The MBA Student Voice

The Gift of Taking Time

Quick Prelude:

What a two years it has been! It's a pleasure to be back on the UCLA Anderson blog, sharing my experiences as a bookend to my blogging days from summer 2013. I look forward to staying connecting over the next year as a I track my progress as an Anderson alumni in year one (now officially a #doubleBruin!).

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When I accepted my offer from Deloitte Consulting last year, I considered all three start date options. July seemed awfully early, with just over one month’s rest between school and work. September would give me an entire summer off to rest and travel. The other option was quite far away - February.

But when in my life would I ever again be able to take off so many months, with relatively few responsibilities and a supportive partner with a stable career, and know I had a secure, well-paying job at the end? Maybe never. So, I asked to start in February.

Reactions from classmates range from Are you crazy? to What are you going to do with that time? Most alumni think I am genius. That is SUCH a good idea. Or, Why didn’t I do that?

Originally, I chose the latest date to give my fiancé and I more flexibility to have our wedding in the months after graduation. Yet, beyond that, the decision was fairly simple. The opportunity to take a seven month sabbatical was a gift I had to accept. My time in business school was purposefully intense. Perhaps my biggest talent is keeping busy (closely followed by saying “yes” and making to-do lists). I knew that if I gave myself permission to pause after graduation, I would challenge myself even more up to that point. Rather than succumbing to senioritis, I would sprint to the finish line.

My last two quarters at Anderson, I built some of my closest relationships, excelled academically while unnecessarily overloading my class schedule, and made significant impact on the UCLA and Anderson communities through my student leadership positions. I made a difference. I learned more. I liked school more. I was happier because I pushed myself.

I also decided to wait until February because I knew the importance of taking time. Since graduation, I have invested in my physical, mental and emotional health. I have taken the time to process my business school journey and contemplate my goals today and my steps for tomorrow - with friends, family and in my head. In the long-run, my time as an MBA student will be better spent for the opportunity I have to understand what I’ve learned, how I’ve changed and where I hope to go next.

I am often asked how I am filling that time. In addition to joining several nonprofit boards, I have been doing other volunteer work, and am working to start my own small social enterprise. I attended a leadership summit for LGBT leaders in New York. I have caught up with many friends, caught up on a bit of television I skipped over the past two years, re-organized my physical and digital life, and have been giving myself permission to focus on me. My partner and I spent several weeks traveling, with another trip on the horizon. Oh, yes, and it’s finally time to plan that wedding after a two-year engagement.

I have many more plans - some big, some small. Projects, favors, and catch-ups with friends, and a map for self improvement. I am keeping an open mind to opportunities that may arise over the next few months. And I accept already that after seven months, there will still be more that I wanted to do.

Yet, when I begin at Deloitte in February, not only will I have the tools I need to succeed from the two incredible years I spent at UCLA Anderson, I will be ready. Ready to go back to work. Ready for the intensity that management consulting brings. Ready to start the next chapter.

Until then, I am taking my time.

First Impressions of LA

Finally- the first blog post actually from Westwood! We arrived late Sunday night and spent this week getting settled in to our apartment (ie. building hordes of IKEA furniture). Here are some of my first impressions of LA: 

Anderson people KNOW their social media:

Before I came to LA, I thought I was hip to the tech scene because I used Google Drive. How foolish and naive of me! I can barely count all the different ways Anderson 2017 people communicate, socialize, and organize events with one another: GroupMe, Slack, WhatsApp, Facebook groups (probably missing a couple other platforms here). Section assignments and fall class schedules were released late this afternoon via email and within seconds the Anderson 2017 GroupMe was blowing up my phone with classmates announcing their sections and talking trash about the best section (clearly Section B- so step off, Jordan Stone from Section E whoever you are). 

Take advantage of the days before orientation starts:

Before we continue any further, let me just say that I'm an introvert. I spent the majority of my undergrad freshman orientation week squirreled away in my dorm room with the shades drawn playing online poker. And not going to lie- I enjoyed it thoroughly.

