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Company Presentations At Kellogg

Early on at Kellogg, everyone quickly learns that success in the recruiting process requires more than getting good grades and doing well in interviews; it requires building networks of relationships and finding a good fit with your skill set.  One example of doing that is through coffee chats and lunch and learns, which companies tend to have pretty regularly.  Another example is going to the company presentations, which companies put on the entire fall quarter.

So far, students have been pretty good at attending many of these events. After all getting a good job upon graduation is the primary reason people decide to attend business school. But going to all these events, while also studying for class and taking part in Kellogg activities is also tough. And sometimes, it’s even harder for the students who may not have a sense of what industry they want to work in after graduation.

On one hand, the rewards from taking part in the activities can be many-fold: learning about various industries that you may not know much about, having access to top leaders in different industries many of which are Kellogg alum, and taking in part in fun and interesting events alongside Kellogg classmates who are exploring just like you are.

One the other hand, the more of these events you go to the harder it can be to squeeze everything into a day. Similarly, for some people, the more events they go to the harder it is to ultimately make a decision because they become exposed to too many opportunities.

But perhaps more important than those things (both of which can be spun as positive, i.e. busy days and lots of exposure to business) is that at some point, time becomes more limited as the quarter goes on, and at some point, people will have already begun prepping for the recruiting process in certain industries. So for some people, there is competitive pressure to move quickly, so you can be best prepared to do case prep, network with the right people, and target the job that you want.

That said, many of the first year students are still doing some floating between industries. Some are going to both consulting and marketing. Some are doing consulting and investment banking. Some are doing marketing and strategy. And another group of students is still floating between a wide array of other industries. But you can definitely see some shifts taking place, and we’re starting to see some regulars at many of the presentation. Personally, I’ve got a pretty good sense of the things I’m interested in, but I’m still keeping a broader net, not only because of my short-term recruiting interests but also because of my long term interests.

I’ve recently attended events put on by Education Pioneers and The Broad Residency, two organizations that I’m very interested in.  I’ve also gone to events by BCG, Bain and Mckinsey,  and attended an event put on American Express (SPG).  In addition to that, my Media Management class has also been interesting.  In the last two weeks we’ve met with the Statesman (Texas Newspaper) and the Tribune, and today, we have a guest speaker meeting with us from Google.

At Kellogg, we’re all very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with all these interesting companies. Stay tuned to hear about some of these sessions in more detail.

Kellogg’s Minority Networking Reception

Shortly after my classed ended yesterday, I attended a Kellogg Networking Reception hosted by Kellogg BMA, HBSA, and ABC student clubs  Like most networking events I’ve attended, this one was a lot more fun and productive than I originally expected.  While some of my friends and classmates were focused on speaking to the firms that they wanted to work at, my goal was to leverage people I’d met in the past and my knowledge of different industries and companies to speak with as many employers as possible at the event.

More than simply chatting with employers about my future prospects at their firm, my goal was to talk to as many employers as possible. I drew on my work experiences with life sciences companies to engage in conversations with health care companies. I leveraged my start-up and technology experiences to chat with one or two of the technology companies there. And I also chatted with a few consultants from the various consulting firms and recruiters from the banking industry.

But more than just meeting people for the first time, the night was also the result of many proactive engagements based on previous interactions I’ve had with recruiters. Among others, I spoke with the Bain recruiter, whom I met eighteen months ago at a Bain event in NYC (click here for my post on the Bain event). I also spoke with an old friend, who graduated from Kellogg and works at a healthcare company on the east coast. It turns out, she was the first person I met on campus during my campus visit in early 2008. (click here for my reference to meeting her).  And finally, I also spoke with the recruiter I met from Google, whom I met when I was out in Los Angeles just a couple of weeks ago (click here for my post on NBMBAA in Los Angeles).

In the end, my experiences reinforced the idea that the world can sometimes be very small and that networking with people in a wide variety of industries is fun and useful, especially when many of them were Kellogg alum. I was glad for the opportunity to meet new employers and speak with ones I’d met before. I look forward to more events like this throughout the fall.

