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Best Wishes in 2012 from Kellogg and Dean Sally Blount

As the year comes to an end, students and faculty are beginning to think about the new year. First years about recruiting which will hit them hard in just a couple of days. Second years about what they want to do after business school and how they want to spend the last few months. Admits about what schools to attend and how early to start networking. And everyone else about New Years resolutions, not just at work but also with their friends and families. Well, recently Dean Blount at Kellogg sent an email to the school wishing us a nice 2012.

Recently Dean Blount of the Kellogg School sent an email to the student body wishing us a great 2012.  See below for the email, which includes a video about what Kellogg aspires to do in 2012.

Dear Kellogg Community,

At the beginning of 2011, we set an ambitious agenda to reposition Kellogg strategically, operationally and as a brand. Now, we’re ending the year with a nearly complete strategic plan, a newly articulated brand positioning, a new organizational structure, and an architect for our global hub. Our team has prepared a video (CLICK HERE to see the video) that captures our progress.

And now as 2011 comes to a close, I would like to thank you and our entire community — for your trust in me and for your belief in Kellogg. It means a lot.

With gratitude–

Sally Blount ’92
Dean

A few quotes from the video

• We believe business can be world changing
• Its the willingness to challenge convention; challenge the status quo; to not accept that just because it’s always been done this way that, that’s the way it should be done in the future
• It’s out grounded wisdom, its our courageous and collaborative spirit, and its that pioneering vision … that’s Kellogg.
• There has to be a competitor that challenges the status quo if you really want to stay relevant to the modern world.

Management Leadership for Tomorrow in 2011

Happy holidays everyone. I hope that you’ve been able to enjoy the holiday season so far and spend lots of time with friends and family. 2011 has been a great year for many of us, and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.  I’m writing this message to put out a few facts about Management Leadership for Tomorrow, an organization I’m part of that also a good year in 2011. Not only did they continue to build the organization but more importantly they also helped a lot of people apply to graduate school and continue to work toward achieving more success than ever before.

In short, 2011 has been another successful year for MLT.  The organization is excited about accomplishments of fellows and alumni over the past year and looks forward to celebrating MLT’s 10th anniversary with you in 2012! Below are a few highlights from 2011 include:

• About 85% of undergraduate Fellows secured full-time jobs at graduation, compared to under 25% of all college graduates;
• Nearly 95% of MLT MBA Prep Fellows matriculated to top 25 business schools, receiving over $15M in fellowships/scholarships
• 93% of Fellows stated that participation in MLT has been a “life -changing experience;
• MLT expanded its Career Advancement Program, for mid-career professionals, to include 40 rising leaders; and
• MLT formed several new partnerships with leading organizations, including American Express, The Broad Center, Capital One, Genentech, Procter & Gamble and  Yum! Brands among others. CLICK HERE for their full list of potential partners.

In addition to that, John Rice also did well in 2011, as he was named one of Forbes Impact 30 Social Entrepreneurs.

In short, MLT is having a big impact and not just on diverse business professionals but also on business as a whole. And as a result of the success, MLT is looking forward to 2012 and continuing enhancing its engagement with fellows, alumni and the broader population next year, which will be MLTs 10th anniversary year.

Stay tuned in 2012 to hear more about what MLT is up to. And as always, don’t hesitate to drop me a line if you have any questions about MLT or any one of its programs. Happy to answer any questions you have.

Happy Holidays!

Private Equity at Kellogg

One of the most popular industries at Kellogg is the private equity industry. Not only does working in private equity offer a challenging career path but it also offers the potential to make a big paycheck. Especially for those who are good, make it to the top, and get carry at the firm. The problem is that the firms are very selective about who they hire and when they hire. So the question everyone has at Kellogg – how do you get into the private equity industry.

The private equity industry one of the hottest industries here on campus. Hordes of my MBA classmates look hard for opportunities to join top private equity firms. They start with firms such as Blackstone, KKR, and Bain Capital but explore a long list of other firms too. Some in Chicago but also lots in New York, the Bay and a myriad of other cities.

Many of the people recruiting for these jobs come from jobs in banking and private equity before school. Some work at funds over the summer. And others take Kellogg’s “Buyout Lab” class, that places them in a part time PE role for the quarter to get them more exposure and training.

In general, those who work at firms over the summer aren’t guaranteed an offer. In fact, it’s often not even an option. One girl I know never had the option. She had great performance reviews, got along well with everyone, and got stellar feedback. But in the end, she was told maybe reach back out to us next year to see where things stand.

Another guy I spoke with yesterday had to re-interview for his job, despite getting outstanding reviews for the summer. He even had to re-meet with the people that gave him the best reviews. But luckily he sealed the deal to go back full time. And a third person got a “maybe” and was asked to keep working throughout the school year to see if things worked out. So he spent 20 or so hours doing that in hopes to land a gig.

For some of these students, a Kellogg MBA ends up being their ticket into the PE world. One person I spoke with noted that their strategy was to identify connections from Kellogg (or prior firms) to specific funds and have discussions with them to see if there was a good fit with these funds. For others, Kellogg is more of a two year vacation. They have the experience and connections and now are happy for the opportunity to work less the next couple of years. After all, many of these guys were used to working 75 to 80 hours before school. And for some, it could be anything but a vacation if your job search takes longer than expected. One friend of mine got a PE job just days before the Kellogg school year ended last year.

A lot of these people tend to take a lot of the finance classes as it helps with their knowledge set, enhances their recruiting profiles, and puts them in classes with other people that have similar interests. And so as you might imagine some are also really good with Microsoft Excel.

In the end, there’s definitely a lot of buzz in the PE world. To get there, you have to learn the language (and learn Excel), take finance classes and recruit in a less traditional way than your classmates. You also have to be willing to face uncertainty and potentially not get a job offer. But on the other end of the spectrum, you could hit the jackpot and land a job where the earning potential could be limitless.

Tradeoffs

Last year in Finance we spent an entire week discussing the efficient frontier. And it wasn’t the first time it came up in business school. In our MBA classes, we talk about the portfolio theory a lot.  The idea is that you can optimize the things you choose to invest in if you can figure out how to balance the risk and return. That you can think about what your tradeoffs are and make decisions possible to maximize profit. Well in some ways those same questions about tradeoffs happen here in graduate school.

