JEREMYCWILSON.COM

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.

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!

Although we’ve been taking part in lots of recruiting events over the past few weeks, the summer job hunt seems to finally be picking up now that ski trip is over. How important is it to find the right summer job, you ask? Well, that answer depends on who you ask. While some people are okay recruiting again going into their second year, others are dead set on that coveted consulting, banking, or brand management job they’ve been seeking for years now. For them, the hunt is on.

Ever since the end of the quarter, most of the first year students have re-engaged with the recruiting process again. During ski trip, a number of job applications were due, especially in the consulting industry. A number of students, myself including, had to take time away in first few days of the trip to finalize cover letters, fill out a few data forms, and submit applications not only on the firm websites but also on the Kellogg CMC website.

Filling out applications during Ski Trip was definitely not the highlight of the post finals celebration in Aspen. In fact, many students still aren’t sure why the deadlines fall during this period. Some students did a good job of submitting their firm applications before they took off for the trip, since most of the application deadlines had been set well before the trip. On the other hand, most students didn’t have much time to finish the applications in advance given the tight schedules between final exams and departing for ski trip.

To everyone’s surprise, one firm actually moved its application submission date forward. And even though it first listed a due date in early January, right after exams the firm changed its due date to be during ski trip. I suspect that doing this was a way to ensure applications came only from those who were most interested in the firm. Fortunately, though, most applications were due during a two day period so most people were able to get most of the work applications done in one to two sittings.

Since returning on ski trip, recruiting activity has increased again. Kellogg students have been flooded with emails from employers and the career center, they have continued spending time tweaking cover letters and resumes, and everyone has finally starting to prepare for interviews. Sounds fun, right? Well, fun or not it’s definitely going to be a lot of work over the next few weeks.

But in my view, nobody here at Kellogg can complain. After all, recruiting is the reason many of us came to business school in the first place. Further, we all have great access to an innumerable number of companies, not only that we can apply to in the short term but also that we can form relationships with in the long term.  It will be interesting to see how the recruiting process evolves over the next few weeks.

Stay tuned to hear how things shape up.

Finding a job in any economy can be a daunting task, let alone now, when the economy has been declining and people have been holding onto their current jobs longer than in recent history.  In business school, the job search process has always taken up a significant portion of the MBA experience as students invest dozens of hours, if not significantly more, to ensure they get a job they are happy with. But what about those who haven’t found their dream jobs yet? And what about everyone that’s not currently enrolled in MBA programs? Well, no matter which group you belong to, this guest post, by Mark Davies (from onlinemastersdegree)  may be helpful to you in your search.

It’s that time of the year again, where people are beginning to look for jobs. First year MBA students met lots of employers over the past few months and are gearing up to officially begin recruiting in January. First year law students are doing the same, where they’re starting to send cover letters and resumes to firms they want to interview for over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, many of those who are not currently enrolled in graduate programs are also continuing their job searches. The new year begins in just a few weeks, so for them, now is crunch time, as many companies do a large portion of hiring in January and February, at the beginning of the new year.

Since finding job opportunities is on the forefront of a lot of people’s minds, I thought it might be a good time to publish an article on finding employment.  The article below was written by a guest writer named Mark Davies, who approached me a couple of weeks ago about contributing an entry to the site. His website is focused on online education, but he’s also interested in a wide range of topics such as finding employment.

Given the relevance of the content, I thought it’d be a great chance to post the piece written by Mark here on my site.

See below for the article and below that for Mark’s contact information.

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5 Tips to Find Employment in Any Economic Climate (Written by Mark Davies)

Education, employment and financial stability are all intrinsically linked together; each one depends in some way on the other, and that’s why we expend effort in gaining a quality education so that we’re able to find a job that leads to financial stability. The key to success in life is to hold a job that you like and which pays reasonably well – money is not the only thing in life, but it does make life a lot easier and more convenient. So finding and holding a job is essential, in any economic climate. And if you’re looking for ways to do this, read on:

1. Be confident in your abilities: Jobs come to those who radiate confidence without coming across as over-confident. The best thing to do to impress employers is to play on your strengths and tone down your weaknesses. So if you’re shy and reticent but an excellent programmer, then apply for a coding job that does not require you to interact with too many people. When you’re skilled at your job and confident about your abilities, you find that jobs are more readily available.

