Saturday, October 29, 2011

Finance for Dummies, er, I Mean ‘Non-Financial Professionals’

WEEK 18 (October 10-16)

My week starts out on Tuesday after the long weekend and is jammed packed! You see, I’ll be out of the office on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a “Finance for Non-Financial Professionals” course being taught on site at GE.  With, essentially, one day of work this week you can imagine all that I have to do.

I start out my morning with a dry-run of a conference call. I’ve never worked the GE phone system as an ‘administrator’ so a helpful co-worker offers his time to assist me. The call will take place next Thursday with a group of recruiting representatives from other GE businesses and I’ll act as a Northeastern representative so I want to make sure everything goes smoothly.

After the practice session goes by without a glitch I send out my official meeting invitation with the call in code, a reserved room and all! I feel so professional, especially when a slew of confirmations are sent my way within the hour! Who knows, I might even set up a WebEx presentation if I’m feeling daring.

But I don’t have much time for revelry because it’s off to the makeup session for last Friday’s cancelled parts procurement meeting. I’m a bit nervous to present my deliverable (the center of the whole meeting). We get in several key people and are able to cover all of the procurement lists through the next several months. I come out of it much clearer on what I need to do to proceed after encountering a few roadblocks leading up to this point.  I promise to update the Excel file categorizing all of the necessary parts and save it to the shared drive for the program.

When I return to my desk I find that my boss has dropped off two versions of a proprietary agreement statement. He asks me to scour the document for discrepancies. We want to make sure GE is covered and properly protected and that any changes since the last run of this document do not infringe on that.

The rest of the afternoon is spent deflecting teasing remarks about my Boston Business Journal article. You see, I had brought it into work to show my boss.  Another employee asked to ‘borrow’ it and instead made several photocopies and pasted my mug all over the office! I was humiliated and had to endure relentless teasing the rest of the day. Ugh! I just hope people don’t think I was causing a disruption in the work place or that I’m conceited.

That night my Market Research group and I come to the executive decision that we will need to pursue a new company for our marketing research consulting project: TRU Chocolate. We are all excited about taste-testing the new product and interacting with a company that is very responsive to our project needs. 

Later I get an e-mail from the Northeastern Career Center letting the second-years know that we should expect first-year students to begin contacting us soon regarding our corporate residencies! I’m so excited and hope that at least ONE will call me up for an informational interview.

Wednesday is the first day of my ‘Finance for Non-Financial Professionals’ course (but really, let’s call it what it is: Finance for Dummies). I have completed (nearly) all of my pre-work and am excited to be in a classroom setting again. I walk in and am greeted by a lovely spread of breakfast baked goods, coffee, fruit and a granola yogurt parfait. I’m also handed a pristine binder for the class, a name tag and crisp version of GE’s 2010 annual report. I soon learn that our professor for the course is from the Wharton school of business- wow! Nice job GE!

While the day is long, we cover a ton of useful information and the professor is great at applying all of the concepts to ‘real world’ GE business issues. It was a really great refresher of both Accounting and Finance from my first year and I was pleased to realize how much I remember! I even contribute in the class on topics regarding stock repurchase, dividends and more (I did my Finance case write-up on that topic, after all).

By Thursday we are really getting into the nitty-gritty of GE's financial statements. It was always a wonder to me how much information is out in the public sphere if only you know how to read it! All of GE's various business as diverse as GE Capital, GE Energy, GE Home and Business Solutions, etc. make for amazing material for discussion and analysis. During lunch that day, I check my work e-mail to find that my cube-mate and I have been directed to move cubes. While I'm a bit bummed initially I cheer up when I find out that we will be taking over the home of a former co-op we befriended during the summer months.

By the end of class on Friday I am filled to the brim with financial knowledge (and am consequently, a bit tuckered out). While all of the topics covered in the class ended up being review for me, I felt that having these three days to dedicate solely to finance really helped to solidify the subject.

When I return home that night I see that I have received not one, but TWO interview requests from first-years! Yay!  I immediately set about writing both students back. I will meet with one tomorrow and the other later in the week.

