(Chinese) New Year's Resolution (effective immediately)

I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions. It seems really pointless to me to wait until a specific date to try to improve yourself. Therefore, when I come up with a change I'd like to initiate in myself, I want to start right away, and don't bother announcing or labeling it as a resolution. However, with this particular item, I want the world at large to help, so in honor of the next upcoming New Year, I am labeling it my (Chinese) New Year's Resolution:

I resolve to be friendly to everybody. This means a genuine smile and greeting to people I know, or who greet me.

The reason this comes up is because 1. I'm trying to shield myself from the crankiness and frustration I feel creeping in from the ongoing recruiting and 2. I know at even my 2nd quarter, I am starting to develop impressions of other people, suppositions of their feelings towards me, and expectations (both positive and negative) of their future behavior. In other words, I find myself writing people off. This is good from a time management perspective - why waste time and valuable hurt feelings on people you think have already written you off or with whom you have no meaningful connection. However, I think I'd like to retain my youthful optimism a bit more. Part of this is I'm curious as to how strong the self-fulfilling prophecy really is, and part of this is just me wanting to be an overall better person.

So there you have it. If you walk by me and I don't smile and say hi, you are fully entitled to kick me in the crotch.

Consulting interview preparation process

Quick note from the trenches (because yes, it's a warzone out here):

I wish I had the time or the energy to do a better deconstruction of the consulting recruiting process, but as usual, one of my fellow bloggers has done a fantastic job of summing up the experience to date.

So I wanted to post one of the first "regrets" I've had (or better put, "something I wish I had known"). In true wannabe consulting style, I've decided to present the information in chart format.


Formal networking comprises of company presentations, meet and greet nights, and dinners. Informal networking is time spent in coffee chats, composing emails reaching out to alumni, and informational interviews via phone or person. Interview preparation includes case and fit preparation.

Overall, Orlando is right - the amount of time and energy it takes to get through this is hard to fathom. There is no way I can give an accurate number, but if pushed to guess I would say I have spent over 150 hours on the overall process, and this is on top of a full load of classes and a spate of extracurriculars. I also think I am probably around the middle of the distribution, I know people who have put far more time, effort, and thought into this process than I have.

Looking at my pie charts, it seems like a no brainer. "Duh Cow, you should have put more time into interview prep." What is harder to convey though, is the swiftness with which interviews descend upon you after your return from winter break. If you consider that the networking components stretch out across 3 months while the interview prep basically happens in 2 weeks time, it becomes easier to see how this happens.

I'm not sure that there is one right solution, because many people give the advice to do no prep prior to or during winter break. However, here are some thoughts of mine:

• The CMC places FAR too much emphasis on networking for people who are hardcore about consulting. The main purpose of networking is to get on the closed list, and consulting companies interview massive numbers of candidates. If you have a reasonably strong background and have made some effort at reaching out, there are diminishing returns to continuously meeting new people. Instead, meet and cultivate a few trustworthy contacts who will give you the inside scoop on the firms.
• Even if you don't make the closed list, the bidding for the open spots (of which there are many) for the major firms goes for some nominal sum (I think ~60pts this year). Bid freely - for reference, I have yet to use any of my 800 points.
  
• Get to know yourself over break. I know it's painful and it sucks, but be able to explain the bullets of your resume in detail and know (and be able to articulate) the few key questions: What's your story? Why consulting? What are your strengths and weaknesses? I know I would have been well served if I had taken the time to do this over break, instead of sitting on my couch, watching football while eating Cheezits. Fit still seems to be an afterthought to case, in terms of both advice given by the second years and preparation made by the first years. This is a huge mistake.
• Although the number of cases varies significantly by person, there is value to doing enough of them that you have seen if not all then the majority of different "types" of cases, ie. profitability, growth, new market, m&a, supply chain, etc... This will take around 20-30 cases. KNOWING THIS, think about when interviews start, what pace you want to do cases at (1 a day? 5 a week?), subtract one week for buffer, and pick a start date to do cases. For me, this would have been before school started. I definitely was doing more cases than I was able to absorb learning from in order to get the practice I needed in time - this was not only inefficient but stressful. I would have much rather started case prep earlier, and given myself more time to adjust to what really is quite frankly a different way of thinking.
• Lastly, I want to stress this: There is NO ONE RIGHT WAY to "crack" a case. I feel like I just now felt things click this week, after my first 2 interviews (which I obviously did not do well at). The reason is because I had been getting tons of well-intentioned, really good advice and watching some really phenomenally smart people go through cases, and was trying to mimick them, their frameworks, and their thought processes. I could get through a case this way with some reasonable amount of success, but the process felt artificial and when I got stuck I got REALLY stuck. A few nights ago, I was deconstructing some case examples when I realized I had been making it far too complicated on myself. My way of doing cases is not to memorize a set of frameworks and run through a list of probable causes in my head - it's to understand the problem and identify the information necessary to construct a solution. It sounds stupefyingly simple, but by relieving the pressure to be "collectively exhaustive, blah blah" I know at least _I_ feel much more comfortable driving a case now, rather than feeling like I'm wandering through a maze to which I can't see the end. The thing that's a shame to me is that I wish I could practice a bit more now that I've found my stride, but there really is no time or energy with interviews happening everyday, so I'll just know that if I don't make it this year, I'll have a better approach come full-time recruiting.
  

