A Logo for the Graduate Marketing Club

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Yes, it is a cheesy holiday, but if it means that classmates bring in candy then I’m all for it. Besides the joys of a sugar-infused holiday, Monday is uneventful.

After Supply Chain Management on Tuesday I meet with my Finance study group to prepare our case for tomorrow. Sometime during our 3-hour study session I excuse myself to make a phone call to BuyWithMe. BuyWithMe is an online group coupon company that I am exploring as a possible means of promoting the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. In trying to boost membership, we thought that offering a one-time discount could bring in some fresh customers. Unfortunately, as the conversation progresses with the BuyWithMe representative, it becomes clear that this venue will not be a viable option for Mass Hort. After a required 50% discount to the consumers, we would also have to pay a 50% commission to BuyWithMe. For a $50 individual membership, that leaves us $12.50- not even enough to cover the cost of the flower show ticket ($20) included in the membership. This steep commission is also in line with what I’ve heard from my teammates who have been researching Groupon and Living Social. We’ll just have to get more creative.

That night I spend cramming Operations material into my head for our quiz tomorrow. I review Poisson formulas and analyze the probability that a customer will have to wait in line if there are x number of tellers working at a rate of 15 customers per hour…

Wednesday morning we have our first Operations quiz.  Not knowing what to expect I spent last night boning up on all of the equations and re-reading our entire book. Alas, the quiz is multiple choice and mostly refers to vocabulary words and general concepts. Wow, I really over studied for this, yet understudied the parts we are being quizzed on. We’ll see how this goes…

Thursday I get my Statistics project back with a grade of 88.  My teammates and I were deducted points for silly mistakes and I’m quite frustrated with myself. You’d think after last semester’s Accounting fiasco (remember, the citations?) I would learn.

Casting Votes
Photo Courtesy of Gian Carlo de Leon

After Statistics and Strategy I head right to the Frost lounge in Ell Hall for the first ever Graduate Marketing Club logo competition.  I’m a bit nervous that we won’t have a good turnout, but thankfully, more than 20 members stop by to help us vote for our favorites.  After we all take our fill of Upper Crust pizza, we sit around a big board room style table for a presentation by each of our four contestants. I am so pleased with the effort everyone took! Some even superimposed their logos onto pictures of mugs and t-shirts for visual aids.

After a close vote we select our winner and recipient of a flip cam, along with the runner up and new owner of a $25 Dunkin Donuts gift card. Our next step will be to circulate a poll to see which type of branded item our club would like to see the new logo printed on. So exciting!

The Winning Design

While I had planned to meet some friends for drinks after the competition, I’m beginning to feel a bit ill so I head home for a nap before my 6:00pm India IFS meeting.

By the time I roll into the classroom for the meeting I’m not feeling very well at all. Ugh! This cannot be happening with next week being our craziest of the semester. We have both a Finance exam and a Statistics exam (yes, our two hardest courses) PLUS a Strategy project. Not to mention the fact that Nick is coming into town for spring break next Saturday and heavens knows I have to clean. 

Anyway, the meeting goes well and it gets me really excited for our international adventure. We discuss the cultural sites we will visit along with some potential business tours, such as one at Infosys. I’ve also applied to be the teacher’s assistant for the trip. It pays $500, which would cover the program cost (not including flight and tuition) which would definitely be a plus considering my extensive pre and post trip travel plans. Apparently a few more students have applied so we’ll see what happens.

Friday morning I just feel awful, but I manage to drag myself to Career Management and a Finance review session because I desperately need the latter in light of next week’s exam.

I dress in business casual attire and make my way to Dodge for our executive mentor panel. As part of our MBA program, each student is matched with an executive mentor during the spring semester of their first year. We will meet with our mentor for at least 1 hour a month from the spring semester through our graduation. How cool is that? I can’t wait to see who I’m paired with. In the panel we have executives from Hasbro, Transition Consulting Group and JH Investments along with their student mentees.

After we are paired with a mentor we will get to have our first in-person meeting during a Mentor Networking reception on March 30.

