The Office

I don't watch a lot of TV outside of sports, but I have been faithfully watching the U.S. version of "The Office" now for quite some time. It's on Thursday nights at 8:30 (you're welcome, NBC) and it is flat out hilarious. Check it out -- you won't regret it.

Haas #5 in WSJ Poll

I know this is old news, but the WSJ ranked Haas as the #5 business school based on recruiter feedback. Granted, I take this ranking with a grain of salt as any poll that has Harvard and Stanford ranked #14 and #18 respectively is somewhat questionable, it's still a proud moment. I know the students and staff are jacked up about it.

Here's another little tidbit I thought about the other day. There seem to be a lot of students who think that the MBA is the Holy Grail. That once they get it, there should be jobs lining up at the likes of McKinsey, Bain and Morgan Stanley. What people don't realize is that the MBA is a commodity -- a lot of people have them. The thing that is NOT a commodity is the individual. How are you different? What makes your story interesting? A lot of students I meet seem inundated with a sense of entitlement -- like they deserve something because they have an MBA. Well, the fact of the matter is that there are a ton of smart, driven people in the world with MBAs -- the way you'll get that prized job offer is not by being smarter, but by being who you are, figuring out what you want and driving yourself to get there.

Full Time Job Offer Deliberation

Well, I have done a lot of soul-searching and spoken to all the people who are near and dear to me about my full time job offer. I like many aspects of the job, yet the whole work-life balance is not optimal -- at the same time, it offers a learning experience many other jobs just can not offer. So, what to do? Even more so, what to do when folks from the firm call every other day asking what I am thinking and what is holding up my decision. All I can say is that I am stressed beyond belief.

To be honest, I am leaning towards taking it at this juncture. I am planning on doing some more thinking over the weekend and hope to have a decision finalized by this weekend. We'll see how it goes...

Schoolwork

I know I have mentioned how unmotivating it is to be a second year Haas student with a good job offer in hand -- but this week, I have found some internal motivation and decided that I want to get excel in all my classes -- so, this week I did all my reading, case work and HW assignments. It seems like a small victory, but trust me, the lack of motivation was a sizeable hurdle to overcome!

This weekend

Well, I've got a really fun weekend planned for the next few days. It includes dinner at a couple new places I have not tried, drinks at a retro speak-easy (!) and a trip to Napa for some wine tasting. I don't know who reads this, so I can't put much more information here but suffice it to say it's someone's birthday and I want the rest to be a surprise...plus, my parents are coming up to visit my sister, so it will be nice to see them after their 3-week jaunt to China.

I'm really excited -- should be a weekend filled with great company, entertainment and weather (yes, I'm being understated on purpose).

Job Decision

This post will cover two job offers: First, I have decided to accept part-time job with a small investment bank here in San Francisco for 20-25 hours a week. I'll mostly be doing valuation work, analysis and research -- it will be interesting and prepare me well. In addition, it will pay $35/hr, so that will help with that nasty phrase, "school debt."

Second, I met with 8 folks from my summer employer for lunch yesterday -- it was nostalgic riding up the elevator I spent SO much time in this summer -- it was nice to see everyone and it wasn't quite as high pressure as I thought. Clearly they'd like to see me accept, but I think they understand the deliberations I am going through. It's a big decision and I can't make it in a vacuum -- the repercussions will affect a lot of people and I want to make sure I make the best decision with the information at hand.

Decisions, decisions

Well, a lot of decisions need to be made soon on the future employment front. With an offer from my summer employer on the table, I need to decide if that is the path I would like to take. Aside from that, there is the decision between staying in San Francisco or branching out to Los Angeles or New York. Each locale has their appeal to me -- clearly SF has the advantage of my family, friends, the outdoors and the fact that I know the people in the office. Not to mention, my season tickets to my beloved Golden State Warriors. LA has its appeal in that the weather is fantastic, the location is on the Westside near UCLA (can we say Bruin games) and its close to family and friends. Plus, the industry I would be working on would be media/entertainment and that is interesting as well. NY is a whole different beast -- better for my career, FUN town, new experience and good to mix it up a bit.

Of course, there are downsides to each as well -- SF: Maybe I know the city too well? Need a change? LA: TRAFFIC and the fact it is somewhat of a cultural wasteland. NYC: Won't be building any equity in a home, rather spending every hard-earned red cent to live the "lifestyle." Not to mention cold weather. And humid summers. Anyone who knows me is aware that my body does not do well under extreme humidity.

So, decisions are at hand. I will keep both of you posted.

Robin Hood

I read a fascinating and inspirational article in the latest issue of Fortune illustrating the work a group of wealthy individuals from Wall Street is doing to promote the elimination of poverty and championing education in NYC. This type of non-profit is something I'd like to get involved in within the next 5-10 years in a leadership type role. If you are interested you can read it here:

Job Offers

So, I received an offer from the private equity firm I interviewed with this past week -- it is for only approximately 20-25 hours per week, but they pay decently and it is a field I am interested in. I am waiting to hear back from another firm, but it looks promising.

Cramming to read a couple cases and prep them for tonight, so can't write much now. The weather is gorgeous here in SF today, so I am hoping to get out and enjoy it.

Miscellaneous...

I was in LA this weekend with some friends and had a great time just hanging out, having drinks and watching some football. After this summer, I have been making an effort to spend as much time in sunny locations as humanly possible.

I have my final round interview with a private equity shop tomorrow. Hopefully it goes well and I get an offer to work there part-time during the school year. It's an area I am interested in and getting a little money on the side wouldn't hurt.

Bruins looked bad this weekend...but at least the running game looked better. Hopefully we play a complete game against the Huskies in two weeks.

On a school note, my accounting class might be the most brutally boring course of all time. I didn't pay one iota of attention tonight and all my friends were playing online poker...let's hope that it gets better...

Private Equity

So, lately I have gotten the urge to learn more about private equity -- it is a tough field to get into, usually helped by several years of investment banking experience at a top tier bulge bracket firm. I have two interviews tomorrow with P/E shops here in the Bay Area. Not really sure what to expect -- I haven't really brushed up on my interviewing skills and not prepared at all. I guess I will just have to wing it and see what happens.

It'd be nice to have an in-year internship where I both learned a lot as well as made a little cash on the side. Going back to student life is tough, although the end of summer bonus from my internship will certainly help...

Thieves

Well, my Labor Day weekend was great outside of the minor issue of my apartment getting broken into -- the bastards stole my laptop, my iPod and my digital camera. Granted, all these things can be replaced but its such a pain in the ass to do so -- more than anything, I'm upset that all my digital photos, business school stuff etc is on my computer. In short, I had to call the credit reporting agencies, my credit card companies and my bank to alert them -- I don't think the thieves took anything besides those three items, but wanted to be on the safe side.


On the positive front, I received an offer from my summer employer. It's great news because I worked incredibly hard this summer and it's nice to feel like someone at least recognized that fact.

Anyway, better get some school reading done....my motivation is at zero these days, but need to get it at least to B+ territory.