On my same e-mail list I receive a notification from Northeastern that the time has come to register for graduation! EEEK! Yikes! How can that have come so soon?

Saturday morning I’m up early go to pick up my iPhone 4s but, alas, just 24 hours after its release it is already sold out! Ugh! I will have to wait 3-4 weeks for it to come in the mail. Since I’m still rockin’ a 3G (yes, that’s 3G, not 3GS) I hope I can make it that long…

Roxy's Gourmet Grilles Cheese
After my phone debacle I'm a bit dejected but luckily I spot The Boston Book Festival occurring in Copley Square. Besides books, which I love, there are also food trucks (which, as we all know, I also love!). I peruse some prints, indulge in Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese (hello mighty rib melt!) and even an apple crumble cupcake from the Cupcakory truck. Fabulous!

Luckily all of the food was of the fast variety because I have to jet back to campus to meet with the first of my first-year interviewers. He seems very excited about hearing about GE Aviation and my co-op and I try to give him the best run-down I can. 

Sunday is my catch up day. But, besides all of that boring stuff like homework and errands (blah) I put in my deposit for my winter camel trek in Morocco! The two-day trek is part of my three-week winter travel schedule that will see me in Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Eeek! I can't wait to spend New Year's Eve in the Erg Chebbi Desert! Now I just have to be patient...

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

Sunday, October 23, 2011

My Boston Business Journal Article Plus a Weekend Visit from Nick

WEEK 17 (October 3-9)

Monday morning sees my boss back from his overseas business trip in support of that large international proposal we sent out in September. He brings back some good news; saying he feels confident in our chances of winning the bid but also warns us that the proposal process is not over yet.  You see, our team still has to be prepared for what may be several questions from the client, all of which must be answered within 72 hours!

To help aid in this process, my boss puts me in charge of managing a ‘question matrix’ to log new questions when they arrive, keep track of when they are due and record our answers.

On Monday afternoon we have our monthly ‘Team Time’ meeting which allows our department to get together and communicate on the status of projects, new initiatives and more. This month’s session was particularly fun because we were given a lovely overview of the F414 engine (the engine line I work on) and our first ‘Fun Team’ event was announced. Our department will be hosting a happy hour at Tavern in the Square on October 19th as part of the new ‘fun’ initiative.

Boston Business Journal Photo
That evening it’s off to my first ever photo shoot! The occasion is my upcoming Boston Business Journal article.  Fortunately the rain holds out and the photographer was able to snap a few good shots outside of Dodge Hall. He says to look for the issue on stands this Friday! 

When I get home I try to be diligent about my networking and so make my first attempt at a LinkedIn introduction request. Luckily, it works! An employee working in the marketing department at one of my dream companies accepts my request.  Now I just have to initiate an informational phone interview.

Tuesday finds me in some more fun meetings. Today I attend a Northeastern/GE lunch event. We have a speaker come in and discuss his role in advanced technologies (a.k.a. all that cool, secret, high-tech engine stuff) while we all happily munching on Qdoba tacos. 

After lunch I sign off on the posters I am creating as part of the PM council’s list of initiatives. Now I’ll just wait for the full-size print out before I sent them to get framed.

I also set about completing my mid-term appraisal. GE requires all of its co-ops to complete an appraisal process workflow which begins when you start your rotation. It involves setting goals, discussing them with your boss and going through periodic reviews to make sure you’re on track.

I also run about tying up some loose ends which include desperately trying to find a solution to the Six Sigma green belt course cancellation. I feel like I’m becoming a stalker of all of the Master Black Belts on the Lynn site and anyone remotely related to Six Sigma.

The afternoon is also punctuated by a meeting with some additional PM Council members to introduce them to my cubicle-mate and I. We will be working with them closely in the future so we thought it would be a good idea to meet first. 

After my long day I jet to campus to meet with my Market Research team to work on our consulting project ‘problem definition’ for the NFPA which is due Thursday. 

