ever, “bringin’ the thunder.” Please continue to keep bringing it. :D "

Gotta love getting shout-outs from my readers...

2009-06-15T00:36:00.000-04:00

OK, I know that some of you are going to roll your eyes when you see this, but it made me smile so I'm going to post it...Gotta love getting nice shout-outs every now and then :-) This isn't the first one of these I've ever received and I don't post most of them, but this one caught me at the right time, so here it is...

------
PS wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

My name is PS. I just wanted to share my thoughts about your blog. I started reading your blog in 2007 because you are from GSB. As I started reading for months, I realized that GSB tag is so minute. There is something amazing and great about you. Sometimes, your blog is source of hope for me and many others. It reinforces my belief that the world is still alive and kicking because there must be good people.

Best Wishes,
PS"

------
My response:

PS,

Thank you SO MUCH for sending this email. I know that I'm responding to you well after you sent it, but I'm sure you can imagine how many emails I get. I spend a lot of time responding to reader emails and seldom get as much as a "thank you", so it always makes me smile to receive messages like this from people who simply email me to let me know that my efforts are appreciated. Thanks again for reaching out to me.

Marquis

Balancing family life and the choice of a career path

2009-06-14T17:42:00.000-04:00

Hey there, everyone. I hope you're all having a great Sunday and are getting some decent rest in before starting another week of work. As for myself, I'm on my way out to check out the Chicago Ribfest to likely eat waaaaay too much and do some major damage to my swole. I'm going to have to hit the gym pretty hard tomorrow to make up for this afternoon. So far, the month of June has been pretty cold and rainy in Chicago, so it's nice that we have a day in the 70's and folks are outside in droves. It's like someone flipped a switch and told people to come outside to kick it. Maybe I'll start seeing some of the great Chicago summer that makes people rave about it.

The message below came in response to my "Never get too busy making a living that you forget to make a life" entry from a month and a half ago. I received very warm several emails and comments about that entry, but this is one really jumped out at me for reasons that you'll understand shortly. I'd rather let you read his words yourself than to give a long lead-in to his message, so, without further delay, here it goes...

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MS wrote:

"Hello Marquis,

I just read your last posting and I wanted to reply to you directly about it. I am very touched by your words because this has been an issue that I myself have struggled with.

As a kid, "my dream" was living in a condo with some of my closest friends. It wasn't really a dream, but more so like a perfect picture in my head. But as I grew up, I realized life wasn't so simple - it seemed like money and fame ruled everything around me, including my friends. Seeing their motivation to succeed, I felt I had to make something out of myself. After being admitted into Berkeley (a huge achievement for me) I set my next goal to be admitted to their business school, Haas. And as I ace'd the courses and took on internships, I learned about the potential exit opportunities with that business degree. Of those exit opportunities, there was one that stood out - investment banking. Initially, I thought it was interesting, but not something that I would want to devote my life to. But truthfully, the money was so appealing.

Ever since the dot com boom my family has been struggling significantly with my father losing our life savings from poor investment decisions. I used to be very upset about it because my mom had also worked so hard to make that money, but I've come to realize that he had the family's best intentions in mind. Nonetheless, I was so undecisive about the career. At times, I didn't want to do anything else, and at other times, I couldn't decide if I was really that driven about the money and the prestige of the job that I would sacrifice so much else. And to be honest, it is still an idea I struggle with.

Struggling between trying to become the best and managing your personal life is hard by itself. But when you have another factor, your parent's financial well-being, it adds a whole different dynamic to the situation.

Sincerely,

MS"

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My response:

MS,

Thanks for checking out my blog and reaching out to share your story with me after reading my April 23th entry. When I wrote that entry, I didn't know how people would take it, but, after seeing emails like yours, I'm glad that folks have responded so positively toward it. In particular, your email was so personal that I was truly touched that you trusted me enough to share a family-related story like that with me. My jaw literally dropped after reading it and, as I sit here reading it again, my jaw has dropped yet again. I wanted to respond to you before now, but I've been hella busy in the past month and I wanted to make sure I devoted enough time to provide a suitable response. Please don't think that my delay in responding indicates a lack of interest in your email...that definitely isn't the case.

I'll start by saying that I can totally identify with those "dreams" from your earlier years. When we're young, things seem so simple and it's easy to latch on to hopes of huge things without thinking about the full implications of them. And then, real life has a way of complicating it all as we get older. You shared a lot in your email, but, to me, it seems that the most important part of your story is the relationship with your parents, specifically your father. Trust me when I say that I understand what it's like to manage your own life and career with your family's well-being as another primary area of concern. That's neither a good nor bad thing, but it does bring a different dynamic and can add more pressure to the situation. It's all a part of being in a family, right?

So, how does this dovetail with your career choice? I can understand how your family's financial situation could lead you to chase the big bucks, but please don't let that be the reason that you select a career path. An investment banking position is far from easy and, given the likely workload, I would HIGHLY recommend that you think about whether you're interested enough in it to pursue that path. Money and prestige are nice, but you've got to ask yourself whether you're truly ready for the required lifestyle tradeoff. How about this?...Try thinking about the career path that would make you happiest and then figure out if you can make that work. If that path ends up being I-banking, then you've got a win-win ($$$ to support your family and a job that interests you)...if not, then I'd recommend doing what would make you smile and trusting that God will work everything out for you to look out for your family anyway.

And, regardless of which career path you choose, it might be useful for you to share your feelings about what led to your family's financial struggles with your parents. It'll be a difficult conversation to have, but it's much better than the alternative of keeping it all bottled in and harboring resentment for your father's poor investment decisions. You don't have to do it now, but it might really help to ease your mind to have that discussion and air this all out. Just think about it and let your heart guide you on this one...

Thanks again for sharing your story with me and I hope my words were helpful in some way. The fact that you saw me as someone worthy to give input on something so personal is truly humbling to me. As you said, "trying to become the best and managing your personal life is hard by itself", but, if you try to prioritize what's truly important (in this case, your family), it should be much easier to find the balance that you need. Take care and I hope everything works out for you and your parents.

Marquis

A couple of interesting articles sent to me by a reader

2009-06-12T15:07:00.002-04:00

Hello all. Happy Friday! If any of you have been grindin' hard like I have lately, I bet you're really looking forward to the weekend. I've been doing so much traveling lately that I haven't had a chance to rest, so this weekend will probably involve a whole lot of doing NOTHING...gotta love it, right?

As a nice way to start off the weekend, I'm posting a couple articles about real life stuff that I thought might interest some of you. One is all about following one's passion into a career path and the other is about living a much simpler life than most people are conditioned to pursue. The links to both of these articles were sent to me by a long-time reader named "DP", so I want to send a shout out to him before continuing with the post.

Also, before I go, I want to send a shout out to all of the people graduating right about now. I know that universities are hold graduation ceremonies all over the country right now, including Stanford University whose graduations are this weekend. Speaking of folks graduating from Stanford, I want to send a special shout to a certain PhD candidate who may or may not see this...Congratulations on making it to the end of the road, Dr. G.A. All of your hard work has paid off and you're going to do some amazing things in the future. :-)

------------

The first article is a blog post from another site about the importance of letting your passion be the guide for your career. There are probably millions of people out there in jobs that pay the bills but don't light a spark inside of them...that's what this article is all about. It's a short article, but I found it to be thought-provoking.

--------------
"Letting Your Passion Lead You"
Author: "glen"
Source: LifeDev.net (LINK)
Date: May 28, 2009

Interesting quotes:

"I’ve noticed that creative workers (ie. artists, writers, bloggers, musicians, etc.), sometimes fall prey to not letting their passion lead them. Instead of letting the fire in their gut create wonderful masterpieces, they let money or other forces control their output, and it changes things.

Sometimes you have to give up control of what you want, and let your passion lead you."

"We humans are attracted to passion, and we can sense it immediately. It’s contagious. We thrive on it, and we thrive on others who have it. It’s a quality we all possess, but it’s not something we all use. In fact, many of us ignore what we’re really supposed to be doing, because it’s much “safer”."

--------------

This next article was written by a man who once had a fast-paced professional life in the U.S. and gave it up for the simple life in a small town in Japan. Some might say that his perspective is a little extreme, but I found his words to be refreshing, especially at a time like now when so many people are stressed out about their careers. It's pretty short and is definitely worth a read.

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"The Joy of Less"
Author: Pico Iyer
Source: The New York Times (LINK
Date: June 7, 2009

Interesting quotes...check out the article for more:

"I had been lucky enough at that point to stumble into the life I might have dreamed of as a boy: a great job writing on world affairs for Time magazine, an apartment (officially at least) on Park Avenue, enough time and money to take vacations in Burma, Morocco, El Salvador. But every time I went to one of those places, I noticed that the people I met there, mired in difficulty and often warfare, seemed to have more energy and even optimism than the friends I’d grown up with in privileged, peaceful Santa Barbara, Calif., many of whom were on their fourth marriages and seeing a therapist every day. Though I knew that poverty certainly didn’t buy happiness, I wasn’t convinced that money did either."

"In the corporate world, I always knew there was some higher position I could attain, which meant that, like Zeno’s arrow, I was guaranteed never to arrive and always to remain dissatisfied."

"Perhaps happiness, like peace or passion, comes most when it isn’t pursued."

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Question about whether my dual degree complemented or distracted from my MBA

2009-06-10T23:42:00.001-04:00

What's good, peoples. The message below is from a prospective Stanford GSB applicant who is interested in pursuing a joint-degree program while there. He's concerned about whether the second degree will distract him from his MBA studies and has asked about my experience with that as I pursued the MA.Ed along with my own MBA. I've been asked about issues related to the joint degree before, but I think this may be the first time the question has come from this angle. Hopefully, my response gives him the kind of info he's seeking.

------
SO wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

I'm a long-time reader of your blog and prospective Stanford GSB applicant. I know you're flooded with e-mails, so I'll keep it short.

Short profile: undergrad in Econ with minors in Environmental Studies and Maths at University of Oslo in Norway completing my Bachelor's in 2 1/2 years total (graduating this Dec), work experience (part-time and internships) in environmental finance, investment banking and financial media (weekly column in Norway's largest financial daily), President of Norway's largest society for students interested in finance, managed the team planning my university's largest careers fair. Am applying for a couple of top notch MBA programmes in the fall, but will be applying for deferred entry.

What makes Stanford GSB my primary target as far as MBA admissions go is the chance of doing a MBA/MS in Environment and Resources. I have a very good story as to why this makes sense, but it's quite long and not strictly relevant to my question, so I won't bore you. I know it's not the same dual degree you did, but I hope you can answer my question anyway.

Would you say that your dual degree complemented your MBA or drew attention away from it (in terms of both your own workload/schedule and as far as recruiting/appearances go) ? I'm incredibly excited at the prospect of doing such a degree, but the bottom line is that I want a solid management education. As an undergrad now I do so much (extra credit in school, extracurriculars, part-time work) that I almost feel as I'm trying to do too much - and I don't want to spend two years and $150k falling between two chairs, if that makes sense. I know doing such a degree would probably be amazing - and if it wasn't viable it would not be offered - but I just want to make sure.

PS: Was playing around on Linkedin, and stumbled across what I'm pretty sure is your profile: turns out we're 3rd degree through three of my connections. Small world.

Kind regards,
SO"
------
My response:

SO,

Thanks for checking out my blog and coming to me for advice on your question. Great question about the dual degree program and, in this case, it's a huge deal because of the potential from distracting from your MBA studies. For you, the MS in Environment and Resources seems to make sense, but it's a good thing for you to be thinking about this before starting the application process in the Fall.

The quick answer to your question is that the MA.Ed was a great compliment to my MBA, but moreso because of my long-term interests than anything in the short-term. I have some education-based non-profit aspirations for the future, but I won't bore you delving too deeply into that here. Anyways, it did take up significant time to attend Ed school classes, complete reading and coursework, and prepare for class, but I just sacrificed sleep every now and then so I wouldn't have to trade off the social life of business school. I won't tell you that it's easy, but it really doesn't have to be too hard. If you're interested enough in the subject for the second grad degree, you can definitely make it work. Of course, you'll have to properly prioritize your MBA courses and all of the associated activities, but tons of other kids have done it through the years.

As for the impact on recruiting, some companies may ask about the second degree during the recruiting cycle, but, as long as you have a solid justification for pursuing the degree, I can't see it being a major issue. Shoot, imagine being asked about three grad degrees that are seemingly all over the map...but it isn't too bad if you've got a good story to make them all make sense. That's what you should think about between now and when you apply for that program at Stanford...how those two degrees make sense together in terms of your current and future professional interests. Once you have that story locked down, you'll always be able to go back to it during any related discussions that might pop up in the future, especially if your career finds you in an area related to the Environment and Resources.

Take care and good luck with your application to the GSB in the Fall. I hope you are able to make your way into that joint degree program and get an experience as great as mine was. :-)

Marquis

P.S. LinkedIn is CRAZY, isn't it? hahahahaha!

Passing along word about a new career information resource

2009-06-08T18:52:00.001-04:00

Hey there, peoples. OK, y'all know I love to pass along information about useful stuff when I find it, right? Well, this is another quick entry to inform you all of another potentially valuable career resource...This new resource is a site called GottaMentor.com that was launched to provide career prep advice and resources, job postings, and access to networking and mentoring to young professionals from college age through their mid-30's. The founder of the site is a Stanford GSB alum named Andrea R. who has done some amazing things in her career, including launching Management Leadership for Tomorrow with her husband and helping hundreds of driven young professionals make their way into top business schools. So, y'all know I love to support folks in my alumni network with their ventures, so I recently asked Andrea for some quick summary text about GottaMentor.com and she sent back the text at the bottom of this entry.

As someone who has gone through college and my career without a true mentor to guide my path, I would highly recommend leveraging the resource that Andrea and her team have presented on GottaMentor.com. The last thing you want to do is fly blindly through your career and just figure things out on your own...TRUST ME on that! If you're a young professional in search of some good information on career preparation and advancement, you might want to take some time to look over the resources on GottaMentor.com because there's a lot of great content on there and, best of all, it's all FREE...can't get any better than jumping on some free stuff, right? Now, would I ever steer y'all wrong?...of course not :-)

By the way, I'm going to be writing up some content to post to GottaMentor.com about the Consulting industry soon, so be on the lookout for it if you visit their site...

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Andrea R. wrote:

Brief description
Gotta Mentor is a career development platform targeting early career professionals who use the site to get personalized roadmaps, expert advice and the door-opening relationships they need to achieve their career goals. Whether your are trying to land a new job, transition careers, get into graduate school or build a business, Gotta Mentor will guide you through the process and help you get personalized feedback.

Founders’ Backgrounds
Our founders are highly experienced former corporate executives who have been top performers at the most prestigious companies and universities in the world including Disney, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, the NBA, Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Yale. We are also seasoned entrepreneurs who have built successful for-profit and nonprofit ventures. We have prepared and placed thousands of college students, MBAs and experienced professionals for jobs at the world’s top companies. We have developed deep insight into what it takes for you to succeed.

Article about how to leverage LinkedIn to find your ideal job

2009-05-28T11:53:00.000-04:00

What's up, y'all. I hope you've all had a good week so far and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend...because I know I am :-) I wanted to give y'all a quick entry before I hop on a plane in the morning and head back to Old Nassau (i.e. Princeton University) to attend this year's Reunions festivities. This will be my first time there in five years, so it feels pretty weird to be going back. But, it'll be nice to catch up with folks and it should also be a good way to get about 200 more photos of myself tagged on Facebook by the end of the week. I might just have to write a few summary entries about the events while I'm there...we'll see if I have enough energy for all of that though.

