“Yeah, I don’t really care how well I did. I don’t think anyone does. I can just make it up on the final exam.”  These were the words I overhead during a conversation the other day. They were in reference to a midterm exam I had just walked out of.   The midterm was pretty difficult, not only because the material for the class was hard but also because time to study was much more limited than normal, as right now, we’re right in the middle of recruiting season.

But don’t be fooled. This conversation is not as unique as it sounds. The trade-off between grades and other activities has long been an important discussion in business school. Both because grades have never been the sole focus of school and because in the winter quarter, priorities start to change, and recruiting becomes the main priority. But that must leave you wonder … so how important are grades at Kellogg?

On one hand, many people agree that grades don’t matter all that much. After all, most employers rarely ask you to submit grades and even if they do, it’s only one data point along with your resume, background, interview skills, and prior experiences, not only on campus but also before Kellogg.  On the other hand, most people here are used to doing well academically, so still want to do as well as possible. Similarly, you do get a sense of personal satisfaction from doing well in a class, especially if you enjoyed the subject matter or liked the professor.

From experience, I’ll say that figuring out the right balance can be tough. You have limited time to do everything and you have to start choosing. Choosing if you have to miss a class, and if so when. Choosing how many jobs to go after. And choosing how many classes you can handle, which is likely dependent on your recruiting needs.

This process will be especially difficult for those that end up having to go through with recruiting for longer than the average student.  They have less time for a longer period of time, have to make more tradeoff decisions, have to engage more overall energy in the search process, and miss out on the traditional parts of graduate school, and business school, that are supposed to be more fun.

Fortunately, the administration knows this takes place every year. Some professors allow you more flexible schedules and allow you to come in and out of class if you have an interview looming. Already, two of my professors have noted that alternative arrangements for class can be made if an interview conflicts with the class time. Likewise, alternative arrangements can at times be made to take midterms if there is a real conflict and you let the professor know in advance.

Despite this, professors still face the challenge of keeping students interested. For better or worse, we are incented with grades. We are also incented because we can enroll in electives which are more fun and interesting. And some classes make participation a larger part of the process of the process. For most though, this doesn’t necessarily change their mindset, because students won’t spend all their time studying at the expense of getting a job. In the end, everyone figures out the balance that works for them, and they do their best to make it all work.

It will be interesting to see how the pulse at Kellogg changes as the recruiting season moves on and more and more people start to accept summer jobs.  Good luck if you’re also going through the recruiting process.

If the freezing cold Chicago winter hasn’t got you down, the recruiting season probably has.  Like the winters are long and dark in Chicago, recruiting season is also long and hard.  You network with employers, you impatiently wait for interview invitations, you prepare for the case interview process, and you prepare answer to behavioral questions for hours upon hours so you can nail that coveted interview you’ve been waiting for. It really is a process full of ups and downs.

Unfortunately, despite the intense preparation, just about everyone here at Kellogg also has too face rejection. And a lot of it. In pursuit of the job you’ll have this summer, you have to compete against far too many people for a single spot, sometimes an employer doesn’t always take someone from a given school, often times you don’t know exactly what an employer is looking for from candidates, and quite often the process is pretty subjective. As a result, the recruiting season can be a hard process.

In general this year, the month of January has been very busy. There’s a lot more nervous energy in Jacobs, a lot fewer people at the Keg, a lot more people surfing the CMC webpage these days, and a lot more people requesting “acceptance” to the Kellogg LinkedIn group to update their profiles just in case employers are checking online – I know that because am the LinkedIn group owner.  Likewise, people all over the school are checking their phones incessantly, awaiting calls and voicemails from recruiters for that coveted offer for summer employment.

Some schools call this process “hell week” although at Kellogg, there’s no such name as hell week, though perhaps there should be.  And unfortunately, the hell isn’t just confined to one week in January.  Instead it takes place for a few weeks for some students, and it goes on much longer for students that may not have jobs yet.

The good news is now that it’s February, some of the worse of it has past, whether you have a job or not.  The grueling processes of as consulting, banking, and brand management are just about over, which comes as a relief to a lot of people.  To those who got the offers they wanted, things are definitely looking good for the rest of the year.  For those who did not, they have to figure out what the next steps are and what their contingency plans might be.

But no matter which camp you fall in to, most people on campus are exhausted. Congratulations to everyone for making it this far. And hopefully those who are finished will help their classmates reach the same status.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be at student at Kellogg? Or what about listening to one of Kellogg’s top professors giving a talk on your favorite business subject? I wondered about those things a lot when I was applying to business school. Well, if you are too, then now is your chance. On Friday February 25, 2011, the Kellogg School of Management is hosting its annual “Sneak Peek” event, where you’ll get a sneak peak at what it feels like to be a student.

It’s that time of year again. The time for snowstorms in Evanston. Job interviews in Jacobs. Admissions interviews all over the country. And last but not least, admissions events being held for next years class.

On Friday, February 25, the Kellogg School of Management is excited to host another admissions event for minority prospective students. Co-sponsored by the Africa Business Club (ABC), Black Management Association (BMA) and Hispanic Business Students Association (HBSA) Sneak Peak gives you the opportunity to experience Kellogg first-hand.