2. Keep up to date with the changing face of your profession: Change is inevitable in every aspect of life, so it’s inevitable that your profession goes through various phases based on environmental, societal and other extraneous changes. If you’re hoping to stay current and relevant and job-worthy in any economic climate, you must adapt to the changing face of your profession. If technology is the answer, then make an effort to learn how to use it at your job instead of eschewing it in favor of doing things the old-fashioned way because you’re frightened of change or don’t know how to handle technology.

3. Continue to hone your skills: On the job skills are very important when you’re hoping to avoid a lay off or find a job at any point of time. It’s good if you’ve proven yourself and have a track record that speaks for itself about your effectiveness on the job; however, it’s not great if you rest on your laurels and forget that continuously honing your skills is important to stay relevant in the changing job market.

4. Settle for a lower pay packet: While this is not a strategy that is recommended at all times, it’s wise to settle for a lower salary when all other aspects of the job are satisfactory and when the job market is not very forthcoming. Salary can be negotiated and raised at a later date, but a ready job, one that you like and which suits your convenience, may not be available at all times.

5. Never discount the power of networking: As much as possible, avoid making enemies on or off the job in your profession – every single person you meet could help you out when you need a job in times of financial difficulty. When your network is solid and strong, you have a support system to rely on during hard times.

* This guest post is contributed by Mark Davies, he writes on the topic of Masters Degree Online.  He welcomes your comments at his email id: markdavies247<@>gmail<.>com.

Just before Ski Trip, the fall term ended with final exams in all of our first quarter classes. In just about all of our classes, exams are open book and last for a three-hour period.  In most classes professors told us that if you’ve been coming to class and put the hours in during exam period, that everything would be just fine. But the question on everyone’s mind was, is that really true?

In some cases, students took the professors up on their “offer” and did very little preparation for some of their classes, though in other cases students spent an innumerable number of hours in the QSR (i.e. the Kellogg library) preparing for upcoming exams.  For some that’s because they felt more urgency to do well, given firm they’re planning to interview at firms that will ask for grades. For others, it’s because they’ve done well their whole lives so don’t want to start performing below that standard now.

For me, the biggest hurdle felt like Finance. Ironically, I enjoyed the content of the class and I also thought pretty highly of the professor. But the content itself was challenging, especially since I come from an anthropology academic background and from a generalist professional background that had less pure finance material.  On the other hand, many of my classmates came from more traditional finance backgrounds. And others were looking to go into banking, so they had a bit of a head start on me in the class. So more than the other classes, I made sure to put time in studying, putting together templates ahead of time, doing practice exams, and going to review sessions. The exam was difficult, and I didn’t actually finish all the questions, but for those I left unfinished, I did put some notes down about what I would have done had I had a bit more time to work through the problems.

After the exam was over I didn’t talk to too many people, but the ones I did talk to confirmed that the exam was difficult not just for us but also for everyone. This was pretty different to my experience in law school, where hordes of people gathered after each exam during the first quarter to discuss how they answered the problem. Fortunately, my finance exam came at the end of the week, so once that was over I knew I was finished.

Logistically, most of us took our exams with our section mates and classmates. Usually, we’d split up into two rooms to accododate the size of the classes, while also giving us more room in the exam to put our notes, jackets and other things.  Before exams, most people preferred to chat rather than cram through material, a stark contrast with the way law school exams worked. Similarly, most students didn’t spend too many hours putting together nearly perfect outlines like my law school classmates did. Instead, they put together short, succinct note pages with the most relevant material and relied on exam performance during the three-hour period. The process proved to be the same for most of our classes – strategy, accounting, DECS (i.e. stats), and MORS (i.e. leadership class).

In the end, doing well on class and exams doesn’t have much bearing on how you will be as a business leader.  However, only time will tell how much bearing it has on job offers and professional opportunities that will be available. While many of us hear it doesn’t, I suspect it still may factor in to some jobs on the margin, again, a stark contrast to law school, where grades are king and where things like fit, professional background, management style, and leadership experience are all secondary.

But more important than how grades turned out, at least for now, was that exams were over, which meant that we could finally get ready for Ski Trip at Kellogg. And so nearly 800 Kellogg students would be jetting away to Aspen Colorado not only to ski but to celebrate the end of their first quarter with their new classmates.

Stay tuned to hear how Ski Trip turned out.