The article below is from the good folks over at GottaMentor.com and, as soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to share it with all of you. With the economy being so shaky and so many people looking for work, this article is very timely. The article provides nine tips for how to effectively leverage LinkedIn to get the perfect job. By now, i'm sure that many of you are members of LinkedIn, but are you really using it as effectively as you could? If not, check out this article. And, if you think you're using it well, I'd recommend reading the article anyway because I found it useful after having been on LinkedIn for years. I didn't copy the entire article, but posted a quick excerpt and provided the link. Hope you guys enjoy it.

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"9 tips to use LinkedIn to help you get your ideal job"
Author: Andrea Rice
Source: GottaMentor.com (LINK)
Date: May 27, 2009

Introductory paragraph from article:

"If you are in the market for a job, especially if you have at least several years of work experience, you should be taking advantage of the significant benefits LinkedIn can bring to your job search, including warm leads into companies or to people you are targeting, the possibility of creating new job leads through recruiters who frequently use the site or people who are impressed with comments you post on the site, and access to posted and unposted job openings. So how do you take advantage of LinkedIn if you’re a job seeker?" (The nine steps follow this in the article)

Question about professional attire and a Memorial Day shout out to the troops

2009-05-25T21:03:00.002-04:00

What's good, folks. For those of you in the United States, I hope you had a relaxing Memorial Day holiday off from work and are looking forward to the short week. But, I also hope that, while you were enjoying your day off, you took time to remember the brave men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who place their lives at risk every day to protect our country. And, in particular, I pray that each of you gave thanks to the many soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country. I'm not sure how many of you knew the nationwide moment of silence at 3pm local time (I read about it this morning on CNN.com), but I found it to be a great way to reflect on the contributions that our soldiers have made to all of our lives. I have several family members who are military veterans and, while I never served myself, I have the utmost respect for what our troops do for us day-in and day-out.

Today's entry is from an undergraduate who will soon be starting a summer internship with a top management consulting firm. His question is a basic one, but probably one of the most practical questions that has ever been sent to me. He simply wants to know about the kind of shoes he should wear to make a good impression during his internship. Useful question, right? I'm not going to say that I'm anything close to an expert in this category, but I gave him what I could on it.

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TTP wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

Here's a short question. I'm starting a summer BA internship with a MBB office in Europe.

However, my black dress shoes are done for, and am getting a new pair. From reading IBanking blogs such as M&I and style blogs, Allen Edmonds Park Avenues for $300 are highly recommended, though $300 for shoes as an undergrad is tough to stomach.

What kind of shoes did you wear and see worn during your time at McKinsey?

Thanks so very much,
T"

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My response:

T,

Thanks for checking out my blog and thinking of me as a resource for your question. Also, congratulations on earning a BA internship over there in Europe with M/B/B. I must say that your email was the first time anyone has asked me about dress code issues when starting an internship and, now that I think of it, it's a GREAT question, particularly for an undergrad candidate. I'll give you my perspective on your question below, but please know that the environment might be a little more formal in a European office and/or client environment. As such, you might want to reach out to someone in the office you'll be joining to gain their perspective before making your new shoe purchase.

Now, let's get to the question...What kind of shoes did I see worn during my time at McK? I saw a wide range of styles from those in the sub-$50 price range all the way up to really expensive Ferragamo loafers. The choices often depending on the personal styles and financial situations of the folks wearing them. Usually, the more senior people (Partners, Associate Principals, EMs) would be wearing top-of-the-line gear (nicer Brooks Brothers and custom suits, custom shirts, really nice shoes, etc.) and had me thinking "Wow, these cats are super-duper clean". Don't get me wrong, some of the more junior people (BAs and Associates) would be sporting top-of-the-line gear too, but I didn't see that as often. I figure that's because the more junior staff had tighter budgetary constraints due to student loans, bills, and other costs associated with getting started up. And, I never saw any summer interns wearing anything on that "super-duper clean" level. Granted, I didn't see all of the summer folks on a daily basis, but I don't think anyone would expect students to be able to afford to stay geared up to the nines like that...at least, I would hope not.

So, what did I do? When I started at McK, I wore a really nice pair of black Ralph Lauren Polo dress shoes that my mother had bought for me as a Christmas gift during my first year of business school for a couple hundred of bucks...you know the nice hard-bottomed joints that Jay-Z used to describe as "Scooby-Doo's". Anyways, I figured that they were nice-looking and comfortable and made a great "clickety-clack-clack" sound when I walked around, so they made me extra professional. I quickly learned that these might not be the right shoes for my day-to-day use at McK. First, I found that they were getting pretty scuffed and beat up as I was going back and forth around and between airports, parking lots, and client site offices. It's amaing how often one's shoes can get run over by luggage wheels or rolling laptop cases in an airport or an office building. Also, because I was back and forth on my feet so much, I was having to get them resoled much more often than I'd expected, which was more of a nuisance than anything. And, just so you know, resoling your shoes is necessary on those nice hard-soled shoes because, if you don't, the heel of the shoe starts getting worn and it can be pretty expensive to replace the heels of your shoes in addition to the resoling over and over and over. This made me rethink my work-shoe strategy before long.

My opinion is that, as long as they don't look cheap and busted, black shoes are black shoes, whether they cost $50, $100, or $300. I'm all about optimizing on look and comfort when shopping for work shoes and getting the best deal. I've found that brands like Bostonian, Florsheim, and Nunn Bush put out nice shoes that are affordable ($50-100 range) and, in my opinion, really comfortable. And, in the event that I have to wear a suit, I still have the nicer pair of shoes that I mentioned above and I take much better care of them now so I'll have them for a long time to come. Besides, I tend to focus on the ankles-up part of my work attire (shirts, slacks, jackets) because that's what people see first when they interact with me. So, when it comes to the shoes, you've got to work within your budget and, as you mentioned, it's tough for someone in your position to drop several hundred dollars on a pair of shoes, especially when you're probably hoping to save money from your internship for school expenses.

Good luck on your BA internship this summer. From what I know of the process, those positions are incredibly difficult to get, which shows that you must be a fantastic candidate. Make the most of your 10-12 weeks and learn as much as you can. Most importantly, do you best to earn that offer at the end of the summer...with the global recession, you can do yourself a great service by coming out of the summer with an offer letter. Take care.

Marquis

Couple of interesting articles about personality traits of successful CEOs and the future of B-schools

2009-05-20T17:15:00.001-04:00

Hi, everyone. I recently came across a couple of articles that I thought might interest the MBAs and other future business leaders out there. In both cases, the articles were too long to copy into an entry, so I've posted some excerpts along with the direct links.

The first article is an op-ed from the New York Times describing a recent study into the qualities that are highly correlated with successful CEOs. At first, I thought I'd be able to guess at the results of the study, but I was surprised by some of the findings, particularly concerning the "soft skills" as a factor for CEO success.

The op-ed is a little long to reproduce here, so I've only copied a couple of quotes that jumped out at me below. If you've got a few minutes, it could be worth a quick read, especially for those of you interested in becoming CEOs one day.

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"In Praise of Dullness"
Author: David Brooks
Source: NY Times Op-Ed (LINK)
Published: May 18, 2009

Interesting excerpts from article:

" What mattered, it turned out, were execution and organizational skills. The traits that correlated most powerfully with success were attention to detail, persistence, efficiency, analytic thoroughness and the ability to work long hours.

In other words, warm, flexible, team-oriented and empathetic people are less likely to thrive as C.E.O.’s. Organized, dogged, anal-retentive and slightly boring people are more likely to thrive."

"They, too, found that extroversion, agreeableness and openness to new experience did not correlate well with C.E.O. success. Instead, what mattered was emotional stability and, most of all, conscientiousness — which means being dependable, making plans and following through on them.

All this work is a reminder that, while it’s important to be a sensitive, well-rounded person for the sake of your inner fulfillment, the market doesn’t really care. The market wants you to fill an organizational role. "
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The following article was written by the current Dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, Dipak Jain. In the article, Jain describes how business schools can remain relevant in the aftermath of the current economic crisis, which many people blame MBAs for having created.

I've copied only the introduction to the article below because it's a two-pager, but it's worth a read. Really interesting thoughts about how B-schools need to change going forward.

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"MBA 2.0: Business schools can remain vital in the years ahead--if they reinvent themselves as intellectual hubs that tackle big problems"
Author: Dipak C. Jain, Dean of the Kellogg School of Management
Source: BusinessWeek.com (LINK)
Published: May 11, 2009

Introductory section of article:

"The current economic crisis is good in this way at least: It focuses the mind and provides an opportunity for reflection, renewal, and responsibility. Cold comfort, maybe, but business-as-usual cannot flourish in this environment, nor should it. As business practitioners now take a long look in the mirror to figure out the next step, so too should business schools examine how they can position themselves to meet the needs of an uncertain global market.

The best will do so by understanding that their mission is more important than ever, since business occupies a space at the convergence of many fields—from the social sciences to the physical and life sciences. Acting on this insight, business schools can become interdisciplinary knowledge centers inspired by diverse ideas and a passionate engagement with the world. If the marketplace is too complicated for clear prediction, then leaders instead must learn to anticipate change, managing with the knowledge that comes from multiple sources and perspectives. These schools will unite science and philosophy to let students make data-driven arguments that create actionable processes that deliver results.

Equally important, by turning imagination and analysis upon serious social challenges—poverty, hunger, environmental degradation—business schools can redouble their efforts to produce successful, significant graduates who make the world a better and safer place. Top schools will understand that the curriculum must go beyond traditional notions of business education. They will cultivate an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach that focuses on global leadership as well as functional expertise. "
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Response to some constructive feedback from a reader

2009-05-20T07:29:00.002-04:00

Hello all, I hope you had a nice evening and have started off your day well. As you know, I regularly read comments that my readers post on my site and take time to consider all feedback that I receive. This entry is to respond to some feedback that came in and sparked some thoughts. It came in as a posted comment rather than an email, so posting an entry was the only way that I could respond. Here's the story...

One of my readers who goes by the handle "ConsultantGirl" left the following comment on a recent blog entry yesterday afternoon. I use comment moderation to screen comments for spam prior to posting them to the site. For a split second, I thought about rejecting this one, but I'm not afraid of a little constructive feedback so I let it through:

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"ConsultantGirl said...

As someone who has been in consulting for many years I really want to reccomend your blog to prospective consultants but I have a hard time doing so simply because you open every entry with this seemingly inappropriate welcome that frankly doesn't make you sound much like a Stanford graduate.

Also your constant complaints about long emails where you can't address everything is getting tiring. Why not use some of your years of consulting and strip out all the ego stroking intro and extraneous questions and just tackle the salient or new questions. Reading your posts is like going on a dreaded treasure hunt for information. You have to wade through all the crap to get to the meat."
-----

In response to the comment above, my mother posted a comment to back me up and ConsultantGirl responded again with the following comment:

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"ConsultantGirl said...

Calm down Momma Bear. No one is insulting your baby's intelligence. I would think a Stanford MBA doesn't need his Mom fighting his fights. I am just stating that Marquis puts himself out there as a resource for others looking to break into consulting world and as such he should be writing this in a professional manner, especially since he isn't writing this blog anonymously. Everything on the internet could/can be used against you in the future.

This blog is difficult to read and my comments were meant as constructive criticism. If you are tired of answering the same question over and over no need to even add the question from the email to the blog. Just list the new questions in bold, then follow up the question with your answer in italics. Maybe at the top of the question list the posters name, age and location."
-----

Now that I've got some time, I thought it would be prudent to post a response to her comments. I started off intending for it to be a short response, but, as I began typing, the words just flowed through my fingers, resulting in the following. Here we go:

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My response:

ConsultantGirl,

Thanks for checking out my blog and for the constructive feedback that you posted yesterday. I can't say that I was a fan of the tone that you used, but feedback is always good to receive, regardless of how it is delivered. I would rather have emailed this to you directly, but, because you posted your thoughts as comments, I didn't have an email address for you. In the future, if you have feedback for me, you're welcome to email me at marquisweblog-AT-gmail-DOT-com so that I can respond to you directly.

Here are a few notes in response to your comments:

- I don't know how long you've been reading my blog, but this site started off with me sharing my experiences, expressed as the real "me". I've never put myself out there as "a resource for others looking to break into consulting world"...other folks have positioned me in that way. I just share my experiences and answer questions as my way of trying to do a little good. My writings may seem overly informal or unprofessional, but that's just the way the words come out. Yeah, some may say that my "seemingly inappropriate welcome[s] [don't] make [me] sound much like a Stanford graduate", but they're my way of connecting with my core audience of readers, who I hope care as much about me and what I have to say as the information I can provide to them. I've been told that my informal nature is what makes readers able to connect with me, which is what's most important. Trust me...you aren't the first person to mention that I should come across as more professional on here and you won't be the last, but I truly do appreciate the feedback about it.

- Exactly how should a Stanford GSB graduate sound? One of the great things about the students and alums there is that we're all very different in terms of backgrounds, personalities, and demeanors, so there isn't really a standard expectation there. That's one reason why I bring so much of myself into this blog...I want people to know that all kinds of folks can get into top B-schools and find the success they seek. As a reader once told me, "if someone like [me] can make it, then anyone can do big things."

- You're right about my complaints about long emails where I can't address everything...I imagine that it must get very tiring to see those complaints over and over. But, imagine what it's like on my end to receive those emails over and over after posting those complaints. I'm only human and I am allowed to get frustrated by stuff like that. You've made a great point though, so I'll to try to tone it down in the future.

- Thanks for the suggestion about listing the new questions in bold and following up with an answer in italics. That tactic makes sense, but, when I started answering emails on here, I established the precedent of posting reader emails in their entirety and then posting my full responses. That way, I present the readers' words exactly as they intended...that's just way I do it. Also, I don't consider the intros to those emails to be ego-stroking. Rather, they're just the way folks choose to lead into their questions. Besides, I don't need my ego to be stroked at all.

- I don't mind you coming at me hard with your comments, but please don't disrespect my mother...that's not cool. She only posted her comment because she thought her son was being attacked, which is a basic reaction that any mother would have. Also, I don't need my mother "fighting my fights". In fact, this isn't even a fight...it's just a difference of opinion and an exchange of ideas. The word "fight" has such a negative connotation, doesn't it?

- Finally, if you feel that one has to "wade through all the crap to get to the meat", you really don't have to keep reading my entries. I created this site as a way to help people, but I recognize that my style doesn't suit everyone. So, I don't get upset when people complain about it. Besides, "all the crap" that you're referring to are my thoughts, stories, and perspectives, which have always been the foundation of this blog...my long-time readers know that. I've found several other sites that mine this blog for insights and then use those insights on their sites. Perhaps they strip out enough of my "crap" to meet your expectations for the "meat". Who knows?

Take care and I wish you the best of luck as you continue your career in Consulting. Again, if you have any comments or feedback for me, feel free to email me at marquisweblog-AT-gmail-DOT-com so we can take it offline. Thanks.

Marquis

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Question about what drives a B-school's reputation

2009-05-19T00:28:00.002-04:00

What's up, peoples. I hope all of you had a nice weekend and got through the first day of the work week alright. Random question...is it just me or does time pass really quickly when you're doing something that you like? I know that most people dread Mondays, but I actually look forward to them because I dig my job. Seriously, right now, I can't think of anything that I'd want to change about the gig and this is first time I've ever been able to say that...actually, I would change the winters in Chicago because it gets pretty daggone cold here, but that's about it. It's funny how of an effect a good situation can have on a person's overall disposition.

