internship and you.

So, I have chatted with many people across divisions and within divisions to find out if my internship is really what I wanted - whether I like the people, the nature of the job, and the future of the job.

I really like the people that I work with, most of them have PhDs, but they are the humblest and funniest people I have met. They are willing to share their knowledge and experience to me, which I thought was priceless. The hierarchy is so blurred, and people do get recognized based on their meritocracy.

The department HR really tried hard to improve retention. There was a soccer event last week within department that I really enjoyed. It was good to see how people are outside their office, when they're not as serious not as tight. It was also a good way to "network" with upper management people. They are so approachable, I really like the people.

Next, is the nature of the job. The nature of the job is very quantitative and analytical. Basically, calculating risks for every position that Goldman has, then explaining why, and why not. I get a lot of exposure to the traders and their mind process behind a transaction. That's interesting, but difficult. I'm still learning that and I want to learn more about it.

Is this something that I want to do in the future?I don't know. The prospect of this job is high. Since the crisis in 2008, many people are worried about the risks that the traders are taking. And one of the reasons why Goldman was less impacted by the crisis is because we have a strong risk department. This is what people are most concerned about now, and hopefully this will continue to be the case in the future.

Time flies and here I am, 8 weeks into the internship. Do I like my internship experience so far? Will I come back? Those are the questions that I try to answer before the end of my internship and before making a decision (if i get an offer).

3rd week (out of 10) into the internship

Hello,

I'm liking NYC more and more- the restaurants, the entertainment, street activities, parades, and also my job. Working in Market Risks Analysis, I have to generate a lot of numbers which I initially didn't understand. Now, I am able to understand it so much better, what it's used for and what people can do with the numbers. The bank's ability to analyze trends from the weekly, monthly, and also quarterly reports really shows how detail oriented they are!

Last Friday, I had my informal review with my manager talking about my strengths, my weaknesses, and also about the internship experience for me so far. So far, the reviews have been good, and I'm expecting better things to come along the way. I was able to tell him the things that I might want to explore, even outside the department, and he was able to set things up so that I can manage my career better. Internal mobility within the firm is tremendously encouraged. I really like how personalized this internship has been, both from the activities and also from the friendships I made with the interns.

Also, the bank has a women's champion network to ensure that women can get leadership positions within the firm. They teach us to ask the right question, to "manipulate" our presence, and making sure that we are able to sell ourselves appropriately. I thought it was a very interesting presentation because women tends to be shy when asking questions. They encourage people to escalate problems as soon as possible and not pretend to be smart...

I've also started get to know my colleagues better, hanging out with them, and in fact, I'm going to have dim-sum with them in 1 hour time! I would definitely love to learn about them a little bit more, especially their humility despite of their great achievements!

Stacy Lim

Strasburg + Obama = Craziness.

Hey everyone!

So the last time I posted, it was my first day—I was nervous, excited, and clueless. Over the past two weeks I have worked possibly one of the most challenging homestands ever and I have been assigned numerous projects. At the first game I was assigned to work, not only was Strasburg pitching, but we also had a surprise guest appearance by President Obama.

Not only did we have to work around secret service, but the stadium was completely sold out—a packed house. During the game, I was assigned to work in the PNC Diamond Club. I had to check people in, make sure everyone had wristbands, and oversee the club to ensure everything was running smoothly. Overall, my first game experience was successful. Since I have started my internship, I have worked at 6 games. This upcoming week we have a 10 game homestand, and I am extremely excited to work at the games.

While the team is away on the road, the office has a very different atmosphere. On game days, people are coming and going; on office days, it is much more relaxed. On non-game days I usually work on projects and attend department meetings. While the team is away, there are a ton of events at the stadium that my department puts together. For example, this week the Lexus Dealers from the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area came out to the field for an organized softball game. Last night, we hosted the 49^th Annual Congressional Baseball Game. It is a 7-inning baseball game, Republicans versus Democrats, with approximately 7,000 people attending, and for charity. Prior to the game, I was responsible for letting in media and sponsors. During the event, I was assigned to manage the Pressbox. It was very calm and low-key in the Pressbox, so I was able to watch most of the game. This was such a cool event to work at.

I have a lot of new projects to work on in the next few weeks. My biggest one coming up is the Dave Matthews Band Concert that is being held at the stadium at the end of July. I look forward to updating everyone on this project! Stay Tuned Everyone, Stay Tuned

Finance for Jewelry Retail

Hi all,

Glad to be writing in again! It has been a very exciting and challenging couple of weeks. I am close to the end of the 1st project and am gearing up toward the finishing stretch. Just to remind you, I am interning in Finance at Sears and am working to squeeze in as much as possible over the next six weeks as I have a baby coming at the end of the internship, and not much say in when she decides that will be! I have been putting in an average of two hours overtime everyday as contingency against losing time in the last couple of weeks of the internship. My team, especially the business finance manager that I immediately report to, has been extremely understanding of my need to take time off for doctor’s appointments. All in all it is shaping up to be a productive summer!

Let me tell you a little bit about my project. I work with the Jewelry business unit and one of the most important things the merchants/buyers do every year is to go into negotiations with their supplying vendors to determine fair costs of products, negotiate returns of unsold or defective merchandise and negotiate support for things like marketing, volume discounts, margin support, clearance sales etc. It is critical for them to have all the numbers relating to these items for the previous two years in order to be effective in their negotiations. My task is to figure out what metrics are most relevant to them (through conversations with all of the buying team and their leadership) and develop a comprehensive scorecard that they can refer to during negotiations. Up till now, this sort of elaborately detailed information had never been available to them in one comprehensive data source, due to the existence of multiple data entry and pull systems. While the move to better IT is something the company is working on, much of the collation of data has to currently be done by individuals like myself, in order to be useful on the ground.