While in Career Management we also have the opportunity to sign up to be a peer mentor. I participated in this program as a mentee this year and really appreciated what it offered so I gladly sign up.  Who knows, maybe you’ll be my first year mentee? Don't get too scared.

Also, we get to see the current status of co-op placements and let me just say I am shocked. It has been less than two weeks since the Career Fair and we have more than 60% of the class placed! The Career Center staff shows us a comparison graph for past years. At this time during the past four years, no class had even passed a 15% placement rate. In fact, during the past four years, the 60% mark hadn’t been reached until April at the earliest. Go us! I’m so proud of my classmates.

After Career Management I trudge to my Finance review session, feeling worse as the day goes along.  The review session was fine, but I think I would have gotten more out of it if I had time to study first. At least the TA goes over some problems from last year’s midterm, but then, sneakily drops a bomb on us: nearly everyone failed the midterm last year- including himself! What?! I have no hope!

When I get home around 2:00pm I dutifully send out an e-mail to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society on all our findings regarding online group coupons and follow up with a phone call.

Then I fall asleep. The rest of the afternoon and evening is spent in a fever-induced delirium. Yes, that’s right, I have the flu.

Since the remainder of my three day weekend is spent in and around my bed, with GrubHub delivering soup to my door, I will not bore you with those details. All I can say is this better be over and done with by Tuesday or I’m in serious trouble. I have exams to study for, the FAFSA to renew, taxes to file, work, Marketing Club responsibilities and all manner of errands.

*The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Northeastern, its staff or affiliates.

The Career Fair

After a busy Monday morning of Finance class, e-mails and appointment scheduling I head to work and then drop by the Career Center for a brief meeting with my adviser. We go over my most recent cover letter for a Marketing position at Fisher-Price and catch up on what I missed during last Friday’s Career Management class.

At 3:00 pm I have a phone date with the Superintendent of The Boston Globe to rack his brain about press room operations and schedule a time for my group to meet with him next week to get a hands-on look at the facilities.  This is step 1 of a 5-part Operations assignment aimed at giving us a closer look at manufacturing.

After that I meet with my Statistics group to begin work on our first case assignment of the semester.  It's about a toy company trying determining production levels for a new product.  With Hasbro, Fisher-Price and now this, I’m just inundated with toys lately.

Tuesday is the much anticipated Career Fair! The day we’ve all been preparing for since the first week of the program.  Class has been canceled, suits have been dry-cleaned and resumes have been printed.  Here we go!

While I don’t have any interviews scheduled (and, in a way, consider myself lucky for that) I still arrive early to scope out the 30 some employers who will be there today.

I first drop by the Hasbro booth to say hello to a couple of representatives with whom I had interviewed last week. They let me know that a decision on the position I applied for will be made any minute. Eeek! I am so excited and nervous.

I then make my rounds, stopping by Ocean Spray Cranberries, W.B. Mason and Boston Pads before heading out.  In reality, the entire process took me less than an hour. I realized that without interviews, the Career Fair is not as scary an event as I made it out to be.  Now, if you talk to some of my friends who had upwards of 11 interviews that day, they might tell you differently.

Afterward I grab lunch at the Curry Center with friends before heading to the library to write up my interview notes from my Boston Globe interview yesterday, all the while nervously checking my e-mail and phone.  It’s quite amazing because within the scope of a few hours, many of my friends have already received job offers from the career fair.  How exciting!

Wednesday morning I submit the first of my Operations assignments focusing on the manufacturing procedures at The Boston Globe.

This is followed by Finance where we watch a hilarious video featuring our very own professor, some 20 years earlier.  Somehow, seeing him speak to us onscreen, makes capital budgeting seem so much more entertaining.

After class and work, I meet my Statistics group at our professor’s office for some clarifying help on our case.  I’m so glad we went because he corrects us on some faulty assumptions we had made about calculations. Lesson learned kids: go to office hours.