In business school, I’ve come to find that a lot of people are constantly searching for that efficient frontier. The edge of the parabola where you can maximize risk and reward. The very tip of the Tangent Portfolio where you can look out over the edge and see exactly what’s happening.  In some cases you’re searching for more leverage and risk because you want to see if you maximize your profit. But in other cases you’re looking for less risk and more opportunities to take things a bit easier.

The concept is simple. At almost every given point in graduate school you have to make decisions. Decisions about what classes you want to take. Which jobs you want to apply to. Which professors to bid on. What clubs you want to join. And if you’re single, what guys/girls you might want to pursue. But in the end, you can’t do all of them. Maybe most of them, but not all of them. It’s impossible.

Instead, you have to figure out what combination of things works best for you. That is to say, which combination of things leads you to the best potential outcome based on your interests. The outcome with the most reward. The highest profit. And in MBA lingo, the best return on your business school investment.

In our case as MBA students (or JD/MBA students), we all measure reward and profit differently. For many of us, profit is a mix of both social and economic return. So mot only the jobs we get but also the friends we make and the reputations we build. It’s also about the activities we take part in, the experiences we have, and all the other things you could imagine are important.

As you might imagine, each student here values these individual elements differently, so you can’t just copy what someone else is doing. Some of us have a lazer focus on getting a specific job. Especially if we were unhappy in our prior careers. Others of us want to increase our networks, make more friends, or do more traveling. Others want to engage in academics since they haven’t been able to do that since college. And then there are some that want a mix of everything. That’s the group that I fall into.

And while these tradeoff decisions happen all year long, they become amplified during times like recruiting and finals period, when time is limited, and it feels like more is at stake than ever before. So in those cases, you feel the pressure. Pressure not only to make the right decision but also to do well and get a return the money you’re spending.

And you can’t get away with not making a decision.  Because if you don’t, you’re position on the scale automatically moves. You return goes down. The risk goes up. And you can feel yourself sliding. Moving toward the edge. About to fall off the side. And if you haven’t decided yet, at that very moment you’ll be forced to.

In short, there are a lot of tradeoffs in business school.

Business Cards in Business School

One thing we sure do get a lot of in business school is business cards. We start collecting them from future classmates before we ever step foot on campus.  We get them at company receptions and recruiting events. We get them on industry Treks and at coffee chats. And we get them from guest speakers when they come to class. And after getting hundreds of them just in the past few years the one question that lingers is, how useful are they?

I remember when I got my first box of business cards back in 2009. They were white, they had nice Northwestern Law and Kellogg logos, and they got most of us excited about using them to find great jobs while in school. So we put our cards in our wallets and sent out on a mission to give them out to the world. At least initially.

Soon after, many of us came to find that business cards have been a lot more useful to collect than they’ve been to give. We spend a lot more time talking to people whose cards we want than with people that want our cards. And we spend a lot of time in business school in the job hunt process, so we’re incessantly seeking out more information.

I’m in the final year of my JD-MBA program and collecting business cards has certainly been helpful. I’ve taken them plentifully and given many of my own away. Each one with a promise. The promise to follow-up. A promise to keep in touch. And a promise to connect someone I met with someone I know. Some of those were kept. Others broken. Others still lingering.

I’m reminded about how many cards I’ve collected because I just went through a stack of cards that I had on my desk. It’s been so interesting that I’ve decided to get the other stack that sits in my closet. Not only have I come across people that were great professional contacts but also some really interesting ones. Like the a Minister of Health in Nairobi Kenya. The Chief Marketing Officer of Fandango. One of the earliest employees at Redbox. And one admitted student I met at a business school admit weekend in Cambridge back in 2009. Unfortunately, I also found some expired movie passes in the pile which was a bit of a disappointment. I’d been looking for those for a couple of months.

In some ways, I’m curious how much longer business cards will last. Despite their usefulness for me and my classmates, today people use the Internet more than ever before. Not only is it faster than using a card but it’s also easier. You can search for someone on LinkedIn to find the information they need. And you can exchange Twitter handles and email addresses faster than phone numbers and at no cost. Even though it’s not the norm today, I can envision a day where it is the norm a few years from now.

Either way, if you’re in business school today, you should get ready to collect a lot of business cards. Hopefully one of them will result in a job. Though perhaps more important than what the result is, two years from now they’ll leave you with a few fun memories.

Good luck.

What Else Can I Do With My MBA? … See the Forbes Social Impact 30

The “goals” question remains a centerpiece of just about every single MBA application.  What do you want to do when you graduate? What is your career vision? How do you want to change the world? In business school, a lot of people go into traditional careers right after school. But today a greater number of people have broader career interests than ever before. Like coming up with a great startup. Joining a groundbreaking non-profit. And working with an innovative technology company.  And so that leads me to the one question, a lot of people are thinking about right now. What can I do with my MBA?

Hey Everyone, hope all of you are doing well.  As you know, I often like to spread the word, not only about things happening in business school but also about social enterprises, or entreprenerus, that are changing the world. Sometimes world reknowned organizations that you’ve all heard about but other times about up and coming organizations that are having a big impact on their local community. Well, earlier this week Forbes announced 30 entrepreneurs and organizations that are actually changing the world.

For the first time in Forbes history, they’ve decided to assembled an all-start group. A group that’s not only doing well in business but also having an impact on the world. In short social entrepreneurs. Forbes calls them the Impact 30, and they note that they defined a “social entrepreneur” as a person who uses business to solve social issues.

What’s interesting is that many of them are MBAs and many from the top programs you are all considering today. The two that stand out most for me today, are Andrew Youn from Kellogg and John Rice from MLT.

So without further ado:

CLICK HERE for the article.

CLICK HERE for a view of all the winners

CLICK HERE for a view of MLT’s John Rice (education)

CLICK HERE to see what Andrew Youn (Kellogg) is up to (Sustainability)

CLICK HERE for a view of Wendy Matter (education)

Applicant Question: Leadership Opportunities in Business School

In a recent email, I was contacted by one of my regular blog readers who is a potential applicant to MBA programs.  He asked me about the ways to get involved in activities while in business school. Specifically, he asked about how he might get involved in clubs, or organize study trips during the experience. In some respects this is a tough question because there are so many ways to get involved, so it’s hard to even begin to answer. But at Kellogg, people do get pretty involved, so I was happy to give him my take on things.