[Paragraph removed due to some good constructive feedback from a reader]

OK, without further delay, here's the "real" story for this entry...today's email is from a Stanford Mechanical Engineering graduate who is looking to apply to business school in the near future. He had a really good question about what a particular business school's industry/topic reputation is based on. Also, he was wondering whether Stanford GSB might be a good fit for him. I tried my best to cover the bases on both questions for him...we'll see how well I was able to do on that.

--------
VR wrote:

"Hi Marquis,
I am VR. I attended the School of Engineering at Stanford for my masters in Mechanical Engineering. I am thinking of applying to business school soon. I had a question about selecting schools that I should be looking at.

1. When someone says "School X is good for finance/entrepreneurship/Operations etc", on what do they base their conclusion on? Is it based on the
a. faculty research,
b. jobs people find after graduation,
c. projects that students get to work on during MBA,
d. clubs in the school,
e. industries situated in the vicinity of the school, or any other factor?

I am quite lost on this factor. Could you throw some light on this?

I am interested in studying strategy, innovation and technology management, and enter the consulting field. I would love to get back to The Farm for my MBA, and was wondering if the GSB is a good fit for what I want to learn.

thanks
VR"
--------
My response:

VR,

I hope this message finds you doing well. It's good to hear from a fellow Stanford alum and find that you're looking to go back for your MBA. As a former techie, I'm always a fan of seeing other people with technical backgrounds interested in pursuing graduate business education. You're doing yourself a great service by thinking through issues relatd to applying to business school now because you're several months ahead of the curve. The last thing you'd want is to be scrambling to find this info at the last minute while trying to complete your applications, right?

OK, let's get to your big question:

"1. When someone says "School X is good for finance/entrepreneurship/Operations etc", on what do they base their conclusion on? Is it based on the
a. faculty research,
b. jobs people find after graduation,
c. projects that students get to work on during MBA,
d. clubs in the school,
e. industries situated in the vicinity of the school, or any other factor?"

My quick answer to your question is "All of the above and a little more". Everything that you listed above would be considered a part of the reputation for a particular subject/industry for a given school. A couple of other big factors that you didn't include are nature of courses offered, special programs available at the school, career track records of alums. This is probably best demonstrated with an example, so I'll use Stanford GSB since I know that one best. As you know, the GSB is known as being strong in entrepreneurship and one could link that reputation to all of the items listed above. First off, the curriculum and faculty research on entrepreneurship and innovation are second to none. One of the most popular courses is S356, which is basically a two-quarter courses where students team up to take an idea from the earliest stages through the development of a business plan. Many GSB graduates eventually launch companies at some point in their careers, with some notable examples being Phil Knight (Nike), Richard Fairbank (Capital One), and Charles Schwab. The Center for Entrepreneurship offers tons of resources and connections for students interested in starting companies of their own in the future. Finally, its location in Silicon Valley literally down the street from Sand Hill Road adds even more to its reputation as a haven for entrepreneurs. See what I mean? I hope this example made sense.

As for your areas of interest, the GSB would be a GREAT fit for what you're seeking. I can attest to the high quality of the strategy courses available at the GSB because, given my interest in Consulting, that was one of my own areas of focus during my two years. Technology management is another area of strength in the GSB curriculum and the school's proximity to Silicon Valley could provide access to several tech companies for additional learning. Plus, I don't know if there's any better program in the world when it comes to innovation and I'm not just saying that because I'm an alum. Take a look into the programs with the Design, Engineering, Medical, and Environmental Science schools and you'll see what I mean...there should be info on those on the GSB website. And, Stanford always does well in placing graduates into the Consulting industry, both at larger firms and smaller boutiques. In fact, the Career Management Center and Consulting Club provide many resources to help students prepare for the consulting interview process (I know I wouldn't have done as well as I did without those resources).

I hope my answers above were helpful as you think through you business school application process. Take care and I hope you're successful in your attempt to return to the Farm to earn your MBA. You'd absolutely love it at the GSB :-)

Marquis

Lessons about business courtest of Stanford GSB's outgoing Dean Robert Joss

2009-05-18T20:39:00.001-04:00

The article below was taken from the website of the Financial Times and was written by the current Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Robert Joss. It's hard for me to put into words how big of a fan I am of Dean Joss. First of all, he's a GSBer through-and-through...a three-time GSB graduate (MS, MBA, and PhD) and is about to wrap up his tenure as Dean of the school after ten years (link to his bio). He's also a heavy hitter in the business world with a 25+-year career in banking at Wells Fargo and Australia's Westpac Bank (he's credited with saving Westpac's business during his six years as CEO). Best of all, he's just a good overall dude who treats people well and looks out for folks. I don't know anything about his plans for after his tenure as Dean of the GSB ends soon, but I know the school will certainly miss him.

In the article, Dean Joss describes the life lessons that he learned from observing his grandfather make a living as a farmer in upstate New York. The Dean's story really underscored the importance of family in both imparting basic lessons about life and, in some cases, sharing insights that can be used repeatedly in one's adulthood. Check it out and I'm pretty sure that you'll learn a thing or two about business without having to take on $100K+ in student loans to do it :-)

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"Dean’s column: Robert L. Joss on his grandfather who delivered life lessons"
Author: Robert Joss, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business
Source: Financial Times (LINK)
Date: May 11, 2009

"While I did not realise it then, I know today that I had learned nearly all the essentials of business management and leadership by the time I was 17. My teacher was my grandfather. He was a most unlikely teacher – being a high-school educated dairy farmer. But the lessons learned by watching and working with him in the 1950s, are as powerful and relevant today, as ever.

His 340-acre farm was in upstate New York – in the little town of Putnam Station, about 10 miles from the (more famous) village of Ticonderoga. He was the third or fourth generation of his family to try to make a living on that property. It was never easy. With modest meadows for growing crops and hilly pastures for supporting livestock, it was challenging to support a family.

On top of that, my grandfather was not really cut out to be a farmer. He was a “people person”. At one time he was the town postmaster. At another, he was half-owner and manager of the general store. Eventually, after prodding by my grandmother to make the farm more profitable, in the late 1920s he bought a small herd of dairy cattle.

Being a dairy farmer in the midst of the Great Depression was no picnic. The only viable business model for these small Putnam farmers was to put their daily milk output into 40-quart cans, which were then picked up by a truck from the Dairymen’s League co-operative, for processing and retail distribution by dairies and creameries. Even by the 1950s, milk still sold wholesale for only two cents a quart. And that is what every local dairy farmer did ... except for my grandfather.

He decided to bottle his milk, put it in cases in the back of his pick-up truck, and sell it door-to-door in Ticonderoga. With his convenient delivery, amazing personal service, and returnable glass bottles, his retail price was 15 cents a quart. So there was my first great management lesson – business models really make a difference.

Strategy is all about being better by being different, and he was a different kind of dairy farmer from his neighbours. In particular, he intuitively grasped the idea of adding value for the customer, and finding a way to be compensated for that.

It is such an important lesson – timeless in its applicability. No amount of technological change or globalisation alters this fundamental truth about business. But there was a lot more to learn.

The second lesson was about customer service. We not only delivered to the door, we often (depending on customer preferences) put the milk in the kitchen fridge. We knew every customer’s name and background. He extended credit when people couldn’t pay. He expanded his product line to include cream, eggs, and poultry – the chicken “division” was run by my grandmother . My grandfather was a true entrepreneur – an owner-operator always willing to innovate, to try new things.

Third was operational synergies. We “recycled” the cow and chicken manure as fertiliser for the hay meadows and corn field, which meant his yields were always the best in town, thereby lowering the need to buy additional cattle feed and keeping costs down. We reused the milk bottles (indeed, most customers left their payment in an empty return bottle). We rotated crops to keep the fields productive.

Fourth, was hard work and discipline. My grandparents worked incredibly hard. If you really want to grasp what it means to be responsible “24/7” – then be a dairy or chicken farmer. The cows have to be milked twice a day, 365 days a year. You have to collect the eggs and clean the henhouse daily. I worked with my grandparents almost every summer for eight years, rising early and retiring worn out; milking cows, cleaning stables, delivering milk and harvesting hay. The discipline and hard work were memorable, and satisfying. They shaped my work habits for a lifetime in leadership roles.

Fifth was integrity and ethics. The customers trusted my grandfather and gave him their business. He trusted them – sometimes too much, creditwise. I can remember my grandmother worrying about people who owed him too much money, but my grandfather didn’t have the heart to deny them milk for their kids. He was as honest as the day is long, and would never take advantage of a customer or supplier. Any dispute went in the customer’s favour. He sold them products they needed, at a price that was fair – how’s that for a timeless and winning business idea?

Sixth was cashflow. Almost everything in this operation was on a cash basis. He knew his daily revenue by adding up the cash each night, and we spent many hours rolling coins, and wrapping bank notes, for deposit at the local bank.

Most of the year our immediate family lived 2,500 miles away in an urban setting, but when we spent summers on the farm, my brother and I handled the direct-to-customer delivering while my grandfather drove the truck. We were like walking cash registers. We would start the day with our known cash supply (bills in one pocket, coins in the other), then take in the payments, give change, and account for our cash at the end of the day. Easy to see how cash was the lifeblood of the operation.

Seventh was interpersonal skills. My grandfather was outgoing and gregarious. Everyone knew him, and greeted him warmly; and vice versa. He was a living demonstration of the importance for any business of managing relationships as well as tasks. He wasn’t a better farmer than anyone else, but he had an entrepreneurial and interpersonal dimension that few others did.

As a final lesson – my grandfather was all about fun. He was fun to be with. He made life fun for those around him. As hard as he worked, he had fun doing it. His joy was infectious.

As I said – I had learnt all this by age 17. But the wisdom and relevance of these eight lessons seem even more powerful today. We wouldn’t be reading and talking about a global financial crisis if more leaders had learnt these lessons in recent years.

Robert Joss has been Philip H. Knight Professor and Dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University since 1999"
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So what's the big picture now???

2009-05-17T22:51:00.003-04:00

What's good, folk. Gotta love lazy Sundays, right? I'm especially relaxed this weekend after having witnessed the college graduation of my youngest sister, MYP. It had been a long road to graduation for her and my entire family came together to help her through it, so we were all incredibly proud to see her walk across that stage and be recognized for this accomplishment. Even better, she majored in Business Administration, so she just might follow my footsteps into the business world, which is pretty daggone cool. I don't think she follows this blog, but, if she somehow sees this entry, I want her to know how ridiculously proud I am of her. This is such a huge life accomplishment and it doesn't matter how a person gets to the end of the road as long as they get there in time. MYP, you have indeed arrived and I hope you know that your big brother is looking forward to seeing what you'll do in the future :-)

Instead of responding to a reader email, I've decided to use this entry to bring you yet another chapter in "Introspection of Marquis" story that has been forming over the past few weeks. Last weekend, I had a catch-up conversation with one of my GSB roommates, RJB, who is now and entrepreneur out on the West Coast. One things I've always respected about him is that he's a deeply introspective person who thinks a lot about people and how they live their lives. During this conversation, we discussed our life changes over the past few months, including my relocation to Chicago and new job, and he asked a really interesting question..."So what's the big picture now?" Normally, I'd be able to answer a question about the future quick and concisely because I'd have a well thought-out plan, complete with an end state and milestones along the way. But, with all of my recent reflection, I've begun to re-evaluate my personal and professional priorities and my previous plan doesn't really fit anymore. So, I responded with a long, drawn-out, rambling set of ideas that didn't make much sense, but could have probably been summarized as "I don't know". That seemed to surprise RJB and he came back with "What about being a CEO? Don't you still want to do that?"...and, just as I was saying "I don't know anymore", he had to jump off the phone to start an appointment. Random story, right? Well, I couldn't shake RJB's question about the "big picture" and, more importantly, how unsure I was of what mine is nowadays, so I thought it could offer a chance for me to think through it and figure some things out.

For the past few years, my big picture was pretty simple...I just wanted to end up as a "big baller" loaded up with accomplishments and accolades. The road to that big picture was pretty simple too...earn a Stanford MBA, work at a series of high profile gigs at big companies, maybe start a company or two, and then eventually end up as a CEO somewhere. All the while, I'd make a boatload of cash, buy a bunch of really nice things, take care of my family, and start a couple of non-profits along the way. I admit that these were lofty goals, but, for a country boy who grew up broke and always had big dreams, it made sense to aim as high as possible and work like crazy to make it happen. Then reality set in and, suddenly, that plan didn't make as much sense anymore. Many personal sacrifices, including time with loved ones, are required to do it up as big as I planned and, after seeing the effects of those sacrifices first-hand in the past few years, I can't see myself being willing to continue making those sacrifices for the next 20-25 years. Spending time with my niece (3.5 years old) and nephew (1.5 years old) earlier this weekend showed me how precious every minute, hour, and day can truly be. And, if I'm ever blessed to have a family of my own, I'd imagine that my kids would rather have me around as they're growing up than to be able to say that I'm some big-time CEO or big baller mainly due to the time that I spent away from them. These types of realizations have a way of making a person rethink his/her life priorities and, in turn, revise his/her vision of life's big picture.

One of my favorite hip-hop songs of the mid-90's has the following line that has stuck with me for over a decade since I first heard it:

"See, life is kinda stressful, especially when you're trying to be successful/
So many twists and turns it's like you're walking on a pretzel"
-Da Bush Babees, "Gravity" (1996)

Back in 1996, I thought this was just a clever line, but, 13 years later, I understand that it lays out a simple, under-emphasized truth faced by many, if not most, young professionals in the game today. Often, young professionals set such high expectations for their own success that they have to run at 1,000 mph every day of the week, inevitably resulting in immense stress that rains down upon them. Trust me...I've lived it and dealing with that level of stress is not easy at all! And, I'm not the only one who has gone through it either. I've made a couple of friends here in Chicago who were laid off after a couple of years as bankers and, although they've lived here for almost three years, they worked so hard for so many hours that they're basically newbies to the city just like me. I've never seen two people so happy to, in their words, "have [their] lives back". Imagine that...you work so hard to "make it", but you can't even enjoy it because of all the stress and changes that come with it. Oddly, it feels natural when you're in the middle of it because that's what you and everyone else expects (at least, that's what you might think). Eventually, something major happens to make you understand how the weight of it all is affecting you, but, by then, who knows if the effects of that stress can be undone. Now that I'm in an environment where I have work-life balance, I can't imagine what it would be like to give that up and go back to my former life. I'm not bringing this up to complain about working hard or to judge anyone who relishes that lifestyle because there are merits to having this type of experience. Rather, I want to encourage people to think about both the short-term and long-term implications of the paths they choose. The game of success isn't always as easy or manageable as some might describe and, depending on your natural demeanor, it can be pretty daggone difficult to sustain it over time.

So, back to my man RJB's question, "So what's the big picture now?". Honestly, I really don't even know how to answer that question in a concrete fashion. I know that my big picture involves some kind of career success, but I'm not sure what I'd refer to as "career success" now. It used to be "CEO or bust" for me, but the real life tradeoffs that might be required don't seem too appealing anymore. Or, maybe my route will eventually lead to the non-profit realm instead of Corporate America, where career success has a totally different definition. I know that there will be some kind of financial success, but it's not like I need to be big ballin' to be a financial success, right? Hell, as long as I can pay my bills, put a little money aside, and not worry about making it day to day, that's more than enough to make me feel comfortable. I know the big picture will somehow involve helping people, but I'm not sure if it'll be on some big-time "launch a few non-profit organizations" type stuff or on a smaller scale like mentoring kids in the community or writing on my blog. Overall, the only thing I know for sure is that I simply want my big picture to involve living a carefree and happy life because anything less will just lead to long-term mental stress and lack of fulfillment. Now, I just need to figure out what "living a carefree and happy life" actually means because, after all these years, I've never really experienced that before...it'll come to me eventually though.

