Small school, big school

Over the last week I have been thinking about what it is like to go to a small school. I know, CBS is not a small school by any stretch of the imagination. But, J-term really makes it feel that way, especially during the summer when the rest of the class is off doing summer internships.

When applying to schools, I didn't really take big/small into consideration. However, I think it's really important to think about.

At a really big school like CBS, it's nice to have a group of ~180 students who you feel a strong bond with by virtue of being in the same program.

Not to say that you don't bond with other folks, but I have to say that my best friends in the program happen to be J-termers. Maybe it is coincidence, but I doubt it.

So, for all of you applicants, make sure you're not just shooting for the big name -- look at the class size and really think hard about what kind of environment you'll enjoy.

Summer recruiting in full swing

Summer recruiting is in full swing here at CBS and many of the larger firms are coming in to do informational interviews. For example, here's Goldman's docket of events coming up:

Women's MBA Event
Featuring keynote speaker Suzanne Donohoe, Managing Director, Investment Management Division
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007, 6:30pm
Downtown Association, 60 Pine St, New York, NY 10005

Goldman Sachs Presentation for J-Term Students
Corporate Presentation and Interactive Interview Skills Workshop
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007, 5:45pm
Room 208, Warren Hall, Columbia Business School

Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Europe Dinner
Targeted dinner for students interested in fulltime opportunities in Europe
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007, 7:30pm

Group Investment Banking Informational Interviews for J-Term Students
Friday, July 20th, 2007
Goldman, Sachs & Co. 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004


Citibank was here within the last week to discuss their management rotation program, and Blackstone's M&A advisory group came about 2 weeks ago to talk about opportunities with their division.

Dun & Bradstreet is also coming in soon to discuss their management rotation program, courtesy of the Graduate Management Association at CBS.

Beer Game

Tonight we played the 'Beer Game' for our Operations Management class.

The Beer Game is a supply chain simulation where you split 4-8 students into 4 groups, each group representing a part of the beer distribution and retailing supply chain. The goal is to have the least inventory across your supply chain at the end of the game, while at the same time minimizing unfulfilled demand. Our team got creamed (it's never a good sign when the professor cackles wildly when he looks at your screen) but it was fun and we certainly learned what not to do.

The other reason it is called the Beer Game is because they bring us beer which we drink during the game. Not a bad deal!

Afterwards a bunch of folks in my cluster went to play poker, but I have a case to read for tomorrow so I decided to come home and work on that (and blog, apparently :)

This weekend should be fun. There are 5 J-termers who are having birthdays this weekend so they rented out a loft downtown and are throwing a big bash. And I was asked to DJ, which should be great. I haven't spun records in a while, so I might need to practice up before I get up there.

I'm an interviewer

This week I had orientation for the Hermes ambassador program. What this means is that this coming year I will be conducting phone interviews of applicants to CBS on behalf of the admissions staff.

It was refreshing (and should be of comfort to folks who are interviewing) that the interview is not meant to stump you, scare you, make you uncomfortable, etc.

Be yourself, come prepared, and do your homework about the school, and you should do just fine.

Ping Pong Tournaments and Karaoke!

After tonight's happy hour, the Korean J-termers have organized a trip to one of Koreatown's many karaoke clubs. I'll be in Atlantic City with another classmate so I'll be missing out on the chance to make a fool of myself in front of everyone (although you could argue I do that on the blackjack table as well). Wish me luck at the tables...

We also have a major ping pong tournament coming up. One of the J-term guys is organizing it and it is already generating quite a bit of smack talk, nationalistic sentiments, etc. All good stuff. I'm terrible at ping pong (just ask my wife who beat me in 20 straight games when we were on vacation in Jamaica) but I might have to stop by and see everyone work their mojo.

Equity Research

I had a good informational call this afternoon with an equity research analyst this afternoon. He covers the enterprise software sector for one of the well-known boutique banking/research shops. Equity research is an area I don't know much about (other than the few earnings calls I've heard and seeing analyst ratings on Yahoo Finance, etc) so it was nice to get an insiders view.

Some of the things that I learned and/or found interesting were:

- MBAs are not recruited as heavily for these roles at the mid-tier shops. These firms are tending to go younger and get analysts who are fresh out of undergrad. Bulge brackets are still going after MBAs.
- The jobs are generally very secure.
- The person I spoke to only spends 20% of their time running models. The rest of the time is spent talking to folks in the industry and research customers.
- The skills learned in an equity research role are transferrable to other buy side firms like hedge funds or mutual fund managers. You could also work in the CFO's office of a public company, or investor relations.
- The buy side firms run their trades through the company that they buy research from as 'soft' compensation. (I think this is because of the separation banks are forced to have between their IB and research divisions).

Speaking of career stuff, Blackstone's Mergers and Acquisitions advisory practice had a reception at school today. I didn't go, but it looked like there were some decent refreshments (beer) for the recruits :) I wanted to go for educational purposes but got stuck working on an operations case that's due today.

Good night!