Before getting to the question, I’ll note that this is only one perspective, and others could have slightly different opinions on the matter.  After all, everyone has different levels of involvement at Kellogg and different abilities to handle multiple things at any given time. Likewise, I’d also say that I do my best to be one of the more active people on both campuses. So my propensity to get involved is high and my time to devote to any single campus is low. But that’s also typical of a lot of Kellogg students so I think I’ll provide a representative response. See below for the question. And below that for my response.

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APPLICANT QUESTION

Hi Jeremy,

As I already told you, I follow your blog from time to time (and I like it).

I was wondering ‘What are the ways in which an MBA student can contribute to campus and the MBA community’? When I think of myself, I would like to be a club president of a management consulting club, start a new club or organize a study trip. Additionally, is there something that you as a student miss on campus and that can be run/done by a student initiative?

I would really like to hear your perspective since you are there (on campus).

Thanks a lot.

Regards,

(Name)

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MY RESPONSE

Hi (Name)

Thanks for reading my blog and for your question.

In business school, many people love to get involved in clubs and in on-campus activities. In fact, most people do. The running joke in MBA programs is that most people get involved too much in the beginning and end up becoming overextended, as many of us get involved in too many clubs, go to too many events, recruit for too many industries and sign up for too many social events. As a result, some students don’t always have time to do their best work.  But either way, the point is, that there is no shortage of things to get involved in. And even thought it can all be very tiring it’s usually worth it.

One way that people get involved is by taking part in clubs. And in business school there are a lot of clubs you can get involved in. At Kellogg, there are nearly 90 student clubs to get involved in. You can take part industry clubs (e.g. banking, finance, marketing), social clubs (wine club, food club, etc), arts and services clubs, and also cultural clubs (Indian business club, Hispanic Business club, etc). The list goes on.  In such cases, students tend to get involved during the first year, as participants or as first year directors and then take on more significant leadership roles in the second year. In many cases, those positions are appointed by last year’s team and in other cases there might be a vote amongst the current members. Likewise, in some cases you run on a slate of leaders and in other cases, you run on your own. It all depends on the club.

A second way that people get involved is by being part of student government, which at Kellogg is called the KSA (e.g. Kellogg Student Association). To do that, you usually take part in student body elections at Kellogg  either during the very beginning or in the spring quarter.  For many people this is also fulfilling. Not only is it a way to give back to the school but its also a way to get involved in some very interesting issues and interface with many people in the Kellogg administration.

In addition to clubs and elections, many people also organize trips in business school. At Kellogg two ways that people do that are through GIM or for KWEST. I did both. For m GIM trip, we went to Kenya – it was the nonprofit profit trip my year. In addition to Kenya, others went to other places all over the world. As a student you can either participate or lead the trip and get very different yet rewarding experiences either way. Likewise for KWEST, you can also have a rewarding experience. As an incoming student, you have the opportunity  take part in a KWEST trip as your first experience on campus. And as a second year, you have the opportunity to take part as a KWEST leader and take 20 incoming students all around the world.

In addition to these, there are dozens (if not more) of other ways to get involved, organize, and lead on Kellogg’s campus. From nonprofit activities (e.g. Kellogg Cares) to experienential learning classes (G-lab) to things beyond the Kellogg campus, such as at Northwestern and in Chicago. There really is no shortage of ways to get involved. And that’s even for spouses and families who can take part in the joint venture club, and other similar groups on campus.

However, to the last point, I will caveat my entire post by saying that those who are married and/or have families often have unique experiences and have other things that demand their time. So I suspect that some of them might answer this question differently than I would.

But assuming you do have time to participate then it applies to you. And if does apply, then here’s my opinion on many of these types of clubs and roles.  If you have the time and interest and are  able to get a lead role in an organization, then chances are you should take it. Landing the group will probably earn you at least a little respect from some of your colleagues, give you more self-confidence, and give you experience organizing. It will also give you something interesting to talk about in future interviews, not only for clubs but also for jobs and anything else you do on campus. That said, the title usually doesn’t really mean much.  Instead, it means more to be able to work with other students and find a way to have impact as a unit.

Good luck in your pursuits.

Applicant Question: Career Change from Sales and Startup to Private Wealth in Business School

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend! This time of year, people are back at home spending time with friends and families.  Many of them are just relaxing. Others are students, taking a break from classes, before finals period. And there’s another group of people, that are using the break to apply to business school. They’re hoping next year that when they’re sitting at the table, they’ll be able to say that they’ll thankful for “getting in”. To make the a possibility for as many students as possible, I’ve been responding to lots of email questions this week. One question came from a reader that had a question about career changes in business school. 

In a recent email, I was contacted by someone I met during my BeatTheGMAT.com online chat series. She asked me about career changes in business school. Specifically, about how to move into Private Wealth Management (PWM) from her current career track. She noted that she had moved away from the path that she had intended so she thought that PWM seemed like a longer shot. 

I’l note that I didn’t recruit for the Private Wealth Management industry here at Kellogg.  Likewise, I also didn’t recruit specifically in the finance industry. But I do know a fair number of people that did, and I do still have a few thoughts to share on the topic. See below for her question, and below that for my response.

APPLICANT QUESTION

Dear Jeremy,

Thank you so much for your time and for the suggestion. If its OK, I have one more formidable challenge in addressing my application. I am from an engineering background, with 3 years of experience in sales – financial products, insurance industry. I have a very good record in performance and was in the top 10 of the region consistently. However, due to a stalled career and little growth prospects… i got bored and due to lack of further personal and professional growth..clubbed with a mandatory topological relocation.. I took up the opportunity at a start-up..as a Strategy and sales consultant…and have done pretty well here.

My challenge here is that my interest is in Private Wealth Management, that cropped from my exposure to financial products while with my earlier company. But however, my present industry is Advertising and marketing… so my biggest concern is how do I relate my goals and interest to my present job and validate my interest in PWM?? because the shift in industry and job role isn’t realy easy to connect to my goals. My apologies for the long mail– I just thought U should get a more or less clear idea about my background..to get a good advice from you.