During the past few days, concentrating on school has become extremely difficult.  I keep checking my phone obsessively waiting for a reply from Hasbro.  I can’t wait for a response, especially since I keep hearing rumors that other candidates having been contacted. After our Statistics session my group and I head across the street  to Connor Larkins for a drink, only to find another Northeastern group has beaten us to it.  They are in a flurry of activity as each discusses their corporate residency placement. It seems like everyone who had an interview has already heard and in less than 24 hours at that! Many of my friends even have multiple offers (what a problem to have, right?).  It’s all so exciting to see where everyone will end up and with whom.  Let’s hope I hear something soon.  All anyone can do is discuss the career fair and a general disregard has developed for schoolwork. Who can concentrate when the prospect of moving to Rhode Island, Connecticut or New York is looming?

In Strategy today we discuss the e-reader/tablet market. As a plus, we have some student guests.  Prospective students have the option to sit in on an MBA class during the spring semester to get a first-hand look at what really goes on in Dodge Hall.  I hope they enjoyed it!

After class I meet up with my Strategy/Statistics team to go over our recently assigned final project, a joint venture between the two classes.  We have been assigned to the clothing industry, perfect for our group of six girls.  Our main company focus will be Ann Taylor, a lucky break considering one of our group members was a manager at Ann Taylor before joining the MBA program. Score!

The meeting is brief and we agree upon a deliverables outline for the rest of the semester that includes data analysis, industry comparisons and delving deep into Ann Taylor’s 10-K report.

Gorgeous view at the ICA

As I’m leaving campus I meet up with a friend for an afternoon of relaxation.  We make a beeline for Panera for some afternoon dessert and coffee after which we jump on the T to the Institute of Contemporary Art.  We make it to the financial district just as the sun is setting and it looks just beautiful.  

However, just as I walk in the doors of the museum I see that I have missed a call from a Rhode Island number. How!? I have been guarding this phone with my life, using up all of its battery in an hour as a I desperately check it e-mail every five seconds.  I excuse myself and rush to a corner of the gallery to call back.   

Perhaps I should have waited...I am informed that I have not been chosen for the Hasbro position.  Needless to say, I am devastated.  Fortunately, the representative on the phone is very kind and gives me valuable pointers on how to improve my candidacy, asking that I keep in touch.  It is all I can do to keep my voice from cracking as I thank her and say goodbye. 

Admittedly, the next few minutes are a bit tear-filled (yes, in the middle of the museum) but fortunately I have the distraction of modern art, so I take a deep breath and join my friend.  While the museum left much to be desired (the entire exhibit was only one small floor) there were some beautiful views from the huge glass walls out onto the harbor and, as is always the case, the museum store was fabulous.  Plus, entrance is free every Thursday from 5:00pm - 9:00pm so no complaints here.

We leave the museum around 6:00pm in search of a bar, landing at Elephant & Castle for some delicious spinach and artichoke dip.

On my way home, we also stop by my favorite pizza place, New York Pizza, because, honestly, I’ve had a rough day and pizza always makes me feel better.

The night ends with me wondering what to do now.  I have applied to that one Fisher-Price position but no new co-ops have been posted on eRecruiting since the Career Fair. I irrationally freak out that I will be the one person without an internship. I give myself the weekend to wallow before starting over on Monday.

While there is no Career Management on Friday, I still manage to find myself on campus for a 1:00 pm conference call with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.  I am thrilled with the results and we come out of it with an actionable plan and a firm deadline! This is what I have been wanting all along. Our official goal is to increase membership by 10% during the next year. To take advantage of the flower show that runs from March 16-20, we decide to run a campaign using Groupon, Living Social and/or BuyWithMe; three online coupon communities. We delegate tasks and agree to have all information in by Thursday so we can then run the numbers and pass it on to Mass Hort.

Dinner at Giacomo's in the South End

That night I meet some friends for a late night dinner at Giacomo’s in the South End. Since we can’t get dinner reservations until 8:45pm we meet up at a friend’s house for cheese, crackers and wine (how sophisticated do I sound?). We make our way to Giacomo’s only to be told that they are running half an hour behind. We hop next door to Anchovies for some drinks before finally sitting down to eat at 9:15pm. I feel like I’m back in Rome, eating at this time of night.  The food is delicious and I order a linguine and clam dish drenched in their famous Fracomo sauce (a mix of their house Giacomo lobster-based red sauce and their spicy Fra Diavolo sauce). For a reasonable price I get a huge portion that even I can’t finish, not to mention wine is only $4.50 a glass. We end the night indulging in their tartufo dessert- chocolate ice cream with an amaretto filling that’s dusted with nuts, coco powder and whipped cream. Lovely.

