My MockTails takeaways (Consulting)

On Wednesday, September 24 the Ross Consulting Club hosted a MockTails event.
The event was a great success from my point of view. If I could receive the feedback given last night to MBA1, before I attended the first company presentation it would have save me a lot of problems...;-)

Below are several of my answers to several questions that students asked:

When is it OK to leave the circle?
Before leaving the circle you want to make sure you ask for the recruiter Business Card. So when is the right time to ask for the card and leave the circle? The way I see it there are two times in which you can leave the circle:

• As soon as the recruiter finish answering your question you can thank the recruiter, ask for his/her business card and leave the circle.
• If you decided to stay after your question was answered in order to listen to other students' questions and engage in the conversation. Try to leave when someone else is leaving. So, when a student receive an answer to his/her question and he/she thank the recruiter and ask for the recruiter business card, you can do the same and leave the circle.

Do not leave (Unless you have to) the circle if the circle size is 2 people (you and the recruiter), this is a rare one-on-one conversation that could really help you to differentiate yourself and make sure the recruiter will remember you.

What type of questions I should refrain from asking?
The type of questions you should refrain from asking are:

• Questions you can find the answer to on the company website.
  Do you have an office in Poland?
  What is the position for an MBA graduate?
• Question the recruiter in front of you will not know the answer to.
  The recruiter works in the operation practice for the pharmaceutical industry.
  Don't ask about the type of project the Consumer and Media teams are working on these days, just because you are interested in Consumer and Media?
  The recruiter is an HR person
  Don't ask about the life style of a consultant?
• Blank Questions - those are the type of questions you can ask all the companies and the type of questions the recruiters hear in every event at least 30 times. The problem I have with those questions is that it will not differentiate you in the eye of the recruiter. However, you should know all those questions and use them when your mind is blank and you think you have to ask something (everybody in the circle already ask something and the recruiter looks at you).
  Can you tell me a little bit about mentoring in your company?
  Can you tell me a little bit about the staffing process?

Circle Etiquette?
Here are some basic rules:

• Listen to your friends' questions. it will help you refrain from asking a question that was already being asked.
• Do not try to answer instead of the recruiter, even if you know the answer. That said, you are welcome to engage in the conversation.
• Try to sneak a peek to your right and left side every couple seconds to see if someone is trying to join the circle.
• Don't ask more than one question in a row, unless the second question is a follow up question that cannot wait.

Any other tips?

• Sometime before or during the company presentation the speaker will ask all the company employees to present themselves. In that case you should write for each one:
  Full name, position, industry (if aligned), function (if aligned), hobbies....basically whatever they choose to share.
  When the circles start try to talk with someone who...:
  Share your hobbies.
  Went to the same college as you did.
  Align to the industry/function you wish to be aligned with in the future.
  ...
  It will help your conversation to flow better, your questions will be more relevant and the odds that the recruiter will remember you will be higher.
• If you feel that you had a good conversation with the recruiter make sure you send him/her a thank you note. Try to write in the thank you note something meaningful that might help him/her to remember you by.
• If the recruiter mentions that some of them are going to a pub later that night and that you should come, YOU SHOULD GO!!! :-)

If you have any specific question that you might want to ask feel free to send it to my email.

MBA1s!!!! You made a huge mistake…

Well we are still in Fall A and most of the MBA1 have already made a huge mistake....

If I can select one thing that I want you to learn from my blog it will be....that
If you are being offered to attend an Indian Party....YOU GO!!!

It's not about the money,
It's not about the food (And I personally love Indian food),
It's not even about the people,
It's about one small fact you will learn during your two years in Ross....Indian Parties ROCK!!!

Lucky for you, Diwali is just around the corner....So make sure you are not missing this party as well.

Consulting - Should I attend an MBA2 Company Presentation?

I will start by saying that I attended at least one of those presentations last year when I was an MBA1. That said, you have to keep in mind that those presentations are aimed toward students who are looking for a full time offer (MBA2, Evening Students, Dual degree third year students etc…).

I would recommend you to go only if one of the next claims is true in your case:

1. The company invited you, whether by sending an email to all MBA1s or a private email from the recruiter or one of the company's employees.
2. You have no idea what consulting is all about – since now is the time for you to decide whether you want to pursue a career in consulting or not, if you still don’t know what being a consultant means go to one of those presentations.
3. You really want to go :-)
   

However, I urge you to keep in mind that MBA2 have less face time with the companies than you will have two months from now. Therefore, I would recommend that if you decide to attend, act as an observer and do not take recruiters’ and consultants’ valuable time from MBA2.

Classroom Etiquette

[I would start by Saying that my name is Isaac Katzav, MBA2 section 1]
In response to: http://media.www.themsj.com/media/storage/paper207/news/2008/09/15/Opinions/Classroom.Etiquette-3431667.shtml

Dear Emily,

During the last couple days I tried to find you, in order to tell you in person what I think about your article.
I am not as good in writing as you are, so I thought talking about it over coffee might be better.

I think that one of the best thing in Ross is The MSJ. I think that we have a great group of writers and editors.
Each week I enjoy so much reading the articles and looking on the amazing pictures Kent is taking, I think this newspaper is far beyond anything I ever saw on campuses in Israel.
To be honest in most cases I don’t mind reading articles by writers who write under a bogus name, but in your case I think you went a little bit overboard, especially when you are not writing under your real name.

I do agree that such an article should be written and published. I do believe that we, Ross students, need and should improve our “Class Etiquette”.
I do agree that sometime a controversial article is the best way to open students eyes, but at least write it under your own name and stand behind it.

I have to say that I didn’t find your article funny or cynical (and I am a cynical guy :-)) and it seems as if you meant every word you wrote.
There are so many writers, as EKBS, in the MSJ (and you might even be one of them), but I resent your writing style.

First, I don’t think this issue is more important than what happen in Georgia and I am extremely concerned how easy you compare between people lives and Classroom Etiquette.
Secondly, I think most of your assumptions were out of line, and believe me, even I suffer from the fact that I am not as politically correct as the community expects me to be.

“…that guy who always comes late to class..”
“…And unlike you, and I'm saying this out of jealousy, I'm paying for it myself since my parents aren't helping me…”
If you refer to a specific guy, this is great and I hope he realizes what he did is wrong but….
I am a guy that tries to be on time, and still pay my own tuition.
In addition I do not see the line of logic here. If my friend is on a full scholarship he doesn’t deserve a good academic experience?

“…You are obviously smart if you go here, so start using…”
I never thought I would hear a sentence like this from a Ross student.

“…This sentence alone may seem strange to many of you, but there are many people from elsewhere who think it is fine to answer their phones during class while a professor is speaking…”
I don’t even want to think what do you mean by elsewhere, some people will call it racis…I don’t want to go there.

I am not offended by this article, I am disappointed that our talented editors approved it and I am even more disappointed that a Ross student wrote it,
Isaac