At long last, the holiday break is finally here. But getting here wasn’t necessarily a piece of cake. Shortly before the holiday break, students began to disappear from Jacobs and started to focus much more on final exams.  And despite the fact that business school is often referred to as two-year vacation, many people actually spent a lot of time studying during the final couple of weeks,

As a result, the majority of people spent a lot less time hanging out in the atrium during the final two weeks. Likewise, there were not as many planned get-togethers or hangs at the local Evanston pubs. Instead, students spent more time getting organized, catch up on recruiting activities, beginning to study for exams, and in some cases simply resting from the quarter. And they relied more on weekends to relax and hang out with classmates and friends.

In terms of preparation, many people steered clear of their later finals and focused on the upcoming final exam, and maybe the one directly after that if they had extra time. Others started with easier subjects and avoided the harder ones, because it was a good way to procrastinate on the subjects they liked lease. And others did just the opposite – they focused on harder subjects, figuring they wouldn’t study much for the easier ones.

This took place up until the last week when we all had our final classes.  At the end of every course, each professor would try to provide us with a good lecture, before giving a brief personal pitch about the class and the department, in hopes we’d continue to take classes in the topic. In some cases the pitches seemed compelling, and in other cases, less so. For many of my classes, the pitches actually had zero impact on my classes, because most of my classmates had already made up their minds about the subjects and professors well before the final class.

One of the teachers that got rave reviews was Professor Julie Hennessy, who I previously wrote a post about (click here to see post on Julie Hennessy).  Unlike most professors that gave us a pitch about why we should take classes in their department (i.e. marketing in this case), she ended by discussing recruiting, and how we could do a good job at marketing ourselves to employers. And the class was especially fun and relevant because she was a hiring manager for years at some of the top brand management companies in the US, so she had a lot of interesting things to share with us.

Another professor co-taught a class with the Medill School of Journalism. The class was not only filled with MBAs, but also with masters of journalism students, some of which were part of the IMC program (i.e. Integrated Marketing Communications). And so his approach was probably a bit different than most classes. He told us his story about coming to Northwestern, and how it was his first time teaching at the university. He also talked more about the things we did in class and what his goals were for the class, rather than imparting us with the life lessons or grand takeaways that some teachers aim to do.

After each of the professors gave us their pitches, they always left the room for the final 10 or so minutes while the students filled out the evaluation surveys.  The point of the surveys was to gage how the students felt about the class, surveying students on teaching style, energy, content, engagement, and use of technology, among a large number of other things. And administration always ensures that we fill out the surveys before finals week, so that our grades don’t impact the reviews we give. While this makes sense for the most part, it also lack objectivity, because some of the questions on the survey ask questions around “fair grading procedures” and in reality, those can’t really be answered before the final exam.

The next week was the week we all took our final exams, which for most came with mixed results. For some, finishing the exams was a huge accomplishment, because they’d been challenging themselves all quarter, with hard classes. Especially those without traditional business backgrounds. For others, finishing was a sigh of relief because now it meant they could go on Ski Trip or head out of town to see friends and family. And for others, finishing exams meant they could start working on the job search process, which they may have neglected for the past few months.

For me, and for a great majority of Kellogg students, it was great to finally finish up the first quarter and eventually head to the Kellogg Ski Trip. Stay tuned to hear more how both the exams and the ski trip turned out.

Every person applying to business school has both good and bad parts of their application. So as an applicant, it’s in your interest to not only to formally submit a strong application but also to submit one that both highlights the good parts, while also mitigating the bad parts. One way to do that is by delivering a strong interview, especially at schools, like Kellogg, where everyone gets a chance to interview with the admissions committee (or alumni/students who represent the admissions committee).

Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a pretty large number of questions about interviews from aspiring MBA and JD-MBA applicants at Kellogg. Given the applicant pool for top MBA programs is highly competitive, filled with applicants applying with perfect GPAs and GMAT scores, not to mention rigorous analytical work experience, my belief is that you should always be very well prepared for interview.

Below, I’ve listed a couple of tips that I’ve provided to applicants. While they are general pieces of advice that many of you have heard before, they’re things are sometimes still easy to forget, so I’ve provided them here for reference.

1. Research. In any interview, you should know the organization you’re interviewing with, in the case the MBA program (or dual degree program if applicable). Research the ins and outs, and not only of the organization itself, but also the industry and the school’s top competitors.  And you should also be prepared to demonstrate that knowledge by talking about it analytically, not just factually.  That means mentioning programs, people, events, clinics, culture, and recent program changes, and then discussing how that compares to other schools.

