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

The "Disney Way" - How do I get an IMAP?

Well, I have been asked several times, how did you get your international MAP.
So here is how it works (as long as the MAP office doesn't change the rules)

MAP office Rules:

1. You need to select 10 projects and rank them.
2. 3 of them have to be domestic (can be more than 3 if you want).
3. At least 1 of the domestic projects has to be in your top 5.

So what can you do to assure getting an international project, first I will say couple things:

1. MAP is not an easy experience, so try to focus on selecting a project that you are very interested in or at least in the industry (or non profit if this is the case)
2. MAP is a great opportunity to network with a potential employer and maybe even receive an internship offer, so keep that in mind.
3. MAP is a great opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and select a project in a totally new industry. One you might be interested in in the future.
   
4. Last but not least: The "Disney Way" that I will describe here is a rumor....rumor that I think has at least 95% to work, but I am not sure if it was even tested ;-)
   

The "Disney Way":
Note: it will only work if the MAP office doesn't change the rules

1. Select 7 international projects that you really want and place them in places:
   1,2,3,4,6,7,8
2. Select the most attractive 3 domestic projects from the projects list, for example:
   Walt Disney Project, hence the name.
   Now: a project with a huge company doesn't necessarily means it is attractive, try to think what interests student in your class as a whole and not you specifically.
   
3. Rank the most attractive one in place 5 and the other two in 9 and 10.

That's it, keep in mind that if you decide to go the "Disney Way" there is a small chance you will end up in Disney :-)

What electives should I choose? [Consulting]

Note: "In the last couple days I get this question a lot. I can only comment on courses that I already took and only for consulting. If you aiming toward a different industry you might get some insights here but you should consult another student from your industry."

Basically there are couple courses that can help, but it is up to you. It is truly depend on what previous knowledge you already have.

Since I am an international student with only engineering background (No Finance classes in my bachelor degree at all) I decided at the first two semesters (Fall A and Fall B) to take the core classes only. When working for Booz & Company this summer I discovered that I might not crack balance sheets all the time, or calculate the market clearing price day in and day out, but the basic terminology from those classes kept coming up. So I do recommend to invest a significant effort in those classes.

Furthermore, in Fall B when you will need to practice 30-40 cases for the interviews and go to all the consulting companies' recruiting events, office hours, mock interviews..... I don't think that there is much more free time to take electives. But then again I am was never known for being the greatest student on earth :-).

When January came I realized I need to do several elective classes during recruiting to enrich my knowledge. Therefore, during Winter A on top of the two core classes and interviewing I took world economy over the weekends (3 Saturdays each 9-5 and that’s it).

World Economy is another great class that discuss world economy issues on a high level, again great to nail down basic terminology and maybe even some in depth knowledge about the interrelation between stuff like Inflation, Interest Rates, Foreign reserve, etc.... (this is by the way a mandatory class that you have to take at some point of the degree, so again if you have no prior knowledge in this field take this course in the first year).

In addition, I figured I should polish my excel skills before going into consulting, and even though I was an advanced level excel user I took the BIT512 (Excel class). Along with interviewing during January, taking a class that was easier for me due to prior knowledge helped me not only gain elective credit points (which is important toward finishing your degree in winter A of your second year ***different issue***), but also refine some skills and practice some more of PivotTables, Charts, etc.....you have no idea how many times I used those skills throughout the summer. I actually took the advanced excel class, during MAP but can't say it contributed much to my summer experience. [Some people with high discipline study BIT512 on their own with the book, if you can do it on your own that's a great option as well]

MAP is also a great opportunity to practice some real consulting work.

In conclusion, I think that second year electives will contribute more in depth relevant knowledge.

There are other great courses as valuation, that it is hard for me to recommend because I am taking them right now. So please feel free to reach out to me during the semester and ask about this course.

My path to a Consulting Internship

I would start by saying you will receive a lot of advices in the course of the next 8 months, a lot of them would be great advices based on a lot of other students' experiences. That said, your judgment is crucial, as you soon see, people will give you advices on what works for them but you bring something different to the table and unless you have the exact same background as I have and the exact same career aspirations as I have you will HAVE to make tweaks to advices you get.

The Main things that worked for me securing an internship in consulting

1. Work hard on your resume and get it done at least a week before the school deadline.

2. Practicing, Practicing and Practicing cases – overall I practiced between 30-40 cases

a. Don’t start before Fall B – you will burn yourself.

b. Try to do cases with MBA2 and MBA1 (make sure you try different people from time to time).

3. I decided not to take a 4th elective in Fall B like a lot of other students did, I think it helped me to reduce stress and to be more focused on recruiting/networking.

4. Networking – I am really bad at this, seriously really bad at this, and I still got two offers. So it is possible. But, I had luck and you should do a better job at this than I did.
Keep in mind that sometimes networking with second year is as important as networking with company employees, in fact in one of the companies I got an offer from I was placed under their radar by a second year I worked with in the consulting club. So try to schedule sometime with at least one second year who worked in each company and ask him about his/her summer. To summarize this point: do your networking and do it well, it is not as important as in I Banking but it is important.

5. Bidding – Some companies don’t like bidders and focus on people they asked to interview but some others understand that they must have missed some good candidates so they will treat you as equal. I got an offer from AT Kearney as well, and I wasn’t in their closed list, I bid for them. Then I pass 7 interviews and one presentation and I got an offer, so that’s should tell you that if you are not on the closed list it doesn’t mean anything. So have faith in yourself all the way.

6. When January comes there isn’t much you can do, you just need to get into the room and amaze them ;-)

Hope it helps, and again use your judgment, there is no better or worse there is better for you,