Whoa, I'm posting something!
Hello to anyone I know who is still rocking the boards.
A nice blog entry from a general management student at Duke who is nearing the end of his internship. Good stuff on navigating choices as an FY and some high-level description of life as a general manager in financial services.
Disclosure: Duke 2009....and you can probably guess where I work.
https://fuqua.campusgroups.com/gmc/blog/ ... ence/2490/I began my career search at Fuqua with the idea of wanting to work in finance but not wanting to do investment banking, sales/trading, asset management, etc. The General Management Club provided an excellent avenue to explore career opportunities that would enable me to hone my finance skills while working in a multi-functional corporate setting that would enable me to refine my leadership abilities.
This summer I am working at M&T Bank in Financial Performance Measurement, and am having a great experience. Let me tell you a bit about my Fuqua career search, why I chose M&T, what I'm working on in my projects, and some key takeaways for you as you embark on the MBA journey.
Fuqua career search: Starting business school, I felt like I was in a fairly fortunate position because I had a good idea of what I wanted to do professionally and an even better idea of what I didn't want to do. The GMC 101 and GMC Symposium were great events to explore different industries, interact with companies, and figure out which company cultures were a good fit for me. Despite having done this due diligence, company presentations were numerous and it was easy to lose my way despite having a fairly clear idea of wanting to work in finance in a general management capacity.
I began to ask myself the following questions: how many individuals from each company should I be networking with? How many internships should I submit an application for? Fortunately, second years were a great resource for me, and they helped me to narrow my scope. I worked at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation prior to business school and knew that I was passionate about financial services. I decided to focus my efforts in the financial services industry, and when it came time to interview, I felt most passionate about those opportunities.
Why I chose M&T: M&T seemed like a naturally good fit. The company has a variety of functional opportunties for MBAs ranging from marketing to commercial relationship management to investment banking. The variety of opportunities available and the exposure to senior executives through the Executive Associate Program was a truly positive aspect of M&T when I was applying for jobs. I was also a bit concerned about not having corporate experience prior to business school. M&T interviews candidates from a variety of backgrounds and has a heavy emphasis on learning through mentorship upon joining the company.
I took it upon myself to network fairly extensively with M&T employees, including several Fuqua alums. After having visited the NYC offices during GMC Week in Cities and conducting a mock interview with a Fuqua alum, I knew that M&T was a good fit for me professionally and personally.
My work at M&T: In my project, I am helping the bank to revise its methodology for deposit funds transfer pricing. Deposit funds transfer pricing is a fancy way of saying how much "credit" from an internal reporting perspective should a business unit receive when it brings in a dollar of deposits. The funds transfer pricing methdology has huge implications for business unit profitability and the amount of money allocated to the business units from the Bank Holding Company, so applying the best possible methodology is important. The project has been an exciting mix of finance and strategy. I've had the opportunity to interact with several business unit leaders about potential methodology changes, and I've always gotten the impression that my work is timely and relevant.
In addition to my main project, I'm also helping the Bank think about appropriate cost metric for deposit accounts. For example, what is the cost of providing deposit services to an online banking customer vis-a-vis a customer that solely relies on branch banking?
Beyond my projects, M&T has organized several events to give us exposure to senior leadership in various parts of the bank. I had the opportunity to have lunch with the CFO in a ten person intimate setting. Tomorrow, I get to witness the Senior Loan Committee that reviews and approves loans to middle market and large commercial clients. Most importantly, I've had the opportunity to network with a lot of M&T employees. Everyone I've reached out to in the organization has been willing to chat over coffee, and it's a great way to learn from their experiences and gain exposure to other areas of the bank.
Takeaways: I'm having a fantastic experience at M&T and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a general management career.
For first years, my advice is two-fold. First, focus on what brought you to business school in the first place and let that drive your recruiting strategy. It's easy to follow the masses when companies come on campus in the fall, but remember that time is your greatest resource and you'll want to focus your energy and efforts on companies, industries, and functions that matter to you.
Second, once you've narrowed your focus, network as much as you can with alums, second years, and company representatives. Pick up on what people like about their jobs, what they don't like, and ask yourself if you want to be doing what they're currently doing. Many people think of networking as a means to getting your name known in a company you're applying for, but, more importantly, it's about getting a sense of goodness of fit for yourself.
I look forward to sharing more about my experience with you when I'm back in Durham at the end of the summer!
About the Author: I am a 2013 MBA Candidate at Fuqua School of Business. Prior to business school, I worked for three years at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.