In my personal view, events like this are almost always worthwhile. Not only is it a chance to meet students at a school you might be interesting in attending, but it’s also a chance to meet future applicants, many of which will be applying to the same schools you are, including Kellogg. So even though you’ve probably got a lot on your plate right now – studying for the GMAT, starting applications, preparing for interviews – I’d suggest that you strongly consider taking some time out to learn a bit more about Kellogg.

For reference, below is the official blurb about the event from Kellogg admissions, which includes a link where you can register.

Hopefully see you there!

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The BMA Conference will be hosted the same weekend and you are invited to both!

Click Here to register.

Click Here for more information on the BMA Conference.

Just over three weeks from now, students, alumni, prospective students, and professionals with ties to the Kellogg community will come together for a game-changing event here in Evanston.  The event looks not only to inspire the students and professionals to think about the opportunities and challenges that exist in America, but also to highlight the African American community more broadly to those in the professional and academic communities.

At long last, it’s finally that time of year again. Time where winter quarter at Kellogg is moving full speed ahead and time to start counting down for Kellogg’s Annual BMA Conference. This event is one the nation’s largest Black MBA conferences and it’s coming up in Evanston on February 25-27th, 2011.  We’re expecting a large number of people this year, and BMA is planning on making it one of the best BMA conferences in the history of Kellogg

The theme for the BMA Conference is “The Real ROI: Maximizing Investments while Building Communities”.  And this year it will focus on “the intersection of finance, marketing, and community”. To that end, the conference has invited a group of highly influential African American leaders, including John Rogers from Ariel Capital Management and Terdema Ussery, Dallas Mavericks President and CEO. Likewise, leading women in the business arena such as Soledad O’Brien from CNN and Bridgette Heller (KSM Alumni) from Merck will also be in attendance. (Click here to see the list of keynotes, click here for the list of panels, and see below for a video on Terdema Ussery)

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This year’s conference was led by co-chairs from the class of 2011 Stephanie Dorsey and  Brianna English and a very hard working group of Kellogg MBA students who have been actively planning the conference for quite some time. And because of this effort, they’ll be able to showcase the strength of the BMA community at Kellogg at the conference in February.

A number of my Kellogg classmates will be there, including me. Further, a number of Kellogg alum as well as students and alum from other business schools will also be in attendance.  And together, we’ll all partake in the opportunity not only to come together and celebrate the success of the community, but more importantly to support the “race” to bring diversity to forefront of our professional communities.

So what about you  … Are you coming?

With February just around the corner and spring break geting closer and closer, I wanted to devote a post to one of the more interesting classes we have here at Kellogg.  It’s called Global Immersion in Management, better known as GIM. In anticipation of all the captivating places we’ll visit and people we’ll meet over the quarter and during the trip, I wanted to share a little information now, not only about the overall GIM Experience but also about my specific trip to Kenya.

As it turns out, my specific GIM Trip will be headed to Kenya.  Likewise, some of my classmates will be headed off to China, Southeastern Asia, Southern Africa, Brazil, India, and a number of other countries.  Students choose trips to go to for a large number of different reasons – personal ties to the countries, professional interest in working their one day, and having a good group of student leaders, among other things. The thing that stood out to me about Kenya, is that the trip is part of the Global Health Initiative, a project that brings together faculty and students from across Northwestern to address the unique challenges of global health.

The premise of the Global Health Initiative for our class is to leverage our local medical product companies who donate their resources to improve treatment of diseases like malaria, TB and AIDS, which are high in prevalence in Kenya.  From there, Northwestern is able to provide the talent, largely in the form of Kellogg MBAs, to research the community and help take the products to market.

In the context of the class, that means interacting with doctors, scientists, and researchers throughout the quarter to figure out what’s important. Doing research to better understand the market and stakeholders in Kenya. Developing a plan to test the product in Kenya once we get there.  And at the end of the quarter, heading to Kenya in March to execute our plan.

My specific team is the government team, so we’ll spend our time finding the stakeholders in Africa, trying to understand what processes we’ll need to go through to speak with those stakeholders, and determining what we want to accomplish when we meet with them. In the process, we’ll have to produce a research proposal, a number of intermediary status reports, and in the end produce a quality paper outlines our findings.

But perhaps more important than the analysis and the report that we produce is that we all get to take on the challenge of tackling these problems firsthand. We get to interact with experts who have devoted their lives to the cause. We can collaborate on some of the world’s biggest problems with some our brilliant classmates whose interests similar to ours. And we not only think about how we might plan to launch a new product, but we also travel abroad for two weeks to see what it really means to start the process of change. A once in a lifetime opportunity if you ask me.

I look forward to seeing how that process goes over the next two months. And I hope you’ll check back to hear more about our trip.

Hey Everyone, hope all of you are doing well.  As you know, I’m in the process of thinking about recruiting for next summer, so I’m trying to put up as many posts as I can about the MBA recruiting process. However, I figured I’d devote this entry to something a bit different.  Instead of simply talking about my own experience, I thought I’d use my site to spread the news about a fantastic organization that’s growing exponentially. It’s also an organization that’s recruiting candidates here at Kellogg.

That organization is Education Pioneers. Education Pioneers has been growing exponentially over the past few years, and it sounds like they do a lot of recruiting from many of the people who might be following along on my site. A broad group of readers that value diversity. Those who give back to their communities. Those not only seeking to do well in business but also in the social sector. And last but not least, those with a relentless focus on the education space.

