Sunday, October 31, 2004
Career Resources
So far I have been pretty impressed by the career resources here at HBS. There is an awful lot you can do to discover what you want to do, and then once you get to that point there is a lot out there to help you land a job. Here's a short list of the things I'm taking advantage of: Career teams, career workshops, resume review, free lunches with 2nd years, networking workshops, a business dining workshop, and career coaching. There is also an extensive Careers website, complete with videos and slides from previous presentations, and a lot of career resources at Baker Library.
Over the next two weeks I'll be having lunch (paid for by career services) with three 2nd year students who have worked in equity research. Two of them are engineers by education who interned for investment management firms, and the third worked in IM before coming to HBS. I'm also going to talk to a family friend who works in the industry. I'm hoping that all the information I gather will help me decide whether I am on the right track in my career plans.
Career Services advocates a very common-sense approach to the internship search. They recommend focusing on three areas: location, industry, and function. Once you know your ideal position, you should "drive a stake in the ground" around one of the areas and be flexible on the other two. In my own example that means holding firm on the equity research function and being flexible around industry and location. For example, I don't want to pay to live in NYC or work for an I-bank, but they hire a lot of equity research people so I may have to go that way for the summer. No big deal, in the scheme of things...
On a personal note, I seem to be catching a cold. I've therefore loaded up on Nyquil and I plan on crashing early tonight. Also, this week my fantasy football team is matching up against the points leader in my league. Based upon a cursory examination of my players' results today I think I have a fighting chance.
Over the next two weeks I'll be having lunch (paid for by career services) with three 2nd year students who have worked in equity research. Two of them are engineers by education who interned for investment management firms, and the third worked in IM before coming to HBS. I'm also going to talk to a family friend who works in the industry. I'm hoping that all the information I gather will help me decide whether I am on the right track in my career plans.
Career Services advocates a very common-sense approach to the internship search. They recommend focusing on three areas: location, industry, and function. Once you know your ideal position, you should "drive a stake in the ground" around one of the areas and be flexible on the other two. In my own example that means holding firm on the equity research function and being flexible around industry and location. For example, I don't want to pay to live in NYC or work for an I-bank, but they hire a lot of equity research people so I may have to go that way for the summer. No big deal, in the scheme of things...
On a personal note, I seem to be catching a cold. I've therefore loaded up on Nyquil and I plan on crashing early tonight. Also, this week my fantasy football team is matching up against the points leader in my league. Based upon a cursory examination of my players' results today I think I have a fighting chance.