2.  Fit. Further, you should be crystal clear on how all of the research you’ve done relates to you and ties into your specific application. Talking generally about pros and cons of a school is easy, but figuring out where you fit in will take some additional work. Ultimately schools want to admit students who not only want to be there but also who will thrive in that specific environment. So it’s highly beneficial to understand how you can benefit from programs at the school. Practically, that means talk about the nuances that make it unique, why those nuances are important to you specifically, and why you would excel as a result of those things.

Be sure to check back for more interview tips over the upcoming weeks before round two interviews begin.

Good luck!

There is a new movement taking place in the world of business education, which seeks to combine some of the world’s most challenging business problems with other problems in the world. One way it’s doing that is by combining the challenging business and legal problems in JD-MBA programs. The JD-MBA program is an accelerated course of study that allows students to graduate from business and law school in three years. And it not only allows them to take courses in business and law, but also then also work in areas such as finance, entrepreneurship, business law, real estate and an endless number of other professions.

Top MBA programs, of course, will continue to thrive, and they will continue to enroll some of the most talented business people in the world.  But more and more these program will integrate with schools, such as law, public policy, education and others, as business continues to become more cross disciplinary and as teams become more cross functional to tackle today’s most important business decisions.

Meanwhile, everything in the JD-MBA program exudes that integration. Because it not only gives you the legal and business training but also the networks and resources from both schools. A network of diverse students and alumni, professional and academic resources, professors that you can call upon later in your career, and a mix of interesting classes to help you triangulate around your interests, both in business and law.

Sound like something you might be interested in?  If so, then you’re definitely not alone. People are increasingly starting to look more and more into the programs. And further, schools are also becoming enormously interested. This year Columbia and Cornell recently launched three year JD-MBA programs and last year, Wharton and Yale came out with accelerated programs.

• Click here to learn more about Kellogg’s dual degree program. Launched in 2001, Northwestern had the first fully integrated JD-MBA program and today it continues to serve as one of the leading programs, given it’s size, number of alumni, and reputation with recruiters.
• Click here to learn about Columbia’s new dual program, which will begin in 2011. Also, click here to read their press release from Wednesday. Given its NYC location, the Columbia program will be a good draw for many students.
• Click here to learn about the Wharton program, which was launched in 2009, as the second fully integrated JD-MBA program. The creation of Wharton’s program was significant, as it helped spur Cornell and Columbia to recently to launch their respective programs
• Click here to learn about Cornell’s new program, which began last year in 2010. Cornell was the first school to launch a program in NYC
• Click here to learn about Yale’s program, launched in 2009. Given its unique application procedure – must apply and get into the Yale Law and then apply to Yale SOM as a 1L – the program will likely be a good draw for students more interested in law than in business

On the other hand, some top schools are still in decision mode.  Stanford, for example, has decided against the program so far. Just last year, the Dean of Stanford University Law School, said they also thought about creating a program (i.e. shortening its four-year program to three years) but decided not to create one. (click here to see the article). I’m interested to see if they change their mind over the next few years.

But more important than them, what about you?  Are you looking to join the revolution in the business and legal worlds? And are you considering a joint program in business and law? If so, then check out the programs above, and see if one of them sounds appealing to you.

Personally, I’m a big proponent of the Northwestern JD-MBA program, but I suspect different programs will work better for everyone, depending on what you want to get out of the experience. Best of luck in your choice and feel free to get in touch with me if you have any immediate questions.

Few companies can be said to represent the spirit of an entire generation. Well one of those companies is Facebook, as the company has not only transformed the way people use the Internet, but also the way people fundamentally interact with others on a daily basis. Recently, the movie Social Network portrayed the story behind the founding Facebook, and the move is a hit across many college campuses. The movie was also a hit here at Northwestern, as one of the main characters played in the movie, Divya Narendra, is one of my fellow classmates here in the Northwestern JD-MBA program, class of 2012.

Before the founding of Facebook back at Harvard, the thought of connecting with others online was not the standard, it was moreso a good idea. And when Divya and his old classmates discussed the idea for social network at the time, they had no clue it would lead to one of the most popular companies in the world today.