Saturday I send out my apartment lease renewal (yes, in February- real estate is super competitive here), run errands and send out some thank you notes for those who helped me in my Hasbro interview process. I also buckle down and begin researching possible corporate residencies on my own.  I even spend some time looking into my Indian visa information (and am glad I did since they always turn out to be more complicated than anticipated).

Sunday starts with a meeting at the library with my Supply Chain teammate to hash out the case that’s due Tuesday.  After half an hour of so, I bid her adieu and make my way down Massachusetts Ave. to buy a flip cam and Dunkin' Donuts gift card for our Marketing Club Logo competition next week.  That night finds me at the laundromat doing my Finance and Supply Chain homework to the whir of washing machines.

Admittedly, this week had a few bumps, but I'm trying to stay positive.  Hey, at least this way you all get a very in-depth look at interviewing for corporate residencies and what happens when you don’t get that first, or second, job.

The Big Interview

Monday starts out a bit unfortunately. After my morning study session at the library I receive an e-mail telling me that Staples has decided not to interview me for their Global Product Management position. While I’m a bit disappointed I try not to get too greedy and remember I still have Hasbro to look forward to this Friday. In addition, it's a blast hearing about all of my classmate's interview offers for the Career Fair.  It’s all getting so exciting!

Monday evening I send out job descriptions to my reference list in case they are contacted by Hasbro after my interview. I’ve learned this helpful tip from Career Management and think it is a great step to take.  What would be worse than having a prospective employer contact a reference only to have them say “ huh? Who are you? What job is this?”. Yeah, that would be bad.

Tuesday sees me at the library for my early morning study session. After some solid work I head to Supply Chain Management where the director of Supply Chain Operations for Scholastic was supposed to stop by. He was in charge of handling the release of the last installment of the Harry Potter book series and I can’t wait to hear him speak. Alas, the snowy conditions prevented him from making it, but we are promised a reschedule.

After class I join a couple of classmates to work on our Finance case about Tiffany & Co.  After several hours in the library I head home. There I find an e-mail from Hasbro with my official interview schedule. I begin at 7:40 am and will be there until 1:15 pm. I’m so excited and quickly reply to the event and get started on renting a Zipcar for the drive. Remember, I am bound by foot travel here in Boston.

I also e-mail a second-year student who had a Hasbro residency last year to see if I can schedule a time to chat with him about his experience there. He graciously agrees and we set a time for tomorrow evening.

Wednesday I wake to another inclement weather e-mail from Northeastern informing me that class will not start until after 10:00 am. Feeling lazy I reset my alarm for two hours later and fall asleep.

My walk to school is not what I expected. There is no longer snow coming down but rain, which makes for a lovely slush mix on every corner and intersection. Thank heaven for rain boots.

I brave these streets and arrive at Finance for our discussion of Tiffany & Co. and their initial public offering (IPO). After class I visit our Operations professor to check if he approves of my latest company idea for our project: The Boston Globe. He seems very excited and I’m pleased to have an appointment set up with the Superintendent. The journalism major in me squeals in delight.

I next meet with the executive board of the Marketing Club to hash out this next (and our last) semester in the club.  We have approval for a tour of Hasbro’s facilities and are looking into one of Dunkin' Brands' corporate offices.  We also start talk of a logo competition for the Marketing Club.  With our substantial leftover funds we figured we could have a prize for the best Marketing Club logo which would then be printed on some sort of branded accessory, say a mug, for the entire club. I’m really excited by this, especially the prospect of having something to pass on to the next generation of Northeastern MBAs.

Afterward I head to work for a couple of hours before dropping into my Statistics professor’s office. I’m in dire need of some direction on the homework that’s due tomorrow.  He patiently spends the next 45 minutes with me going through the entire assignment and I leave feeling much better.