If you've read this entire entry, I would encourage you to ask yourself the same question and figure out your own big picture. I have a feeling that you'll come up with something basic at first, but I'd recommend that you think even harder about it at that point. After this exercise, you could end up with a renewed clarity about your future that you didn't even know you were missing. And, once you have that clarity about your end goal, it should be much easier to figure out the best path between today and that goal...that is, assuming that any of you are as unclear about that as I seem to be nowadays.

***** EDITED *****

After reading this entry, one of my friends, JCR, told me that my words really vibed with him and suggested a couple of songs for me to listen to. He said that these songs often give him clarity when he's struggling with whether he's following the right path in life.

The first of those songs, "In due time" by Outkast featuring Cee-Lo Green, is one of my favorites by that group, but I'd never really listened to the power of the words before. Cee-Lo's verse in the song and the chorus especially hit home for me due to many of the things I've been thinking through lately. I've copied the lyrics that really hit me below for you guys to check out. If you're interested, you can find the actual song at this link.

Song: "In due time"
Artist: Outkast featuring Cee-Lo Green

Excerpt -- Cee-Lo Green's verse:
Struggling is just a part of my day
Many obstacles been placed in my way
I know the only reason that I make it through
Is because I never stop believing in You
Some people wonder why we're here in the first place
They can't believe because they ain't never seen your face
But even when you pray, the next day you gotta try
Can it wait for nobody to come down out the sky
You've got to realize that the world's a test
You can only do your best and let Him do the rest
You've got your life, you've got your health
So quit procrastinating and push it yourself
You've got to realize that the world's a test
You can only do your best and let Him do the rest
You've got your life, you've got your health
So quit procrastinating

Excerpt -- Chorus (also sung by Cee-Lo Green):
You just keep your faith in me
Don't act impatiently
You'll get where you need to be
In due time
Even when things go slow
Hold on and don't let go
I'll give you what I owe
In due time

An upcoming resource for those interested in VC...and a couple of other interesting things

2009-05-10T15:39:00.001-04:00

What's going on, y'all. As you know, I enjoy publicizing cool things that my friends do and passing along information that might be helpful or interesting to my readers. Well, I've got something in this entry that covers both of these bases.

My long-time readers should remember me mentioning my friend and fellow blogger, John G. in earlier posts. He's a Univ. of Penn engineering grad and Columbia MBA who works for a Venture Capital firm in NYC. He and I go waaaaaaaaaay back to our dot-com era days at Scient and, even now, we help each other back and forth with our blogs. On his blog, he provides great information about the VC industry and associated trends and I'm a big fan of the resources he provides to readers who are interested in pursuing VC as a career path. Now, he's taking his contributions even further by authoring an eBook serving as a guide to finding, preparing for, and getting a job at a VC firm. He emailed me about it this morning and I was immediately excited by the idea because I don't think anyone has ever written an end-to-end guide to earning a VC gig. He's still in the writing stages, but, so far, he's written a forward for his eBook to give folks an idea of what it will cover...You can check it out at THIS LINK. I'm not sure when he'll finish it because he's pretty busy with his family and work, but I'm positive that it'll be a winner once he finishes it. Keep an eye on his blog for more updates if you have any interest in careers in Venture Capital.

Here are a few other links that I thought some of you would find interesting:

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On May 2, Larry Page, one of the co-founders of Google, gave the commencement speech at the University of Michigan, his alma mater. I received the link to it from one of my long-time readers, DP, because he said that he immediately thought of me when he saw it. The video of his speech is available at the link below along with the transcript of that speech. It's a short speech, so I would encourage you to at least read through the transcript because it's fantastic. The following excerpt is from the very end of it and it's the part that really connected with me most. Just like I described in my April 23 post, one should focus on the truly important things in life (i.e. your loved ones)...

Larry Page's University of Michigan Commencement Address
Source: Google press release
Posted: May 2, 2009

Excerpt from speech:

"If my Dad was alive today, the thing I think he would be most happy about is that Lucy and I have a baby in the hopper. I think he would have been annoyed that I hadn't gotten my Ph.D. yet (thanks, Michigan!). Dad was so full of insights, of excitement about new things, that to this day, I often wonder what he would think about some new development. If he were here today -- well, it would be one of the best days of his life. He'd be like a kid in a candy store. For a day, he'd be young again.

Many of us are fortunate enough to be here with family. Some of us have dear friends and family to go home to. And who knows, perhaps some of you, like Lucy and I, are dreaming about future families of your own. Just like me, your families brought you here, and you brought them here. Please keep them close and remember: they are what really matters in life."

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The following is an article posted on PEHub.com a few days ago. Given the current job market, I thought it was especially timely

First Impressions Count -- Acing the Telephone Interview
Source: Denise Palmieri on PEHub.com
Posted: May 8, 2009

Congratulations! You’ve been invited to interview with a firm. With increasing frequency, firms are conducting first interviews by telephone. That first telephone interview is your one chance to convince the interviewer to invite you in for an in-person interview. Your sole objective should be answering, completely and succinctly, the questions that the interviewer is asking of you. This is where you make your first impression and there are no “do-overs”, so concentrate on making a great first impression.

Firms want team players with:
- Solid analytical abilities
- Intellectual horsepower
- Leadership potential (that’s what gets you on the partnership track)
- Stellar communication skills
- Demonstrable accomplishments and tangible results

We’ve never had a client ask us for a lazy, argumentative, know-it-all dumbass! Nonetheless, that’s sometimes the impression we can get about a candidate during our first interview call. So, I thought it would be helpful to give you the inside scoop on how to ace a Telephone Interview (click here for a pdf you can use).

I also thought you might benefit from the internal list my fellow recruiters have put together of typical “First Impressions” following a phone interview, since a phone call frequently gives us the first impression of many of our candidates. I hope you don’t recognize yourself!

The Desperado
I encourage candidates to be realistic about the opportunities available to them and to look at lots of different alternatives. But, this candidate takes it to extremes. Over-anxious, he has no questions for the interviewer about the job, the people or the company. He makes it known repeatedly that things are tight and that he’s interviewing for everything and anything. The problem with this candidate is that the interviewer worries that he’ll a) jump ship as soon as the market improves or b) will make poor decisions in the job since he is under such serious economic strain. This candidate applies for every single job on our website, without regard to qualification, just to “get a shot”. It’s ok to apply for a variety of opportunities, but be realistic about your qualifications and keep your personal anxieties to yourself in a job interview.

The Poseur
This person bluffs answers, takes credit for things that he didn’t do (e.g., participating in writing the PPM doesn’t make you a fundraiser), uses title inflation (calls himself a “founding member” when he was a junior guy who was invited along with the senior guys spinning out into a new firm). This candidate works into the discussion (without being asked) how much money he has made, lists deals he can’t talk about and likes to drop names of people with whom he has no substantial relationship. There is a time and place to reference common alliances and compensation, but it’s not the first telephone interview. It’s more important to be yourself. Fit is a critical deciding factor in any hire and pretending to be someone you’re not is a terrible recruiting strategy.

The Rambler
This candidate rambles on for 20 minutes about whatever she feels a need to get out and then finally says “So, to answer your question, …” and every question goes on the same way. Worse, when the interviewer tries to redirect the discussion, this candidate talks louder or faster to get it all out as if she was asked to give her final thoughts before a firing squad. Active listening will help you make sure your answer is responsive to the question. Asking, “Would you like me to go into more detail on this subject?” is a good way to see if the interviewer would like to further explore the brief, concise answer you gave to the question.

The Control Freak
This candidate tries to run the conversation and “steer” the discussion to what she wants to talk about. She talks over the interviewer, doesn’t let the interviewer finish before jumping in. This candidate is also known to act pre-emptively by calling in references to talk the candidate up and move along the process or find ways to “bump into” the interviewer. We know, the process is often slower than is comfortable when you are a candidate, but patience and learning to “go with the flow” can send a message of being a cooperative team player, especially at this early stage of the process.

The Teflon Guy
This candidate tells confidential info about his firm/partners/clients as a way to demonstrate being “in the know”. There is always someone else to blame for every move on his resume or deal that fell apart – nothing is ever his fault. Be prepared to briefly address why you left each job giving an example of something you learned from each experience and how you improved in your next role. Humility & loyalty are good traits to cultivate.

The ShapeShifter (closely related to the Desperado)
The interviewer can never pin down what this candidate is about because she is always changing her answer to match the question or comment. If I ask what she wants to do, she says X. I say, we focus on Y. She immediately says, “Oh yes, I LOVE Y! Y is my dream job.” Same thing with geography, or timeline, or any question. She tries to “game” the interview by constantly being agreeable to a ridiculous point, assuming that once she is “in” she can be herself or change roles within the firm. Flexibility is an advantage, but only if you have some reasonable semblance of direction.

The Invisible Man
This candidate makes it difficult to schedule, is unresponsive to the recruiter and/or client for follow up, seems distracted during telephone calls as if surfing the web, reading emails or engaging in another activity, goes radio silent at any stage in the process. It is key when you are interviewing that you check your voicemail and email and be responsive and actively engaged in the process. Otherwise, expect the client to interpret your lack of response as disinterest and to drop you from the process.

Party Animal
This candidate tries to be the interviewer’s best chum, uses colloquial expressions or slang (“hey man”, “dude”), racial/ethnic slurs and ANY kind of profanity. Yes it DOES happen! This candidate will also repeat himself, use phrases like “yep” “believe me”, “you can trust me”, “can I be honest with you”, etc. While it is important to build rapport with the interviewer, professionalism and competence is what will get you the next interview.

We talk to hundreds of candidates every week who are wonderful, responsive, agreeable, talented professionals. These oddballs are ones you don’t want to model yourself after in conducting your job search. You want your phone interview to be memorable and to win you an invitation to meet with the company in person. You only get one chance to make a first impression, make it a good one.

Denise Palmieri is Director of Client Relations for Pinnacle Group International. She can be emailed at dpalmieri@pinnaclegroup.com.
----

Military experience as a preparation for B-school and consulting

2009-05-09T23:02:00.001-04:00

Ahhhh, a short email from a reader...it's so much easier for me to address these kind of messages :-) This one is from an MBA aspirant who is considering entering the military prior to applying to business school. He's currently an HR consultant, but doesn't think his current path doesn't give him an opportunity to advance. So, he's thinking of the Navy as a way to get some strong experiences after which he would apply to business school and pursue a position in a strategy consulting firm. He's looking for my perspectives on what he's planning, so I tried my best to give him a thorough response. I hope it's not getting to him too late to be useful to him.

----------
JF wrote:

"Dear Marquis,

First, thanks so much for sharing your experiences and providing great advice for those interested in b-school or consulting. I don't think anyone can say enough how valuable a resource you have been.

I have a simple question. What do you think of military experience as preparation for b-school and consulting.

To give you a little background. I have a bachelors in math and a masters in public health and have been working in human capital consulting for about a year. I am thinking of leaving to go to the navy to do a three year stint before I apply to b-school. The reason is that although I am getting great experience at my current company and like consulting, I don't have much opportunity in terms of advancement (no MBA, no previous experience). I think I could pick up great management skills, see the world, have a great brand on my resume, all while serving my country in the navy. My real concern is will I be poorly positioned to re-enter consulting or get an MBA after serving in the military. My current company is not in the top tier of consulting companies but many have heard of it. I know the military is not my only option, but one I am seriously considering. Hope this was not too long winded. Thanks for your advice.

JF"

----------
My response:

JF,

Hey there. I know it's been a while since you emailed me, so I hope this response is arriving in time to be useful to you. It sounds like you're considering something truly life-changing by joining the Navy, so I'm glad that you're not taking it lightly. This is a great question to ask and I hope that I can be helpful to you in some way. I know a lot of former military folks who went on to top business schools, so I'll leverage interactions with them to inform what I'll say below. Also, I'll pull some ideas from what I've seen and heard to come up with something *hopefully* good for you.

Your first concern was about military experience as a preparation for business school and I'd say that it is a GREAT lead-in for business school, as long as the rest of your application package is good. Business schools look for examples of leadership potential in applicants and I can't think of any better leadership training than what one receives in the military. Officers are trained to lead groups of soldiers from a range of backgrounds toward a common aim, which would put you head-and-shoulders above many of your B-school classmates in terms of leadership experience. There were several former military guys in my class at the GSB and they were superstars. In fact, many top business schools have student groups devoted to former soldiers, so you'd have a community of folks in your school with those shared experiences. Since you're going to enlist after a year of working, you'll want to address the reasons behind this transition in your business school applications to show that you fully thought through it. You'll have to find some way to make the Navy experience to fit into your overall MBA story, but, if you can do that, you could have a dynamite application on your hands.

Once you've taken care of B-school admissions, you'll have to make your way into consulting and having a military background is a big plus for consulting. As mentioned earlier, there aren't many better pre-MBA leadership experiences than time in the military and you should get a lot of run out of your time in the Navy. Some former military guys have told me that they were pushed harder on the case interviews to prove out their problem solving, but, if you practice enough earlier in the process, you should do fine. You would likely leave the Navy with a collection of experiences that would make you into a superstar on the fit interviews. If you have any worries about your positioning for consulting gigs out of the military, I'd say that you should let those concerns go because your experiences should make your profile "pop" to recruiting teams.

I've got a quick question that you might want to consider. Do you REALLY want to join the military? You've probably thought this over many times, so my asking it is probably unnecessary. For some reason, I just got the sense that picking up management skills, seeing the world, and adding a great brand was more of a motivator for you than serving the nation. If that's the case, it's totally fine, but you could gain those benefits by taking any number of career paths aside from the military. The military is not your average "new job", rather it's one where you could be asked to put your life on the line. If you TRULY want to do that to help protect our nation, then I am honored to have made your acquaintance via email and wish you well on this next stage of your career. If you have any doubts at all, I'd encourage you think long and hard about it before making a commitment.

Good luck with your decision about joining the Navy. This is definitely a heavy choice for you, but it's one that could have lasting impact on the rest of your life. No matter what, I hope you'll keep on striving to be great in whatever you do. Take care.

Marquis

Question about the "transformational experience" of Stanford GSB

2009-05-07T00:05:00.001-04:00

What's up, everyone. Is it just me or have I been posting a whole lot of entries lately? I've been going through a period of introspection over the past month or so and have been working through a lot of stuff in my mind during that time. I can't put it all into words yet, but I'm slowly gaining clarity on many issues that have been dogging me out for a long time now. I guess all of this thinking has given me more motivation to write, which is a good thing considering my backlog of reader emails. Also, since posting that April 23 entry, I've received several emails/comments encouraging me to write more entries about myself like I used to back in the day, so I'm going to try to do that a little more often. I figure that, if people on here are checkin' for The Kid, then they won't mind seeing more content about me for a change :-)

The message below is from a reader who had questions about the transformational experience provided by the GSB. Unfortunately, he was looking for some insights to spark his preparations for his GSB interview, but sent his email to me right before that interview. As many of you know, I don't really do "deadlines" when it comes to responding to reader emails, so I couldn't address his until long after his interview was completed. If my response doesn't get to him in time to be helpful to him, I hope that it can at least be helpful to some other readers out there in cyberspace. Check it out...