On Wednesday I head over to Building 29, where GE tests engines, to physically look for parts I need as part of my engine test procurement project. It was nice to see the engine, test equipment and parts that make up my list of 4,000+ pieces first-hand. 

That afternoon I also send out an e-mail to the individuals from GE Capital and GE Aviation recruiting that I met during ‘GE Day’ at Northeastern with the hopes of getting a dialogue going on potential co-op, full-time and leadership development opportunities for the Northeastern MBA  program. I also spoke to the director of the Career Center at school and she’s all in so I hope something positive can come from this!

Braised duck at Hamersley's Bistro
In celebration of my classmate’s birthday I head to Hamersley’s Bistro that night for an amazing dinner of braised duck, mint and pea risotto and vino. Loved it! 

On Thursday I hand in a draft of a large, standardize action item list based on the steps taken during our most recent proposal process. My aim is to get a generic ‘checklist’ type form that project managers can use for future proposals to help streamline the process. My boss seems pleased with the initial effort and gives me some great pointers to help improve it.

I also get the posters back from the printer today! They look great and I’m super excited to get them framed and up on the walls of our conference rooms.

Before class that night I meet with a first-year MBA student, a former employee of Dunkin’ Brands, to chat about her experience working for one of my dream companies.  I ask for potential contacts she may have in HR, Marketing or elsewhere with whom I might start networking with. Ironically, this meeting takes place at a Starbucks – whoops! Don’t tell Dunkin’ Brands that!

That night in class my group begins to realize that we are not getting the participation we need from NFPA for our research project and will have to request an extension from our professor to complete our proposal. What’s worse, we may even require a company change! Yikes! It’s a tough decision to make but if the NFPA won’t even give us their contact list there’s not much we can do for them in terms of a market research project. Luckily, our professor is very understanding and tells us this isn’t the first time such a setback has happened.

We all agree to give it a few more days before we start contacting our backup company: TRU Chocolate.

Friday is an exciting day! My article for the Boston Business Journal comes out! Eeek! I try frantically to look it up online, but, alas, the newspaper is a paid subscription (even digitally!) and I can only access a small excerpt from the entire article. I immediately set about calling their offices and sending e-mails to the woman who interviewed me to see if I can snag a free hard copy or temporary subscription. 

I also am in high spirits because Nick is coming to Boston for the long weekend! Since he’s still in Montreal on business and has a rental car at his disposal, it is so much easier to visit than if he were back home on the West Coast. I rush home and start cleaning in anticipation of his arrival.

Since I just saw Nick last weekend it was a much less rushed visit. We indulge in the more ‘vanilla’ things in life like a visit to the Laundromat, an afternoon viewing of Moneyball and some other errand running.

Getting excited for BBQ from Spoon Truck
On Saturday we stop by Spoon Truck (owned by my classmate’s husband) for lunch. The newbie food truck serves up home-style barbeque. I order one of their bowls, piled high with pulled pork, burnt ends baked beans, vinegar slaw and bacon scallion hush puppies. Yum! We also splurge on some fried pickles and orange soda and park ourselves on a planter to devour our feast.

Sunday starts off with the best Huevos Rancheros in the city at The Otherside CafĂ©, followed by checking out digital cameras, picking out a tie for Nick, a visit the Lindt store, trying to locate my Boston Business Journal article (apparently the Boston Business Journal is not sold anywhere!) and afternoon coffee with my friend at Pavement Coffeehouse. We even do work together at Snell Library! It’s a glimpse into what my life could look like if we lived in the same city.
Pumpkin Ale at Boston Beer Works
That night it’s off to Boston Beer Works for their Octoberfest menu. I, of course, order the most sugary of beers: the Pumpkin Works Ale with a cinnamon sugar rim and to cleanse my palette before my dinner of Wienerschnitzel. 

I have Monday off for Columbus Day so after I see Nick off (he has a long drive back to Montreal) it’s back to work for me. I tidy up, grocery shop, do homework and prep for the week ahead.

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

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Tweet Me!