I know a couple of people who have gone through the summer program and they can’t say enough about how good the program is.  As such, I figured I’d pass along the word to those readers here on my site. Below is an email I received directly from the Education Pioneers recruiting team. Also below is a video that came along with the email I received.

Best of luck with your recruiting seasons.

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EMAIL

Your last chance to apply for Education Pioneers 2011 Graduate School Fellowship is approaching quickly! Apply by February 1. Education Pioneers can help launch you into a transformational career that addresses the civil rights issue of our time: a high-quality education for every child.

Watch this video clip to hear Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke discuss why he thinks the income disparity gap is based on education.

Are you ready to lead? Apply today!

Best regards,
EP Recruitment Team

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To the applicants admitted to Kellogg’s Class of 2013, congratulations on your acceptance! What a wonderful achievement. Hopefully you are excited about the opportunity to attend Kellogg and learn more about the program over the upcoming weeks. As a current student, I can’t say enough about how great the experience is, not only because it’s an enjoyable environment to be in, but also because of the immense number of opportunities that you have at your fingertips from the very first day.

But no need to take my word for it. Instead, be sure to come out and attend Day At Kellogg (DAK) and get a feel for the experience yourself.  My fellow classmates and the admissions team have been working hard all quarter putting together the DAK programing. And if it’s anything like last year, I’m sure you’ll have a blast here in Evanston this year.

DAK takes place the weekend of February 11-13, and the experience will be once in a lifetime. You’ll have the chance to attend a class with professors like Mazzeo and Rogers to see how those discussions will go.  You’ll be able to chat with current students, meet recent alumni from Kellogg, listen to various panels of students and professors, and spend the evenings in the city to see how much students enjoy the experience.

And while you’re here, you’ll also see that we take the experience seriously. And not just with respect to grades and jobs, but also the community. Because along with the great privilege of having access to jobs and capital, we also realize we have a responsibility to give back both to our communities and also to others more broadly.  And one way we’re starting now is by creating this great weekend for incoming students.

So I highly recommend you consider coming to Kellogg for DAK. And if you do come, feel free to drop me a line here or find me in the hallways of Jacobs during the weekend.

Congratulations again!

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Below, please find a few of my posts about previous DAKs at Kellogg.

1. My thoughts on DAK 2010, click here

2. Congrats on your acceptance to Kellogg, click here

3. Congrats Kellogg Class of 2012, click here

4. Kellogg MBA Admit reception, click here

After months of waiting for Kellogg to begin, and then months of attending recruiting events during the first quarter of school, interview season is finally here at Kellogg. While many of my classmates spent the last three weeks applying to jobs and bidding on positions to get a few additional interviews, last week marked the beginning of the real interview season. Every day at Jacobs, people are dressing up in suits, taking up study space to do mock interviews, and waiting in the career center to take part in interviews with firms.

Just last week interviews began here on campus. A couple of marketing jobs finally kicked off earlier in the week, starting with Coke, which hosted interviews on Tuesday. One of the big consulting firms also got underway just a few days ago, as did a few finance firms that are hosting their interviews off campus. And you can definitely tell that the time is here. Everywhere you go, there’s not only a lot of people, but also a lot of nervous energy and a lot of people working hard.

To get one of these coveted interviews though, you first have to successfully apply on the Kellogg online application system, which requires submitting a resume and cover letter and filling out an online application form on the company website. But even if you weren’t successful in that process you could also bid points to interview for the position, since we’re all given a total of 800 points to bid on jobs. But some jobs tend to go for a lot of points, so bidding isn’t quite as easy as it sounds.

For some, the process is actually quite strategic, and for others it can take quite a bit of planning. It’s no wonder there are less people at the local Keg these days.  Not only do people don’t have the energy after a full days events but they also don’t have the time, since we still have to figure out school work as well.

But don’t worry, good things will happen if you put in genuine effort. At least that’s what people are saying. But it’s hard to imagine that that’s the case for everyone here.

Most students didn’t get “ALL” of the job interviews we wanted. And some missed out on quite a few and have to employ a bidding strategy. The logical next question is, well what went wrong? Especially if you had straight As, had solid business experience before school, have a couple of extra degrees in your back pocket, and can pull the 99th percentile GMAT card if you’re questioned by employers.

Every now and then, some people submit the wrong cover letter. Whoops! But fortunately that’s pretty rare for Kellogg students. Others submit way too many applications, which is not quite as rare. In fact, it’s possible I even fall into that camp. For them, maybe focus is an issue, and you you should have spent more time refining materials for less job applications.  Others couldn’t decide on what they liked and may have missed the boat on certain jobs. And finally, some students got interviews, thought they did well on game day, but didn’t get positive news.

On the other hand, there are those who are lucky enough to have good fortune on their side. They not only get the interviews with the firms they were hoping for, but they hit a home run and land a job they actually wanted. They seize the moment.

What’s funny though, is that many of these people even admit that they thought they blew part of the interview. Perhaps the lesson is that finding the right job isn’t a perfectly defined process. And while some have the good fortune of landing one quickly, others spend different amounts of time, depending on what they’re aiming for and depending on the role of luck in the process. Either way, good luck to everyone in the search.