But honestly, any academic on-campus experience is at its essence about the people you meet and the relationships you build. Not taking the time to get to know my neighbors, classmates, and hallmates really set me back a ton in me getting the full college experience, and I was determined not to repeat my mistakes this time around for business school. The days and weeks before Anderson orientation starts provide ample opportunity to get to know your classmates. I would hardly say I'm a social butterfly, but I'm planning on attending / have attended a social Anderson event each day since I finished setting up IKEA furniture:

- meeting up with a group of 6-7 Anderson people at Philly West for a beer Wednesday night

- spending today at Six Flags with a group of 15 classmates and significant others and then getting ramen on Sawtelle Boulevard. Thanks Angela for organizing such a great trip and to Sicong for driving! We all learned that Andry has the ultimate selfie stick (ask him when you meet him) and that Ean and Natasha know a thing or two about cross-continental road trips. Check out this group of photogenic characters to the right at the end of a long day of riding roller coasters (also happy birthday Lucia!):

- going hiking at Sandstone Peak for an Anderson pre-orientation day trip on Saturday

- heading to Qs on Wilshere Saturday night for a meet-and-greet with more Anderson 2017 people

Indeed, if there's one thing you learn as a teacher (or any professional job for that matter), it's that a vast amount of your effectiveness as a professional depends on your ability to make and sustain meaningful relationships with the network of people around you.

The middle of America is absolutely underrated: 

We traveled through Nebraska, Iowa, and Utah on the way to California, and all three states feature breathtaking landscapes and the nicest people you will ever meet:

Looking at Ghost Rock at a rest stop in Utah. I mean seriously, this is the view from a rest stop. Imagine what it's like in a national park!

A rain shower and partial dust storm in Nebraska.

LA drivers are just as crazy as their NYC and Massachusetts counterparts:

Only with less honking. But with an equal disdain for turn signals- there, I said it.

Navigating the admissions process by failing fast

With the admission process in full swing I wanted to take a break from my usual "Why Anderson" posts and help out Anderson hopefuls. 

Planning for success seems sequential but as I recently learnt after reading the "Startup of you" that is not always true. To achieve success in our new chaotic, interconnected and increasingly competitive landscape we need to constantly evolve. Entrepreneurs have learnt this lesson the hard way and have become increasingly aware of the what-if scenarios. The What-if scenarios force you to focus on your shortcomings and prevent you from indulging in wishful thinking. 

As you navigate the admissions process embrace the new adage - "Fail fast and fail often". If you have started the process it's imperative to get a lot of feedback at this juncture so that you have a strong foundation to build upon. Start off with an initial draft of all your essays and get as many eyes on it as you can as opposed to waiting towards the end. Get your colleagues, friends and family to review your half-baked essays and keep making iterative changes. 

Use the online resume tool Vmock to upload your resume to ensure it's upto the mark. Quantify your accomplishments and showcase the results of your work. Find resume books of students at b-schools and model your resume on the acceptable format. Recommendations are another critical component that need be tackled early on. Connect with your recommenders and remind them again of your accomplishments, career growth and leadership potential before they put pen to paper. Send your recommenders a short summary of your successes, and even failures, so that they can portray you as accurately as is possible.

As a software tester I learnt the art of exploratory testing - explore a system, analyze results and create a plan of attack based on information gleaned. In a similar vein, the MBA process needs to be structured and explored because your time is finite and in order to get the best ROI on your effort it's important to address the areas that need the most improvement.

Best of luck!

This Is The App You're Looking For

Fun fact: I actually became a "fake FEMBA" and started my full-time job at Disney before I graduated.

Although it was hard balancing both work and school (I don't know how FEMBAs do it!), I couldn't pass up my dream job.

So what do I do?  My job title is Marketing and Operations Manager and I work within Disney Interactive Media.  Disney Interactive Media provides Disney fans with new ways to experience their favorite stories and characters through various digital platforms.  Currently, my main responsibilities include managing the Disney, Star Wars and Babble brand guides, marketing efforts for DI Media's suite of mobile apps and our team's budget and analytics

Recently, I've helped launch two new apps- Disney GIF and the official Star Wars App.  App launches are always one of the most exhilarating experiences- you work behind the scenes to put everything together and it's thrilling once the product is in someone's hands and you're able to see their responses to it.  And, both of these apps are so different that each had it's own set of quirks and learnings.

