Graduate Student Blog

3 Days From Now…

3 days from now I will be done. Done with my MBA degree and done with my MSIS degree. Only one presentation and one final paper left before I can call myself a master.

These two years in Boston have gone by faster than I could have ever imagined. When I arrived in Boston in the summer of 2008, I was excited and anxious for what I was about to get myself into. Now, I am started to get those same feelings again.

It is a relief to think that any future team meetings or presentations I have to be involved with, will be rewarded with annual compensation. No longer are the days of SmartArt + Google Image Searches to create a presentation that will be deemed useless after given.

Though we were not compensated for our hard work with immediate monetary rewards, we will get the lifelong reward of being better businessmen/women. As MBAs, we are able to analyze problems in a way that the standard bachelor cannot compete with.

To all my classmates, I want to say that I have enjoyed these past two years and I look forward to keeping in touch. For me, I am off to California to enjoy some real weather and the flip flop wearing laid back lifestyle.

The Farewell Tour

Finishing up an MBA program is, in many ways, not so different from the last few weeks of any undergraduate program or even high school. The same hallmarks are there---making sure you spend all of your free time with your friends, trying to setup the next big thing in your life, and enjoying every second.

Boston University has undoubtedly setup one great farewell tour for all of us. In the next few weeks, we will have a Fairwell Party for Dean Lataif, the Talent Show, a Second Year Party, a Graduation Reception, and a full week of awesome known as Disorientation. That list, of course, does not include all of the "informal" events I look forward to attending.

I have enjoyed every minute of my time here and am looking forward to enjoying every piece of the Farewell Tour.

Team Learning at BU

[Posted by Fillip Saraiva, MBA in General Management, Class of 2011]

Everyone always told me that the first semester of business school would be the busiest, and it certainly seemed true when I started the program in August. In particular, our professors and the second-year MBA students were quick to point out just how much work was in front of me with the Integrated Project. As I started to spent more and more time with my team each week during the first semester as we raced to finish the project, it certainly felt like my work load was as busy as it could get!

Fast forward to the second semester. As I write this, I am now working on four different team projects due before the end of April. (Ok… I'll confess… I have one more than normal because I am taking an extra elective class.) While none of them are as complex as the Integrated Project, the combination of four different projects is keeping me just as busy as last semester. Yet, it just does not seem to feel as busy. I credit that to the team skills that we all developed working through the Integrated Project; it not only made us better communicators, but it also made us all much more effective in prioritizing and meeting tight deadlines.

The projects for this semester are varied and cover a wide range of topics. For Operations Management, we are working with a local Toyota dealer to help them identify methods to deal with the sudden surge in demand driven by the recent accelerator pedal recall. In our Strategy and Information Systems classes, we are analyzing a non-profit firm to see how they have used information technology to create a competitive advantage, as well as identifying opportunities to further leverage technology to expand their capabilities. I am also working with technology in my two Marketing electives-- one project is to conduct consumer research to determine what features are most important in their decision to buy a Tablet PC, and what combination of features would achieve the best combination of market share and profitability; in the other project, my team is working with IBM Cloud Computing to help them develop a web and social media marketing strategy to increase awareness of their offerings.

These projects all have several things in common. They are all related to real-world products or services that are of real importance to businesses and individual consumers today. They all offer the ability to put the management concepts that we have learned in the classroom into practice. Most important, however, is the fact that they have helped my various team mates and I become more effective managers and have helped us better understand how to work in diverse teams to identify and solve problems in a short period of time.

In reality, there is probably more work involved in these projects when compared to the Integrated Project, but learning how to effectively work in teams has made it manageable. Based on this experience, I can confidently say that improved team learning skills will be one of my biggest "take-aways" from the MBA program.

The Beginning of Lasts

Elections: More than enough work to go around…

[Posted by Betsy Stiles, MS·MBA in Public and Nonprofit Management, Class of 2011]

It’s election season. After Massachusetts went through its own nationally anticipated and tension filled election, similar processes got underway at the business school (though with less national attention).

The turnaround is pretty quick in a two year graduate program. In order to faciliate the smooth turnover of responsibilities for programs, clubs and student government, the second years start bringing on first years early on. Usually at the start of the school year, clubs recruit 1-3 first year representatives to participate in clubs. Each cohort also has a first year representative on the MBA Council. This helps guarantee that at least someone knows what happens behind the closed doors of club/council meetings. Just kidding. Actually, just about every meeting is open to everyone. Any student can go to a council meeting and find out what is going on, what issues are they discussing this week, how does the process work. Club meetings are pretty flexible as well. Because all of us are busy, it isn’t always possible to make every meeting, and students drop in on the club meetings they care about and contribute whenever they can.