-----------
KN wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

Hope all is well with you. I have been following your blogs for sometime now and have read most of your blogs. I have heard a lot about the "transformational experience", "a change in mindset" that people go through in Stanford. Could you give me a couple of examples for this? As in how The GSB experience changed someone's mindset. (for example, say how someone developed a global mindset)

Also could you tell me how the teaching or the style of learning in Stanford contributes to this experience? (with an example if you can)
BTW I have been shortlisted for an interview with a Stanford Alum.
To add to the craziness I have been rejected by all other schools (had applied to HBS and LBS too)

Would really appreciate your help!!!

thanks
KN"
-----------

I read this email and my first thought was "Wow, it's been over a month since he wrote this email...I bet I'm too late to help him". As I've said on here MANY times before, I can't do quick turnaround responses to emails because I try to address emails in order in the queue. With this in mind, I sent the following response to the reader to find out whether he still wanted a response...

-----------
My response:

"KN,

I'm just seeing this email, so I fear that it's too late to be any good. I've mentioned on my blog a few times that people shouldn't hit me up expecting a really quick turnaround because of my busy schedule. Do you still want me to answer your question or has the utility of my answer sort of expired?

-Marquis"
-----------

The reader sent the following response to my email, which was refreshing to see...

-----------
KN wrote:

"Hey Marquis,
Sorry about the short notice. The utility of your answer is never going to run out. It might still be useful for me, if there is a next time (GOD forbid!!!). Thanks for taking the time off to send this e-mail.

-KN"
-----------

So, I'm now about 2.5 months past this reader's original email and I finally have time to write a response to this reader. I don't even know if he was admitted to the GSB, but I hope he'll let me know what the deal is in a response to my email below...

-----------
My response:

KN,

I hope this finds you doing well. I know it's been a while since you first emailed me and that you were looking for info to help you on your Stanford GSB interview, but, with my email backlog, I'm just now getting to your message. But, since you told me that a response would be helpful whenever I could send it, I'm doing so right now. I hope what I'm about to write will prove useful for you in some way.

In your email, you basically asked me about the following two topics and, while I know MANY stories from classmates that I could use, I don't feel comfortable putting their business out in the street. Instead, I'll tell you how these topics applied to me during my two years in Palo Alto. This won't give you the sort of variety you might have been seeking, but a sample size of one is better than a sample size of zero, right? OK, here we go:

---
- Example of the impact of the GSB's "transformational experience": You asked for an example of the impact of the GSB's transformational experience and, as mentioned earlier, I'm only able to offer myself up as that example. To put it short, the GSB literally changed my outlook on the world and my possible place in it. Instead of typing out a long description of how that worked, I'll point you to an entry from the list of my favorite blog entries on the right-nav-bar on my site. I wrote the entry right before starting my first post-MBA job and looked back on what I learned in business school. You can find it at http://marquisweblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/goodbye-to-life-of-student-and-hello_23.html. I usually don't provide links to my old joints, but this one was handy so I figured I'd give it to you here :-)

---
- Teaching and/or style of learning as a contribution to transformational experience: As you know, the GSB uses a combination of lectures, cases, and simulations to give students as well-rounded a classroom experience as possible. But, it really isn't as random as that sentence makes it sound. During the Core courses, there's a healthy combination of lectures and cases to help kids truly understand a range of basic business concepts. In the elective courses, they start weaving simulations into the classroom experience to allow students to use the business skills and judgment developed in the Core curriculum. At first, this is a VERY challenging (READ: terrifying) transition...at least, it was for me...because I wasn't 100% certain that I'd mastered all of those business basics. Then, one day, you'll get the cold call and you just have to get at it...you either sink or you swim. Trust me, it's scary and the words don't seem to come out right at first, but, at some point, you'll realize that what you're saying isn't 100% offbase...and, then the professor or one of your classmates will say "good job" and you'll think "hey, I think I've got this...".

You asked for an example, so I'll give you one involving myself. It took place in my "Managing Growing Enterprises" course with Prof. Ellis during my second year at the GSB. In this class, we would be assigned a starter case that would lay out the early parts of a business story (including introducing the characters) and then close out with a few open scenarios where the protagonist was presented with problems and had to decide how to respond. Each day, we'd come into class and look at the board to see who Prof. Ellis would be calling on to play each role. One day, I walked into class and was preoccupied with something, so I'd forgotten to look at the board...it turns out that my name was listed for one of the main protagonist roles, but I didn't realize it until five or ten minutes into the class session. Once I figured it out, I started to freak out internally and then "BAM!"...I got called on to play out the scenario and "fire" one of my classmates, RM. Don't get me wrong...I'd read the case before class and knew the story lead-in well, but I'd completed blanked out from the shock/pressure. So, I just freestyled it and, in the words of Jamie Foxx in "Ray", "made it do what it do, baby". My man RM played the role of the fired employee well and pushed back like crazy, but I kept pushing back with a combination of firmness and empathy. Strangely, everything I said just came out naturally and, eventually, my nervousness subsided. After about five or six minutes, the exchange ended and I let myself take a deep breath.

When I left class, I felt alright about my performance in class, but wasn't sure that I'd come across as effectively as I'd wanted. But, after that class session, I received an email from one of my classmates (SL) commending me on how well I'd handled the cold call and presented my case for "firing" the character in the case. SL probably didn't think too much about the email when she sent it, but it had a major impact on me...It became one of those "a-ha" moments that convinced me that I would emerge from the GSB as a "business professional" as opposed to some kid who had just taken a bunch of B-school courses. I can't really explain that distinction, but you'll see what I mean once you start B-school yourself.

---

I'm sorry that I couldn't provide any detailed stories aside from my own, but I hope these give you an idea of how the GSB can really affect its students.

So, how did your application to the GSB turn out? Did you end up getting in? I had my fingers crossed for you, but I know that likely had little impact on the final decision. Good luck and I hope everything works out. If you didn't get in this time, please don't let it discourage you. Everything happens for a reason...just keep your head up and keep on moving forward.

Marquis

Reader weighing corporate vs entrepreneurial options

2009-05-05T07:48:00.003-04:00

What's good, peoples. Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!! I hope you all have a good time celebrating it tonight...I know that I will :-)

Before diving into this entry, I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my last entry about why I don't link to my archived entries in a supportive manner. It's good to know that y'all understand where I was coming from and why I was as frustrated as my words made me sound. That said, I didn't write the post for people to come down hard on "knight17". Thinking back, he/she probably didn't know any better and probably felt pretty bad after reading the post prompted by his/her comments. At this point, I'm cool with it and I hope all of you are too.

The email below is from a GSB student that I've "known" for about a year now. Actually, she and I have never met, but she hit me up when she was about to start the school year and we've exchanged emails every now and then when she's had questions for me (you know I've got to look out for the current GSB crop as a GSB "old head"). She sent me the following email yesterday morning referencing my April 23 entry about making time to have a life and, after writing my response, I thought the pair of messages would make a good blog post. So, here you go...

***EDITED***
After seeing her email posted in this entry, the reader contacted me and asked for me to remove the content of her message. Before you start jumping to conclusions, I DID ask for her permission before posting it and she had originally responded "YES". But, I guess she changed her mind after actually seeing it on the site. I know that my response below looks rather odd without the original reader email that prompted it, but I liked my response so I decided to keep it up here.

-----
C wrote:

"Dear Marquis,

[CONTENT OF EMAIL REMOVED AT ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S REQUEST]

Warmly,
C"

-----
My response:

Hey C,

It's great to hear from you and congratulations on almost making it to the end of the road at the GSB. I know it must be strange to think about leaving that place, but it will leave a mark on you that will allow you to take a little piece of the GSB with you, no matter where you end up.

I'd like to thank you for your kind words about the April 23 post. When I sat down to write it, I had no idea of what I was going to say. I just put my hands on the keyboard and just let the words come through my fingers the way that they would...Then, I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat regretting having posted something so personal. I ultimately left it up there and it's nice to know that it has touched many readers, including yourself in the past couple of weeks. I figured that everyone could identify with trying to balance career and real life issues and it sounds like it really hit home for you.

I can't even imagine what you must be going through right now as you stand at a true crossroads between a corporate career and an entrepreneurial path, with the latter allowing you to spend more time with your family. I wish I could tell you how to achieve that delicate balance, but I'm still trying to figure that out myself. What I can tell you is that the professional/career opportunities offered by the GSB will never expire. The GSB makes its resources just as available to alums as it does to current students, so, if you do decide on the entrepreneurial path for now, don't worry about being able to leverage the GSB if you choose to go back corporate in a couple of years. You will ALWAYS be able to get a corporate job, but it isn't very often that one has the opportunity to start a business with family and to maximize quality time with his/her loved ones. If I'd evaluated that sort of opportunity in 2006 when leaving the GSB, I would have been all about taking the corporate route because I believed that that was what B-school grads were supposed to do. Looking at it now in 2009, if I had the chance to start a business with a family member and he/she had a personal brand that could lead to success, I wouldn't think twice about jumping on that opportunity. You have to figure this all out for yourself, but I would suggest going with the option that has the highest probability of making you smile each morning when you wake up.

Re: The Last Lecture series, they did have them at the GSB when I was there, but I had a scheduling conflict, so I could never check any of them out. I heard that Prof. Peterson's was AMAZING though. I had him for "Leadership Persectives" and he's truly one of the greats at the GSB. There's something about the way that he connects with each and every one of his students that is unlike anything I've never seen in the classroom. Shoot, now that you mention him, I should send him an email to check in...

Thanks for your comments about the female that I used to deal with. Things definitely didn't turn out the way that I'd planned, but, instead of dwelling on it, I've just accepted that it's all a part of God's plan. Given the changes in my personality from 2006 to 2008, she definitely didn't end up with the dude she'd started off with, so I don't know what I would have done if the situation were reversed. In fact, I received several emails after that April 23 post (including one from my uncle) saying that I should swallow my pride and try to get her back, but I can't call it. Besides, that ship has sailed and has docked at another port now and your boy isn't not into piracy, so what's done is done. Perhaps, I should have acted earlier, but I wasn't in the right state of mind until recently. Everything happens for a reason, so I have to believe that some good will rise from the ashes of that situation.

Thanks for your words about my most recent post, but I hope you don't think badly of that kid "knight17". I didn't put his comment out there for people to form a negative opinion of him. In hindsight, I should have softened the post I wrote about it, but I appreciate that you understand the perspective I presented in that entry. That blog has always been a labor of love for me, so i'll keep it going as long as people like you find it useful.

Wow, this was a long email. Sorry for making you read so much. Congratulations again for almost being finished with the GSB and good luck after graduation.

Marquis

This blog has been listed as one of the 100 Best Blogs for MBA Students

2009-05-04T11:27:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to make a quick post to let all of you know that this site has been recognized as one of the 100 Best Blogs for MBA Students (http://www.graduatedegree.org/blog/2009/03/100-best-blogs-for-mba-students/).

The list went up over a month ago and I didn't know anything about it until my Stanford GSB roomie informed me that both my blog and his blog (http://detavio.wordpress.com) were included in the list. You know, it's kinda cool to be shouted out in the B-school community for all this writing I've been doing :-). If you get a chance, check out some of the other blogs on the list too. I'm sure that there's a wealth of helpful information available on those other sites.

Why I don't provide links to specific archived entries in most responses...

2009-05-03T18:44:00.002-04:00

Hey, everyone. This is going to be a short entry, but it's one that I felt the need to write to set expectations of what I'm willing to do in my responses to readers.

A couple of days ago, I started an exchange with a reader who had left a comment about my April 29th post. His question was about why I don't make links to my past posts in my responses to readers. I've copied the comment-exchange below:

------
knight17 wrote:

"Marquis, Why are you not linking your posts.. Man, that's why the web is for."

Marquis wrote:

"Knight17, I'm not sure if I'm understanding your question correctly. Are you saying that I should provide links to my own posts in my responses to people?"

knight17 wrote:

"You have said in the above post, in the Extracurricular session :

"I wrote a pretty detailed entry about choosing extracurriculars a few months ago, so, instead of writing a lot about it here, I'll leave it to you to look through my archives for that entry. "

Instead of guiding people to search the archives, you can mark it with a link to that post.

Don't you think it is convenient? It will also improves the no of hits to your pages.

Another thing I like very much is writings where links to outside sites are present. By that, I get to read informative articles related to the topic I am reading also.

- SJA/knight17"

------

OK, so I'm guessing that some of you are thinking "That isn't an unreasonable request for Marquis to provide links to his old posts"...But, when I saw knight17's last comment in the exchange, I literally laughed out loud. Perhaps, that was an odd reaction, but I just couldn't help it because the request seemed so strange to me. I mean, I write all of these entries and post them out into cyberspace and now it seems that that isn't "convenient" enough...kinda funny when you look at it like that, right?

As I've mentioned on here before, I don't maintain this blog to receive any sort of acclaim or financial gain as a result. Rather, I do it just to help people because I've found that people who've reached a certain point in life/career seldom take the time to reach back and help others to make similar moves in their lives. Every minute that I devote to this blog is a donation of my time that I could be spending doing any number of other activities on my end (i.e. living life, doing "real life" things, taking a nap, getting my drink on, etc.). So, whenever someone comes at me saying that I'm not doing enough to make things easy enough for y'all, I get bothered...naw, lemme change that to "shocked" or "taken aback". Here's why...It takes me AT LEAST 1-2 hours to write every response to a reader email because I take the time to think through the questions and provide the best advice possible. If I'm willing to GIVE that sort of gift of my personal time, I wouldn't say that it unreasonable for me to expect the people that I'm helping to use THEIR time to read through entries that I've written in the past. Y'all would be surprised at the number of emails I receive asking questions that I've answered MANY times over on this blog. Whenever one comes in, I direct the person to my archives for those past entries instead of getting upset that the person wasn't willing to take the time to see if their question has already been answered. But, unless I'm feeling even more generous than usual and come across a bunch of free time, your boy won't be searching through 400+ past entries to find specific entries to link to in my responses.

So, back to "knight17", thanks for your comment and suggestion about linking to my old blog entries. In theory, it's a great idea and it certainly would be very convenient to the readers that email me. But, in reality, it just isn't feasible for me to search through everything I've written over the past 5.5 years in addition to actually writing my responses. I took a step in that direction when I started tagging my blog entries and, eventually, I'll complete that for all of my archived entries, but, until then, interested parties will just have to keep on reading through them to find what they need.

A few interesting articles to share

2009-05-01T18:52:00.001-04:00

Hey there, folk. Recently, I've come across some really interesting articles and wanted to pass them along just in case some of you might enjoy them.

1. My long-time readers know that I have a pretty big following of cats from India. I'm not sure how that happened, but I get a lot of emails from kids out there who are targeting business school. A few days ago, I found a great article about the job market for those coming out of MBA programs in India and knew that it would grab the eye of at least that segment of readers. The article can be found at this link --> "India's MBAs Face Dismal Job Market"

2. The next article is a blog entry announcing a new company involving one of my friends (TW) who is currently a first-year MBA student at Stanford GSB. The company is called GreetBeatz and they allow customers to commission custom rap, pop, and R&B tunes for friends with whom they're connected on Facebook. When TW first told me about the idea, I thought it was a soon-to-be winner and, now that it's up and running, I can't wait to see them grow and gain momentum. You can find the article at this link --> "GreetBeatz Lets You Send Personalized Songs to Friends Through Facebook Connect"

3. I don't know if any of you follow the comings and goings in the Private Equity industry, but, if you do, this article might be interesting to you. In short, a scandal has erupted involving under-the-table payments allegedly being made to NY state officials by PE firms in order to gain access to representatives (and associated investment commitments) of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. The NY State Attorney General has been going after the players in this scandal and the news on this thing has been hot for the past week or two since the story broke. The following article was posted by PEHub.com earlier today and I thought I'd share it with you guys.