Week 16 (September 26 – October 2)

Monday morning couldn’t have started in a better way! I log into my Outlook account at work to discover that I have been awarded a bronze medal for ‘Above and Beyond’ achievement for my efforts on a recent international proposal. I am certain that this cannot be correct, especially since it comes with a generous monetary award. However, after much checking and re-checking it turns out that I am indeed the correct recipient of that e-mail.  What’s more, later that day, I’m recognized during a quarterly awards ceremony. Not bad at all!

But the week is not all celebrations and awards, I do have some work to do! I start out by submitting some Excel charts I put together that track the 10-year, 5-year and year-to-date currency averages of the Australian dollar as it compares to the U.S. Dollar to a Senior Financial Analyst in my department. I, admittedly, stumbled a bit with the assignment but am happy to have learned and discovered some new GE internal sites like the Treasury page in the process.

I also submit a matrix I put together to track the results of a recent PM Council brainstorming session. I track all of the comments that were made, the level of importance assigned to each comment during the session and distribute my records to the head of the PM Council. I hope that my efforts will help the Council along their route to implementing all of their initiatives.

I also meet with a couple of individuals who work with International Trade Compliance (ITC) issues to sort out a notification I got regarding a suspended DSP-5 License for Australia and Malaysia. While the license doesn’t expire until February 2012, it is essential that we start the renewal process early since getting licenses passed through the government can take upwards of two months.

Tuesday I volunteer as a representative at ‘GE Day’ at Northeastern University. The goal of the event is to bring several GE businesses together to promote their co-op opportunities and leadership development programs. It was an amazing networking opportunity for me and I was able to make some solid connections with other businesses in GE. In fact, through my chats with representatives from GE Capital and GE Aviation, I realized that there was an untapped potential to further align GE's need for corporate residents and full-time employees with the Full-Time MBA program at my school. After some positive response from the GE representatives across several businesses, I promise to send out an e-mail and get an open communication stream going on the topic.

Back at work on Wednesday, I send in my draft of the poster I designed for the PM Council. I should be getting a full-scale mock-up back soon. How exciting!

This is just in time for my meeting with the PM Council, where the sub-team leader I am working with does a dry-run presentation of what he plans to present to the General Manager tomorrow. Now that the posters are done, I have to move on to the next items on the PM Council's ‘Go-Do’ action item list which will involve further exposure to new employees at GE (which I love!).

I am also nearly done with the PBL contract matrix I have been working on for the finance department. After adding a few new contracts, a tab for government support and continuously getting in new documents I am happy to say that I am almost there! The Financial Analyst I have been working with for this project also requested that I create a manual for future co-ops on how to use this reference guide and edit it accordingly. It will eventually be going on our internal ‘Support Central’ site for all of my department to use. How neat!

That evening I get an e-mail from Northeastern University formally announcing the Class of 2013 bloggers! Three girls will be taking over my role as a first-year correspondent. Make sure to check them out at: http://www.cba.neu.edu/grad/fulltime-mba/students/blogs/

In my inbox is also a lovely update from my Executive Mentor. He checks in and asks how I have been doing during the past month. I give him the run-down of some of the great news I’ve had recently and we agree to plan our next meeting for later in October.

I also am proud to say I have booked my first Groupon! I will be enjoying a dinner cruise on The Spirit of Boston later this month in celebration of my friend's birthday. Dinner, drinks and views of the Boston skyline at 50% off? Yes please!

Thursday I get to sit in on a great PM council meeting run by the Lynn Turbofan and Turbojet General Manager and all of the PM Council leaders. The session provides a great overview of the company and some key areas for improvement. It really helps to put in perspective the work I’ve been doing with the PM Council and how, even the small initiatives I’m helping with, can have a major impact on the performance of the division.

Thursday night in my Market Research class our initial problem statement and company background is due as part of our semester-long consulting project. My team and I will be conducting our market research project for a teammate's co-op employer: The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). We will be helping them determine how to better utilize their social media outlets to meet their customers needs.

