Monday, October 13, 2008

History is being rewritten as I write this blog. Investment banking as a career choice post MBA has almost but disappeared. It was shocking to all of us at the Johnson School to watch the financial markets collapse in a matter of days. Several of my classmates in AMBA program were seriously considering a career in investment banking and asset management. Though a career on Wall Street is not out of the question, it does mean that all of us need to have a plan A, B, C, D and E with regards to our career choices. This also has a cascading effect on recruiting for other industries. The most important suggestion for prospective AMBA students is to stay flexible. There is confidence that the dust will settle in the next 8-10 months and that things will be back to “normal”, but the key takeaway is stay open regarding your post MBA dream job.

I am taking Macroeconomics and Financial Statement Analysis this semester. My course selection has been timely to say the least as the ongoing financial crisis has a direct impact on key macroeconomic indicators such as GDP, unemployment and interest rates. This course which is taught by Professor Ori Heffetz has allowed me to appreciate the impact of this crisis on the US and global economy. Incidentally, Professor Heffetz studied at Princeton University with Paul Krugman who has just won the economics Nobel for 2008. The financial statement analysis course is designed to teach us just that i.e. to analyze financial statements. A SEC ruling that requires companies to mark their assets to market has been blamed for the current crisis. Interestingly, it was the investors’ a.k.a the market, who demanded that SEC require companies to follow this rule as it made it easier for them to value these companies. Ironically, the same rule that was designed to help investors is also being blamed for their current downfall.

I have had the opportunity to meet a few prospective AMBA students on campus over the past few weeks. It is extremely heartening to hear that they had read my blog and found it to be useful. In retrospect maybe they were being nice. In any case please feel free to reach out to me if you are planning on visiting Cornell in the coming months. I will be more than happy to meet with you. As you might have noticed, I have not been able to blog for the past 4 weeks. It has been crazy with corporate briefings, applying to companies and keeping up with my coursework. With interviews on campus starting next week, it will only get more hectic. But I will do my best to stay on schedule, i.e. write one blog per week. Hopefully, I will have good things to write about my interviews next week. So wish me luck!! Goodbye.