By the way, I copied the entire article text here because PEHub.com sometimes shuts down access to articles via links a few days after the original posting.

-----
"Pension kickbacks national problem, NY's Cuomo says"
Source: PEHub.com
Posted on May 1, 2009

New York state’s criminal probe of kickbacks paid by companies eager to manage its $122 billion state pension fund has exposed “a national network of actors” whose schemes are ongoing, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.

“This is all across the nation, and it’s continuing today,” the Democratic attorney general said on a conference call.

The probe, which began two years ago, has fixed the spotlight on the use of placement agents hired by investment firms to open the doors of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. For more details, please see: [ID:nN15509853]. Cuomo said he is also is scrutinizing lawyers and lobbyists.

The investigation is another effort to stamp out graft and the practice of “pay to play,” which involves giving gifts or campaign donations to win public contracts. So far the probe has looked into the web of relationships and business contracts involving money managers, politicians and pension officials spanning the country from New York City and the state capital, Albany, to Texas, New Mexico and California.

(Reuters) On Thursday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is working with Cuomo, charged that Dallas-based Aldus Equity Partners won New York pension business because of “its willingness to illegally line the pockets of others.”

The state pension fund had aimed to hire more women and minority-owned investment firms and had begun talks with one. But Aldus was chosen, Cuomo said, when the minority-owned firm “allegedly refused to pay kickbacks to Morris and another associate.”

Aldus, a private equity firm, says it manages over $5 billion, and the probe already has cost Aldus clients in New Mexico and New York. Cuomo said Aldus also is active in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, California, and New York City.

ANOTHER VIEW OF GIVE AND TAKE

Both Cuomo and the SEC charged that Saul Meyer, an Aldus founder, paid about $320,000 to a shell company owned by Henry Morris, a top fund-raiser for New York’s former state comptroller. This led the New York state pension fund’s then-chief investment officer, David Loglisci, to invest $375 million with Aldus from 2004 to 2006.

Demonstrating the power that Morris wielded over pension investments, Cuomo said Morris told a Meyer intermediary: “Tell that little peanut of a man that I can take business away as easily as I provided (it).”

Lawyers for Morris and Loglisci, who were indicted in March, say they are innocent.

On Thursday, Meyer was charged with a state securities felony and released on $200,000 bail. His lawyer Paul Shechtman said: “Time and evidence will show that Saul Meyer did nothing wrong.”

Aldus knew that Morris was “working both sides of the deal,” Cuomo said, by marketing funds for investments in the Aldus/NY Emerging Fund in which Morris had a 35 percent stake.

Aldus Equity lawyer Matthew Orwig faulted the SEC for acting before finishing its probe, calling the threatened legal action “appalling and careless with the law and with people’s reputations.” Aldus partners said they were disappointed by the “unexpected legal developments.”

Aldus could face more legal peril. The New York state pension fund is weighing legal remedies against Aldus and Meyer after ending its investment with the firm. New York City pensions could cut ties with the firm, while New Mexico’s governor called on the state Education Board to drop its contract with Aldus a day after ordering the state investment officer to do so.

Cuomo said that while Meyer was seeking more business with New York’s pension fund, he helped Daniel Hevesi, a son of Alan Hevesi, the former state comptroller whose oversight of the state pension fund is being probed, earn a $250,000 fee on a New Mexico pension deal.

Alan Hevesi’s lawyer Bradley Simon has said the former comptroller “has not been charged with any misconduct with respect to mismanagement of the New York state pension fund.”
By Joan Gralla and Rachelle Younglai
(Additional reporting by Jim Christie in San Francisco)
-----

4. The article below is another posting from PEHub.com (They've got some great stuff on there) that immediately caught my eye for two reasons. First, it's all about management and business, which, as you know, is a strong interest of mine. Second, I'm a HUGE fan of the "Godfather" trilogy. In one article, the writer combined two topics that stick out to me and did so masterfully. I figured that some of you might find this entertaining.

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"The Management Gospel According to The Godfather" by Howard Anderson
Source: PEHub.com
Posted: April 27, 2009

Everything I know about management I learned from The Godfather.

At its core, business is quite simple. The goal of any organization is to upset the status quo and then re-establish it on a more favorable basis. Of course, all your competitors are trying to do the same thing.

The world of business is inhabited by just two tribes – Attackers and Defenders. The Defenders own the mountain. They have customers, a product that is valued, financial strength and organizational prowess. They are able to withstand certain amounts of adversity and protect their franchise.

Attackers are young upstarts without any of those strengths, but often with a new method, a new technology, or a new view of the world. Defenders? Think IBM, AT&T, Disney, Goldman Sachs. Think The Corleone Family. Attackers are the new kids on the block. Cisco, Google, E-Trade, Pixar. Think Sollozzo, the drug lord.

The Godfather is a management book. It puts Peter Drucker to shame; it makes Good to Great about as relevant as Mr. Rogers.

The Godfather is not about The Mafia, it’s not about Families; it is not about tradition. It is about how you take a small commodity company, Carlene Olive Oil, and change its business model, change its constituency and make it into a worldwide dominating enterprise. It is about handling Adversity; it is about turning a sleepy little family business into Power. It is about taking tactics and turning them into strategy. Its lessons are for Rupert Murdoch and his quasi-dysfunctional family, or Bernie Madoff or Steve Jobs.

It is about a founder, Vito Corleone, who takes an organization about as far as it can go… to Michael Corleone, who is the first of the next generation – who proves himself at another organization (the Marine Corps) and comes back to reorganize and globalize a family company. But The Godfather is also about hubris, bad management, dysfunctional organizations and failures to read the tea leaves. It is the mother of all case studies. Just as The Corleone family was left vulnerable to the ambushed Don, Apple is vulnerable when Steve Jobs is disabled with illness and the Children’s Crusade management team tries to cope.

It is about a meritocracy – where the best move up, where primogenerity gives way to competence. It is about branding, where enemies are intimated, friends are rewarded and survival is Job One.

It is about talent. How to recognize it. Reward it. Encourage it. It is about recruiting. It is about weeding out talent also. Jack Welch may talk about firing the bottom 10%. The Godfather shows how really to weed out those who aren’t with the program.

The Godfather is about dedication; the placing of the job above all else. It is about Business/Government relations. It is about picking partners, and recognizing when partners do not have the same agenda. It is about negotiation. It is about recognizing both opportunity and risk.

So maybe the Harvard Business School should save their students about $150,000 and two years of their lives. Just give them the book or the movies and go from there.

Howard Anderson is the founder and former president of high-tech market research firm The Yankee Group. He is also a co-founder of Battery Ventures, a venture capital firm in the Boston area, and, most recently, YankeeTek Ventures, a high technology venture capital firm in Cambridge. He currently serves as The William Porter Distinguished Lecturer of Behavioral Policy Science at MIT Sloan.

The above post is a truncated version of a longer presentation Howard is preparing, which will be given on May 21. Get more info here.
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MBA aspirant seeking advice on differentiation and extracurricular activities

2009-04-29T23:08:00.001-04:00

Hello all. I'd like to start by thanking some of you for the nice comments and emails that were submitted after I posted my last entry. I still can't believe I put so much of my business out in the street in that last one, but, due to those comments, it feels like the right thing to have done. I just hope my story helped at least a few of you think about the necessity of a true balance between life and work. Once a day is over, we can never get it back, so the best thing we can do is to live each one of them to the fullest...at least, that idea makes sense to me. :-)

Also, you might have noticed that I changed the template of the blog, but you may not have noticed a new collection of links on the right-hand side of the site. I added in some link to a few of my favorite entries over the years that I've kept this thing going. I had a little time tonight and dug up some of the most memorable ones because I realized that most people who visit her nowadays don't take the time to look through the archived entries. In addition to my last entry, which was probably the most personal one I've ever written, I've posted some other jewels that will give interested readers more insights into me. Feel free to check them out if you've got some time.

OK, let's get on to the entry for today...the reader below works in India doing business process outsourcing work for a NYC-based hedge fund and he's looking for ways that he can differentiate himself before applying to business school. I always feel a connection to kids who don't think their work experience sticks out enough for an MBA application because I felt the same way almost six years ago when I was applying...hold up...it's been almost six years since I applied to business school?!?!?!?! Oh lawd, The Kid is quickly turning into "The Old Man" :-( Oh well, let's see if I can help this kid out with my response.

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PA wrote:

"Hi Marquis,

First of all let me thank you for the wonderful work that you are doing for the student community here. I really look up to it. I graduated from college with a BBA in 2008 and am working for the D.E. Shaw Group in India since September 2008. I have interned with the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Google, a local insurance company ICICI, and KPMG. I have held a leadership role in a community organization(elected youth leader which is the highest position for youth volunteers) where I was involved in fund raising for Natural calamities, health care, higher education of under-priviledged members of the community and organizing various activites through out the year. Apart from this I have had several extra-curricular achievements in public speaking, dance and national level business competitions. I would like to apply to Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, Chicago-Booth and LBS for the class of 2013.

Though I have been trying to figure out ways and means to differentiate myself from a group of applicants, I would like some specific advise on the kind of work experience that an Adcom would be looking for. To be frank, the D.E. Shaw group's India operations are more on the back office side as we support the front end operations in Trading, Investment and recruiting. Given that the work is essentially BPO related, would this seriously impact the application or is it really the work I do here and my contribution to the team that matters more. Also, in terms of extra curricular activities related to community service, can you please list some activities that would be of value for an application to be noticed? I have thought of joining the toastmasters club, would that be of any help? Appreciate your opinion on this.

Thanks,
PA"
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My response:

PA,

What's going on, man. I know it's been a while since you sent your email, but it's been taking me a while to work through my Inbox backlog and I'm just now getting to my March 2009 messages. I hope this response is getting to you in time to be helpful as you think through your upcoming business school applications. I'm happy to see that Stanford GSB is among your target schools and, as you might have gathered from my blog, it truly is a special place to spend two years. You seem to have an interesting collection of experiences that could sound great on a business school application, but there are some concerns about differentiating yourself. Based on what you've told me so far, you do a great job of differentiating yourself, but you seem to be focusing on your current job as a concern...we're going to have to dive into that a little to change your perspective on it. Before I dive into this response, I must say that I have NEVER worked for an admissions office, so everything I'm going to say below is just my opinion. Honestly, I don't even think that someone who HAS been an MBA admissions officer would give you the level of detail that you're seeking, but I'll throw some ideas that pop into my head when considering your questions.

I'm going to break your profile into two parts: your work experience and your extra-curricular activities. I've written in several entries that an MBA application is made up of a collection of items, including these two, but, right now, we're going to focus on these two because they appear to be your biggest concerns. Also, these two will form the foundation of your MBA application positioning and, as such, are very important for you to wrap your mind around correctly. Now, let's start digging into the important stuff:

- Career/work experience: I'll start by saying that I'm not going to be able to tell you about the type of work experience that an Adcom is "looking for" for two reasons: (1) I don't know what they "look for" and (2) I don't think they particular "look for" anything at all. I think that they are interested in what you've done in your career up to the point of applying and what you plan to do after the MBA. You'll have to package everything together into a compelling story that grab the Adcom's interest and convince him/her that you are the right fit for his/her program. So, let's think about your work experiences...you've had a varied collection of internships with some top-notch names like Google and KPMG and you're working for one of the foremost hedge funds in the world...yeah, I know you're on the operations side, but I still think that is a great firm to have on your profile. So, if I were to close my eyes and imagine your resume, you've got some winning companies listed on it. If it's this easy for me to see that, why isn't it just as easy for you to see it? The problem may be that you're focusing on the nature of your work being back office operations as if that's a bad thing. Focus on the quality of your work and your contributions to the DE Shaw team when forming your MBA positioning and writing your essays. Think about it like this...nothing that your company does on the front-end would run as well if you weren't doing what you do on the back-end. So, in a way, you're part of the "special sauce" that makes your company into the big-time performer that it is...right? Everyone can't start off as a consultant or a banker prior to business school and the vast majority of us don't. Hell, I was a Java programmer with absolutely no business experience prior to the GSB and I didn't turn out half bad. You can't change the past and the career choices you've made up to now, but you CAN figure out the best way to describe them to the admissions people to make yourself look like a rockstar candidate.

- Extracurricular activities: In terms of extracurricular activities, I don't know if there is the "right" set of activities that'll guarantee admission. So, instead of trying to pick the "right" ones, I always recommend that people pursue activities that interest them or are related to topics about which they're passionate. I wrote a pretty detailed entry about choosing extracurriculars a few months ago, so, instead of writing a lot about it here, I'll leave it to you to look through my archives for that entry. Based on the first paragraph of your email, I'd say that you have a good set of activities in your background and I'd guess that they all touch areas that interest you, which is key. Participating in Toastmasters might help, but I don't know how it would fit into your overall story. Just make sure that the activities you choose say something about YOU because it'll be an important part of your introduction to the admissions committees.

I hope the advice I've provided in this message is helpful to you. I know that it must be scary to think about the prospect of applying to Bschool and making yourself stand out in a crowd. I would recommend checking out some of my old blog entries from late 2007 and early 2008 to find some detailed comments on developing your MBA story and positioning. I have a feeling that you'll find those entries as good thought-starters as you approach the application cycle in the Fall. Take care and good luck on your apps.

Marquis

Never get too busy making a living that you forget to make a life

2009-04-23T01:06:00.005-04:00

Hey there, folk. As you can probably tell, I've been doing a lot of introspection in the past few weeks since the passing of my aunt and, along with that, I've been writing a lot more about what's going on in my head nowadays. Well, that trend will continue with this entry, so, if you were hoping to see any entry with me answering a reader email message, then you might as well stop reading now :-)

By now, you've all probably heard about the suicide of Freddie Mac's CFO David Kellerman via some news outlet (CNN.com story). Some of you probably heard the news and thought "Wow, that dude must have been crazy" or "Well, that's what he gets for his company's role in the economic downturn". But, it hit me differently and I was in a funk about it all day since hearing about it on CNN this morning and the timing was especially bad for that reaction because I was in an all-day meeting at a client site. At first, I was a little shocked at how deeply the suicide of a dude I'd never heard of had affected me, but I soon realized that it impacted me because I couldn't believe that professional pressure had driven the guy to end his life. I know I'm making a BIG assumption by saying that it was due to professional pressure was the reason, but y'all know that every one of you thought the EXACT SAME THING when you heard about it. Life is such a precious thing and the thought that anything having to with a job would make someone give up his own life had me messed up...along with the fact that I could kinda understand where he was coming from. I never wanted to do anything so drastic, but I did let career-related pressure drive me into the ground mentally and emotionally and took a big "real life" L (loss) because of it.

Back in 2006, I started my first post-MBA job with all of the excitement and energy that one would expect and I immediately dove into it with full force.You know, after getting a top MBA, one often puts a lot of pressure on him-/herself to "knock it out of the park" and, as such, often throws 125% of him-/herself into the job. That's exactly what I did too. It's just part of what get ingrained in most MBA students during business school. One is surrounded by incredibly smart, oftentimes Type-A folks and, as a result, he/she becomes conditioned to push himself toward career success (often, at all costs). At the same time, I was also settling into a brand new city, trying to maintain a long distance relationship, and was separated from all my family and the majority of my friends. Up to that point, I'd put so much effort into getting where I was, so I KNEW that I had to optimize on my career right out of the gate and figured that everything would naturally fall into place.