Feeling particularly excited about social media I decide it is time to set up a *gasp* Twitter account. Now, keep in mind that prior to this I have never even been on Twitter, let alone “tweeted” but I figure I really enjoy blogging, so the next logical step seemed to be to sign over my life to the little blue bird. Follow my handle at @KatrinaGraves for more up-to-the-minute enlightenment about my life as a Northeastern MBA. If you want to comment about something you saw in the blog, please use the hashtag #LivingtheNortheasternMBA.You can even link directly to it from the snazzy Twitter button I've added on the upper-right hand corner of this page. Look at me being all techno.

With the permission of my boss, I throw in the towel early Friday afternoon and head for a weekend in Montreal with my boyfriend! He is there on an extended business trip and I would be remiss not to take advantage of the fact that he’s only a 5 ½ hour drive away! That morning I’m up at 4:45am to pick up my rental car at the airport and still make it into work before 8:00am.

Unfortunately, the high of my approaching trip across the border is dampened a bit by an e-mail stating that all Green Belt Six Sigma classes at GE have been cancelled through the rest of the year! Ugh! I was SO looking forward to it! Well, I’m certainly not going to let it go that easily. I make a note to start sending out e-mails and searching for alternative ways to complete the course and receive my certification.  Cross your fingers that a solution will present itself.

Kind of excited for my poutine
My weekend in Montreal with Nick is fabulous. The drive up north, while long, was beautiful and I could see the leaves starting to turn. When I meet him at the super-chic Le Centre Sheraton Hotel in downtown Montreal we immediately set about getting dinner. I am pleased to report that I indulged in an amazing Poutine from Burger Bar. It was quite possibly heaven- deep fried and drenched in gravy. Yum!

Notre-Dame Basilica
The next day it’s sight-seeing time! We start off our morning with a hearty breakfast at Eggspectation, where I order up an eggs Benedict on crepes (it is French Canada, after all). The rest of the day is spent strolling through the cobblestone streets of  Vieux-Montreal (the Old Town) and taking in all the cute shops, sights and, of course, food. I adore the Chinatown area and the Notre-Dame Basilica (the Canadian version, that is).

That night it’s off to Les 3 Brasseurs for a steaming pot of Provencal mussels, frites and beer spiked with maple liqeur. Love it! And what would a trip to a french-inspired city be without some dessert crepes. Of course, I order up the most grotesquely huge version they have piled high with strawberries, cheesecake filling and ice cream.

Biosphere
While rain did hamper our Sunday morning a bit, we still managed a jaunt to Ile Sainte-Helene to visit the Biosphere, a Calder sculpture (Modern Art History fan squeals in delight) and a gorgeous cityscape.

I don’t make it home to Boston until late that night but it was well worth it for such a fun taste of a new, international city with my lovely boyfriend.

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

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Goodbye Graduate Marketing Club!


Week 15 (September 19-25)

This week at work I continue to plug along on my project of researching the procurement of parts for F414 engine testing. I try my best to stay on top of individuals who promised me data but soon realize there are only so many times one can call or send e-mails before seeming stalker-like. I also make a vow to improve my communication with individuals in the group after learning that a task I had been working on had already been completed by another team-mate. I felt so silly for having done the same work twice! But I take all of this as a valuable learning lesson in project management and teamwork.

On Tuesday I sneak away with my work team for a celebratory lunch at Red Rock Bistro in the nearby town of Swampscott. What are we celebrating, you ask? Well the submission of that large international proposal! You see, with everyone being so busy it has taken a couple of tries to get the whole group together. It was wonderful to enjoy a nice meal of lobster rolls and chowder while taking in views of the Atlantic Ocean and chatting about things besides work.

When I get back to the office I begin work on completing a compliance plan for Canada, only this time it’s for a Technical Assistance Agreement (TAA) rather than a marketing license. I enjoy learning even more about the compliance plan process involved in obtaining this more complex license.

Later that day I also put my former newspaper page design skills to work by drafting up a mock poster as part of the PM Council's initiative to keep the office informed on critical financial and product introduction processes. While I only have Microsoft Publisher at my disposal, I still manage to have a great time researching the rules surrounding the use of the GE monogram, color schemes, fonts and more on the Brand Central website.