Disney GIF:

Disney GIF is a messaging keyboard that allows people to express their emotions in a whole new way and send GIFs to their friends and family.  This app is constantly adding more content and it has a wide range of IP including Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars.  I work very closely with mobile product, content programming, and synergy for this app to make sure everyone is in sync and on the same page.

Star Wars App:

The official mobile connection to a galaxy far, far way.  This app not only has the latest news and a slew of other features, but it also has a selfie experience and my personal favorite, Star Wars emojis. I  work really closely with the LucasFilm team on this app, and it's only going to get more interesting closer to the release of the next Star Wars movie in December.

So, there it is- a look at what I do.  I'm having a lot of fun at Disney, and bonus- there are a ton of Anderson alumni here!

 

 

Finding the Pyramid of Success in South Bend

I'm writing this blog post from South Bend, Indiana, a few miles away from the University of Notre Dame campus. We started out in Boston Saturday morning on our cross-country road trip to LAand have been averaging about 450 miles a day. So far the Honda Civic has been holding up surprisingly well, even loaded full of suitcases and clothes. Apart from driving, audiobooks, iPod shuffle playlists, and lots of Starbucks coffee, here's what the first two days of my trip has looked like so far:

Watching the Anderson pre-orientation Accounting modules: the Parker Career Management Center has provided all incoming 1st year MBA students with a pretty helpful primer on basic accounting concepts and financial statements. They are self-paced and include self-evaluations every few days, as well as a PDF workbook to follow along with Professor Henry Friedman's video instruction. 'So far, I've only got to Day 3 out of 10 of the videos, but they've been extremely helpful for someone coming from a non-traditional background with very little exposure to finance/accounting. 

Getting the keys to our new apartment(!): in relatively convoluted fashion, we finally got our apartment keys when we met up with our landlord at a Dunkin Donuts in New Jersey, where she had just finished helping move her daughter into college. Our landlord and her husband are definitely very old-school, "people-centric" property managers- they wanted to meet in person to sign the lease and even walked into UCLA Anderson's financial aid office to confirm with Ji Choi, Anderon's Director of Financial Aid, that I was indeed an incoming MBA student. Biggest takeaway from looking for an LA apartment when you cannot physically be in the city until close to September (like me):

- start early and be patient: the process will likely take longer and be more complicated for you than for people who have the luxury of physically visiting the apartments and meeting the landlord in person beforehand. You have to take into consideration the time it'll take to mail checks, scan applications and documents, etc.

- call, don't just email, and name drop: as with most people, LA property managers seem much easier to get ahold of if you pick up the phone and actually call rather than simply copy and paste emailing a generic template message. Also, the Anderson name carries some weight- it definitely helps boost your credibility as an applicant, so find a way to casually (or maybe not) drop the name of the business school you happen to be attending. 

Finding UCLA is everywhere:  Since we're on the road for a majority of the day, I've been making it a point to find basketball courts at every stop we make to stretch out, get some shots up, and play some pickup. If you're a college basketball fan, you'll know about John Wooden, the legendary UCLA coach who won 10 national championships in the 60s and 70s. His "Pyramid of Success" is frequently used in coaching, education, and business, and was the first thing I saw when I walked onto the South Bend YMCA gym. Not a huge deal, but a pleasant reminder for me that I am not only joining a group of future business leaders when we arrive on campus at Anderson, but also a larger global UCLA community that is at the forefront of not just business, but medicine, education, athletics, and so much more. 

 

8 Days and Counting

...before the big move to Los Angeles! Hard to believe that it’s been nearly a year since I started preparing for the GMAT, and over 4 months since that fateful R2 admit call. Anderson-related TTDs have been piling up as the Class of 2017 gets closer to Orientation... and by the looks of it, things are only gonna get crazier!