I made a presentation of my work to the Senior Vice President (SVP) on Thursday in the presence of the merchant and finance Divisional Vice Presidents (DVP’s) and my Business Finance Manager (BFM). The SVP and merchant DVP were extremely appreciative of the work I have done and are very excited about taking the scorecard to market in a week, where they will finally be armed with as much or more information than their negotiating counterparts on the vendor side.

The role of the finance team in a retail set-up is to support the functioning of the business unit using financial metrics, and I think this project has definitely delivered value to the business unit in a way that they would not have been able to access on their own. I am pleased with the opportunity to create value for my team and for the fact that I have made an impression of thorough groundwork and meticulous attention to detail with my senior leadership.

Looking forward to the next project!

The First Step to being a Social Venture Capitalist

Hi everyone! My name is Byung Lee from South Korea. I am a first year MBA student at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan pursuing a social venture capital career. I have diverse experiences as an industry researcher at a central bank, a high-tech engineer, and an oversea sales representative. Before I start writing, I want to let you know that I haven't secure the internship in social venture capital(SVC) YET, still on the process *sigh* : ) But I want to share some tips for future Ross international SVC pursuers.

1. What do you believe?

Do you believe that traditional philanthropy offered by public institutions and foundations is the solution for social problems? Do you believe the government has to take the role of being a main social impact driver? Then you have an inaccurate, I dare to say, belief. All theses will address the most immediate needs but these are not for long term solutions. You need to believe that in order to create long-lasting social impact, sustainable market-based approaches must be employed. And you need to believe SVC will be the key player.

2. Congratulation! You are in Ross

Do you know that Ross is one of the most prominent and respected MBA within a social sector? Thanks to Prof. C.K. Prahalad and Ted London. They are experts in the bottom of the pyramid, the concept prasied by many people. According to Bill Gates, it "offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability." The bottom of the pyramid is a new business models targeted at providing goods and services to the poorest people at the bottom of the pyramid in the world. You should read 'The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid' by C.K. Prahalad, the book inspired many social venture capitalists.

3. Social Venture Fund

Last year Social Venture Fund(SvF) was launched in Ross. It is a student led investment fund, which will 'target and invest in innovative companies that place the generation of a significant social impact at the heart of their mission and way of doing business'. SvF is great way to maximize Ross exprience, if you want to pursue SVC career. Contact a coordinator of SvF. write 'I am interested in getting into your radar and next year...'.

Next time, I'll share more about how real SVC life flows.

First Post

(BBA, Washington Nationals Baseball Club)

Hey Everyone!
My name is Callie Robins. I am a rising junior BBA student at the Ross School of Business. This summer I will be interning in Washington D.C. with the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. I will be working in the Ballpark Enterprises Department. I expect my work this summer will be challenging, yet extremely fun and rewarding. My major responsibilities include assisting with research projects, performing administrative functions within the department, and assisting with events at the ballpark.
I have a unique opportunity to use my knowledge from my first year at Ross while gaining insight into the sports industry. Over the summer, I hope to have the chance to challenge myself by working on dynamic project, but I also hope that a lot of my time will be spent with other interns working on group assignments. The only expectations I have for this summer are to have real life work experiences while having fun. I live about 30 minutes outside of Washington D.C., so I would have to say I’m pretty nervous about the commute to work everyday.
I’m excited for my first “real” job, and I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. I don’t know much about baseball, but I am sure by the end of the summer this will change. Wish me luck! I look forward to updating everyone.

-Callie

First post

Hey, I am Biswaroop and I am a 1st year MBA student at the Ross School of Business. I am an international student from India and am interning at Microsoft, with their online advertisement strategy group. I am very passionate about internet technologies and therefore was thrilled to get this offer.

I am very excited about the opportunity to work with amazingly smart people at a very innovative company and hope to utilize this opportunity to do some great work over the summer. Microsoft and Amazon interns from Ross stay in the same apartment in downtown Seattle. This summer, there will be close to 25 of us in the same apartment complex and I am looking forward to enjoying Seattle and having a good time.

Preparing for the summer

MBA at Sears Holdings Corporation in Chicago

Role / Function: Finance Senior Analyst; Corporate Finance
Working closely with a business unit, advising them on decisions based on financial information.

Hi! My name is Preeta John and I am an Indian student looking forward to sharing my summer internship experience on this blog.

I come from a background in architecture/design. Working in corporate finance is going to be a paradigm shift for me. The opportunity to work in retail is definitely exciting. I perceive tremendous potential to learn about the workings of a business unit in a large corporation. Most of my past work experience has been with small to medium firms, so Sears will give me access to a radically scaled-up and structured perspective.

As an international, this is my first experience of corporate America. I am expecting to be challenged and stretched by this internship. I also see tremendous opportunities for learning and growing, and also for going beyond the requirements to provide value above and beyond expectations. I believe my diverse background can be leveraged to provide my business unit with a fresh perspective.

The biggest challenge I face is embarking on a project in new territory while expecting a baby at the end of the internship. This internship is going to be a test of my ability to multi-task, prioritize and work with extreme efficiency. Somehow I am not nervous; just certain that I am going to do both jobs well.

I have spent a lot of time in preparation – getting logistics in order, finding an apartment, a doctor and a hospital, while also preparing myself for my professional tasks. I took a semester’s worth of work in Excel and a workshop in financial modeling. I feel confident that I have the basics and know where to look for the answers to complex problems.

Wish me well! I will keep you posted.