Anyway, it appears I'm incapable of writing a "quick note" or anything that doesn't turn into a novel, but that's about the extent my brain can produce today. I hope that this was helpful; recruiting can be beastly and intimidating, especially for those of us who haven't interviewed for a job in at least 5 years - but it really doesn't have to be. Please understand this is only one cow's opinion and in no way reflects the views of the herd at large. As always, YMMV.

Not just surviving but thriving

Today, as I met with a friend in the LSR, he greeted me with a broad smile. "You know, Bain and BCG both let me know they just love me so much, they want to offer me a spot. We just have to go through some formality of 2 rounds of interviews before it gets finalized." This is a friend that I'd gotten to know well during Ski Trip, and man did he make my day.

Even walking to a recruiting event later this afternoon, thinking about his statement had me grinning. If there ever was the right mindset to take about this ambiguous, impossibly-heavy-workloaded, and intensely stressful quarter, this guy has got it. We stand at roughly the halfway point of the intricate recruiting mating dance; most of the applications were due today at 5pm (another spate is due next week), and today the first wave of the closed list invites were sent out. I'm not going to rehash an explanation of the Kellogg on-campus recruiting process when an alum has already done an excellent job of giving one, but suffice to say today was a big milestone for those looking at consulting (which recruits 2-3 weeks earlier before other industries). There is still a long, long sleep-deprived way to go as we rush through the next two weeks trying to prepare for interviews, but from listening in on the buzz going around, the majority of students are satisfied with their responses.

I know the next few weeks are infamous for the tension and worry that spreads around the Atrium like an infectious disease, but I also remember the incredible amount of focus given last quarter to, in retrospect, silly things. It turns out, people I know got closed listed whether their grades were good or mediocre, whether they attended every single networking event or didn't attend a single one, whether they brought the wrong company's umbrella or not. I'm not going to say hard work didn't matter, because that would be silly. But I don't think the recruiting process deserves the amount of obsession that 500+ Type A's crammed in a small space give it.

I think one of the most important things I have gained [and will continue to gain] at business school has been perspective. Some of it has been self-discovered, some of it has been bestowed upon by friends, and some of it has been forced upon me by circumstances I would never wish for but have learned from regardless. As I learn to keep things in perspective, I find that I am learning to let go of things that don't matter, keep my sanity, and that it is truly a skill to be able to roll with the punches and adapt. There is a LOT of advice heaped upon first years regarding what to do/not to do, from the CMC, advice websites, second year mentors, peer students, etc... I say take all of it with a grain of salt. Everybody is well-meaning, but in the end, do what feels right, natural, and comfortable to you.

All of us will survive the recruiting season. I dare us to face it not as an obstacle, but as a gateway. For that's what it is, a gateway: to career improvement, professional development, financial security, whatever it is we came for. This quarter will be a real test for me; I don't think I have ever tried to do so much in so little time before in my life. But I am not fearful, I am excited. Because I know, 5 years ago, I would have fallen apart under the workload, lost my sense of humor under the strain. Now, I am challenging myself to not only make it through, but do it while staying (as my ex-boss put it) "bouncy." Because I know if I can stay positive, truly be smiling throughout the next few weeks, then success will naturally follow.

The things I do to put off real work

Got bored and made a new header for my blog.

Motivation

Motivation, originally uploaded by busicow.

As cheesy as it is necessary to get me through my first finals week in 7 years.

Are you a Nikki or a Brittany?