So how has Anderson kept me busy lately?

• International Preps: Being an international student adds an extra layer of moving-out stress and logistical errands--luggage, apartments, banking and phone plans, etc. First order of business after submitting my SIR to UCLA was to sort out all visa and finance-related documents. I secured my F-1 visa early in June thanks to Anderson and UCLA's Dashew Center for International Students & Scholars (DCISS). Both have been a constant presence in my inbox throughout summer with international programming updates (DCISS) and pre-departure career preps (MBA Student Affairs), among other helpful content. Students on a visa are required to take UCLA's iStart Program which is a series of online modules designed to help us transition to life in the US. Topics covered are: academic integrity, culture shock, visa workshop, and getting started in LA & UCLA. In addition to school/web resources, I found that talking to fellow international students and 2nd years has been most helpful in navigating this complex pre-MBA stage. Currently, there's even a group of us looking to set-up a family phone plan to get better deals!

DCISS' online iStart program has informational modules for international students transitioning to UCLA.

Getting started with Anderson

Hello everybody! In about 20 days I will be travelling 4,176 miles to LA and I am a bit overwhelmed as there is still a lot to do! Besides figuring out living arrangements, making ultimate changes to my budget and scheduling eating every single item on this list, courtesy of Anderson 2017 Camila Moura, I have been focusing on career preparation. As recruiting events and company presentations start as soon as 2 weeks after the quarter begins, Anderson’s Parker Career Management Center (PCMC) has put together a list of summer deliverables on career preparation and tools to complete each one. So far I have been able to work on the first 2 sets of career deliverables and I wanted to share with you a sneak peak of how these two have been helpful to me.

1. Knowing the career path you want to pursue: The first deliverable dealt with understanding how our skills, interests and motivations fit in our future functions or industries. By answering several questions about those three aspects, we were given a report that highlighted possible career paths and how our abilities match to other professionals in those careers. Reflecting on this information has helped me to have my strengths mapped out and to have a better notion of what skills I will need to acquire or improve while at Anderson.

2. Improving your resume content: The second deliverable focuses on improving our resume. PCMC has given us access to videos that address how to optimize each part of our resume by structuring each job bullet in a more result-oriented way. In those videos, I have found great examples from 2^nd year students’ resumes that have helped me highlight specific accomplishments in a more impactful way.

Apart from the PCMC Career deliverables, international students have had the chance to have a one-on-one skype conversation with Qiling He, International Program Manager and Advisor. Through our chat, she wanted to learn more about me, my career path and according to that information, she shared with me career preparation tips, as well as contact information from 2^nd year students who had very similar career aspirations and experience as me.

I feel especially thankful for all the resources we have been given, and it also feels quite great to get started on the MBA experience!

I leave you with a picture of an Anderson meet in Lima Peru!

Meet Your Classmates (Part III)

First of all, a big thank you to Petro, Ankit, and Rohan for volunteering their time and energy to craft insightful, meaningful responses to my interview questions- they're all cool dudes I'm hoping to get to know better in person!

If there's one takeaway from interviewing fellow Anderson '17ers, it's that there is immense opportunity that arises from diverse and seemingly disparate perspectives. The three students profiled come from different countries (Russia, Australia, and India) and a variety of pre-MBA jobs/functions. I was astounded by how well-traveled and cosmopolitan- yet how distinctly unique- Petro, Ankit, and Rohan all were.They are all undoubtedly experts in many things, and they all hold key pieces of knowledge and perspectives I can (if I'm smart) take with me back to revolutionize the nonprofit / education world.

Without further ado, the final installment in the Class of 2017 profiles brings us Rohan Bhatia, who hopes to use his Anderson experience to prepare himself for a management role and ultimately launch his own company in the field of healthcare technology. 