Tags: Bain, Banking, BCG, Consulting, Google, Mckinsey, Recruiting

MLT MBA Prep Deadline is October 31st

If you Google any prominent leader in business today, you’re guaranteed to find a story that talks about his or her large network. While this may not have always been the case, in today‟s Internet-driven global economy, leaders must figure out how to connect with millions of people around the globe to be successful. One common way people build strong networks is by going to a top business school (like Kellogg) and forming connections with hundreds of people that will be successful. Another way people do that is by working at firms where networks where networks are prioritized, such as Bain or Mckinsey.  Well, a third way to do that is by joining one of the world’s up and coming business school organizations, Management Leadership for Tomorrow.

Hi Everyone: The purpose of this post is to let everyone know that the deadline for MLT’s MBA Preparation Program is approaching. The program’s mission is “to prepare minority young professionals for successful application to leading MBA programs” and I mentioned above, the program’s network is one of the strongest in the business world period.

But more than just a network, the program also provides you with valuable coaching around career options, a better understanding of the business school application and recruiting process, a better understanding of the importance of soft skills and finding the right fit for your career, and last but not least, an orientation toward service and giving back to the community.

If you’re interested in joining an up-and-coming organization with arguably the premier MBA network in the world, then be sure to apply by the October 31 deadline.  And keep in mind that MLT has a rigorous screening process. The program seeks to admit people that have a track record of success in the past, that demonstrate initiative and that show potential for the future. So be sure to submit a strong application.

I went through MLT in 2009 and I thoroughly enjoyed the process, along with the vast majority of those in my class.  I also attended one of the sessions last year, as a guest panel speaker. Click here to read more about that event.

And to learn more about MLT in general, see a few of the links I’ve shared with you below.

1. MLT Homepage: Click Here
2. MLT On CNN’s Black In America: Click Here
3. MLT Leadership Team: Click Here
4. CNN Article on MLT in 2007: Click Here
5. CNN Article on MLT in 2009: Click Here

Are you convinced about MLT yet?

If so, click here to begin your application.  Good luck!

McKinsey Comes To Kellogg

Just yesterday, first and second year MBAs gathered after classes to attend a networking event hosted by McKinsey & Company.  A variety of firms have hosted similar events since school began a few weeks ago.  These mixers have not only been a great way to learn about the companies themselves but also a way to meet some of the professionals and recruiters who work there, many of which are Kellogg alum.

Conventional wisdom says that when it comes to management consulting, McKinsey is the gold standard. Well, whether that’s true or not, the turnout at the reception certainly supported the idea. Last night over 200 of my classmates came together at the Orrington Hotel to meet McKinsey consultants. About half of them were second years who are gearing up for interviews with the firm over the next week or so. And the other half are first years, who are gearing up for the next few months of networking and receptions, before recruiting officially takes place in January.

Overall, the reception served two purposes. First, it allowed people to start to learn more about McKinsey. They firm did that by kicking off the event with a presentation and also by leaving time at the end for Q&A with consultants and former consultants.  Second, the event was also a way get to know more people who work at the firm. From the Midwest office to the Northeast office and from those who worked on strategy cases to those on the Business Technology team, McKinsey was well represented. Kellogg’s local recruiter was at the event, as were thirty to forty other consultants and former consultants, some of which are current students at Kellogg now.

Most of the night served the second purpose. The McKinsey team spread themselves out around the room, separating themselves at various networking tables based on office.  As you might suspect, the consultants I met at every table, were not only accomplished but also happy to be at the firm and excited about how they thought McKinsey was impacting their careers.

I met one consultant with a background in IT consulting who now works in McKinsey’s Business Technology team. I also met a partner from the Cleveland location, another consultant from the Chicago location, another from the west coast office, and another one who came in all the way from the Shanghai location. In addition, I also spoke with a few Kellogg students, some of who worked at the firm prior to Kellogg, another who just graduated in 2010, and another Kellogg student in the class of 2011 who spent last summer at the firm last year (click here to read his blog).

As a 1st year JD-MBA at the law school last year, I spent most of my time at these mixers just to meet a few new people without any real intention of recruiting, given the timing was still early. But this year is a bit different, as I’m recruiting for jobs here in business school. Fortunately, McKinsey is a big supporter of hiring from law schools and especially from the JD-MBA program. One example of that is John Livingston, a JD-MBA alum in 1993, and the Managing Partner of McKinsey’s Chicago location. John did not attend this specific event.