In my down-time I finish up my report-out presentation for the Northeastern University Career Center Director’s visit this Friday. I’m excited because this time my boss will be able to attend as will a classmate who missed out on our last report-out.

Tuesday after work I jet to campus for a Marketing Club meeting with the first-year MBA class. This is the meeting where we will officially hand over responsibility for the club to the new students. It’s a little bittersweet as the former President, Secretary and I all reminisce on what we accomplished with the club during the past year. We elect a new President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer and make sure they feel comfortable with their new roles. I wish them all the best of luck!

Later that week I hand over a draft of the many country descriptions I compiled for my boss. They included information as far-ranging as each nation's political parties, history and the size of their air force. He seemed to like them and even requested that I add two additional countries to the list. I set about prettying-up (yes, I made up that word) a binder to house them all in.

During the week I also try out a potential new transit option to work: the bus. You see, I was reluctant to ride the bus after having had some trouble with it not showing up at designated stops, but after doing some research and talking to fellow employees who use it, I have decided that starting October I will switch my pass from the Commuter Rail to the bus for a savings of $70 a month. Today's dry run is just to make sure I can handle the trip before committing. Luckily, I survive with the guidance of a fellow Northeastern student.

On Thursday I work on a matrix/reference chart outlining the fine line between licensed production categories for my boss' upcoming trip overseas. He will use the guide during proposal discussions with our international client.

I also take on the rather frightening task of helping a Senior Financial Analyst in my department compile descriptive statistics that compare currency conversion rates over several years. I can't help but have a major flashback to my Statistics course last semester. While I do spend a good while attempting to complete the task on my own I, admittedly, get some help from an undergraduate Northeastern Finance co-op in a nearby cubicle. In doing so, I learned some great new functions in Excel from someone far more skilled in the matter than I!

That night in my Market Research class I get my first taste of working with SPSS, a statistical analysis software used in marketing research. We all bring our laptops to class and practice on a set of real data from a local company. It reminds me so much of Minitab and all of my work with that software package last semester for my interdisciplinary project. I look forward to mastering SPSS and adding it to my toolkit of skills.

During my lunch break on Friday I borrow my cube-mates car for my interview with a reporter from The Boston Business Journal. With my hectic schedule there was really no other time that I could chat with the newspaper. I spend about a half-hour answering questions about my background, goals, etc. The reporter tells me to expect the issue to be on newsstands in about two weeks. I’m so excited but a bit nervous about how she will portray me in the profile.

Photo courtesy of Mary Alice Hewitt
Saturday I wake up early to participate in the Walk for Children’s Hospital in Rhode Island. A friend who is co-oping there picks me up at 8:00am. The event is super fun and includes tons of free swag, complimentary Dunkin’ Donuts and entertainment. Plus, I managed to exceed my fundraising goal, with a final collection tally of $285! 

After our grueling 3-mile walk (note my sarcasm), it is, of course, time to refuel with a trip to Friendly’s. I’ve never been to the East Coast creamery and am told I am in for a treat. I'm glad I scooped up a serving of their pumpkin pie ice cream that weekend because not even a month later I come to find out that the company has filed for bankruptcy!

You know, being domestic - Photo courtesy of Mary Alice Hewitt
That night I assist my friend in cooking up a dinner of pork chops topped with apples from last weekend’s jaunt to New Hampshire and for dessert: homemade apple crisp using more of our fall harvest!This is enjoyed while watching Bridesmaids and imbibing in some vino. Fabulous!

Sunday I reach out to a first-year MBA student I met during the Marketing Club hand-off meeting after learning that she used to work at Dunkin’ Brands. As we all know, I have slightly more than an unhealthy obsession with the brand so I saw this as an excellent networking opportunity. I hope to hear back from her so I can rack her brain on her experience there and any suggestions or further connections she may have for me. See kids, networking isn’t just to be explored with employers and those outside of our program; it can be done with your very own classmates too!

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