Any insightful suggestions would be much appreciated…

P.S: On a personal note, I’d also like to know what would u have done had u been in my shoes?? 🙂

Thanks you in advance!

(Name)

MY RESPONSE

(Name),

No problem on the email. Happy to help however I can. So if I interpret correctly, you spent some time working in the sales and marketing space and currently work for a startup, but you want to go into PWM. after business school  Is that correct? If that’s the case, then even though you have a bit of work to do, the transition may not be as far fetched as you think. 

Before, I jump straight into the question, I’ll point out that your diverse background is certainly not a bad thing. In fact, having a diverse background is often times a strong plus. It shows you can succeed in lots of professional environments, that you can work well with all different types of people, and that you have variety of skills and interests that could translate across a number of employers. And one of those employers could very well be in the private wealth industry. 

Happy Thanksgiving. Here’s What I’m Thankful For

It’s hard to believe but this is my last Thanksgiving as a student. Reflecting back on my time here at Northwestern as well as my undergrad days at Stanford, it’s hard not to recall how many great classes, great job opportunities, interesting professors and best of all great classmates I’ve had along the way. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about how lucky I’ve been to have the experience. And that leads me to what I’m most thankful for this year.

Ever since I started my blog (and graduate school) a few years ago, I’ve received quite a few emails from readers.  Many of them wanted tips or advice for selecting programs. Others had specific admissions questions. Others were visiting campus and were looking for someone to speak to while they were here. And some simply wanted to say thanks for keeping up my site.

I read every one of those questions and did my best to respond to all of them, though admittedly I think I missed a few.  In the course of all of this, I’ve come to find that there are a lot of people that want to go to business school and to law school, but that there are very few seats at these places. After all, there are only 230 seats at the law school and only 600 at Kellogg despite over 7,000 applications. More importantly, there are exponentially more people all over the US and world that want to go to great undergraduate universities, but a large majority will never have the opportunity to attend a 4-year university.

This has all come to an apex today, as education has become THE hot button issue, given the rise in education costs and decreasing number of jobs available given the economy. Even though this has have led critics to critique the value of education, I’ve learned firsthand that getting an education is still an incredibly powerful tool. A tool you can use to not only change your circumstances but also find the success that many of us were never raised to even dream about having.

More than 3 years later, after seeing all the opportunities I’ve had access to school, those words are even more true.  And that leads me to a few of the things that I’m most thankful for this year:

I’m thankful for having the chance to get an education and the opportunity to be enrolled in a great graduate program today. This is especially true considering where everything started (Youngstown, OH), as my access and economic means were significantly limited.  It was certainly not something that always seemed possible.

I’m also thankful for the opportunities I’ve had access to as a result of being in school. Great clubs, great organizations and great job opportunities. My goal is to continue to do what I can to help others from my community create those same opportunities.

I’m also thankful for my parents who supported me and pushed me along to pursue a better education. Sometimes it seemed hard but when I was young my parents made sure that I stayed on track. In large part, because they wanted me to achieve the things they never had the chance to.

I’m also thankful for my great classmates, many of whom are some of my best friends today. When you’re going through the fire in school, it’s always great to have classmates and friends you can count on and enjoy the experience with.

I’m also thankful for the JD-MBAs here in my program. Not only a really smart group but also a group where every one of us undergoes the same process. We have to take extra classes. We all have limited bidding points and multiple sets of emails to manage. We all have to move cities multiple times. And worst of all, we all have to get on the shuttle every day in the final year.

And finally, I’m thankful for the Internet, where we can I share this message with lots of people.  Not only is the net revolutionizing modern communication but it’s also helping democratize access to information for those who need access the most.

In sum, I’m thankful for education. I don’t take it for granted, and you shouldn’t either. The jobs we have access to, earning potential we can achieve, and most importantly the role we have the opportunity to take on in society are all a privilege. So we should treat them as such. We should use them as a platform. A way to give back to those that helped us. And a way to improve access in our communities. For every person that got into a great school,  there are tens of thousands in the US and millions other nations that would love to same chance. The chance to have our seat in school. To take the exam that we complained about afterward. To go to the classes we thought about skipping.  So let’s show the world we are thankful and that we were the right people for the seats.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hopefully it’s filled with family, friends, and most of all with lots of “Thanks.”

Applicant Question: What Qualities Does Kellogg Look For?

Every year, thousands of people apply to business school and apply to Kellogg. Senior managers looking to transition from one firm to another.  Former consultants and bankers looking to gain credentials to go back to their former firms. And recent graduates ready to gain access to more opportunities and take on the world. Despite their differences in backgrounds they do all share one commonality. They all want to figure out how to get in to business school, including Kellogg.

In a recent post on BeatTheGMAT.com a person asked me about just that.  In short, they wanted to know what Kellogg loos for. Her full question was: “When you interview a first year candidate, what qualities do you specifically look for ? How do evaluate ‘fit’ for Kellogg?”

In part, this is a tough question because there are so many moving parts to an interview and so many possible answers here. And it was also tough because I had very limited time to answer the question, given I was on a chat forum. Maybe just two or three minutes. That said, I did have a few thought to share. See below for my response. And below that for her counter response.

And also be sure to check out BeatTheGMAT.com and BeatTheGMAT’s Kellogg Wall for similar question on MBA admissions.

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ORIGINAL QUESTION

When you interview a first year candidate, what qualities do you specifically look for ? How do evaluate ‘fit’ for Kellogg?”

MY RESPONSE

Great question. First, I’ll note that everyone’s interview is very different, so you can’t necessarily predict your interview experience. That said, there are a few things that Kellogg likely assesses candidates for. I’ll provide three here:

1) Culture. The Kellogg culture is vibrant, fun, and high energy. People also spend a lot of time working in teams here, so the ability to show cultural fit is key. While there’s not one specific way to do this, focus on being yourself, on demonstrating how you like to work in teams, and on being personable.

2) Communications skills. Because spends so much time in teams and focused on leadership development, people here tend to be very good at communication skills. So high energy, ability to tell a good story and convey a message, things that are not only important here at Kellogg but also professionally after school is over.