Museum of Fine Arts

Thursday after our discussion of the expansion goals of Ducati motorcycles in Strategy, I join a friend for some lunch and a long-overdue visit to the Museum of Fine Arts, which is free to Northeastern students. I love museums and am thrilled about my maiden trip to this institution that's just down the street from campus.  On top of that, my friend's roommate works as a furniture restorer at the MFA and gives us a behind-the-scenes tour. After such a pleasant afternoon of culture my classmate and I vow to visit the Institute of Contemporary Art next Thursday.

After getting home I begin my prep for tomorrows big interview! I do a complementary and interactive practice case interview online through The Boston Consulting Group (a great website if you get a chance to visit it), talk to the second year former co-op, bone up on some current events related to Hasbro and practice my behavioral and experience interview answers. I force myself to bed by 10:00 pm since I’ll be hearing the ringing of my alarm at 4:30 am tomorrow.

I get up super early on Friday, put on my suit, grab my folio and head out the door for a  large Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and my Zipcar. Alas, my GPS took me a roundabout way to Pawtucket, Rhode Island and the supposed 45-minute drive takes an hour and 20 minutes. Luckily, I planned for this and still manage to make it on time. I walk into the lobby to the smiling faces of my two Northeastern classmates along with three students from Babson and a girl from Harvard (talk about competition!). 

We begin with a lovely breakfast and get to know each other and our interviewers. Next, I am taken into an interview room where I meet with seven people during a four hour period. I feel pretty good about my performance but only time will tell.  After interviews we are given a tour of the impressive facilities and finish up with lunch. I am informed that there are 10 positions for 28 applicants. These odds are better than I initially imagined and I leave anxious to hear their decision next week.

When I get home I immediately begin my nine thank you cards before passing out for a two hour nap.  At 6:00 pm I rally to meet a few friends at Kings Bowling. I never even knew this place existed but it's located a short ½ mile from my house. Decorated in a modern-retro vibe Kings is super fun and offers a great drink and food menu. After our fill of strikes (or, in my case, strike-outs) we travel down the street to TC’s Lounge. Unfortunately, I don’t last long and excuse myself at 11:00 pm to the warm embrace of my bed.

Plantain-encrusted Mahi Mahi at Orinoco

Saturday is an utterly unproductive day. I sleep in, print out some Statistics notes, finish up thank you cards and wait until my 7:00 pm dinner date with a friend at Orinoco, a South American restaurant in the South End.  My order of plantain-encrusted Mahi Mahi on a bed of shredded beef and tomatoes (yes, you can have fish and beef together) is divine as is the South American white wine I order. After dinner we maneuver the icy streets to DeLux Cafe, a quaint bar in the South End, were we end the night with dessert and drinks.

Sunday is far more productive and I finish up Monday and Wednesday's Finance assignments, do some research on Career Fair employers and work on another cover letter/resume combo for a recently posted job. 

Next week is going to be a big one for my fellow classmates and I as we tackle the much-anticipated Career Fair so make sure to check in next week for all the details.

* The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Northeastern University, its staff or affiliates.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Ok, it’s just miserably cold now.

I know I’ve touted my predilection for cold and snowy weather on this blog before, but I’ve finally realized my breaking point. Today it was a comfortable -2 degrees Fahrenheit walking to school. The weather channel tells me that when you factor in wind chill we were seeing the mercury drop to -29 degrees Fahrenheit. Yikes. Call me a wimp, but that walk to school was not the most fun I’ve had.

Monday I have both of my mock interviews. After class I head to my 1:00 pm live interview. It goes well and I get some very helpful pointers from the HR representative interviewing me. Plus, I’m videotaped so that I can review my nonverbal cues later on (I’m not sure yet if this is a positive or negative).

I also learn that Espresso Royal, a local coffee shop chain, has agreed to meet with my Operations team for our project.  We have to meet with a company over several weeks and go over all the details of their operations procedures. Our appointment with the owner is set for this Wednesday at 1:15 pm.