However, in order to make sure that the business of the clubs and the council are completed, it is important to have a committed core in every group. Thus, elections are born. Enough effort for candidates to show that they really care about an issue and enough visibility to create some accountability when they take the position on. (That accountability bit works fairly well in small environments, like the more intimate business program at Boston University – sadly not as well for larger contexts like Massachusetts or the United States.) The first year representatives in clubs are often students that seem to have a good sense of their career direction and know early on that they want to commit to a club related to that career – since the clubs really are resources for career growth. Some of the rest of us are still narrowing down our options.

The trick for clubs is to keep everyone engaged throughout the year, providing opportunities to learn about their industry/functional areas, and building up a community of people with common interests. As the rest of the first years sort of settle on our career paths and better define our interests (hopefully by early to mid second semester, in time to pitch ourselves for internship positions), the clubs then have to think about transitioning responsibilities. Which means, about the time you are getting the hang of being a first year student and figuring out your next academic steps, you start getting thrown into leadership positions.

Thankfully, unlike congressional debates on healthcare, we are a congenial bunch and a bit more collaborative as we make plans to take over the business school next year. While, there is some jockeying for positions, there is more than enough work to go around. And because we all have very diverse interests and skills (thanks to the diligent admissions staff), there is usually a position or responsibility that you will find both interesting and helpful to your own career development. MBA Council holds elections first, this year right before Spring Break. Those positions are a big responsibility, and so the students elected to hold them cannot hold elected positions in other groups (though everyone is definitely encouraged to remain active in clubs).

Then the clubs hold their elections, which has resulted in a flurry of emails all month. “Submit your platforms for the MS∙MBA Association!” “The marketing club is looking for nominations for the VP of Finance position.” “ Don’t forget to vote for VP of Marketing for the PNP Club!” It can seem a bit overwhelming, when you are also in the midst of trying to nail your summer internship down. However, slowly those internships are coming in. And, the second years already have one foot out the door (if not more), so they realize they have to get all the information passed along to the next group of leaders. It is a real test of knowledge management. So, amidst career research, internship interviews, homework and team projects, the first years are also meeting as new club leaders to start to plan what the next year will look like. Nothing to it.

Those Who Can, Do and Teach

Over the course of my first semester in the BU MBA program, my new second year friends had many words of encouragement to offer about the opportunities ahead of me: internship search tips, electives I’d want to take, upcoming Cohort Cup activities…and, of course, the prospect of having Fridays free.

So what was I doing sitting in an SMG classroom on an unseasonably balmy Friday afternoon last week, discussing a sizable packet of extra reading with a dozen other students? Believe it or not, it was our idea. In a series of internship search check-in chats set up by Kristen McCormack, the dean of the Public and Nonprofit Management Program, I and a number of other students had expressed an interest in learning more about grantwriting. Not only did she agree that we would benefit from being able to discuss and evaluate that aspect of nonprofit operations in our interviews, she also organized and ran a three hour workshop on how to find sources of funding and put together an effective proposal. Attendees ranged from students like me hoping to work in development to those looking to become well-informed board members, which kept the conversation lively and the questions insightful.

The ability and readiness to teach me skills I can bring back to the nonprofit sector was a large part of the reason I chose to come to BU, but I’ve long since discovered that desire to make sure we can use what we’re being taught on a practical level isn’t unique to the PNP program. All of my professors have made themselves available during office hours or by appointment to answer my most basic questions (which, given my liberal arts background, can sometimes get very basic), and I’ve been contacted by faculty representatives from every concentration to ensure that I’ve provided feedback on whether the career portfolio program is meeting my needs.

If I needed still more proof of this dedication, I got it the morning after the grantwriting workshop (yes, a Saturday) when I arrived back at SMG for Link Day. I’d been looking forward to the opportunity to put my new knowledge to work on behalf of a local organization, but was a little nervous we wouldn’t be able to give them what they really wanted. Fortunately, my half-international, half-corporate sector team of first and second years came through with a series of creative, workable steps toward a more sophisticated marketing plan for our nonprofit – and our faculty advisor was right there, balancing her expertise with a willingness to stand back and let us guide the discussion as much as possible.

One final piece of advice the second years gave me was that I’d learn as much outside of my classes as in them. While I’ve found that to be true, it hasn’t hurt being surrounded by instructors willing to continue teaching literally or by example even after class has let out for the week. Even if it does sometimes mean sacrificing a Friday.

Be Verrry Quiet, I’m Hunting Internships!

While attending the BU Admitted Students’ Weekend event last March, there was a definite theme among the questions being posed by incoming students to the current first year MBAs. The topic of choice was of course, “So, how’s the job market this year?” The respondents did their best to evoke optimism, but reading between the lines uncovered thoughts of doubt, concern and uncertainty about their plans for the upcoming summer. Those of us who chose to ignore the warning signs in favor of higher education would be doing so with the knowledge that we were entering a potentially abysmal job market. One thing was certain: the market for internships between our first and second years would not be “business-as-usual”. Employers might not be knocking down our doors with 3, 4 or 5 offers apiece, and, we just might have to (gasp!) put in a little effort to find that killer internship.