Happy belated MLK Day Everyone! I hope that you were able to observe the holiday and commemorate the day that has helped to change America over the last few decades. At Northwestern, there were a number of scheduled events over the past week, so hopefully it was the same in your geography as well. Last year, I posted a post about leadership lessons from Martin Luther King (click here for the post).  But this year however, I thought I’d try something different. In the spirit of the MLK holiday, I wanted to respond to one of my reader’s questions about Management Leadership for Tomorrow, one of the world’s most influential programs for up and coming minorities in America.

Before I dive into the question, first, I want to emphasize that MLT is a wonderful program, and that anyone who is eligible should consider applying (click here for my last post about applying to MLT).  For years now, MLT has been helping up and coming professionals all over the world achieve their full potential by assisting with career visioning and planning.

Below is my reader’s question and below that is my response.

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READERS QUESTION

Dear Jeremy,

I was recently accepted into the MLT program, but will not receive my official scores by the deadline of February 1st. I expect my score to be well above the minimum requirement for entry into the program, and need either- an extension, or provisionally sustained enrollment until the end of February. Do you think this would be possible??? I do not want to pass up on this opportunity OR to postpone all of my plans for another year… Who should I talk to about this?

Thank you!

(Name)

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MY RESPONSE

Dear Reader,

Thanks so much for your question. First, congratulations on getting accepted into the MLT MBAP program. What a wonderful accomplishment! In my view, MLT is one of the best organizations anywhere for business professionals. Not only because of the support it provides to applicants during the application process but also because of the networks of friends and colleagues it provides you in the journey.

In regards to your question, there are a couple of things to keep in mind-

One, it is important to know that MLT is organized just like a business school. MLT has its own admissions process, has tangible application deadlines, and asks that you to write thoughtful essays and submit GMAT scores to gain acceptance.

Second, the program itself is also highly structured. You have a formal set of rules that you’re asked to comply with as a fellow.  There are a number of assignments that you must complete on time throughout the program. And you have a set of deadlines and due dates that more often than not are not negotiable.

As such, I think it’s important that applicants also do their best to adhere to the deadlines and meet all the requirements, which includes sending GMAT scores on time at the onset of the program. Applicants that don’t do this can risk of missing out on admission.  On the other hand, MLT also understands that sometimes logistics are not always in your control. So you should let them know the specifics about what happened and your workplan for completing the exam.

In my personal experience, I recall that a few people also had trouble with the GMAT timing right as MLT was beginning, and MLT was able to accomodate those that had solidified a date to take the exam.  However, this was also a few years ago, before MLT moved many of its deadlines earlier and began emphasizing how important it is to finish the GMAT earlier than later. In fact, my MLT class was the first to really prioritize the  idea of moving the GMAT earlier, when we provided feedback after our fellowship year.

So if you have a solid reason for not being able to submit scores on time, then it would make sense to speak with someone directly from the organization and ask what the protocol is for exceptions. First, I’d try contacting the person who admitted you into the program, since they are likely your point of contact. Second, you can find MLT’s contact info on this link. http://www.ml4t.org/contact for more general questions, or as a second point of reference. And third, for more specific questions, you can feel free to drop me a line and I will connect you someone else who can help you. But from what I know about the program, I suspect MLT has already provided you with the right contact information.

Back before I conclude, I want to re-emphasize that MLT runs its program this way for a reason. In my view, one of MLT’s greatest lessons for its fellows is the importance of structure — Being on time. Following protocol. Playing by the rules.  And being organized. It’s not because they want to make your life more difficult but because business school moves at a faster pace and if you are not organized, you might miss she chance to sign up for an event, miss out on a class you were hoping to take, or worst of all miss the drop deadline for a resume submission.

But like I said, MLT also understands that logistics can be tricky. So try to get in touch with the person who contacted you regarding admissions. And if you can’t, send me another note and I’ll put you in touch with someone I know at the office.

In any event, congratulations again, best of luck in the admission process, and perhaps I’ll see you in March at the MLT kick-off event!

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Note: I will also note that I got this great picture from Orlando, who is in Kellogg’s Class of 2011. He has a great blog that is very helpful for those who are considering Kellogg and are seeking information about the school.

When I moved to Chicago from Boston last year, I figured surviving the winter would be a piece of cake, give I’d spent a few years in New England hiking through the flurries and digging my car out of snowstorms six months every year. But it turns out  the winters here in Chicago are also pretty cold. And despite having a fairly mild winter last year, this year we’re not quite as lucky. So far, there’s been a lot more snow, and the weather seems like it’s lot colder than it was last January.

Don’t get me wrong, the cold weather here in Chicago does’t come as a huge surprise. After all, Chicago has always been one of the coldest places in the country. The city sits right on top of Lake Michigan, it’s located pretty far north in the Midwestern United States, and it’s surrounded by even colder midwestern states such as Minnesota and Ohio.

Some people like to argue that wind is also why the weather feels so cold. However, one interesting fact about that is that Chicago is not called the windy city because of its wind.  The real reason for the name was actually because of the culture of the city many years ago.  Specifically, Chicago has been called the “windy” city to metaphorically reflect some of the people in Chicago, since people have long considered the politicians to be full of “hot air.”