The whole process of getting a consulting job looks like it’s going to be long, just like applying to business school. But the process should also be fun and should be a fun way to meet a lot of interesting people over the next few months. It will be interesting to see how the next McKinsey event, and the upcoming consulting events shape up. It will also be interesting to see how the crowd at the event changes over time.

2010 National Black MBA Conference Recap

Thousands of future business leaders joined over 300 top organizations at the 2010 National Black MBA Conference, held this past weekend in Los Angeles, California. Those invited to the conference were a highly talented group of “diverse” professionals, most who were currently in business school, and others who were prospectives or recent alumni. Similarly, a majority of attendees were looking to make a difference not only in the business world but also in their communities.

I wrote a similar post on the event last year (click here for post) from New Orleans, but this year the conference was in Los Angeles, California. John Rice, founder of Management Leadership for Tomorrow was in attendance, as was Magic Johnson (a conference Co-Chair), Daniel Pink (author), and a long list of other prominent speakers (click here to see the list). Similarly, my good friend, and former Congressional candidate, Emanuel Pleitez was there, on behalf of his new company McKinsey & Company.

I spoke with John on two occasions, during events held on Thursday morning. In one event, MLT hosted a breakfast with a number of companies, some of which were conference attendees and others who came specifically for the breakfast. John Rice kicked off the event with a few words. Next up was one of Amgen’s Business Executives. And MLT’s president Ian Hardman concluded the session, before sending us off to our networking session.

After their respective remarks, about 200 MLT participants took part in a newtorking session with a few dozen employers. At the onset, I spoke with companies like Google and Mckinsey. I also had conversations with Booz & Company, The Parthenon Group, LexisNexis and Amgen, among others.

After the breakfast event with MLT, we joined the main part of the conference, which was the networking career fair with hundreds of companies on the main floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center. (Click here to see the list of companies in attendance). And this was a great way to have conversations with any company you might have been interested in.

In some of these conversations, participants experienced the typical questions you’d have with recruiters – what roles are you interested in? and why? — and in others, they were challenged to engage in more meaningful conversations. That’s because sometimes recruiters skip the easy questions and move more quickly into the  harder ones, and so you have to be ready not only to have more meaningful discussions but also know more about the companies, tell a good story, prove fit with the company, and pull all of that together succinctly to give your pitch. And that message was true for all the organizations, public and private, and for-profit and non-profit.

In fact, there was an astonishing similarity in all my discussions with companies, regardless of industry, sector, and pay opportunity. The companies wanted candidates who were intelligent and capable, and someone who also was well prepared for these career discussions. And that’s especially true for not for profit companies in attendance like Education Pioneers, Broad Foundation, and Technoserve, where many people think that because these companies have the goal to relieve poverty and solve the education crisis, that the interviews or the jobs are easier. But these are big issues, and companies want people who are not only smart but also want to really do the work.

On both Thursday and Friday, after long days of talking to employers and watching people run around looking for jobs, the career ended at 5pm, at which point a lot of people went to company receptions. On Thursday, I went to Google’s private reception. The session was both fun and informative, and it turned out, I had pretty interesting connections with two of the three recruiters in attendance. After that, I went to Kellogg’s alumni reception, and after that headed out for a fun night on the town on LA. Friday night was more of the same, except I stopped by Wharton’s reception and Ross’s Reception before heading out for the night.

Students at Kellogg took flights back to Chicago Saturday morning – I was on a flight with four Kellogg people – to arrive home just in time to head to our annual CIM Ball formal reception in the city that evening.

Altogether, it’s been a long week and weekend, but the conference was well worth the time, whether you walked away with new job prospects or not. That’s because today in America, diversity is still a critical issue, and today, we are in a “race” to bring diversity to our professional communities (click here for a past post on that race). And even though we all know that diversity is central to the market place,  at the top 20 MBA programs, there are still well under 10% blacks and Hispanics, and in the world of Fortune 500 companies and blue chip law firms, the percentage of CEO’s and Senior Partners is only about half that.