Name: Rohan Bhatia

Hometown: New Delhi, India

Prior to Anderson:

Currently I am involved in my family business, which has distribution rights for various medical devices companies, such as Carefusion (BD) & Hillrom. In our business, I have been responsible for in-house product developments. To add some perspective, I come from a technical background and before joining the family business I was working in the semiconductor/hi-tech software space. So this is a position I naturally enjoy, and during my tenure I have been able to create few solutions to automate our in-house processes and some that extend the functionality of medical devices.  Apart from this role, I was also managing a joint venture with a Taiwanese company to promote quality medical consumables in India. For the venture, I was responsible for overall business development.

Why Anderson?

Back in 2011, I was working onsite at Intel and at the time a few of my friends were studying at UCLA. That’s the first time I visited the campus and fell in love with it. So I was already sure about applying to Anderson. What sealed the deal for me was experiencing the altruistic nature of the students during my campus visit, which really helped prove to me that Anderson has a very collaborative environment.

 Another great thing I discovered about Anderson during A-Days (that’s the on-campus event weekend for admitted students) was the diversity in both professional and personal interests, which is great because I met many folks that shared similar interests.    

What is one cool/interesting thing about yourself that others would not be able to tell upon first meeting you?

 

I have traveled to 10 different countries, and worked closely with teams from one end of the globe to the other. I also have a neat collection of Hard-Rock shot glasses serving as mementos of my travels.

 

(RIGHT: Rohan with other Anderson alums and '17 classmates during a July pre-orientation meetup in India)

 

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

10 years from now, I would like to have amassed enough experience either through consulting or working at a senior position in a healthcare technology company. My ultimate ambition is to start my own company that explores novel solutions to reduce the inefficiencies in patient engagement and improve healthcare outcomes. 

 

One thing I hope to accomplish by the end of my first year at Anderson:

Get back in shape! Do the ten best bike rides in LA and Anderson's Tour de strand.  I used to bike nearly 14 miles every day to work, but lately I haven't had the time for it.

#WhyAnderson

To continue on my previous post, I'd like to share with all of you a couple of the reasons why I chose to apply and ultimately decide to attend Anderson.

Location

 

An important question to ask yourself when you're applying is: Where do you want to live upon graduating and what industries interest you? Most MBA schools post employment statistics online (see Anderson's latest one here), and the majority of students start jobs in the same region of their school. It also makes recruiting much easier logistically if you are in the same region as the companies or industries you're interested in. For me, I ultimately want to stay in California and am interested in strategy/biz dev in tech or consumer products. LA has a burgeoning tech and entrepreneurial industry (e.g., Silicon Beach, SurfAir, Snapchat), Silicon Valley is only a 1 hr plane ride away, and many companies have their headquarters or an office in LA (e.g., Pressed Juicery, Disney, Mattel, and most consulting firms) which makes it a great fit for my career ambitions. Obviously the weather doesn't hurt either ;).

 

Parker Career Center

 

Most people go back to business school to switch careers and/or gain additional business skills to further their career. I am no exception, and needed to know I would have a strong career services team supporting me. During the entire admissions process, I was strongly impressed by Anderson's Parker Career Center. When you hear Director of Career Services' Regina Regazzi and her team share their experiences, you can tell they have a lot of passion and energy for supporting students during the entire recruiting process. Students told Bloomberg/Businessweek they would give Parker an A+. School hasn't even started yet and already we have Parker deliverables to help us prepare for recruiting and I'm even attending a Parker-hosted Q&A event in San Francisco this week!

 

Culture

 

Culture is a big buzz word and can oftentimes be used very liberally, but you really can't overlook the importance of choosing a school that fits you, and only you can make that determination. While I haven't officially arrived on campus yet, through the interview, Admit Preview Day, A-Days, unofficial Happy Hours, class of 2017 Slack group, and the cohort of Anderson women I met at the Women's Forte MBA Conference the vibe has been that of a collaborative family - just like what they said during recruiting events =]! Everybody has been so willing to connect me to someone in their network who can help answer questions I have. Also, with a relatively small class size of approximately, I don't feel like I'm just one fish in the big ocean and I'll be able to meet most if not everybody in my class.

 

 

Here's a picture from a happy hour for SF Bay Area people attending Anderson in the fall!