Most people attending that event, myself included, did make the difficult decision to voluntarily leave gainful employment to pursue an MBA. I would like to say that my co-workers, friends and family were completely on board with my plan. Aside from my wife, who has been my rock and guiding light throughout this process, most reacted to my news with confusion and disbelief, followed by supportive comments like, “Good luck, you’ll need it.”

These reactions were actually productive in the sense that they motivated me to come in to this program from day 1 ready to pound the pavement. A real strength of the Boston University MBA program is its Career Center. The career councilors are armed with decades of knowledge across varying industries and are passionate about helping you find work that is the right fit for you. The resources are there, but it is up to you to take advantage of them. They are not going to take you by the hand and drag you through the job search process, nor should they have to, but if you make yourself and your interests known to them early on and utilize their extensive services, you can in fact find success in a down market.

Through networking with BU alums who work at my target companies, maintaining constant contact with our career center and endlessly practicing the interview techniques they provided, I am happy to report that I was able to land my top choice internship for the upcoming summer! It wasn’t easy, but it really shouldn’t be, should it? I don’t know a single member of my class who is here because he or she has taken the path of least resistance. Maybe past classes had it too good, I don’t know, but what I can say for sure is that the pendulum has swung completely in the other direction and we are now required to make our own luck. Take it from me, it can be done, and I am not alone! In just the last week, a number of my classmates have received offers from top companies with highly sought-after internship programs. BU is representing well so far and I am confident that by giving that extra bit of effort we are known for, we will continue our early success.

Strategizing through the Night

8:30am Saturday morning and the clock starts ticking on Tech Strategy 2010, the annual technology case competition at BU. It’s a two-day workathon where teams of four students apply their experience and learning to a real-world problem faced by a real company. It’s the weekend I spent awake and working continuously for nearly 26 hours. And where I had so much fun and learnt so much that I’m definitely doing it again next year. Perhaps getting through the first semester of B-school imbues you with incredible stamina and the capacity for hard work. Or perhaps it just makes you a crazy workaholic, take your pick!

Our case this year was a fascinating and extremely relevant topic: what implications does Apple’s recently released iPad have for Amazon’s Kindle strategy? With such a current topic, my team was swimming in a sea of information and speculation from the web. The blogosphere was abuzz with information and opinions as people tried to figure out how things would play out.

By 9:30am we had each read the case individually and came together to discuss the various elements as a team. After just a semester of b-school, it was interesting to see how we were already starting to use frameworks and analysis to structure our problem. And gratifying to be able to apply our classroom learning on business ecosystems and network effects to an actual business scenario.

The rest of the day and night was a blur of research, analysis , discussion and debate. Our Integrated Project (note the capitalization!) experience last semester had taught us the importance of decision by consensus. All well and good, but consensus is a lot harder at 1am in the morning when all you want to do is tell everybody else that you’re right and they’re wrong, and they should just do what you say so everybody can go home and go to bed!

A nice ending to this post would be to be able to tell you how my team came up with a brilliant strategy that floored the judges and won us first place. The truth is that we lost out to another, better team. But the experience was a reward in itself and that’s why, crazy or not, I’m doing it again next year.

To Work or Not to Work

[Post by Lauren Ferris, 2010 MBA/MPH Candidate]

As a current student, I often get questions from prospective fulltime students about working while in school. When most people ask this question they are usually looking for some confirmation that working for their current employer on a part time basis is a good idea. I will admit that the summer before I started the MBA program, I considered working part time as a consultant for my former employer. However, I did not realize how time-intensive the first year of the MBA program actually is. People told me the first semester was very time intensive, but I figured “well, I work 45+ hours a week now, so how much more time would going to school require?” Well, it turns out it takes a lot more time and in general evenings and weekends are filled with team projects, homework, and studying for tests.

That being said, I think working during the first year can be done if the job is very flexible and on or near campus. I was fortunate enough to get a job at the Graduate Admissions Office which allowed me to earn a little money on the side while having something other than school to focus on for a few hours a week.

While I would not necessarily recommend working during the first year, the second year is a great opportunity to work part time to earn money or experience. Most elective classes are held during the evening or afternoon and intensive courses at the beginning of the semester can help you get some of the classes out of the way to open up your schedule.

Diversity in Learning

I came to BU’s MBA program during the waning months of summer in 2008 filled with anticipation of what was to come over the next two years. As has often been the case in my life, what I had imagined the program to be like was in most instances nothing like what I would experience. I actually had the foolish notion that the MBA program would be somewhat like undergraduate classes and that I would be able to live laid back collegiate lifestyle that would allow for leisurely hours in the gym, intramural broomball championships, trips down Fitrec’s lazy river and trivia night at the Whitehorse in Brighton. What I quickly came to understand was that little of these goals would actually be realized. What I learned during my first semester was that the level of work that I would need to put into school and job search would be one that I had never experienced before. Our organizational behavior professor Jack McCarthy likened processing the amount of information we were receiving to “Getting a drink of water from a fire hose.” He couldn’t have been more right.