One step to helping a next generation of diverse leaders is to get together more often at venues like this. These venues help you re-engage with the idea that when we bring ourselves together around a common purpose, that we can effect change more broadly.  Both because we have more hands to help and also because you can connect with with more people, and inspire them on a larger scale.

So in the end, not only will these conferences help attendees advance their own careers, but it will also advance the missions of their organizations and of the entire world in our “race” to bring diversity to international business community. Only time will tell how long that will take, but if you’re thinking about going to the NBMBAA conference in the future, you should consider attending. I am personally enlisting your help.

Do you have any other comments about the conference? What about on the value of having diversity in business?

How Is The Economy These Days?

Two years from now, many of us graduating from business school will look back on the last few years and compare those economic times to those times at graduation. I applied to business school in 2009, which at the time was the hardest year for ever for MBA applicants. It was also the year where round one applications hit a record high at a number of top schools and the associated yield rates expanded class sizes to unprecedented levels (click here for my post on the 2009 economy). At the same time, recruiting in the legal world last year also took a plunge, and students were scrambling all year to find the summer associate positions that used to be guaranteed upon graduation from a top school. The question is, how is the economy doing these days?

Well that’s one question that’s on everyone’s mind, because this past weekend was labor day, and so many people were talking about jobs and recruiting all across the country.  A lot of people are still referencing the recession that officially ended in 2009 and left millions of Americans without jobs, many of which haven’t found their way back into full-time jobs today. The period is still considered one of the worst economic periods in recent history, if not the worst.

For factual reference, the Department of Labor statistics say that more than 6 million people have been out of work for the past half a year, which is about double the count of 3 million a year ago. What does this mean? Maybe it suggests that things have not gotten much better, and in fact actually gotten worse?  Or maybe it suggests that the time it takes for the economy to recover will take a lot longer than we all think? Maybe it even suggests there were a lot of issues already swept under the carpet that were uncovered when everything came to a halt. Personally, I suspect all three probably play at least a small role (click here to hear what Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, said on Labor Day)

But the good news is at top MBA programs, like Kellogg, things seem to be on the rise. Incoming MBA students are pretty optimistic about their chances this year, not only here in Evanston but also across the U.S. at other top schools, which is the word I get from my friends. At law school things are finally starting to improve. This year is shaping up to be better than last year, and my classmates at Northwestern Law are still interviewing with firms in all geographies — Chicago, NYC, LA, DC, and the Bay, to name just a few — and others have already received offers from the very top firms.

On the other hand, it still seems like the recession was only here yesterday, so I think a lot of people aren’t quite “sold” on the idea that we’ve “recovered”. That’s especially true in law school, where the students are more risk averse, and where it was only last year that students felt the aftershock of the worst legal recruiting season ever.

It will certainly be interesting to see how everything plays out both at business school and at law school over the next few months. But one thing to keep in mind to all those applying to graduate school, to those currently in graduate school, and those already in the workforce post-graduate school, is that JD and MBA programs only represent a small subset of the population. The majority of the world isn’t afforded the opportunity to obtain a JD or a MBA degree, let alone both degrees and from a top school.  And so instead of thinking just about just MBAs and JDs, we should also consider the economic implications of the economy more broadly.

In the end, it’s in all of our interest to reduce unemployment and obtain a more stable workforce. Because having a stronger and more stable economy depends on it.

Final Exams … Again?

After nine months of intense studying as a 1L, I thought I’d be finished worrying about final exams for a while. But boy was I wrong.  As it turns out, the JD-MBAs at Northwestern take classes over the summer, both at the law school and business school. Most of the group takes classes full-time, so they are able to spread the workload throughout the summer. And a smaller portion of the group, including me, work and take classes, so spend more time studying and catching up at the end. But no matter which route you choose, in mid August, all JD-MBAs have a pretty tough schedule. Even though we all saw it coming a few months ago, most of us never understood how tough it would actually be until now, where we not only have to get ready to start classes at Kellogg, move, and go through recruiting, but we also have to take final exams for our summer classes.

