Recruiting Sucks!

So for those people who think, once I get in to the MBA program of my dreams, I'm all set! Beware, getting in is just the beginning!

As soon as you get in, you start planning for your exit strategy, which ideally results in a high-paying, MBA-deserving job. So you thought you were competing with the so-called cream of the crop to get into the b-school, now your are competing the cream of the cream to get that ideal job.

As recruiters come on campus to interview candidate after candidate of your well qualified peers, you realize that while in the society at large, you might be cream, among the others in the Columbia MBA, you're just one other candidate. Not to mention all the other Wharton, HBS, Stanford, Kellogg, Chicago GSB students that you are competing with!!

But what can one do? Me, I try to keep in mind that it's not just them evaluating me, its me evaluating them as well. If they like me, I have just as much power as they do, so first concentrate on getting them to like me. :)

With an four interviews lined up and one that I'm pushing like crazy to get, it's hard not to be somewhat cynical about the recruiting process. I know that things usually work out in the end, I do have a standing offer from my summer internship already. But as a Type-A MBA, I naturally want to seek out additional options. It is the one time in my life that I will ever possibly have recruiters knocking at my door, and the opportunity to feasibly pick one out of three of four equally fantastic jobs. Wow...I really got to work on my interviewing skills!!!

:)

www.gsb.columbia.edu

Scheduling thoughts...

Usually, by Thursday of the week prior, my schedule still looks good. Friday, a couple more things pop up, but still, relatively clear sailing. Yet come Sunday, and then Monday the meetings start showing up out of nowhere. I live on outlook and the calendar on my Treo. Without such modern technology, I probably would have no idea where I am supposed to be at any given time and would miss a bunch of meetings or show up late.

Now on my calendar, I have:
- classes
- interviews
- MAC meetings
- Case practices
- More networking events (which can be skipped)

Which leaves me scant hours to actually do the work, work. Sad isn't it?

Then I have to try to manuver around conflicts. Setting up meetings is a nightmare since everyone else at the b-school has similar hellacious calendars. NUTS!

137 Registered!

After only 1.5 weeks, 2 promotional emails, 1 alumni general notice, 1 email to prospectives, god knows how many emails to recruiters, we have 137 registered!!!! YAY!!!! This is definitely better than expected. I suppose the marketing club does have an upper hand when it comes to marketing. :)

I spent all day at school working on the MAC Conference. I had no class because it was rescheduled to tomorrow, but I still managed to spend a whole 8 hours, sitting in the library, working with Stephanie on Conference this, Conference that. The good news, is that we finally got our last two panelists confirmed. What a sigh of relief that is! We were so worried that we would not be able to fill the last two slots, but Virgin Mobile and Unilever both came through today. Steph and I started cheering in the library, people must have thought we were dorks. So, after a full day of Conference work..we though, "What the hell did we get ourselves into?" This is a full time job!

My priorities are currently as follows:
1. MAC Conference
2. Recruitng - practicing for Case Interviews
3. Classes and homework

I have no choice, there are only so many waking hours in a day that I can actually stay awake and function in. Add to that one hour per week to watch Lost another for Desperate Housewives, maybe 10 hrs to complete all other bodily necessities (eat, sh*t)...and there is only so much time left to work! :)

I had my first case practice of the year today. What a disaster, I don't even want to think about it... push push push out of mind.... push!

Speakers....

Pretty amazing the number of amazing speakers we get in these classes second year. It really make you realize the clout of CBS and how incredible our professors are.

Yesterday in Retailing was the CEO of Neiman Marcus, and the CEO of PacSun. This happens every Retailing class, CEOs, CFOs, COOs, SVPs, EVPs...corporate leaders come in every week to talk to us, little MBAs...amazing.

Then in Educational Leadership Consulting Lab today comes one of the former heads of Tishman Speyer, who now started a series of publics schools for troubled youths in NYC. The Chancellor, Joel Klein, will also be gracing the class with his presence in the future.

For Intro to Venturing, the stars of the case often come in to talk to the class from their own points of view, the challenges they faced when starting their business. They then talk about the many other entrepreneurial adventures they had taken on since the case.

For Marketing Plans, we had the Director of Trojan Condoms (hee hee), and this week, the Creative Director of Ogilvy and Mather.

Practically every class...it's just really amazing!

17 more days to go...

...to too many things. The MAC Conference of course, is on October 28th. Our website is up and running at www.mac-conference.com! Very exciting! But we still need to secure two last panelists and there is now significant pressure to get that program printed. Also the budget is extremely tight. I feel somewhat responsible for not getting enough corporate sponsors, but we really didn't have much time...sigh...getting money is always tough for an event with no proven track record. Good news is, registration is up and is doing better than anticipated. The concern for attendance is easing, phew........

I now also have three interviews confirmed for the week of October 21st, it's crunch crunch crunch time. Sometimes, I don't know how I'm going to handle so much at the same time. Need to prep for cases and learn all about the companies I am interviewing for. Oyi! I finally got my act together a joined a case prep "team", I don't know how that's going to work out, but now that I'm looking for a REAL job I have to take this all more seriously!

Oh, there is also a midterm next week. Sigh!!