But the running joke I’ve heard a few times in Chicago is that the city is actually starting to earn its nickname because it is actually windy, especially in the city, where there are a lot more building creating wind tunnels.  I’ve personally noticed the impact of the wind, and I’ve even broken a few umbrellas walking outside on windy days this year.

But the weather doesn’t stop people from going out in Evanston.  After all, it is essentially winter here for well over 6 months of the year, and you can’t stay inside the whole time. So there are always a lot of people outside. Kellogg students still go to places like Pete Millers and the Keg in the evenings, and they still go out to grab food at local bars and pubs in downtown Evanston.

Besides, students here at Kellogg have a lot more to worry about right now. This week officially marks the first weeks of on campus interviews. Hopefully none of us will have too many days where we have to go to interviews in the snow.

On Friday, January 14, Dean Sally Blount of the Kellogg School of Management went to New York to visit the NYSE.  Together with the long time Kellogg alumni, and other alumni in the financial services industry, the Dean had the unique and memorable opportunity to take part in ringing in the closing bell.

By many accounts, the movement of the financial market has been one of the most defining stories of the last couple of years.  First because of the recession, and now because the financial market is on the rise again. Thanks to the joint effort by the Kellogg School of Management and Kellogg’s very own Alumni Club of New York, Kellogg had a chance to participate in the story.

Not only was this a fun opportunity for Dean Blount, but it’s also be good for Kellogg, as it should help to continually solidify the school’s ties to the finance industry.

Click here to find the actual video of the dean ringing the bell.

Hi everyone, it feels like it’s been weeks since my last post. That’s because we’re in the middle of recruiting season here at Kellogg.  That not only means that things are more stressful, but it also means that things are a bit more hectic. With only two weeks before interviews begin, Kellogg students are becoming busier and busier, and as you might expect, it’s becoming a lot harder to juggle everything at the same time.

Throughout the past few weeks, a number of interesting things have happened, including the annual Kellogg Ski Trip. I’ve got a few articles I’m currently writing to try to journal some of the experiences, but in the meantime, I thought I’d post a copy of the last article I wrote for the Merger, which talks a little about the overall Ski Trip experience.

Note that this is not the final version of the article I wrote. But it’s definitely enough to leave you with a few takeaways from the actual trip.

See below for the article:

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After a grueling first quarter at Kellogg, where we spent more than ten weeks with overbooked calendars, underbooked sleeping schedules, and the pressure to perform during 80s danceoffs at the Keg, there’s only one thing that could make life better. Ski Trip.

The week after final exams ended, I joined more than 750 of my closest friends and classmates and embarked on Kellogg’s 2010 Ski Trip. In retrospect, the experience may just turn out to be the best week of the year.  Some of the Kellogg crowd was pretty experienced when it came to hitting the slopes, but it didn’t take a veteran to know that the small ski town was beautiful and that conditions on the mountains were perfect for skiing. Many students who had never been on the mountains said they knew it’d be an amazing experience as soon as they got there.

The Aspen Snowmass resort was also top notch.  Big. Spacious. Armed with fireplaces, expensive tables and chandeliers, which were not only perfect for relaxing after a day on the slopes but also for late night after parties.  Some of the Kellogg units were located at the top of the mountain, while others perfectly located in the middle of the slopes, and the rest near the bottom.

Ski enthusiasts were happy because they could walk right out the back door of their condo and ski straight down the Snowmass Mountain. And after a day on the slopes they could ski back home, ski directly to the hot tubes, or better yet head straight to Après Ski with the landscape of the mountains on the background and landscapes of free food and drinks on the inside.

Kellogg enthusiasts were also happy because after a long day of skiing, they could get together with your friends and do whatever they wanted, free of assigned reading, 830am classes and cold calls in courses where the utility of the content is still being hotly debated.  Fortunately, getting around the ski resort was a lot easier than expected, particularly for those who programmed the Aspen Shuttle’s number into their phones early. And by the end of the night, most people came back together again dress up in costumes and head out to one of the Kellogg bashes for the evening.

One event where people celebrated was 80s party, which was the first large gathering we had on the trip.  Although we didn’t celebrate at everyone’s favorite local hangout spot, the Keg, we did still end up finding a venue that offered a pretty large open space to fit everyone and an open dance floor where everyone could bust a few moves to the Kellogg band playing 80s music and the actual band the flew into Aspen for the event.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg. The Wild Wild West party and the Shipwrecked party were also fun, just like the night we spent out in downtown Aspen. As usual, all these events had an open bar, lots of fun costumes, and just about 100% attendance, as students included myself has a small case of Ski Trip FOMO.  I also noticed a few “less than romantic” incidents on the dance floors. But I’ll keep the stories secret for now. And finally, most of these events also offered interesting after parties. In fact, the 80s band from LA even showed up to the 80s after party.

Overall, the trip to Aspen was a lot of fun. And whether you spent your time skiing,  hanging out, or both, the trip left all of us with at least a couple of memories we’ll never forget … even if we tried.  But hopefully this semester proves to be even better.  Easier classes. Lighter load. Later start times. More time spent at the Keg. GIM. And spring break.

Sure, I know what you’re thinking, “How can you top everything that we experienced last quarter?”  Well, one way to do that is by working hard to secure jobs and finally finishing recruiting. That way we’ll not only be ready to spend our future earnings at the keg but we’ll also be able to leverage our summer salaries to finance Ski Trip part two.

