The MBA Student Voice

Resources at the Parker Career Management Center

The quarter is rolling along pretty quickly and the search for internships and full-time jobs is heating up. UCLA Anderson's Parker Career Management Center (CMC) offers many opportunities for students to prepare for their career search. Some of the many offerings from the CMC include one-on-one appointments with the fifteen counselors, online company information databases, industry-specific podcasts, or skill-building workshops.

I've really enjoyed my experiences as one of the eight student career counselors at the CMC. As a counselor, I can offer feedback on resumes and cover letters, facilitate mock interviews, assist with job and industry research, and help build job/internship search action plans. I consider this one of the most rewarding experiences I've had at UCLA Anderson so far because it enables me to use previous professional experience to give back to the MBA community.

One of the CMC's fall offerings includes Resumania, an eight hour event where any Anderson student can bring their resume to the CMC for a 10 minute feedback session with a counselor or second year student volunteer. 279 students were served during this year's Resumania, an amazing accomplishment!

This weekend, I'm taking my own job search to the Reaching Out Conference in Washington, DC. Look out for an update on the conference in the upcoming week.

Side note: After four weeks, I've had 7 turkey sandwiches from Cafe Roma. That's lower than I thought it would be. (For those of you that are lost, see my previous post entitled 'Time Management in a MBA Program.')

Time management in a MBA program

I've noticed a strong correlation between how busy I am and the types of food I eat on busy days. I need to run a regression to verify this data, but today, a day filled with my Real Estate Investment and Finance class and back-to-back-to-back-to-back meetings, continued the pattern from my first year - an Espresso Roma Cafe turkey sandwich for lunch during time-crunched days.

So how do you manage your time in a MBA program? A friend suggested that approximately 1/3 of my time should be devoted to academics, 1/3 should be dedicated to the career search, 1/3 should be given to MBA-extracurricular activities and clubs, and 1/3 should be given to my non-MBA related things. While my friend may not be the most proficient at math, he was definitely right: time management will always be a challenge for MBA students.

I think I strike a good balance between the four categories listed above, but there will definitely will be times when I focus more heavily on one of the categories. To make sure I'm using my time effectively, I started making to-do lists at the start of each week and then checking off things each night before going to sleep*. This tip came from one of my study group members last year and it has really helped. Feel free to post your tips for time management here or ask questions about my 'Day-in-the-Life' at UCLA Anderson.

*As an aside, my weekly to-do list now includes keeping a tally on how many turkey sandwiches I eat this year - it will be a great way to unofficially measure the time crunch of being a MBA student. I'll keep you and the time-efficiency researchers posted on my findings.

Lessons from the Club Fair

Tuesday night, I staffed the Section G table at the UCLA Anderson student club fair. It was interesting watching the first year full-time  MBA class scurry from table to table to learn about each group. The evening brought me back to a year ago when I was running around from table to table. That night, I learned some very important lessons about business school that I thought I would share with you.

In no particular order, here they are:

1) Business school catered food is often better than undergraduate catered food.

2) Industry clubs (ex. High Tech Business Association, Net Impact, and Entertainment Management Association) and function-specific clubs (ex. Investment Finance Club, Management Consulting Association and Marketing Association)are important to join. These clubs often provide great information about industry trends, insider sessions about specific jobs in the field, interview training seminars, and access to some amazing companies via Career Nights or Days on the Job.

3) Social clubs (ex. Wine Club, Challenge for Charity, Ski and Snowboarding Club) and identity clubs (ex. Asian Management Student Association, Women's Business Association, and Latino Management Student Association) are as important as the professional clubs. They are great ways to meet classmates with similar backgrounds and interests.

4) People are more likely to stop by your table if you have cool stuff to give them. Congrats to the Retail Management Association - the gym bags were a great idea!

For more information about the clubs at UCLA Anderson, visit the Anderson Student Association's club information page.

Classes start on Monday. Until then, enjoy your weekend and look for more updates soon.

And We Are Back With Round 2

I am truly excited to start the second year of my MBA at UCLA Anderson. My first year was filled with great people and special moments, and, if all the hype is true, this year will prove to be equally, if not even more, remarkable. I just honestly didn’t think my final year would arrive so quickly.

Only eleven weeks ago, I was settling back into the Bay Area after a one year hiatus. Seven weeks ago, I finished the first of my five intern projects at Wells Fargo. Two weeks ago, I realized that I hardly put a dent in my ‘List of Things to Do in SF This Summer.’ And, to be completely honest, it only dawned on me yesterday that after the first day of classes, I’ll have officially completed more than 50% of my MBA program.

A lot of my co-workers this summer had MBAs and they all said the same thing – they were jealous that they couldn’t go back with me and relive their second year. I asked them what made the second year so great and the unifying themes were the people they met and the opportunities ahead.

My classmates at UCLA Anderson are an incredible bunch of people. They have shaped my academic experience, influenced my career path, and added a healthy dose of fun to the work/life balance that is graduate school. As I begin to seek an answer that impending question of ‘What’s next?’, I have no doubt and am very fortunate that my classmates will be very influential in those decisions.

I’m looking forward to providing you with my perspective as I start my second year. Feel free to leave comments and questions – I’m happy to answer them.