3) Being well-rounded. As a general management school, being well-rounded is also important. That means displaying a high number of interests and skills. A propensity to work on a number of different business issues rather than just being a finance person or a marketer. And the ability to work with a large number of people. Further, if you work hard during your day job but area blogger, singer, dancer or anything else, make sure to discuss those things. You’ll likely be better off.

APPLICANT RESPONSE

Thanks Jeremy.. big fan of your blog.. I also hope to create a blog which is as organized as yours by next year..once I get thru one of my top choice Bschool..

MY RESPONSE

Thanks for the follow up message. Blogging takes a lot of work, but for many is well worth the time. Feel free to let me know once you get started. I’d love to have a look.

Job Offer Deadlines

The best CEOs once had to do it. Investment bankers and lawyers had to do it. JDs and MBAs who want to become leaders in organizations will also have to do it.  And over the next couple of weeks, a lot of people here at Northwestern Law and at Kellogg will be doing it. They’ll have to respond to outstanding job offers that they got over the summer or during the fall. Because if they don’t, the offers will explode.

Now, I know exactly what you’re thinking. “Lucky you! At least you have an offer to choose from. How could making that decision be so hard?” I get it. Your question makes sense.  After all, in today’s economy it’s harder to get a job than it’s ever been before. But for just one second, and think about how difficult it actually is to make the decision.

Most people come to MBA programs with one big goal — to get traction a certain industry and eventually to land the job of their dreams. The role they’ve always wanted. The position they decided to lay it all on the line for. In the process though, they came across other options. They faced disappointment. And they encountered changes of heart.

What’s most interesting about business school is that everyone goes through this process. It’s perfectly set up to happen that way. Things move fast. Jobs are competitive. And positions are put out on platters for everyone to be enticed.  It even happens in bad economies at top MBA programs.

On one side of the spectrum are the people who want to pursue all their interests. They want to see everything that’s out there. Meet more and more companies. Learn as much as they can about general business. And put all that together to come up with broad based set of companies to recruit for. So they do just that.

On the other side are those that are laser focused. They work on building a critical mass of knowledge, reaching out to more and more people in one firm, reading up on the company to find details that can help them stand out in the process, and most importantly finding resonance with the decision-making employees.

But both situations create a bit of difficulty. In the first case, students can get confused. They meet too many people. Dont have time to focus. And have interviews and offers in different industries. In the second case, people work so hard for one industry or one company, that they lose perspective. They forget about other great opportunities. Or work hard at something that never even pans out.  And in the end, both people can end up being more confused than before.

Nearly everyone experiences this to some degree in business school. We’re taught to dream big. Recruit at all the big firms. Go beyond the usual suspects. And leverage this one opportunity to do something different. And for most students, they come out successful. Some get the jobs of the dreams. Many get amazing jobs they never originally considered. And the majority get really great jobs by just about every measure, whether it was their first choice or not.

But perhaps more important than that, is that taking a step back, we’re all fortunate here because everyone is fortunate to face job offer deadlines.

Good luck with your job offer decisions.

Getting a Job at a Start-Up

In business school, we all learn a lot about how to go through the recruiting process. How to create a resume. How to position ourselves in an interview. And how to do case studies. All relevant stuff.  But the standard process isn’t all that important when you’re talking about the start-up space; or at any non-traditional employer. So one question a lot of people at Kellogg have is how they can get a job at companies like these?

In recent blog posts, I’ve written a lot of articles about the campus visits of consulting firms, like BCG and McKinsey, banks like Morgan Stanley, marketing firms like P&G and Pepsi, and a host of other companies that people at Kellogg are interested in. And as the semester continues, more and more people seem to be attending these events and applying to these firms.

But in today’s age, an increasing number of smart people are also going to the tech and media industries. And today technology companies are coming to MBA campuses in hordes. In particular big firms like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other big names you’ve probably heard of.  Like the consulting firms and marketing shops, these companies come to campus not only for information sessions but also to host receptions, have atrium hours, provide free open bars, and do their best to lure students in. As such, the school and career center make sure that people have resources to recruit there. But that’s not necessarily the case for startups.

There world of start-ups is unlike most industries in business school. In terms of recruiting, there’s no database of companies. There are no lists of alumni. No formal list of questions to ask in interviews, or skills that you should emphasize when talking.  Instead, you have to figure out a lot of it on your own. Ironically, in the same way that you might if you were working at the small firm, you’d have to figure out what you need to be working on to stay competitive.

Given that process, the question that many people will have over the next few months then is, what do I have to do to get a job at a startup? And can I get one of those job from Kellogg? Or from another top MBA program?

While the answer to that question is yes; the caveat is that getting one of those jobs won’t be easy. Especially at a cool start-up. In some cases, getting the job might be harder than getting a job at a prestigious traditional employer.  So the questions is, what does it take to successfully navigate the start up recruiting process?

In general, it’s not a question I’m necessarily qualified to answer, but a few simple things come to mind right away. Learning to sell. Understanding the business models for small companies. Understanding technology, and specifically the technology that specific companies use. Knowing how to leverage video and multimedia. Understanding who the customer is. Understanding the added value of a product or service. And then, figuring out how to show a startup, who doesn’t have as much time to spend on recruiting, that you can actually do these things well.

But perhaps more important than all of this is that you also need to understand the process of recruiting for a start-up. After all, many startups and other small business aren’t really hiring or looking to fill an open job post.  They don’t have a job board, don’t have a required number of people, and don’t have slotted pay grades. As such, you have to learn to navigate the job process. So doing things like going to the right conferences, going to networking events, meeting people in the industry and staying informed on what’s happening.

And finally, you also have to learn how to wait patiently. Startups and smaller companies tend to recruit at the tail end of the year. So while all your friends are getting jobs at big companies, prestigious firms, and high paying industries, you’ll have to sit back, watch them enjoy the ride, lay the groundwork, and get ready to start hitting the ground harder midway through the year. In fact, many of my classmates and friends didn’t get jobs until the final weeks and days before the school year ended. So you have to be ready for that too.

In sum, getting a job at a startup is different. The timing, the process, and the skills needed. I’m no expert on the topic, but I do know that it’s something you should not take for granted.

Good luck!