During my first year after B-school, it became increasingly difficult to balance everything, but, having worked so hard to make it through the GSB and earn that job, I just defaulted to pushing even harder on the work side. In order to do that, I took time/focus/attention away from my personal life and relationships to get the extra energy and bandwidth that I needed to double-down on my job focus. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was putting a mountain of pressure on myself professionally and the stress and nerves that resulted from it changed me into a totally different person...and the change wasn't for the better. I went from being laid-back, funny, and somewhat silly to being edgy, nervous, and overly serious. My care-free nature went away and I became a constant worrier and overall stress case. Even worse, I stopped smiling...and, when i say that, I'm referring to a REAL smile, not just the one that you show when you want people to think everything's cool. Basically, at some point, I just kinda got by day-to-day feeling "blah". It must have been terrible for the female I was dealing with at the time because she had to hear me on the other end of the phone in this state day-in and day-out, but those conversations would at least keep me going a little more each day. But, one big lesson I learned during this time is that it's pretty much impossible to make someone else happy if you're not even there yourself. Over time, the more I pushed myself job-wise, the more frazzled and down I became and I knew that this wasn't going to be sustainable.

The pressure continued as I started looking around at new opportunities to follow that first job because I didn't really know what I should do next. I spent months looking at different industries, talking to headhunters/recruiters, and interviewing at different companies and nothing seemed to "feel right" to me. Through it all, I kept on putting more pressure on myself because my brain kept replaying a line I'd heard many times before "You only leave that place once, so you've got to make the most of it when making your next move". So, as time passed and the "right thing" seemed farther and farther away, I found myself getting more and more down on myself and everything else. Even worse, while I tried my best to keep all of it bottled up inside my head, I'm pretty sure my worry became abundantly clear to those who interacted with me regularly, which is something I regret having subjected other folks to. Overall, I was just plain lost and didn't have a clue when or how I'd be able to find my direction.

Then, one day in September, I received a fateful phone call and, all of the sudden, I was all alone, which kinda was the deathblow at that point. So, not only did I feel "lost in the woods" professionally because I didn't have a clue of which career direction I'd take, but now I felt "lost in the woods" personally too and it all came together as the "Perfect Storm" for me. It felt like someone had shaken the table and the whole house of cards can crashed in on me. The weeks following that day were among the lowest I can remember, but did I ever get anywhere close to wanting to do what Kellerman did?...HECK NAW! There's no way I'd let myself go out like that because I know my mother wouldn't be able to handle it. Plus, I think I have a legit shot of making it into some history books one day and I'd be doing a disservice to the children of the future if I didn't continue doing ridiculous things for them to read about one day :-) That said, there were several days during the worst of it when I didn't even want to get out of bed and felt that I'd become a failure. I often wondered if I'd ever break out of that funk and, although I knew that every storm eventually breaks, it sure didn't feel like it at the time.

The thing that ultimately broke me out of it was spending a sad 31st birthday by myself at home all day thinking about how I had to get my life together and then getting a call the following day from my current employer offering me my current job. After that, I spent a couple of months trying to get my mind right regarding all the change that I'd gone through and was about to face and then relocated to Chicago. And, for the past five months, I've been progressively getting my swagger back and returning to normal, fun-loving, ig'nant-acting Marquis. I was really worried for a little while though and I doubt most of the people around me even had a clue about the storm going on in my head.

OK, so why did I put all my business out in the street ONCE AGAIN? Well, I've been giving y'all too much information about myself for years now, so I'm pretty accustomed to doing it. More importantly, I wanted to share this to help you all put things into perspective in light of Kellerman's tragic suicide. As y'all know, I've tended to mess up quite a bit over the years, but I eventually pull some lessons out of those screw-ups and then I'll post something up here so y'all won't make the same mistakes. That's what I'm trying to do here. I know that some of you have probably been going through some drama as of late (especially considering the down economy) and I just want you to know that, no matter what it is, it's going to be alright. Too many people stress over their "career selves" and, when you're six feet underground, no one is going to care how great of a finance manager, engineer, or strategy professional you were. But, people will remember how good (or bad) of a family member, friend, or mate you were...that'll the lasting part of your legacy for the people who care most about you and please don't forget that.

I've got a pot-holder in my kitchen with the following quote that immediately popped into my mind when I heard today's news about Kellerman: "Never get too busy making a living that you forget to make a life". This is a really simple concept that all of us know we should follow, but very few hard-charging professionals like us pay attention to what should be the most important thing in life...actually taking the time to LIVE. Instead of focusing on our own happiness and cultivating relationships with our loved ones, we often dive into any number of academic and professional pursuits while thinking "Lemme get my career stuff right first and then I'll take care of the other stuff". The problem with that line of thought is that there's no guarantee that the "other stuff" will still be there when you finally realize what is truly important. Once that happens, you could be left with all kinds of regrets and trust me...you DON'T want that.

Remember, if you get laid off or fired from a job, you can always get another one. If you receive a bad performance review, you can always do better during the next review period or at your next job. If you don't get accepted into business school, you can always reapply later on. If you stumble along your career path, you can always dust yourself and either continue along that career path or choose a new one. Professional life is just that...professional life...and it doesn't have to be the end-all and be-all for you. The "real life" part of life is what many of us often forget and I hope you'll take this one piece of advice...DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF THE PERSONAL SIDE OF LIVING. If a loved one passes away, you can never get another chance to spend time with him/her or let him/her know that you care. If you have a relationship with someone special that dissolves, chances are that you won't get a second opportunity to start over and do it right. If you let your connections to close friends fade, you might not get a chance to re-establish those links ever again. And, if you lose or take your own life, you can NEVER get it back. I bet David Kellerman's family and friends wish that he'd thought about that last one before he chose to do what he did.

I know that I don't know most of y'all personally, but I consider you all to be my peoples after all these years of writing to you. So, I hope you'll let what I've said sink in a little and recognize what's really important in life and let those things be your focus. Never let what happens to you professionally make you take the L on anything personally. *OK, I'm stepping off my soapbox now* Have a nice night...

****EDITED****
Hey, I just wanted to add a couple of things to the end of this post:

1. I want to give a shout out to my man KD who read this post and sent me a link to an article entitled "Personal Renewal" that he thought I would find interesting (Here is the link). The theme of the article is about people who feel like they're stuck in place and need to go through a process of rebooting themselves. I'm still only halfway through it (it's a LONG one), but I'm liking what the guy has to say so far.

2. As I was walking to work today, a song came on that I've heard thousands of times, but really spoke to me today because of what I'd written in this entry. It's called "Run to the Sun" and it's by Pharell Williams' group, N.E.R.D. You can check out that song on YouTube at THIS LINK. I've always liked the song because it has a great flow, but, if you pay attention to the words (the lyrics are on the YouTube page), you'll understand what made it catch my attention after writing this entry. It's funny how God throws messages at us, right?

Questions about Management Consulting and career options afterward

2009-04-22T00:19:00.000-04:00

Alright, so I'm going to start this entry off with another edition of "Marquis bringing something good to the People"...I want to pass along some information that might help those of you planning to apply to business school in the Fall. I recently discovered a GMAT prep and B-school application counseling scholarship being offered by a site called BeatTheGMAT.com: 2009 Beat The GMAT Scholarship (click link for more detailed information). According to the detailed site, the prizes up for grabs are:

"First Prize ($5490 total value)
$500 Cash
One full Manhattan GMAT course
1 School Comprehensive Package with Stacy Blackman Consulting

Second Prize ($2310 total value)
$500 Cash
One full Manhattan GMAT course
2500-word Editing Service with Stacy Blackman Consulting

Third Prize ($2210 total value)
$500 Cash
One full Manhattan GMAT course
1000-word Editing Service with Stacy Blackman Consulting

Fourth Prize ($2020 total value)
$500 Cash
One full Manhattan GMAT course
Copy of MBA Application Roadmap by Stacy Blackman

Fifth Prize ($1990 total value)
$500 Cash
One full Manhattan GMAT course "

The last day to submit application materials, so there are still two more weeks to get your stuff sent in. I don't know much about the BeatTheGMAT.com, but I've heard great things about both Manhattan GMAT and Stacy Blackman Consulting. So, this might be something worth jumping on if you're planning to apply to business school in the Fall. Now, don't y'all ever say that I never did anything nice for you :-D

OK, now on to the entry...The email below is from a prospective applicant to Stanford GSB who has some questions related to transitioning into Consulting after business school. He wrote an email to me in early 2008 and I hit him with a long response, with this follow-up email coming in a couple of months later. Because I get so many emails, it's often hard for me to respond to follow-ups from people that I've already helped before and, in these cases, it usually takes me a while to get to them. In this case, it took me seven months, which is probably the longest delay in a reply that I've ever had before. When I realized that, I just HAD to email this dude back. Let's see if my response arrives in time for him to consider it to be relevant.

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SM wrote:

"Dear Marquis,
I strongly believe you are doing a great job with this blog.
Thanks for investing your time answering our queries. I am prospective Stanford student (applying in Oct.09) from India with a short tem goal of Strategy consulting.

1. What are the three biggest challenges that you experienced in your tenure with Mckinsey ? How your Stanford MBA helped you to tackle the same?
2. What are the challenges do you see in Management Consulting in near future?
3. One of the challenges is optimizing the ratio of staff/ Partner i.e. optimizing the Partner time in given assignment? During your Mckinsey careers how your team handled such challenge?
4. Do you believe that leading Strategic Planning and Execution department in a Multinational organization is a viable long term goal after working as a strategy consultant for 6/7 years? If yes, then can you elaborate the same a bit?

Regards,
SM "

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My response:

SM,

I hope this message finds you doing well. I know it's been a few months since you sent your email, but, since I had written a REALLY LONG response to an email from you earlier, I prioritized some other readers' messages over yours to share my insights more fairly with others. Well, I just realized that about seven months have past since your email came in, so I figured that it was as good a time as cany to address your questions. I'm going to try my best to answer your questions while being efficient with what I write since I put so much time into responding to the last email you sent to me.

Judging from your questions, I can see that you've got a strong interest in joining my former employer, which is cool, but I hope you can understand that I've got to be thoughtful about how I answer your questions. I might not give you the specific details that you were hoping for, but my answers will give you a decent idea of how things go down. Without further delay, here are my responses:

- "What are the three biggest challenges that you experienced in your tenure with Mckinsey ? How your Stanford MBA helped you to tackle the same?" --> Great question, but I'm not going to answer it here because I've been mulling over a future blog entry that will give a great answer to this one. It's going to take me a while to dive deep on that response, so I'd rather hold off on writing about it now and save it for the upcoming entry.

- "What are the challenges do you see in Management Consulting in near future?" --> Whew! This was a pretty good question back in September when you originally emailed me, but it's a BIG question right now as the economic downturn has intensified. The current economic environment has become a perfect storm for a wide range of industries and I don't believe that the Consulting industry is immune from being impacted by it. Many corporations and other organizations are cutting back on discretionary spending, which affects the pipeline fof work for Consulting firms. Along with this trend, many firms are facing overcapacity of staff with the volume of work declining and many folks just chillin' "on the beach" waiting for new projects to launch. In some cases, traditional "go-to clients" (like those in the financial services and retail industries) for firms have ceased to exist and the associated bodies of work have vanished along with them. And, now that I think about it, many companies have filed for bankruptcy in the past year and, if they hadn't made payments to consulting firms that provided services for them beforehand, I imagine that those consulting firms would be hurting for those missing payments right about now. I have heard many stories baout how tough it was in the industry right after the dot-com bubble burst, but that drama was likely nowhere near as tough as the current state of the market.

One issue that can be a blessing and curse for the industry is the abundance of talent that will be interested in pursuing careers in Consulting. Many of the kids who wanted to become i-bankers are now targeting consulting because the Investment Banking industry as we knew it is dead. So, there are tons of kids trying to get Consulting gigs, which means there will be many high-quality candidates in the field, but the firms will have to balance the availability of talent with their recruiting needs over the next couple of years. I don't know how long the global economy will be struggling, but assume that there will be some sort of lag between economic recovery and the eventual re-emergence of demand for consulting services. In the meantime, the firms will have to balance their current and projected future staffing needs against the available candidates, which probably will be a non-trivial task.

- "One of the challenges is optimizing the ratio of staff/ Partner i.e. optimizing the Partner time in given assignment? During your Mckinsey careers how your team handled such challenge?" --> Great question...but, I don't know how detailed of an answer I can give you because it often gets handled on a case by case basis. What I'm going to say here isn't specific to McK because I assume that it would work in a similar fashion at other firms. Basically, optimizing Partner time would depend on that Partner's workload. If possible, the Partner would visit the team on-site for at least a day per week and then stay in regular contact with the Manager via phone or email to get status updates. In other situations where the partner can't be on site as often, he or she may have regular conference calls with the team to stay plugged into what's going on at the ground-level. Many firms have an Associate Partner or Principal role to help in providing senior-level support to project teams. If you'd like more detailed information for how specific firms handle this issue, I'd recommend reaching out to current employees at your target firms and asking about it.

- "Do you believe that leading Strategic Planning and Execution department in a Multinational organization is a viable long term goal after working as a strategy consultant for 6/7 years? If yes, then can you elaborate the same a bit?" --> I believe that one can DEFINITELY lead a Strategic Planning and Execution department after working as a strategy consultant for 6-7 years. In fact, I know of several people who have done just that after less time than that. And, even if one doesn't transition directly into the lead role of a Corporate Strategy department (or VP/SVP of Strategy), he/she can likely move into a Director-level position after a couple of years. A great way to prepare for that transition is to focus on a particular industry/function early on in your consulting career to build up relevant skills for a given sector. As you work on different projects in that sector, you'll gain many insights about the inner workings of the sector and see that several issues pop up again and again. You'd want to leverage these learnings as you talk to company recruiters and headhunters to find the right fit in a Corporate Strategy role. I'm not saying that it'll be easy, but the process is relatively straightforward because many consultants have made a similar transition into running internal Strategy organizations in corporations over the years.

I hope these answers are helpful to you. Take care and good luck on your Stanford GSB application in the Fall.

-Marquis

US News & World Report 2010 B-school rankings leaked early...at least that's the word on the street

2009-04-21T00:37:00.002-04:00

OK, so y'all know I like to pass along good information when I can, right? Well, I've been keeping my ear to the streets and found out that the US News & World Report 2010 Business School rankings have been leaked a couple of weeks early. The funny part is that they accidentally leaked it themselves and now the news is kinda hot out on the B-school message board circuit.

Here's the story...The best I've been able to figure out is that US News & World Report put out a video about graduate schools on their website (LINK TO THE VIDEO) recently and accidentally linked the list. If you check out the video and go to the 0:55 mark, you'll see a list of B-school rankings displayed on the screen. After this apparent slip-up, a site called AutoAdmit.com scanned the B-school rankings shown in that US News & World Report video and posted it on their site. From there, the story broke and the news about it caught fire on the BusinessWeek B-school message boards and other websites. I thought about posting the list up here for you, but I figured that it would be smarter to refer you to that other site to see the list...you never know what can happen, right?

In the grand scheme of things, does this leak really matter? Probably not because everyone who was planning to apply this year has already done so and admitted applicants have chosen their schools by now. But, y'all know that the B-school applicant crowd loves looking for stuff to get worked up over at this time of the year :-) If the list posted on AutoAdmit.com is correct, there were some VERY interesting movements among the top tier of business schools.

Questions from a reader looking at Graduate Finance programs

2009-04-19T12:22:00.001-04:00

What's good, folk. You've got to love the weekends, right? And, they're especially good when the NBA playoffs start up. Four games yesterday and four games today make for a sports fan's dream weekend :-) Plus, the weather is making a turn for the better here in Chicago, so I can't complain at all. Man, I'm glad I pulled up stakes and moved up here.