I head home afterward for my phone mock interview at 4:00pm. While waiting I dutifully write a thank you note to my in-person interviewer.

The phone interview went well but was much more relaxed than the live version.   My interviewer was very kind, gave me his e-mail address and offered to help me with my interviewing skills should I need it in the future.

Tuesday I wake up early and meet my group to work on our Strategy case. This case centers around Apple Inc. and the sustainability of their competitive advantage.  We break up the work and agree to meet on Wednesday at 6:00pm to fine tune the report before it’s due on Thursday.

After supply chain I head to work.

By the time I’m done running errands (read waiting in line at the post office for stamps for 30 minutes) and I cook up some dinner, I don’t start homework until about 6:00 pm. Unfortunately, it is at this point that I realize the gravity of the amount of work we have.  I read two chapters of finance and complete their respective problems, read a chapter of Operations, answer several problems and proceed to our case analysis.  By the time that's done it’s 11:00 pm and I haven’t even started my portion of the Strategy assignment I promised my group by tomorrow. 

Since I’m fighting off an impending cold I call it a night but wake up very early on Wednesday to hit the library.

After Operations and Finance on Wednesday I head to work. Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel our meeting with Espresso Royal because our teacher was looking for us to use a larger company. While I’m disappointed that I won’t get to chat with a provider of my much-beloved caffeine, it’s probably for the best as I still have that Strategy analysis to write before my 6:00pm meeting with my team.  Let's not even get started on my Statistics reading.

At 6:00 pm I make my way to Huntington Avenue for a working dinner with my Strategy team at the newly-opened Panera Bread. We spend the next several hours reviewing our case write-up over soup and salads. We part ways at about 9:00 pm and I agree to do some last minute cuts (we are restricted  to a three page length) and make the reference list. Little did I know that, combined with my Statistics reading and homework, my night would not come to end until past 4:00 am. Ugh. I toss and turn for the next two hours because heavy snowfall has begun and canceled classes tomorrow morning looks probable. Since we receive e-mail or text alerts from the school by 6:00am, I am restless to see if I need to cram some more Statistics in time for class, or if I can hit the snooze button and enjoy a second snow day this year.

I awake at 6:00 am Thursday morning to an inclement weather e-mail from the school saying that classes have been delayed until 10:00am. Alas, instead of sleeping in, I rally and head the library to work on Statistics. The weather is so bad that our Strategy professor arrives to class 30 minutes late, but luckily, doesn’t keep us longer to compensate. 

After class I meet with my career adviser to discuss the results of my mock interviews and then head to Panera (yes, again) to grab a salad before going home for my scheduled phone meeting with a Hasbro representative who has graciously offered to give me some pointers for my upcoming interview.

Friday I suit up for Career Management as we have a panel of recruiting specialists coming to speak to the class.  Some represented companies include Raytheon, TJX Companies and GE Aviation.

Unfortunately, our previously canceled Statistics class was rescheduled for after Career Management. My section heads upstairs for our two-hour session while the lucky Section 34 begins their weekend.

Afterward, a friend and I enjoy a leisurely afternoon of lunch at Paramount in Beacon Hill and mani/pedis.  That night I crash early after successfully putting in several hours of work for next week’s classes.

Saturday is an errand and homework day. I am very productive and manage to complete my homework for both Monday and Tuesday AND begin on my Wednesday’s assignments.  I do believe that deserves a pat on the back.

That evening, just as I am about to fall asleep after a marathon of 30 Rock episodes, I get a call to arms from a friend wanting to show her former undergraduate classmate a night out in Boston. I meet them at the Symphony area dive bar, TC’s Lounge, for some drinks.

The next morning I wake up early for my Zipcar appointment. I’ve rented a Toyota Matrix for 4 hours so I can visit Walmart, Target and Toys R Us to do some reconnaissance work for my Hasbro interview. While I’m still nervous driving in Boston, the roads are thankfully cleared and I don’t get lost. I come away feeling very good about my new found knowledge of toy placement in aisles and Hasbro's product offerings.

The rest of my day is spent procrastinating on homework before calling it an early night.

* The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Northeastern University, it's staff or affiliates.