Monday, September 08, 2008

Last days of summer

I am so so so glad to be back in Chicago. Being in my own home after an absence is always a pleasure but it's just great to be back in a real city again. Baby Y and I have been getting lots o mom-son bonding time which he is loving. Me too. Mothering feels so much easier and more fun than it did last summer. Newborns are awfully sweet and amazing but also erratic, confusing and draining.

We are gearing up for a family trip back west which should be nice. Baby Y is a lover of plants and animals so he's going to enjoy romping around in the countryside.

I am actually contemplating responding to a recruiting email I received from Bain. Consulting??? That is how confused I am feeling on the career front. The (semi-)final word from the internship is that they won't know their hiring needs until December which was not surprising. But I am somewhat surprised at how few regrets I have about not having a finalized full-time opportunity with them. I'm not really all that interested in going back anyway. I wonder if I'll every find an employer/opportunity that excites me long-term ... or if I am destined to continue wandering.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi!

Your thoughts/perspectives on b-school life, like the book "ahead of the curve", are very refreshing.

I am 30+(sales tax:)) R&D guy and the thought of sitting with 25 year old i-bankers and Management consultants is a bit unnerving.
I do not know your age, but would love to hear your thoughts/perspectives.

k.

Anonymous said...

MaybeMBA,

We met once on campus some time ago, although I must confess, I can't recall your real name at the moment. Probably just as well since I imagine you prefer anonymity. In any case..

I ended up interning in VC, and if it makes you feel better, I didn't end up with an offer either. Worse, I interviewed with Bain last year and I didnt' get whatever email you just got :)

MaybeMBA said...

anonymous #2: just one of (many) reasons I decided not to pursue VC (the biggest one being the lack of any qualification ;) and as for bain, they were just looking for women with a little texas in their history.

anonymous #1: I actually think the age gap between the older and younger students at the GSB is quite striking. I will be 30 when I finish in June and even though that is a "typical" age, I feel much older than most. So unfortunately, age does matter and I think it is wise to be somewhat nervous about the impact on your experience. That said, the fact that the GSB allows the part-time and full-time to take classes together helps introduce some age/life diversity that you wouldn't get at other programs. And if you take the more rigorous classes (particularly 8:30 a.m. slots) the drink 'er up crowd tends to self-select out, leaving you with a more serious bunch. And lastly, there are many GSBers who are not on the ibanking/consulting path. So, bottom line - I do think it is harder to feel at home in the full-time class as you get much beyond 30 but there are ways to mitigate that.

Anonymous said...

MaybeMBA,

Thanks so much for your blog. I feel that, as a woman in business school, I'm learning so much from your experience and finding tremendous inspiration.

I wanted to follow up on your response in the previous post with a subsequent question- what is the difference between the part-time and full-time reputation wise and in terms of recruiting. I spoke with the admissions committee during an event, and they have the "One MBA" mantra. Is that really true? Is there no tangible difference between the two programs in terms of reputation and recrutiing?

I understand the difference in class make-up and the structure of the program, but your thoughts/insight would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Your loyal reader :)

Anonymous said...

I have one question. How does Chi view employment gaps in resume. Mine is not insignificant. But when I resumed work, I did not have to compromise on salary or role.

MaybeMBA said...

Christine - Your question is a good one. It's my understanding (and all of this should be double-checked!) that part-time students are able to participate in on-campus recruiting if they are not receiving employer sponsorship (or perhaps have permission from their employer). And I don't think that recruiters have any idea whether someone they are interviewing in is the part or full-time program. So from that perspective there shouldn't be any difference. I do hear tidbits about part-timers feeling a bit underresourced and excluded when it comes to student networking and group stuff though. And because this can be a very valuable aspect to the MBA experience, that can be disappointing. I would recommend trying to talk to any part-timers that you can about this sort of stuff to get the full scoop bc it's definitely a valid concern. Lastly, while admissions insists that there is no difference between the quality of the two populations I have tended to feel that the part-time students I've met might not have been quite as successful in full-time admissions. (I know it sounds mean. Sorry, to all you super bright, motivated part-timers I've met.)

Anonymous - I would definitely see if anyone in admissions or maybe on the GSB discussion boards can give you more perspective on this but I would not think that an employment gap in and of itself would be a bad thing if the your larger story and motivations for getting an MBA are compelling. I have several gaps in my resume (from a month to 5) largely due to job search time. My memory is foggy here but I think you will have the opportunity to address such gaps in your application (not the essay part) and would definitely do that. But I definitely recommend getting other perspectives on this too.