But the most interesting part of the story isn’t their personal success. In fact, if you get to know Divya today, you will quickly realize that his personal success doesn’t necessarily play a huge part of his day to day decisions. Instead, Divya’s main mission is continue to improve professionally as a serial entrepreneur and to create value in online spaces where he sees opportunity to make the world better.

Today Divya works on his company SumZero, while studying full time here in the JD-MBA program. Similar to the original intention of ConnectU, SumZero (i.e. the opposite of Zero Sum) is an internet tool that’s focused on helping people grow their professional networks, except this time his site is tailored for investors who want to share investing information.  And similar to Facebook today, the networks on the site are immense, as nearly every major fund is represented, including Citadel, SAC, Blackstone, Farallon, and KKR, among others.

Because Divya’s company has taken off and because of the success of the new movie, a number of articles have recently been written about him and the Facebook story, including an article put out by Northwestern yesterday.  Below, I’ve posted a number of those articles, including a link to learn more about the JD-MBA program here at Northwestern.

In my view, the JD-MBA program is the perfect fit for any entrepreneur, as you not only get the legal and business training that can be immensely valuable as you start an enterprise, but also the networks and resources from both schools – current entrepreneurs, small business clinic resources, professors that understand the start-up space, classes on forming and managing new businesses, and a network of lawyers, business people and investors.

• Click here to see an article written on Divya by Northwestern yesterday
• Click here to see an article written by the Northwesern Daily newspaper a few weeks ago
• Click here to see a Kellogg press release on the story
• Click here to learn more about the Northwestern JD-MBA program
• Click here to learn more about Divya’s company SumZero

See below to read a preview to the first article above, written by Northwestern University News Center

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Life Beyond Facebook

Real-world movie ‘Social Network’ character has no time for regrets By Wendy Leopold

EVANSTON, Ill. — Divya Narendra was having dinner with his girlfriend when a fellow Northwestern University student recognized him for his real-world role portrayed in the blockbuster movie “The Social Network.” “He, of course, mispronounced my name,” said Narendra, still adjusting to the spotlight since the release of the movie.

One of the film’s three Harvard graduates who alleged Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook was based on Narendra.

How accurate is the story of what was deemed “the movie of the decade” by some critics? “The way our personalities are colored is exaggerated at times, but the underlying story is a lot closer to fact than fiction,” Narendra said.

(Click here to read the article online)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope that you’re having an enjoyable holiday not only filled with delicious food but also filled with good friends and time with family. On Thanksgiving, most people hop into their cars to drive, or set away in overpriced seats in the crowded skies to join their families and celebrate while watching movies, parades, and football games. And during the day, they also express all the things they’re  thankful for.  But in addition to being thankful for many of the personal things above, many of us also have a lot to be thankful for professionally.

In my view, many of us should also be grateful for access to professional opportunities. And that especially true now where business is tighter than it’s been in previous years and where there are more applicants these days and the pressures to get accepted continue to mount. So we should all take a few minutes to thank those who have helped us along the way, whether they helped us make professional decisions or helped us with the graduate school application process.

Personally, I’m grateful for those ahead of me who aggressively continue to sharing information both in person and here online. So I thought I’d dedicate this post to name just a few online resources that I found interesting or that I used directly when applying. I suspect that my readers are also thankful for these resources, or at least will be thankful that I’ve shared them here in this post. My apologies in advance if I’ve left anyone off the list and to those who I didn’t discover during the application process.