“Here’s to the Crazy Ones” -Apple on Thinking Differently

In the past week or two since the passing of Steve Jobs, there has been a lot of press about Steve, Apple, and many of the products the company made. A lot of it has been about how Jobs thought differently. He he had interesting ideas, took risks, and in the end revolutionized business. Given that, the video below about “Thinking Differently” has recently surfaced again over the past few days. In it, images of transformative people throughout the 20th century are shown as a narrator toasts to them for changing the world.

Many of the articles online suggest that the original videos aired years ago. In the version that aired on TV, the narrator is Richard Dreyfuss. But there’s also a second version, where Jobs himself walks us through the video. The latter is the version that I’ve included here.

In the end, we can learn a lot from Steve and the video. In business schools and law schools today, people flock to all the same careers, benchmark what everyone else is doing, and value convention over risk-taking.  But what if more people “thought differently?” What if they recruited for new industries. And what if more and more people worked on something outside of the traditional scope of the MBA.  Maybe one of them would become the next Steve Jobs. And help make the world a more interesting place.

Well, if you’d like some inspiration on how to do that, below are the words to the video. And below that is the video itself.

“Here’s to the Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world – are the ones who DO!” ~ Apple Computers

Kellogg’s 2011 Change the World Conference

This past Saturday Kellogg held its 12th Annual Innovating Social Change Conference.  The Conference is one of the Net Impact Club’s most important events during the year, and it constitutes the largest gathering of game changing social impact thinkers and students here on campus.  Participants from all around campus attended this year’s event. And in my view, as well as the opinion of most of this year’s attendees, the conference didn’t let any of us down.

Just like the conference last year, the quality of the speakers and panel was exceptional.  The topics were varied, the speakers engaging, and discussions interesting. And in part, that was a testament to some of the people that spoke on panels at this year’s conference, including:

• Jason Saul, Faculty, Kellogg School of Management
• Drew Von Glahn, Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Third Sector Capital
• Liam Krehbiel ’07, Founder & CEO, A Better Chicago
• Megan Kashner ’03, Founder & CEO, Benevolent.net
• James Shepard ’95, CEO, Achieve Mission
• Dr. Jamie N. Jones ’09, Assistant Director, Social Enterprise Program, Kellogg School
• Amy Chen, Program Director, Food for Good, PepsiCo Global Nutrition Group
• Paul Ellingstad, Director of Global Health, HP
• Baily Blair Kempner, Director of Growth & Sustainability, Endeavor Global
• Pompa Debroy, Program Director – India, Embrace

In addition to great panels, the conference also featured scheduled breaks to interact with other attendees and panelists, a lunch session to eat with panelists and attendees that have similar interests in in the nonprofit space, and a networking event at the end to meet other students and attendees over a glass of wine.

This year’s keynote speakers included Seth Goldman: President and Chief Executive Officer, Honest Tea; Darell Hammond: Chief Executive Officer and Founder, KaBOOM!; and Lisa Hall: President and Chief Executive Officer, Calvert Foundation.

Seth Goldman kicked off the Conference where he talked a bit about his company “Honest Tea” during his opening keynote address. How he  founded the company and sustainability initiative. At the same time, Mr. Goldman was optimistic that all the MBAs in the room had the power to change the world by doing the same thing. And that one of the best ways to have that impact was to make change in business because business has access to a massive set of channels. “If we don’t change the direction we’re headed, we’ll end up where we’re going” he said, quoting an old Chinese proverb. He said that we need to move in a different direction and one thing that won’t work is waiting.

Darell Hammond discussed his personal experience in the industry.  He talked about his work with communities & corporations to build playgrounds and that helps kids.  And he also talked about the importance of getting new blood in the nonprofit industry.  For his company, he said “We are about the cause not the credit” and that’s the reason you go into the nonprofit space” encouraging us to think similarly.  He also said, “You don’t have to start something. But everything you touch, make better.”  The idea was that we don’t have to come us with the next novel nonprofit but that we can find a novel nonprofit to work with.

But perhaps my favorite ideas came from panelist , Megan Kashner who used to work at the Taproot Foundation. Megan shared her experiences saying how she worked in nonprofit from a young age and went straight into the industry after getting an MBA, a stark contrast to the former bankers and consultants on the panel.  Megan acknowledged that nonprofits “need to find more ways to attract and retain high potential employees to nonprofits.”  And unlike the advice of her fellow panelists, she said “You don’t have to wait”. You can go work at a nonprofit right away after Kellogg.”

In the end, some of the main themes from the conference are some that  I write about here on my site. That it’s not just about using your MBA to do well, but it’s also about giving back and to make the world better.  And secondly, that the world is in need of people to enter the industry. And that MBAs are prime candidates to take on leading roles and have real impact. And that you don’t have to wait to do that.

To learn more about Kellogg’s annual Change the World conference, go to the main conference website at http://kellogg.campusgroups.com/isc/schedule/

You Don’t Have to Wait

Many people in business school have interesting ideas. They have companies they want to launch. Projects they want to get started on. Jobs they want to apply to. But often times, they don’t pursue these opportunities right away. Instead, they wait until the the final days before taking action. In some cases, it makes sense because they are good timelines to follow but often times, people only follow them because they are there. So they get busy and don’t take action until the very end. Well, in such cases I propose the simple idea that it might be worth starting sooner. That you don’t have to wait.

One thing I’ve learned from being in graduate school is that things get busy and we have deadlines for everything – homework assignments that are due, job applications that we submit, and agendas for our clubs and other campus groups. So we put a lot of things on our calendars, get dozens of reminders a day or two before these things are due, and we only finish some of them right before the deadlines.

The same is true in the professional world as well. We set up dozens of meetings in a given week and promise multiple deliverables to clients and internal team members.  As a result, we fill our days with other activities to keep us busy while we adhere to these timelines that have been set up.

But what if we all asked ourselves the question: can we speed up the date that these things are due? Why don’t we take action sooner? What if we work on our deliverables before we are expected? Would the results be better? And the product be higher quality? After all, the best companies on the planet do that quite well. Consider Apple.