This entry's email is from a reader who has an engineering background and wants to transition to a client-centric role like consulting or I-banking. She's chosen to pursue graduate Finance programs to rebrand herself and had some questions for me around that. Unfortunately, I don't know much about the type of programs she's targeting, so I don't think I was very helpful to her. I always feel a little bad when I don't have the background to truly deliver the insight that people are seeking...

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KC wrote:

"Dear Marquis,

I've been reading your blog for a few months and I must say you are doing a wonderful job of putting information up on the Net for people. I've found your blog an incredibly useful resource, and I'd really appreciate if you could find a few moments to give me your perspective on post-graduate studies.

I'm an international student with a BE in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley, and have been working for 2 years in science research. I've realized, though, that academia isn't really the path I want to take; I would much prefer to work in a fast-paced, client-centric role that still leverages somewhat on analytical/quantitative skills, such as consultancy or investment banking.

I applied to several schools' Masters programs to rebrand myself, and currently have admits at Columbia (M Financial Engineering), Cornell (M ORIE- Financial Engineering), Stanford (M MS&E), and Oxford (M Financial Economics). I was wondering if you would be so kind to give me your perspective on the following:

1. I believe that Oxford's curriculum, being the least mathematical in nature, is closest to what I would like to actually do -- I don't really want to end up in a quant research position. However, in your experience, is there a significant disadvantage in coming from a non-USA or non-New York school during the recruiting process?

2. Would any of the schools above have a certain "reputation" among people currently in the field? For example, would there be a widespread perception that students from school X are pigeonholed as purely quants, while students from school Y are seen as more versatile?

Thank you so much in advance for your time and trouble! I really appreciate what you are doing and do look forward to your response.

Best regards and have a great weekend ahead,
KC"
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My response:

KC,

Thanks for checking out my blog and sending in your questions. I know it's taken me a while to respond, but I'm sure you understand the number of emails that I receive from readers. It often takes me a while to get to people's messages, but I always get back to them. In your case, I hope I'm not getting back to you too late to be helpful given the decision that you've got to make. By the way, I'm not sure if you've been admitted to any of the schools where you've applied yet, but, if you have, I'd like to congratulate you on the accomplishment. Given the current state of the economy, many people are retreating into grad programs, so I'd imagine that the competition for spots in these program is incredibly fierce.

As I read your email, I couldn't help but think that I might not be able to be incredibly helpful to you because I don't know much about the programs you're targeting. I know people who've been in programs like them and I've heard folks talk about the programs, but I haven't been exposed to enough details to "KNOW" what's up in that space. That said, I'll try my best to answer your questions:

1. "However, in your experience, is there a significant disadvantage in coming from a non-USA or non-New York school during the recruiting process?" --> From what i've seen, I wouldn't say that there's a significant disadvantage in coming from a non-USA or non-NYC school. I've seen plenty of people from both categories of schools do well in the recruiting process...at least for MBA candidates, that is. I'm not 100% sure how it would be for the programs you're looking at though. A lot of that may depend on the geographic location where you'd like to work. If you want to work in internationally, there MAY be an advantage in coming from a non-USA school. I'd assume that sort of thing would be company-specific. One roadblock that you may face is gaining access to the employers that interest you because they may not recruit directly from your program. Your program may be targeted as a part of a general push toward Master's candidates at your school overall, so you'll want to make sure that you distinguish yourself from the pack. Attending as many of the general information sessions held by your target firms will be a must-do to place yourself in the memories of the recruiting staff. Your resume and cover letter should also be SPARKLING such that your qualifications jump off the page. Finally, if you are invited to interview, you'll have to present yourself as not being purely quant and having some softer skills to bring to the job. If you need more information on any of these suggestions, you can check my archived entries for advice I've given other readers in these areas.

2. "Would any of the schools above have a certain "reputation" among people currently in the field? For example, would there be a widespread perception that students from school X are pigeonholed as purely quants, while students from school Y are seen as more versatile?" --> Wow, I wish I could help you with this question, but I don't know enough about these programs in general or their reputations to make any kind of statement about how they would be perceived in the field. My guess is that all of them would be viewed positively because they're from top-notch institutions, but you've got me in an area that I don't know much about and I don't want to tell you anything that could turn out to be way offbase. I'm sorry I can't be more specific.

By the way, BusinessWeek.com recently posted an article that might interest you. It describes the growing popularity of M.S. in Finance programs and how graduates of those programs might be able to leverage them in the current economic downturn. You can find the article at THIS LINK. As I was writing everything above, this article kept on jumping into my head, so I thought I'd share it with you. Hope you enjoy it.

Take care and good luck with your choice of graduate program. It sounds like you've got some great options in front of you and I'm excited for the learning experience you're about to have.

Marquis

Interesting new global initiative...The 21st Citizens movement

2009-04-15T00:01:00.002-04:00

What's going on, y'all. So, you know how I like to inform you guys about interesting things that come my way, right? Well, this is yet another one of those entries. This time, I'm writing to tell you about a recently launched global initiative called the 21st Citizens movement that I just learned about from my B-school roommate. The goal of 21st Citizens is to get people to think about what they should do to be a better citizen of the world in the 21st century. I know it sounds pretty simple, but something about their approach stuck out in my mind as a novel concept that I should share with my readers. You can find general information about the initiative at its website at its website.

They've launched an interesting marketing campaign to get the word out about it, including a YouTube video that can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR1b6MsD2ro. The diverse faces used in the clip go a long way toward emphasizing the truly far-reaching and diverse nature of their message. And, if you've got a Facebook account, you can sign up for the page dedicated to the 21st Citizen movement at http://www.facebook.com/pages/21stCitizen/59378007420?ref=ts#/pages/21stCitizen/59378007420?v=info&viewas=202454. I don't know what kind of information they'll be posting, but I've found that companies/organizations always keep their Facebook pages more updated than their primary websites nowadays.

Question about getting a foot in the door at Consulting firms

2009-04-14T10:23:00.001-04:00

Hello, all. Now that the MBA application cycle for 2009-10 is almost over, I imagine that some of you are thinking about applying for the next cycle starting in the Fall. If so, you might want to check out an article called "Your Roadmap to a Successful MBA Application" written by John Rice, the founder of Management Leaders for Tomorrow, which has helped many candidates gain admission to top B-schools. I'm a huge fan of John (HBS alum) and his wife Andrea (Stanford GSB alum) because they've been doing a wonderful job of helping folks achieve their educational and professional goals through MLT and their latest venture GottaMentor.com. In the article, John offers six things that you can do now to improve your chances of getting the good word from your target schools during the next application cycle. You can find the article at THIS LINK. I wish folk were giving out great info on the MBA application process back in the day when I was struggling through it.

Also, before moving on with this entry, I feel the need to remind all of you not to expect a quick turnaround when you send in an email. I have a long backlog of emails in my blog Inbox at any given moment and it has sometimes taken me as long as three months to put together a response. I do have a day job and a life outside of this blog, so this blog isn't the only thing that's going on in the world of The Kid. Plus, I receive a LOT of emails from folks around the world, which is to be expected given the free service that I'm providing on this joint. I'm saying this to tell you NOT to send follow-up emails with a repeat of the same content or asking me when I'm going to get to your message. It's not like that will make me move to your message faster. In fact, it's more likely to push you further back in the queue because my Inbox sorts by the most recent email from a person. Then, there's also the "WTF Factor", which could also move you to the bottom of the queue. I'm posiitve I've said similar things in past blog entries, but I guess it doesn't matter to people when they have questions they want answered. Seriously, folks...if you don't hear from me for a month or more, don't bug out...I'll get to you when I can.

Alright, now that we've got that out of the way...the email below is from a reader who is interested in finding a position at a consulting firm. She's looking for tips to get an "in" besides relying on an online resume submission. As you can all imagine, the game is tough with the down economy, which makes breaking into the industry more difficult. I tried my best to provide some helpful tips for her though.

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AL wrote:

"Hello Marquis,

I stumbled upon your blog while attempting to collect some recruiting contacts at various consulting companies. I enjoyed perusing through your interview experiences, as I have had similar ones over the last year. I am eager to embark on a career in consulting and am wondering if you could offer any advice in so far as how to get my foot in the door at some of these companies beyond just the generic online application. Is there anything you would've done differently or any companies you know of that are more receptive to undergrads vs. MBAs?

Thanks and best,
AL"
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My response:

AL,

Thanks for checking out my blog and thinking of me as a resource for your questions. It's nice to see your excitement about pursuing a career in consulting and I'm going to try my best to give you some good advice, but, as you know, the economy has thrown things out of wack in the job world. At this point, I could probably give you the perfect roadmap and it still might be difficult to get your foot in the door. Please keep that in mind.

The first thing I'd recommend to you is to pound the pavement to put yourself in front of the firms that interest you. I'm not saying that you should stroll into their offices to introduce yourself because that would be weird. Instead, go to events where these companies will be represented and introduce yourself to company representatives. Every year, there are several conferences involving and/or focused on the consulting industry where several companies are represented all in the same place and these could be a goldmine for you. Check out Vault.com and ConsultingMagaine.com for information on when and where these types of conferences may occur. You could also try attending information sessions hosted by the firms at schools in your area to hear about their recruiting processes. When I worked recruiting sessions for my former employer, I'd often meet people who weren't students at the schools but had heard about the sessions through the grapevine and decided to attend. I'm not saying that this method is guaranteed to work, but it could be a good way to connect with company representatives directly and pass along your resume.

Given what's happening in the market, your best bet might be to network your way into the sights of your target companies. There are so many folks out there looking right now that recruiters are likely receiving a mountain of resumes, so many that it's tough to differentiate candidates. This is where the networking comes in. You'd start off by talking to the contact about his/her company and what it's like to work there. Then, you could eventually ask if the person could connect you with a recruiting contact as a way to get an "in". I would assume that recruiters look at resumes passed along by an insider differently than one that just comes from an applicant off the street. Your best source for contacts would probably be your alumni network, so I would suggest contacting your school's career services office for help with identifying alums to hit up. You could also attend events aimed at business professionals in your local area and seek out people who could be contacts within your target firms. BusinessWeek.com posted an interesting article about how networking with alumni will likely be the way for MBA candidates to find great jobs in the current economy and, although you'd be considered as an undergrad or experienced hire candidate, you might find it useful. You can find it at THIS LINK. At times like this, the old adage "it's not what you know but who you know" is truer than any of us could have ever imagined.

As for companies that are more receptive to undergrads vs. MBA, I'd guess that the larger consulting firms bring in many more undergrad candidates than MBA's. When I say "larger companies", I'm thinking about places like Accenture, Deloitte, BearingPoint, and Oliver Wyman...Don't quote me on these though. I just feel like I've met a lot of people who worked for these companies out of college. You should do some digging around on the Web to find more information to get a more definitive answer though.

Good luck with making your transition into the Consulting industry. It might seem like a long road in right now, especially considering the shaky economy, but stay patient and continue to put in work. It'll all work out the way it's supposed to and you'll get the kind of gig that you desire soon enough. Take care.

Marquis

Question about my "CRAZY" educational background...lol!

2009-04-08T23:22:00.002-04:00

What's good, y'all. I'd like to start this entry by thanking my mother and the other readers of my last entry to hit me up after reading about the passing of my aunt last week. Her funeral was earlier today and it felt strange not to be in attendance. My thoughts were with my family back in VA all day long though. One of these days, I'm going to have to buy a private jet in order to get anywhere at the drop of a hat. Being geographically separate from my family is pretty daggone tough when it comes to issues like this.

Anyways, on to more upbeat things...the email below is one of the funniest I've received from a reader in the time I've had this blog. This reader wanted to know if I think I might have gone overboard with all of my degrees. I guess I do have a couple more than average, huh? She probably wasn't expecting an email as long as I sent back, but, since she asked something about me, I wanted to put a little more time into thinking through and answering her questions.

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CR wrote:

"This may be a personal question, but: 4 degrees? Do you ever think that you spent too much time/energy/money on school? I am actually on my way to my third degree, but feel like I need another, but 4 just seems CRAZY...what do you think? Has it ever been an issue? In terms of recruiting/student debt/managing your life plan/finding space on your resume...? Thanks!"
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My response:

CR,

I hope this finds you doing well. I've got to tell you up front that your email literally made me laugh out loud. I've been asked the same things you asked before, but no one has ever put it how you did, which I found to be hilarious. I guess you could say that it's a personal question, but you'd be surprised at some of the other things I've been asked over the years I've had this blog...so, your questions are fine. I thought I'd written a blog entry about this before, but I got tired scrolling through my archives trying to find it so I'll try to give you some quickshot responses to your questions:

Question #1: Do you ever think that you spent too much time/energy/money on school?
--> This is a great question. Surprisingly, I've never thought that I spent too much time/energy/money on school because I believe that one can never overinvest in his/her education. Knowledge is one asset that shouldn't lose value over time (barring some kind of catastrophic event) and it never hurts to have additional credentials, right? :-) OK, back to your question...at the time, it made perfect sense to get all of those degrees because they all address different interests/needs of mine. The M.S. in Management of IT fit with my interest in Technology and my desire to move up from being a Software Engineer toward managing projects. The MBA was absolutely necessary for me to reach my long-term career goals because I had no previous knowledge of business and had pretty much pigeonholed myself as a techie. I just happened to fall into the M.A. in Education once I arrived at the GSB and realized that I could complete it along with the MBA in two years at no extra cost. Specifically, the M.A.Ed was a great fit for my strong interest in education and longer-term education-focused non-profit aspirations. Don't get me wrong...it cost a grip to pay for those degrees (my student loan payments are a monthly reminder of that), but, as I mentioned earlier, education is one thing that I don't mind overinvesting in. Get this...one of my uncles has been trying to convince me to apply to law school ever since I got accepted into business school. Now, even I know that caving in on that one would make absolutely no sense at all...

Question(s) #2: Has it ever been an issue? In terms of recruiting/student debt/managing your life plan/finding space on your resume...?
--> As far as I know, having those degrees hasn't really been a major issue. In terms of recruiting during and since business school, the three grad degrees have prompted questions, but they've never cause any problems. I am usually asked something like "uhhhh, why do you have so many degrees?" and I give the same response that I gave you above. Then, the interviewer thinks about it, shrugs, and keeps the interview moving. Student debt...ahhhhh...student debt, the necessary evil for most of us when pursuing higher education. As you can imagine, student debt is a HUGE issue, but I knew that it would be the only way that I could fund my educational pursuits. So, I just accepted it going in and make it all work now that I'm finished with school. If you plan everything out right, the student debt doesn't HAVE to be as much of a killer as one might expect. Managing my life plan hasn't really been affected by the pitstops in grad school because my plan has involved a lot of "winging it" over the years. Often, I'll learn about an opportunity, find it to be cool, and then go after it, which is basically what happened with each of my grad programs...and it's turned out pretty well for me so far. Your last point of finding space on my resume was surprisingly easy to deal with during the MBA recruiting cycle because my pre-MBA experience as a Software Engineer wasn't relevant for the type of positions I wanted. As I gain more work experiences, it'll be a little harder, but that would have been the case whether I had one degree or four degrees. But, for what it's worth, the "Education" section of my resume sure does sparkle ;-) The only times an issue arises is when I meet someone and my educational background eventually comes up in conversation. In those instances, either the person simply doesn't believe me (which is fine) or is totally shocked that I'm so ridiculously normal and cool overall...but neither of those is a problem though.

Take care and good luck on getting that third degree. You didn't say what that third degree would be in, but I'm still going to have my fingers crossed for you on it. Before you know it, you might be working on degree #4 yourself and then you'll have to be ready to answer the questions you posed to me in your email :-)

Marquis