Don’t get me wrong, the summer has been great so far. Work was great. Classes have been interesting. And Chicago is a fun place to spend the summer.  But over the past couple of weeks, the pace of everything has started to pick up.  Professors are teaching us more new concepts, giving us more assignments, and really starting to push us harder. While under normal circumstances, this would be manageable, it gets a bit tricky for rising seconds years in the JD-MBA program.  Because not only do we have final exams, but we also have to move from Chicago to Evanston, complete final projects for other classes, go through on campus recruiting at Northwestern Law School, prepare for our pre-orientation trip called KWEST, complete a few online seminars that Kellogg requires in advance of coming to campus, and fulfill journal obligations, among other things. As if the exams themselves were not hard enough.

In the immediate future, I have  final project I have to finish for my DECS 434 class and a final exam in Accounting 430. Both the project and the exam are proving to be very tough.  For the project, it’s been tough working around everyone’s schedules, and we also have to turn the project in early because of our KWEST trip, something the non-JD-MBAs don’t have to do.  Similarly, in accounting, many of the JD-MBAs are taking the exam early, on Friday before KWEST. And others are taking it the Tuesday after our trip but during orientation, which is also not ideal because it will be nearly impossible to study during our KWEST trips, and attendance at orientation is mandatory, so there is no real extra time advantage to waiting.

Fortunately, exams are water under the bridge for 1Js, since we’ve been in class all year as 1Ls.  So after spending much of last year terrified by 1L final exams, this summer feels a little bit easier.  For one, I’ve gotten used to the fact that exam performance can be pretty variable sometimes depending on the class, the other students taking the course, and how well you perform on any given day. Second, at Kellogg grades aren’t as important as they are at the law school, at least not typically.  And third, JD-MBAs go through this every year, and most of them end up doing quite well professionally. So in the end, my nervousness is tempered with a bit of ease.

On the other hand, most JD-MBAs here are starting to get a little tired, especially those that are also taking part in legal recruiting and traveling back and forth between Chicago and Evanston.  My DECS group was up last night until the wee hours of the morning, and had to be up early this morning for interviews downtown about 5 or 6 hours later. The same thing will probably happen tonight. And then on Saturday morning we’ll all wake up, pack, and head to the airport to head out on our KWEST trips.

It’s definitely a hard period for those in the program, but we all have so much to look forward to over the next few weeks.  Those going through recruiting will get law firm offers.  After a year of working really hard through 1L, we’ll finally be able to go to KWEST, and we’ll be starting at Kellogg in just a few weeks, the reason why many of the JD-MBAs came to the program.

It should be fun to see how everything here ultimately plays out. Stay tuned to hear more about our transition to Kellogg.

Law School Recruiting Has Officially Begun

As incoming 1Ls, most students didn’t know much about the world of law firms. They didn’t know which type of law they were interested in, weren’t sure which firms they’d ultimately like to work at, and couldn’t tell you what specific geography they’d end up targeting. Law schools know that, so during 1L year they do a good job at bringing firms to campus, sending out mass emails about career options, providing students with networking events, and giving us lots of resources to learn things on our own. Well, after doing that for the past few months as 1Ls, the students here are finally putting that work into action. And just last week, interviews finally began, marking the beginning of OCI at Northwestern Law.

At long last, OCI  is finally under way. It’s the thing most law students wait for, especially after working so hard and at times struggling through the first year core curriculum.  So for two or three weeks, over 175 firms and offices come to campus to do initial round interviews based on the student’s selections, before the callback process begins. And this year is shaping up to be pretty big as compared to years past, at least according to the estimates that firms and our career center have given me.

In terms of the interviewers, many of the lawyers are coming to campus from Chicago, but there are also lawyers from NY, the Bay, DC, LA, and other parts of the country too. Likewise, most of the interviews are conducted by partners but a number are also conducted by senior level associates, and others are conducted by two attorneys where one is very senior and the other may be a more recent alum.  Another thing that’s nice is that most of the lawyers are also alum Northwestern Law, which is great because the alum understand some of the nuances of our program which can really help form faster connections during the actual interviews.

In terms of logistics, just about all of these interviews are held at a building named Weibolt, which is just next door to the law school. Weibolt is a building that is part of Kellogg’s downtown campus, and has lots of small conference rooms that are perfect to conduct the on campus interviews.  The set up always seems a little funny to the part time students who are here for class, but after a few days of seeing our setup, I suspect most of them get used to it.