It has been a whirlwind of a quarter, and I cannot believe final exams begin in 2 days. I had several posts regarding Kellogg, some even mostly written, but for various reasons ended up shelving them. Tonight however, in lieu of sleeping, I wanted to post, but surprisingly, this has nothing (or very little) to do with Kellogg.

One of my heroes growing up was Nancy Drew, girl detective. I loved her fearless feminism and the thrill of the mystery, and at a young age I had wheedled my parents into buying all 56 volumes of the original mystery series. I quickly ran through them, and after multiple reads was still hungry for more, so I stumbled upon a spin-off series, also by Carolyn Keene, called River Heights. Although not about Nancy, River Heights was a young adult series about Nancy's hometown and next door neighbor, and I was quite happy to dive in. I was disappointed that Nancy Drew did not feature in the series, besides a few guest appearances, and instead of mysteries the books showcased friendships and romances. I don't think I ever read past the first few books before moving on, but I remember being fascinated by the description of the tangled relationships in high school, and it has certainly left an indelible print on how I chart my course through social interactions.

The series stars two girls in the same high school, Nikki and Brittany. However, besides sharing the same classes and the same love interest, all similarities end there. Nikki is the classic All-American girl. Born with a silver-spoon in her mouth, she has the perfect life, the perfect family, the perfect angelic countenance and sweet personality. She is of course, a blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty. Which isn't to say Brittany isn't attractive, because she is as well, with her dark hair and brown eyes. But Brittany's life isn't all that easy, and she has had to scrap and fight her way up the high school pecking order. While Nikki received a shiny new convertible from her doting father on her 16th birthday, Brittany secretly waitresses at a disgusting restaurant in order to afford a second hand clunker. Brittany is very much about appearances, and envies Nikki's life and schemes to steal Nikki's [perfect, All-American] boyfriend away from him.

In this fictional world, Nikki is obviously the protagonist. She is kindhearted and virtuous, and naturally very popular. Brittany is popular too, thanks to a combination of her clever positioning and strategic maneuvering. However, I have to admit I always had a soft spot for Brittany. I felt bad when her carefully laid plans went awry, for one reason or another. Furthermore, I admit to sharing righteous indignation over Nikki's life being so effortless. Brittany is certainly not evil - she never sets out to inflict harm on people, she is just trying to get what she feels she deserves. At the same time, she's not exactly noble either - she only ever really looks out for herself and frequently doesn't appreciate what she does have because she always wants something better. I always felt a little guilty for being sympathetic to Brittany's cause, because Nikki was such a perfect angel. Where Brittany tried to plan life like a chess match, Nikki never harbored ulterior motives, and yet somehow always managed to come out on top.

To this day, I am still torn between the two, and who I should be identifying with. I am still cynical over the feasibility of Nikki's model in my world - a world of networking, rubbing elbows, and angling for visibility. And yet, the thought of manipulating relationships is distasteful, and I think "shouldn't I just let things happen naturally?" Brittany tries so hard, and Nikki doesn't try at all, and I'm just really not sure where I should be along that spectrum. I'm not even really sure it is a spectrum; maybe it has to be one or the other, and by trying to balance I am in effect spinning my wheels and going nowhere.

This dilemma presents itself to me frequently. If I'm interested in a guy, what's the right course of action? Brittany would find out as much information as possible about him (in this day and age, probably use Google!), seek out to make friends with his friends, and arrange things so she would coincidentally "run into" him. Nikki? The guy was probably interested in her before she ever knew about his existence! Similarly with networking, Brittany is the one working the room, making sure to make an impression on key decision-makers, whom she has likely done research on already. Nikki is talking to the people enjoys and with whom there is mutual sincere interest. I don't think it's so easy to say that Brittany is the active one and Nikki is simply passive, because Nikki is the genuine one, she is hardworking and true to herself. Shouldn't that the way we all be? If you were friends with Brittany, you would never really know how she felt about you, or what she is trying to get out of you, but she is also the one who is always on the lookout for opportunities, calculating, and with a steely resolve to climb to the top. Surely that should be rewarded?

I aspire to be Nikki, but I wonder if the world rewards Brittanies. I aspire to be Brittany, but then I feel drained, jaded, and I'm not even sure if it's worth it. I try to balance the two worlds, but then I wonder if I'm succeeding at neither.

Just for Bryce

Since one really good friend (whom I've known for over a decade now, wowza) was asking me how I was, and I wasn't really sure I could adequately describe with mere words, I thought I'd use a graphical depiction. (yes, Orlando did it first)



Click through for a bigger picture. I don't really have a whole lot else to say.