The best advice that many speakers who come speak at Kellogg tell us is that we should find a job that we love. After that, the money won’t be important, and in many cases it will eventually come falling in our laps because we’ll be more successful in our jobs.  Most of us admire the people that say this, especially when they take their own advice. On the other hand, most of us will also apply to more typical jobs, not only for the summer but also for full time employment after graduation.

As the quarter goes on, you see that a large number of students who over time lose sight of their personal passions and start interviewing and recruiting for the typical types of roles – investment banking, consulting, and brand management. In fact, I recently an email from Bain & Company saying that they received a record number of applications this year.  It’s not to say that people don’t want to do these professions. After all, working in any of those industries can give you strong training and can be a great launching pad for your career. So people are preparing intensely for their interviews there.

On the other hand, it’s clear that a lot of my classmates who have applied also have other interests. Many prefer to work in the technology space or in the media industry. Others prefer to work at non profit organizations or have an interest in public finance. And others are excited by the idea of joining a start-ups and or helping to grow an emerging company. But in the end, many of them see value in working in a more traditional job or industry in the short term, so for now, they are putting their interests to the side.

Is this the right move? Well, I’m not sure there’s a single answer to that.  And it’s likely that the answer is different for everyone. Either way, during my time at Kellogg, I’ve learned that achieving the right balance between passion and profession is hard and will never cease to be difficult.

A few short days into the second quarter at Kellogg, many of us have finally come to realize how busy things were last quarter and how busy things are now. Upon reflection, it’s clear now that we joined way too many clubs, took on too many leadership positions, and got caught up in too many activities. But as recruiting season is in full swing now, most of us also come to realize that it’s time to cut out the clutter where we can. That sometime having less things on  your plate is better.

Everywhere you go now, whether in Jacobs, in McManus, or in other apartments near campus, people are spending a little less time on school than before and a little more time on other things. More time for recruiting. More time for friends. More time to think. And more time to reflect.

In business school, these activities are all crucial and neglecting to spend enough time on them can come back to haunt you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that anyone spend less time being productive. After all, my days tend to be pretty long. But rather, I simply mean that sometimes it’s helpful to become less busy and use that time to catch up on other things. And so you have the extra bandwidth to pursue the most important things.

I suspect that this trend of being less busy with school activities will continue. At least until people start getting jobs.

In the spirit of this message, I’m going to keep this entry short.

Since the first day of class in September, when we all realized that we were doomed to ten weeks in the same classes, none of which we got to choose and all of which would be graded on a curve, we all waited for that one special moment. That day when we would be free to choose the classes we took. Well, just this week, that moment has finally arrived for students at Kellogg, as Monday marked the first day of classes in our second quarter.

Class selection is definitely an interesting thing here at Kellogg. Unlike some schools (ie HBS) where you’re captive all during your first year and then all of a sudden completely free in your second year, achieving freedom at Kellogg happens more gradually. That happens for a couple of reasons.

One, because many people start the program having studied business during undergrad. As such, they were able to waive out of a few classes and can finish the core classes more quickly. Second, many of the JD-MBAs and 1Ys took classes over the summer, so some of these students also finish classes at a different pace than the two year students. And preference also plays a part, as some students choose to take all their required classes right away, while others spread their core classes out over the year. Either way, this quarter definitely represents more freedom for everyone in the class of 2012.

Sounds exciting, right? Well, not too fast. Like most things in life, the grass is always greener.   The process of picking classes, navigating waitlists, strategizing your bids, and getting lucky with professors you like is not always easy.  Similarly, we also have to think about recruiting now, which is a very structured experience for most of the class. And that’s something students certainly can’t opt out of. And finally, the process of choosing can be overwhelming, given that Kellogg has such a high number of courses available. And that’s especially true for JD-MBAs and 1Ys, who have more limited time so want to be more strategic with their choices.

On the other hand, having the option to choose courses provides an immense number of benefits.  You avoid being subject to the dreaded curve that are mandatory in core classes.  You get to tailor your classroom experience, which is not only good for maintaining your interest level in class but also to help market yourself for the recruiting process that’s just now getting started. And last but not least, you finally satisfy the craving to have freedom to do what you want.

Best of luck everyone, with your class choices!

From the minute we walked back on to campus after winter break was over, people were already in a race to land a summer internship position. Those running the hardest were those looking for positions in management consulting, investment banking and brand management. In part, that’s because these are the three mostly highly sought after industries at Kellogg. But it’s also because these industries are very structured in how they interview, so students are doing the best they can to prepare for the interviews to come at the end of the month.

At long last, it’s finally second quarter here at Kellogg, the time that many students have been waiting for. Not that most of them are excited to embark on the quarter after spending a week ski’ing in Aspen, spending a few weeks in front of the TV back at home, and now immersed in the pressure to scramble and find a job for the summer. On the other hand though, it is the reason that just about everyone came back to business school.

As I mentioned, those in banking and consulting are up first. There are dinners and receptions taking place this week, hosted by some of the industries’ top firms, such as McKinsey. Many of these firms put an enormous amount of time, and resources, into the recruiting process, not only by having dinners, meet-and-greets, and receptions, but also by having “atrium hours” at Jacobs and by having “alumni” and current consultants lingering around campus talking to prospective applicants about the firm.