I see the same thing happen all the time in business school, where we find ourselves using the days before the deadline as an incentive to finally make progress. Especially on things that have a high initial learning curve.  But I’d argue that taking this approach may not always be the best one.  Doing it this way means you have less time to get feedback. Less time to think about your strategy. Less time to make revisions. And in the end, less time to produce a quality work product.

Don’t get me wrong, I respect deadlines, and adhere to many of them myself. Especially the ones that I don’t have control over. And the ones that are well-timed. But in many cases, I don’t know if we always need them.  That instead these artificial dates hold us back.

Today, I face this same challenge as I think about the timing for my new website. I wonder when the site should be fully launched? When should I finish my business plan? And when should I tell more and more people about the project?  As I think about the timing for all these questions, I hope that I can take action faster. But in some ways that remains to be seen.

In sum, don’t wait. Get started now. Ignore bad deadlines. You might be better off in the end.

Hopefully I am too.

Kellogg Merger Article: “Fortune Favors the Bold” and the Think Bravely Slogan

To all the current Kellogg students from the classes of 2012, welcome to campus. I hope you’ve enjoyed the first few weeks back. And to the class of 2013 about to embark on your first year, I hope you are off to a good start so far. In general, I can’t enough about how valuable the MBA experience is.  Not only can it be a golden ticket to a new illustrious career, but also an avenue to do some really interesting and high-impact things when you get done. For some, even game-changing things. Given my thoughts on the topic, the Merger (Kellogg Newspaper) recently asked me to write an article, where I talked about just that. It was the only opinion article in the last newspaper.

See below for the article.

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Title: Fortune Favors the Bold

Author: Jeremy C. Wilson

We’ve all heard the theory before. That if you want to do something great, you have to have the courage to pursue your biggest passions. Those game-changing ideas that only come to mind in your bravest moments. But also those ideas that fleet faster than the blink of an eye, when fear takes over. Well, Dean Blount and Kellogg recently agreed with this theory when they released Kellogg’s new school new slogan – Think Bravely.

What does it actually mean to think bravely? A number of things come to mind. Thinking more about your passions. Taking bigger risks. Finding new opportunities for change. And thinking about what you can do to change them.

Well, ever since getting an email from the Dean on July 12^th this summer, Dean Blount has spent a lot of time trying to explain even better. She’s put out multiple press releases, made changes to the website, and updated most of the marketing materials.  And over the last few months, the slogan has really gotten a lot of buzz. And, no, I don’t just mean the alliterative names that people have come up with at the Keg.

During convocation in August, the Dean talked about the need to create leaders with the willingness to “do something different” and “challenge convention,” but that today, society is surrounded by just the opposite. She noted failures by the world’s top companies; scandals from the most well-known CEOs; and ill-judged decision-making in different industries (e.g. BP’s Gulf of Mexico disaster).

She also introduced new staff member, Elisabeth Ziegler, who had been named Associate Dean of MBA Programs (e.g. COO of Kellogg).  “Betsy” comes to Kellogg after graduating from HBS, spending 13 years with McKinsey, and turning down countless stock options to work at the fastest growing company on the planet. And she did this all for the chance to come work in the education space. A decision many consider to be brave.

The idea is that Kellogg got where it is today, because the school and its people started by thinking differently. That they cared deeply about thinking outside box and figuring out how to get people to work in teams to have more impact. And that new staff members and students should embody that same spirit.

But Kellogg isn’t the only one thinking about it.  In a recent talk, Alyssa Rapp, CEO of the internet start-up Bottlenotes, once said the same thing. That “you have to be brave.” That it’s not just about going to a top school and chasing a high-paying job.  But it’s about finding new opportunities. Alyssa followed her own advice when she passed on illustrious opportunities at Stanford GSB and spent her summer at a winery in South Africa to start her business. Well, being brave paid off when her company took off and she was named a “Top 30 Under 30” entrepreneur by Inc. Magazine.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg agreed during a recent graduation talk. She noted that one thing she learned working with the Founders of Google and Facebook “was that if you want to make a difference, you have to think big right from day one.” She noted the posters around the walls of her firm. One of them said, “Fortune favors the bold.” The other said, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”

Today, these ideas also echo in the halls of Kellogg, as first years think about what to get involved in, and second years are thinking about their careers more than ever before. Will we risk it all to be great and pursue the career we’ve always dreamed of? Will we walk away from a top offer in today’s economy to do something brave? And will we start a new company without the stability of venture funding?

As we embark on the new year with almost endless career options in front of us, the million-dollar question is, what are we going to do with them?  How will we leverage the business education we receive?  Where are there opportunities to use it for change? And will we spend our time thinking about how we can change them?

Personally, I agree with Kellogg that we have to “Think Bravely” about these questions. And I challenge the entire student body (including myself) to not be afraid. But instead, take bigger risks. Go where no one has gone before. And risk it all to do something great.

Welcome back to campus, classes of 2012 and 2013. I look forward to hearing about the brave things you get involved in this year.

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In the meantime:

1.  * CLICK HERE to see the Think Bravely Video that Kellogg put together.

2. Please let me know if you have any comments or feedback.

How To Spend Second Year

One question on everyone’s mind these days is what are you going to do when you graduate? Have you decided on your summer offer yet? What geography are you going to live in? No matter how hard many of us try to avoid the question, at some point soon many of us are going to have to answer. Especially now. As job postings are starting to expire on the Career Website. And as interviews are just a few weeks away. In the end, this makes many of us wonder how the second year experience will actually end up playing out. Will it be fun? Or will it be a lot more work than expected?

Overall, everyone hears that second year is supposed to be a lot of fun. No more core classes. No more morning classes. Not overwhelmed with extracurricular activities. And hopefully job security at the beginning of the year.

For most, the summer was a bit of a wake up call. That no matter what job we had – even if was our dream job – work was still work. And no matter how bad school might seem in the moment, it’s still usually a lot more enjoyable than work. The bankers and consultants definitely understand the concept after the number of hours they worked this summer. That eventually, the “two year vacation” will come to an end so they have to make the most of it in the second year. Likewise, career changers are also nervous about embarking on a new career and seeing what will be in store for them.

For everyone, in school, we spend two years looking at the world through eyes of the CEO and through the lense of the investor. But after the second year is over, then many of us are back to the trenches. To do the due diligence. Run the analysis. Edit the documents. Create the slides. And travel back and forth between clients.