In addition to the actual interviews, there are also “Hospitality Suites” that some firms have. Usually two or three firms each day will purchase a suite in addition to their interview rooms. Students go to the suite to meet attorneys, though usually not the interviewing attorneys, and grab a bite to eat or a refreshment as they wait in between interviews. It’s a great chance to meet attorneys at a firm you might like and also a wait to submit a resume if you didn’t get a chance to interview with that firm on campus.

In general, the OCI season is a great time now to take advantage of all the events we had last year – the career fairs and mixers and various chats with attorneys – where many of the same firms were available to share information about the legal industry.  In general, NU Law does a really good job at this programming and the career center is always rated one of the best in the country. I hope that fact means that the students here will also do really well, as they have also done in years past.

For JD-MBAs, the interviewing season is especially busy. Not only do we have interviews, but we also have final exams and projects for our summer classes which are coming to an end, we are moving up to Evanston to start at business school, and we have a pre-orientation trip next week, followed by orientation and class at business school after that. A herculean set of tasks if you ask me. But I guess that’s the sacrifice of doing an accelerated dual degree program here. Besides, in my book, busy usually means fun, because it’s a good opportunity to gain multiple interesting experiences.  And in the end, the JD-MBAs always tend to end up with really cool jobs, so I suspect that everyone will end doing up okay.

Personally, I just moved to the Park Evanston yesterday which is a hot spot for many of the Kellogg students. I also have two final exams this upcoming week and a final project on Friday. In the meantime I also have a few upcoming interviews this week for OCI, a few callbacks on the horizon, and my pre-orientation trip that I discussed in a recent post on Saturday (Click here for my recent post).

Fortunately, my OCI schedule is a bit lighter than most people’s as I only signed up to recruit with a few firms. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Vedder Price this past summer so am being selective about interviewing for this next summer.  I’m mostly targeting a couple of firms here in Chicago, but stay tuned to see how things shape up.

Best of luck everyone with your interviews!

Guest Post: Writing A Cover Letter, “Avoiding Biz Buzzwords: When in Doubt, Strike it Out” by Alvina Lopez

Writing a cover letter can be a daunting task. In law school, cover letters often take a back seat to other parts of an application given the perception that firms are more interested in your academic performance than anything else. So students often don’t invest the time to put their best work forward which can be detrimental to a job search. In business school, a good cover letter can often make the difference between a job interview and a “ding” email.  So students spend a lot of time crafting their stories, sometimes at the expense of writing cover letters effectively.  My view is that in this economy, cover letters for any job can be critical, and that time and strategy can both play an important role in the final product.

It’s that time of the year again, where students are really starting to think about applying to new jobs. In law school, OCI begins in August so students all around the country are gearing up for interviews and sending out final applications to law firms (click here for my recent post on OCI). In business school, MBAs all over the country are just getting started, so students are gearing up for coffee chats and other recruiting events, so cover letters are starting to come to the forefront of their minds.

Given that this is true, I thought it’d be a great time to talk about cover letters here on my website. And the good news is that I recently received an email from a writer, who wanted to write an article on how to write an effective cover letter. The article below was written by a guest writer named Alvina Lopez who approached me a couple of weeks ago about contributing an entry to the site. Her own website is focused on online education, but she’s interested in a wide range of topics and has put out a variety of articles already. Given the relevance of this one, I thought it’d be a great piece to post here on the site.

The premise of her article is that an effective cover letter explains the reasons you are interested in a job and a specific organization, and it also identifies your most relevant skills or experiences. But in the end, a lot of people overuse buzz words, don’t get personal enough, and miss the chance to show how they had impact.

See below for her article on cover letters.

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Title: Avoiding Biz Buzzwords: When in Doubt, Strike it Out
Author: Alvina Lopez

So you’ve finished writing what you consider a solid cover letter and resume. You’ve painstakingly checked for grammar errors, you’ve made sure that all your accomplishments are highlighted accurately, and you can’t really think of anything else to make either better. But wait one minute–unfortunately, you can pretty much always make anything better, especially when it comes to something as important as your resume and cover letter.