This Friday, some of the closed listed interview results will finally be released. Most of them will be from banks and a few others from consulting firms. Likewise, other big names firms, like Monitor Group, have drop deadlines this Friday, so lots of people are still writing cover letters and submitting applications.

Meanwhile, we all also have to figure out what classes we want to take, step up our involvement in clubs again after a few weeks off, and figure out the details for the KWEST trips many of us will be leading next summer (click here for my post on KWEST last year).

Sound like a lot of chaos and pressure at the same time? Well, I suspect it will be over the next few weeks. But thankfully, most people at Kellogg usually end up doing well across all these activities.  As a class full of smart, accomplished, achievers in our past professional lives, they can at least be assured they’ll have summer jobs and won’t be facing long term unemployment after school.

While those prospects certainly won’t necessarily make everyone happy, from a 30,000 foot view, it’s important to keep in mind that we all have a lot of opportunities at our finger tips, that we’ll all get another shot to try for new opportunities in the following year, and that we all get to go through the process with a great set of Kellogg classmates.

It should be interesting to see how those opportunities get spread out amongst the class. Stay tuned to hear how things play out.

Although I think a lot more about quality than quantity on my website, I do pay attention to what my readers are paying attention to. Not only do I keep up with trends in reader comments, the emails that come in behind the scenes, and the topics that spur conversations with friends, but I also count the number of hits that posts get. While it’s not the perfect measure, it is the easiest and the most tangible way to see what people are paying attention to. To that end, here below are 10 most popular posts of 2010, as measured by “hits”. I look forward to continuing to write about things you find interesting in 2011.

1. 2010 Law School Rankings: National Law Journal’s Go-to Schools
   2010 Law School Rankings based on number of placements at top law firms in the US
2. Korean Popstar In My Section And Diversity At Northwestern
   Post about a Korean pop star that was in my section at Northwestern Law School
3. 2010 Princeton Review Law School Rankings
   2010 Law School Rankings by Princeton Review
4. Applicant Question: Playing the MBA Wait-List Game
   My response to an applicant question about being waitlisted for an MBA program
5. Careers Question: Undergraduate Major and Path To CEO
   My response to a question from an undergraduate student about what to major in at college
6. Northwestern JD-MBA Class of 2012 Profile
   A quick profile of the Northwestern JD-MBA Class of 2012
7. US News MBA Rankings and Law School Rankings
   2010 Business School and Law School Rankings by US News
8. Applicant Question: Asking for an MBA Recommendation Letter?
   My response to a reader’s question about letters of recommendation for MBA programs
9. My Thoughts on Day At Kellogg (DAK), Round 1, Class of 2012
   Reflecting about my experience at Day at Kellogg (DAK) last year during the first round
10. Good Article: College Majors of Top CEOs
    My thoughts on college majors and an article about what CEOs have majored in

A couple of notes on the top posts. First, is that the real #1, #2, and #5 posts are my Homepage, the Archives, and About my Blog respectively.  I have not listed those in the rankings above. Second, is that some posts have the advantage of being on the net longer than others. In general, the advantage is not as large as it sounds, as posts generally see their most hits in the first couple of weeks of being posted. However, posts from December are likely at  distinct disadvantage. And finally, keep in mind that these aren’t my opinions about which posts are good. Instead it’s the actual rankings based on hits by the readers. In the next week, I’ll also share a few of the posts I think are must reads.  Stay tuned to see which ones they are.

Happy New Year everyone!

Indian students have long applied in large numbers to top MBA programs. Not only do the applicants bring strong technical training from highly regarded international institutions, but many also work at top tier companies after that. More and more, Indian students have been looking for a competitive advantage given the stiff competition they face to gain entry into MBA programs. Well one of the best MBA admissions resources I know has recently decided to host a Webinar specifically for Indian students.

Given the unique profile (and perceived profile) of the Indian segment of the population, my good friend Kaneisha Grayson, from The Art of Applying, has decided to host a webinar specifically dedicated to the Indian application population. The Webinar is sheduled to be hosted in April, after round three applications are in, but well in advance of next year’s round one admissions cycle.  Below are a couple of details about the call:

* Date and Time (in India): Saturday, April 16 at 9:30 am IST
* Date and Time (in USA): Friday, April 15 at 8 pm PST / 10 pm CST / 11 pm EST
* Duration: 1 hour
* Host: Kaneisha Grayson
* CLICK HEREto read all the details from Kaneisha’s webpage

Here is some additional information on the Webinar taken directly from Kaneisha’s website.

* The webinar has been postponed to Saturday, April 16 at 9:30 am IST. Since so many people requested that the webinar be free, I have to move it to after R3 applications are finished. I’m willing to work for free sometimes but not during peak season!
* For all of you living outside of India, that’s Friday, April 15 at 8 pm PST / 10 pm CST / 11 pm EST.
* Don’t worry if you can’t make it live! The webinar will be recorded.
* Remember – the webinar is limited to 100 people! Be there – or be . . . sad.

Dear Friends, I got this in an email about a job opportunity from a friend of mine and thought some of you might be interested. While I don’t typically use my site to post job opportunities or for promotional reasons, I do like to use it to help non profits and other social ventures, especially ones that I have some connection to. In this case, that organization is Spark, a noprofit dedicated to educational reform.