1. Marquis Parker, who is one of the 1st MBA Bloggers ever, and is currently the MBA blogger with the longest tenure and likely most unique visitors
2. Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), the premier career development program for high potential minorities that are applying to MBA programs
3. GottaMentor, an internet start-up that is changing the game for sharing information and online mentoring, and one that I’m also pretty active in
4. Michelle Owuku, former MLT coach who helped me through the MBA application process
5. Orlando O’niell, who set the stage for blogging at Kellogg the year before I came to campus, and currently writes very insightful posts
6. Steven Windsor, another fellow blogger before me at Kellogg, who writes about the venture capital and technology space
7. Dino Gane, another fellow blogger a year before me at Kellogg. For those who remember, he began with the name Managing Magic and wrote extensively about his MBA application process
8. Jullien Gordon, who is in the careers blogging space and is currently working as an entrepreneur to help people change their careers and their lives
9. Paragon2Pieces, who is one of the first, if not the first JD-MBA blogger out there. Either way, she paved the way for JD-MBA writers like myself to enter the space
10. NotAboutJackie, who is one of the only other MLT bloggers out there
11. Leland Cheung, former MBA blogger and current City Councilman, that also helped me through the application process
12. Emmanuel Pleitez, political blogger who began the MBA application process with me before moving into politics and running for Congress
13. HellasMBA Blog list, which is a list of bloggers and was one of my first entry points into the blogging space
14. Stacy Blackman, a pioneer in the MBA admissions blogging space, and a Kellogg alum
15. Linda Abraham (from Accepted.com), who has been sharing valuable information on MBA admissions for years
16. ClearAdmit, who has been one of the leaders in sharing information on MBA admissions, for as long as I’ve found it relevant. I also found that Clear Admit Law Blog also has a website dedicated to law school admissions, which I found after being admitted into my program
17. Keith Ferrazzi, who is a leading pioneer in the movement on sharing information with others. You might know him from his book, Never Eat Alone

I also wanted to name a couple of “honorable mentions.”  Even though I didn’t leverage them during the admissions process or make use of them during my recruiting processes, these resources are definitely setting the stage in the online/ blogging world today and continue to increase the pace of sharing career and professional information.

1. ClassyCareerGirl, who is blogging while getting a part-time MBA. She is an excellent resource for women in the business and consulting field. Keep an eye out for this emerging blogger.
2. BeatTheGMAT, is an excellent resource not only for GMAT information, but also for aggregating admissions content. It’s a resource I’m currently partnering with to help them bring more information to more people.
3. Law School Podcaster, is an excellent resource for law school.  They also have a great website for MBA admissions, MBA Podcaster.

That’s because the best leaders and organizations understand the value of sharing information. They realize that more important than always working for ourselves is that we all continue to improve our community by sharing more and more information with those who need it. And that’s especially true for those who might come from families where access to information and to critical resources is limited. And in the end, my belief is that only after we start sharing more freely will be able to make use of everyone’s best talents and collectively unlock our collective potential for change.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

If you Google any top business school today, you’re almost guaranteed to find a story that talks about the school’s new building. While this may not be the main factor MBA applicants use to decide on where to attend school, in today’s high-tech global business environment, the best applicants not only want a top tier education, they also want a state-of-the-art facility.

As a result, one of the things a lot of students have been talking about the past few months, is whether Kellogg is going to build a new facility? And if so when?

Well, the good news is that Kellogg has committed to following the trend and building a new facility over the next few years. And on November 12, 2010, Dean Sally Blount publically committed to this through a press release stating that Kellogg was “excited to finalize the site.”

As debates around the new building have persisted, one overarching theme is that it should be more modern and have more study space so more people can be productive on campus during the day. That’s especially true this year, where Kellogg’s class of 2012 is bigger than it has ever been (so space feels a lot more limited) and booking a study room can be an impossible task at peak hours during the week.

On the whole, people seem to be pretty excited about the prospects of the building and believe that it will be a great addition to campus. It is also a great way to attract new students and ensure we keep the best professors in the world.

In a past article, former Dean Chopra commented that “this will be an outstanding new home for Kellogg in a wonderful location on campus. The new facility will enable Kellogg to provide state-of-the-art teaching facilities, additional amenities for our students and office space for our faculty.” In the most recent press release, Dean Blount added that “the site offers breathtaking lakefront view and will be a destination for businesses and civic leaders from around the world.”

But the press release also noted that fundraising efforts are still incomplete, and that they will become easier once they select an architect and the plan for the site is officially finalized.

So one question still remains. Is orchestrating the construction of the new building easier said than done? Perhaps. Brokering a balance between fundraising and building, when there are limited funds, unfinished architectural plans, and diverse points of view is never easy.  To lead Kellogg down that path requires an administration that understands the value of the building and alumni who deeply believe in supporting this initiative, even if the timeline isn’t set in stone yet.

And while the building won’t be up in time for the current classes of students, we should also look forward to supporting Kellogg through the process. Because, in the end, building a new facility will ensure that Kellogg remains one of the premier business schools globally.

Kellogg, its new Dean, and the current class of students should welcome the opportunity to be at the forefront of this change.

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This post above represents a recent article I wrote an article for Kellogg’s newspaper, the Merger. Click here for a press release that came out on 11/12 in regards to the new building.