Days @ ISB

Well, Rock Show was a good show. I did get good company, and the music was decent too. Monday our classes started again, and it was back to the mundane existence. I attended many classes on Monday and Tuesday to sample the offerings. I finally dropped one course that I had taken, Telecom Management, and opted for Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions instead. So I would have two Fin courses, Portfolio Management being the other one, one Negotiation, and one Tech Entrepreneurship. I should be able to easily major in Finance, but the second major is yet to be decided – either Marketing or Tech. When I had come to ISB, I was clear that the one thing I didn’t want to major in would be Finance, but see what a few months of education can do to one’s mind!
Loads of job postings are coming in. It has become difficult to keep track of resume submission deadlines. But what is a bigger pain is attending the boring PPTs. Most of the tech companies seem to be open to discussing roles and salaries on a case-by-case basis. So they won’t just offer the salary offered to the other b-schools in the country, because that’s meant for no work experience MBAs. At ISB, they would up the ante, thankfully.

I earned my freedom at 3 pm yesterday. Assignment got submitted, and I became a free man again. Immediately went to attend Poseidon events. Participated in only one event, the business quiz with prize money of Rs 20,000, and didn’t qualify. Rest of the events were spectator events as far as I was concerned. There were paper presentations, debates, antakshari etc going on all over the place. The icing on the cake was fashion show performed by ISB guys and gals. I got into a great position close to the ramp, and took pictures to my heart’s content. Then after dinner we had footloose – the mother of all parties. It was similar to all the other parties we have had, but there were some new faces. We have been hosting students from practically all major b-schools of the country since yesterday. So the campus is looking full in spite of many ISB students having left for home for term break. Anyway, the party wasn’t so much fun for me as I could only get to dance with spouses! Let’s see if I can find some good company during tonight’s rock show.

Have been going through one of the busiest phases of life at ISB. That too right after the exams, when I should have been enjoying the term break. All because of an assignment in Marketing Research that is due a few hours from now. Have been working on it every day and night since Thursday. It's 5 am on Saturday already, and there are still miles to go. Will miss some Poseidon events also. There is still a book to read for Monday's negotiation class, and probably a couple of case studies to analyse. You can probably visualize me pulling out my hear at this moment.

Exam’s over!
6 weeks left for placements to start, so have to start doing something about it now. Plus there is an assignment to complete by Saturday, some website work for the leadership summit and of course, have to catch up on sleep.

I have five exams over the next three days. As news reporters would say, "Situation is tense but under control".

Visited Wipro campus today to meet a VP. Got an overview of how the sales function works. Felt good to be back in the working world, but at the same time I was overwhelmed with the number of employees. Wipro’s new building that is coming up next to ISB is supposedly going to be for 10,000 employees. IT industry is certainly booming, at least in India.

Today was the last day for classes for Term 5. Mon through Wed we have exams. I got all the courses I bid for next term, as did most others. Everyone’s busy forming study groups now.
Check out the dandiya report at http://www.isb.edu/campussbuzz1/dandia.htm . This time I did not write the report myself but got one of the spouses to write it, as the spouse association had organized the event.
Today we had a PPT by Goldman Sachs for i-banking positions in London. It was very different from other PPTs. They hardly spoke about the job role or career prospects. I guess they assume people know all that already. There’s nothing quite like working for GS. They currently occupy the top slot in my list of best companies to work for, relegating McKinsey to second place. “Get Rich or Die Trying” is not my motto, but it doesn’t hurt to get paid twice that for a McK guy for same hours of work put in. Of course I am sure there’s no way I would even make the interview shortlist of either of them!
Assignments have taken their toll. I haven’t been able to spend time with friends I care about. Assignments seem to have a life of their own, and they must be enjoying being showered with so much attention!

As per the site meter, number of visits to my blog has now crossed 10,000 ! Thanks everyone for following this story.

I didn’t know that The Hindustan Times had published my ISB write-up last month itself. But they shrunk my article to 1/7th its original size! Here’s the link to its online version: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/674_1074550,00310004.htm

ISB's info session

The Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad provides an unparalleled model of education. It has formal tie-ups with the Wharton School, the Kellogg School of Management, and the London Business School. Its student strength includes investment bankers, army officers, architects, doctors etc. The ISB’s programme provides a comprehensive overview of how businesses function. On an average, there was a 67 per cent increase in salary post-MBA. More importantly, students were able to make a transition in their job roles and rise to become heads of their divisions. The ISB is holding an information session on October 30 at Taj Palace, Delhi. For further details log on to www.isb.edu.



And here’s my original piece:

The economy is booming, and the companies are hiring. However, there are a set of people who leave their jobs each year – not to go to another company, but to go back to school. These are the MBA students at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad. What motivates them to take this step? Let’s find out.

An MBA is not just another three-letter word. It has immense implications for a person’s career. When people have been working for a few years at a routine job, they start feeling caged in their jobs. The growth may not be fast enough, and eventually they will hit a glass ceiling. Changing one’s employer does not change the nature of the job much. A computer programmer gets hired by software firms to do what he or she had been doing previously.

Enter the era of MBAs for experienced professionals. Some of the most talented workers are today taking a break from their work to pursue a full-time one-year MBA at the ISB.

The ISB provides an unparalleled model of education. It has formal tie-ups with the Wharton School, Kellogg School of Management, and the London Business School. Just like its partner schools, the average work experience of students here is 5 years. Students here come from different parts of the world, and everyone has a great reason to do so. The ISB has Investment Bankers, Army Officers, Architects, Consultants, Doctors, media professionals, etc in the classrooms. These people were highly successful in their careers, but chose to do an MBA to get into the fast track of their chosen career paths. The ISB’s programme provides an all-round knowledge of how businesses function, and makes one a leader who thinks out of the box.