Spark is an organization that helps 7th & 8th graders find apprenticeships in their dream job which helps them think about their career and relationship to education.  A good friend of mine sent me a note about the organization and recently passed the word that Spark is seeing a new Managing Director in Chicago. Specifically, the organization is seeking an entrepreneurial leader to help launch the Chicago office in 2011

Take a look at the rest of the post if you are interested and feel free to pass along the attached job description to others you think may be interested. See below for a few notes on the organization and role. And click here to see the full job description.

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Background:
Spark is an award winning, growing youth apprenticeship program. Spark works to reduce the high-school dropout rate with a unique apprenticeship program, focused on at-risk middle-school students. In partnership with district and charter schools, Spark creates one-on-one apprenticeships in real workplaces, where youth explore careers and develop the skills and motivation to succeed academically. Funded by a number of major foundations, including the Packard Foundation, Cowell Foundation, as well as leading companies like Genentech and Gap, Spark is demonstrating a powerful new approach to addressing the high-school dropout crisis, one that draws in new resources by turning workplaces into learning places.

Responsibilities:
Provide leadership to ensure overall success in Chicago:
• Build, manage and develop an exceptional local team to accomplish three core goals: (1) successfully manage relationships with Spark’s schools partners, including training and ongoing support, (2) build a sustainable Chicago fundraising base, and (3) cultivate a network of corporate/organizational partners for apprenticeship placements. The Chicago team will grow to 3-6 full-time staff by end of 2011.
• Develop and leverage a Chicago Executive Board and a Chicago Advisory Board to support fundraising initiatives, guide strategic planning, enhance local networks of supporters, and contribute to overall external communications and publicity for Spark in Chicago. By the time of this hire, we expect to have 2-4 Chicago Executive Board members and 6-8 Chicago Advisory Board members already confirmed and active in Chicago.

Lead Chicago Fundraising & Financial Management
• Create and lead a local fundraising strategy for Chicago, in collaboration with Spark’s Development Director and Development team in San Francisco, ensuring that Chicago programs meet a 2011 fundraising goal of approximately $250,000, drawing from foundations, corporate sponsors, and individual donors.
• Effectively utilize and manage the local site budget to implement the program and sustain the Chicago office.

Oversee Successful Programming & School Partnerships
• Work closely with Spark’s national team to support implementation and growth of Spark’s Chicago apprenticeship program, focusing on training school partners and supporting their implementation of the program.
• Leverage and build alliances in the private, government, and non-profit sector to establish a network of individuals in diverse fields to draw upon in Apprenticeship matching.
• Work in partnership with initial school partners to develop and grow Spark’s programs, beginning with 2 locations in Fall 2011 and expanding in 2012. Develop a strong system of communication with school partners to support their successful management of program operations.
• Cultivate new middle school, after school, and summer program providers to meet established program growth goals.
• Facilitate the compilation of evaluation data, including students’ academic performance data.

December is the season where a lot of MBA applicants are looking for that one special gift. A call from admissions committees telling them they’ve been admitted to their favorite MBA programs. As such, applicants begin to focus more on their applications and prepare intensely for interviews. Unfortunately, executing a good interview is a difficult task.  Like just about every meeting you’ve ever had, an MBA interview can take an innumerable number of twists and turns, so it’s imperative that you go into your interview prepared.

In a recent post on MBA interviews (click here to read the post) I wrote a bit about what it means to be prepared, discussing “research” and “fit”  This post is an extension of the first post. And here I not only emphasize how to prepare for questions that might come up, but also how to stay prepared for the twists and turns that the interview might take.

Below are two additional tips that will help you to successfully navigate the interview process.

1.  Know Your Application. Part of proving fit in the application process is being consistent with what you wrote in your application – what you included on your resume, the information you wrote in the data form, the high level content of your recommendations, and the stories you described in your essays.  Generally, be ready to discuss every line of your resume and to elaborate on the important pieces of everything else.  Specifically, focus on the high-impact issues, which can be critical in shorter interviews because time is limited, the stakes are high, and in many cases those issues add more value to your candidacy.  Similarly, focus on issues that may appear to be inconsistent on the surface as these subjects tend to catch the attention of interviewees right away. And remember that anything you wrote in your application is fair game; so never be caught off guard.

2.  Don’t Memorize. Because time is limited, in most cases it doesn’t make sense to try to memorize details of your application. First, it won’t do you much good if you invest time in areas that never come up, which is likely in a 30 to 45 minute MBA interview. Second, even if it does come up, you don’t want to appear to be robotic or be too strongly convinced that the interview should go in a certain direction, especially if the interviewer is steering you otherwise. On the other hand, not memorizing also means that you won’t have time to think about every possible answer that may arise. But that’s fine. It’s more important that you think critically about the issues and provide thoughtful and organized responses, in place of memorized ones. So think about all the issues ahead of time and be prepared to discuss them analytically. The best way to prepare for that is to practice. But once again, don’t memorize.

If it’s any consolation, I’ll be employing many of the same methods during my MBA recruiting process too. Not only do many of the tactics will overlap but the timing does as well, as many MBA interviews also happen in January and February.

Best of luck everyone with your upcoming interviews!