In that sense, the Kellogg environment, and the Evanston bubble, is pretty nice. We get to be more academic and get to have more fun for a two year period. But soon enough, we’ll have to change again. We’ll have to perform again. We have to get reviews again. As a result, many people are thinking a lot about how they want to spend their second year. How much they want to recruit for the job of their dreams. When to give in and accept an offer. How hard to work in class. And how to take advantage of everything they didn’t get to do before school.

In sum, they wonder how to spend their second year. How would you spend your second year in business school?

How Do You Like Your Coffee?

Firms with MBA recruiting teams spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on recruiting activities. They put together marketing materials, organize email campaigns, ask current students for recommendations, create new websites, and last but not least they send consultants to campus to interact with students. One way that the consultants interact is by means of atrium hours. Another way is by having large information sessions. Additionally, one final way they do this is also by having Coffee Chats.

Class of 2012 and 2013, welcome to campus. I’m sure all of you are looking forward to recruiting as the year goes on. Dressing up in formal clothes every day. Having questions prepared. Submitting resumes and cover letters. And of course the coffee chats you have with every single firm you’re interested in.

So what are coffee chats you ask? Well, coffee chats are informal discussions with firm employees at a local coffee shop in Evanston. About a week ahead of time, you pick a time slot that works for you, and you meet one of the employees/ campus representatives to chat with them about the firm. Such conversations will enable you to meet the people from different office locations and learn more about the firm and its culture. Everyone that wants to go to a certain industry usually takes part in these chats, even if they know everything possible to know about a firm. It’s protocal.

In general, there’s a lot of advice people tend to give about how to approach the chats. Be prepared. Be likable. Don’t be too aggressive; especially for 2 on 1 coffee chats with classmates. Sell yourself a little but still be subtle. And most of all have good questions. And these tips apply across industries.

In banking, you want to have as many of these as possible and that the person who will be interviewing you should absolutely know who you are before that interview. In consulting, you want to have at least one with each firm. That way you show interest, get the chance to make a good impression, and learn more and more about firm culture to see what firm you fit in the best.

In the end, people often debate the value of these chats. Further, some second years have more or less given up on them. In my view though, the chats are pretty useful. Not just because you learn more about the firm and have a better shot at getting hired, but also because most of these folks at Kellogg alum and will work in many industries you’re interested in over time.

Either way, I suspect you’ll be gong on these chats no matter what industry you go into. So I hope you like coffee.

Wasting Time in Business School

One thing we’ve all come to find in business school is that most of us are a lot busier than we ever expected. We spend more time looking for jobs. More time writing cover letters. And more time working on our assignments, even though in many cases we don’t have to. Given that, the question that comes to mind then is, how much does it matter if we decide to waste a little bit of time? And is it possible that wasting time might actually be good for us?

On one side of the argument is “Absolutely not.” Things here are busy and opportunities are abound. Wasting time means not pursuing as many things. Not meeting as many people. Not taking advantage of everything the school has to offer.

On the other side of the argument is that wasting time is critical. It allows you to recover when you’re tired. To get away from the chaos and reflect on life. And experience joy in the midst of the ups and downs of business school.

The arguments on both sides are good. In fact, so good that it’s hard for many people to actually take a stand.  Personally, I don’t like to waste much time. I fill as much of my day in as possible. Back to back meetings. Emailing more and more people. Writing blogs posts in advance.  And going to as many events as possible.

But even though I’m like to do that, every now and then, I get a little less productive and I come to realize that I’d be much better off doing nothing for a few hours. In essence, wasting a bit of time. That said, perhaps more important than deciding “whether” to waste time, then is to decide “how” to waste time.

Wasting time ineffectively is useless. Because not only are you missing out on the opportunities to study, meet more people, network with more employers and accomplish more things by working harder, but you’re also missing out on downtime. The time that you need to recover and reflect on things in your life. Likewise, you also miss out on the happiness that you feel by wasting time and indulging in those activities that make you happiest of all. In the end, you miss out on both sides.

In sum, If you’re going to waste time in business school, waste it effectively.

Right now, I’m wasting time by watching college football on the couch with my awesome roommate Greg Sherman. What about you? How are you wasting time?

Let the MBA Games Begin

Some of people at business school come with a very precise idea of what they want to do. They know what they want to recruit for. They know what function they want to work in for the long run. And they know exactly what clubs they want to join. On the other hand, when others show up on campus, they do not have such a clear idea of what they are interested in. Well, next week, people are going to have to start making decisions fast. First years will have to sign up for clubs and leadership positions. Second years will have to start talking with firms on campus about full time employment. Let the games begin!

Next week, many firms will finally be coming to campus. Dinners with people at investment banks. Coffee chats with folks from consulting firms. And discussions with club leaders so you can take over the reigns the following year. At management consulting firms like McKinsey or Bain, there will be long lines to chat with the employees. Students that can’t wait to start practicing cases for a shot to interview and work at the firm. They learns the mechanics of what to so. Practice calculating market sizes. And work on delivering the final summary of the case.

Likewise, students will also be lined up for firms like Proctor and Gamble, brand management company that makes products. After all, Kellogg is king when it comes to marketing. These students will be studying their favorite brands, thinking about commercials, and practicing calculating break event points.

This is all understandable, given we’re second years now and that we’re all finally searching for our full time jobs after graduation. But it’s just tricky given it all starts the moment we get back to campus and the first day of classes. It means that you don’t actually get much time to think about what you really want to do.  But instead you have to have a good sense and get ready to take action early.

For those that don’t have a good sense, then they have to take action on multiple industries until they do decide, at which point they can narrow down what they’re working on. The problem here is that time is limited and that it’s impossible to recruit for too many things effectively. Alternatively, another option is to resist taking action until you do figure out what you want to do. But the risk here is that you miss the opportunity to work at certain companies or in certain industries.

In the end, there’s no right way to approach it. Do the best you can to change industries, take the path of least resistance, recruit for the most common industries, or recruit on your ow terms. All valid options depending on who you are.

Either way, as the pre-term class is coming to the end and as the weekend approaches, second year students will be thinking about this a bit more this weekend. It will be interesting to see what everyone here decides