Let’s look at some statistics. If we go by the record placements of the previous ISB batches, the jump in job roles and salaries is mind-boggling. On an average, there was a 67% increase in salary post-MBA, and the average and highest salary figures were the highest in the country among all b-schools. More importantly, the students were able to make a transition from job roles like IT programmer to Business Development Manager. One year at the ISB helped them jump up the hierarchy, and got them great jobs.

An MBA from a premier institute like the ISB helps open many doors. There is a very close-knit alumni network that students can tap into. Many MBAs quickly rise up to become heads of their divisions. They get to work on strategically important organization level tasks, and get paid top dollars. It may not have been possible without taking that one-year break to do an MBA.

Apart from immediate benefits, a high-class education from the ISB helps in the long run by helping develop skills that one can use during a lifetime. The ISB’s education comprises a global curriculum and is taught by best-in-class international faculty. Many star professors from leading US b-schools like NYU Stern, Wharton, Carnegie Mellon, Kellogg and UCLA fly down to ISB to teach the students. The peer group is experienced, and helps in exchange of ideas. Since the peers are high-achievers in their fields, one can gain a lot of knowledge outside the classroom by interacting with them.

The ISB’s 260 acre campus is world-class too. It is widely believed to be among the best b-school campuses in the world. The facilities are international, which helps attract international students and faculty. The students live on campus in a serene setting, each student gets an air-conditioned, fully-furnished, service apartment with modern amenities. The atmosphere is most conducive for an intensive year of study.

Thus, it makes immense sense to enroll in an MBA at the ISB if you have been working for a few years now. It will help you re-engineer your career and make a quantum leap. The ISB is visiting your city on 27th November to hold an information session. Be there to know more about the exciting opportunities you can get by spending one year at the ISB.

Last week of classes. Next week we’ll have end-term exams. There are still many assignments to be submitted this week. Some assignments can be submitted after exams, which means the term break will get spoiled.
Bidding for next term’s courses has started. I am planning to take one Fin course, one Negotiation course, and two Tech courses.
Attended a consulting mock interview today, which was conducted by an alum. It was quite interesting because the case discussed was about the profitability of our campus café!
Some of us have formed a placement focus group. My group has six members, and we have divided up among ourselves the tech companies that come to campus. We’ll do some homework on the companies and write a one page report, which will come in handy during placement time.

Had good fun yesterday. Had dinner in Pizza Hut, came back to campus, went out again to Taj Krishna for coffee, came back and went to the campus café for tea, then watched ‘Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle’ on my notebook. Liked the movie for two reasons, it was shot in NJ and it was very similar to ‘Dude, where’s my car?’.
It’s Diwali today, so we have fireworks at night followed by partying. Studying takes a backseat just this once.
Yesterday attended an admissions meeting, and came to know that the application numbers are significantly up this year. I have volunteered to read application essays, so more applications equals more work for me!

Good read about grade non-disclosure: http://www.whartonjournal.com/news/796049.html?page=1

It’s the same story every week. Lots of assignments and lots of classes to attend. Punctuated by meals, small talk and emails. Tomorrow I’ll take a break and go to watch ‘The Terminal’.
One news is that Marks and Spencer has opened in Hyderabad.

Today attended a ppt by a small tech start-up. They are looking for BD/Channel sales manager/director/VP for US and Japan postings. Although joining a start-up will provide a great experience, it is also very risky.
The latest craze on campus is a telephony software called Skype. It is very easy to call each other on laptops using that.
Tomorrow I would go to Microsoft's office to meet an alum and to give feedback on some of their work-in-progress products.

"The best Indian Business School Blog" - that's the keyword to use in google search to find the winner of the Poseidon event Searchlight (http://isb.edu/poseidon/searchlight.html) . I have also entered my blog into the contest!

Today I attended an information session for prospective students. It had to be held in the auditorium because of the large turnout. In fact many who had wanted to come to today’s session had to be turned down to keep the numbers to a manageable level. Looks like the interest in ISB is increasing by leaps and bounds.

Afterwards I attended a session by McKinsey & Company. Too many people gate crashed into the session, so it also had to be moved to the auditorium. The name McK has some magic to it that draws so many people. However, the talk was immensely dry and boring. Lot of us, myself included, left midway.

It’s getting chilly in Hyderabad. It did come as a surprise because I had assumed there would be no winter here. Time to buy some winter wear.

Some more job postings have come. Notable among them are of Standard Chartered Singapore and Yahoo India. Deadlines are end of this month.
The latest issue of ISB Insight is now up at ISB’s home page. One of my articles about women’s soccer has also found place in it.
Since I am the editor of the Business Technology Club newsletter, I had been working on it since last few weeks, and was finally able to bring it out today.
Intel talk was interesting. I have to prepare a write-up of the talk to be put up on the ISB website. Also have to read two cases, do assignments, play the online strategy game Twister, which is part of Poseidon, and a myriad other things.

Mid-term exam over, but assignments still loom large. Today I and two others won the second prize in Intel Strategy Case Competition. We will have to make a presentation to a top honcho of Intel day after tomorrow. Additional work at a time when I am overloaded with assignments!
Bush won, and I am happy. I usually prefer Democrats like most other Indians, but Bush being an MBA is ok!

Two new job postings this week are from HSBC for International Manager position (http://www.hsbc.com/hsbc/graduates/international-management) and Marakon Associates for Consultant position. The second one is for Singapore I believe, while the first one will require travel worldwide after a few months in London initially.