One disease from which many job seekers suffer is buzzword/phrase overload. It’s only natural. After all, phrases like “strong [communication/leadership] skills” or “team player” convey positive qualities that employers are indeed looking for. The only problem is that hiring managers have seen these words so often that they virtually mean nothing now. So instead of using what are equivalent to horrendously cheesy pick-up lines in your resume and cover letter, why not go for something a little more individual? Here are some to avoid:

“Regarding a position”:

Many job seekers will begin their cover letters with “I would like to meet with you regarding a position with your company” or some such variant. What’s a suitable replacement? Spell out the position you’re seeking, and never say “your company”. Avoid vagueness as much as possible, especially in the first couple of sentences. If your opening paragraph is boring and cliche-ridden, then you’ve slowed yourself down before even starting.

“I am [passionate, hard-working, detail-oriented, etc.]”:

Using adjectives to describe yourself is almost always a bad idea. Adjectives in general are a bad idea, as they usually just take up space without really saying all that much. A good rule of thumb is to cross out every adjective you see and replace with a sentence that hinges on an action verb. It’s better to have your resume and cover letter answer the question, “What did you do?” and not “Who are you?” This is because what you’ve done is often a more effective, substantive manner of conveying the type of person you are. As the old platitude goes, “Show, don’t tell.”

“Responsibility”

Like “leadership”, responsibility is one of those Big Idea Nouns that have all but lost their meaning. Avoid like the plague, or use once tops. Like “leadership”, “responsibility” is best conveyed through tangible demonstration.

“Organizational skills”

While organizational skills are certainly an asset that every employer wants, every potential employee should be organized as a matter of course. If you have this quality listed, strike it out. Don’t even try to replace it either. That is, unless, you are applying for a secretarial position in which organizational ability is the position’s cornerstone.

There are legions more resume-speak phrases that will be sure to make hiring managers cringe. If you’re careful, you’ll be able to identify them easily, too. All you have to do is pour over and question every single word you’ve written. If a word or a phrase doesn’t specifically describe your work history, and how, precisely, you can convert this history into tangible benefit for the company, then it’s probably filler. Hiring managers aren’t reading resumes and cover letters for their own sake. They’re going through the stack to find a truly unique individual who can stand out and get the job done. You know you can get the job done. Now all you have to do is find a way to stand out and prove it.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Alvina Lopez, who writes on the topics Accredited Online Colleges.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.

Law School Recruiting Begins Next Week

Despite many of the public interest goals applicants write about in personal statements, most students at top law schools usually end up spending a few years at a big law firm. One reason is because law firm salaries are high and help students to pay down their loans. Another reason is that students gain a measurable skill set that employers value, both in the legal and business worlds. So for months, students read cases, outline, take exams, and aim for the best grades possible before eventually going through the recruiting process and interviewing at law firms all around the country. Well, that time has finally come for Northwestern’s class of 2012. And next week officially marks the beginning of law school OCI.

At long last, twelve months after moving to Chicago and embarking on the long and difficult journey of 1L, law school students at Northwestern will finally start to go through the OCI (on campus interview) recruiting process in just a few days. Unlike business school, where recruiting officially begins in January after students have a chance to get settled in, meet a larger variety of employers, and prep with classmates for case-based interviews, in law school, on-campus interviews officially begin in mid August before students ever step foot on campus.  In times past, this was probably ideal for students, because it allowed them more time to prep for interviews in the summer before the hustle and bustle of classes started taking up more time. But now, even as the economy continues to improve, there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding recruiting, so there is not really an ideal time.

The good news for the class of 2012 is that schools and employers are projecting an increase in the number of summer associate positions available next summer as compared to last year, but nothing can be said for certain.  First, the projections are based on the assumption that the economy continues to improve and doesn’t take a quick turn for the worse. It also assumes that the attrition rates continue at a normal pace and that firms haven’t decided to use more slots than normal on laterals or 3Ls looking for jobs.

Still, it’s likely that the recruiting numbers will increase this year given the number of employers who are coming to Northwestern and going to other campuses.  After all, the number have increased dramatically, despite the fact that firms are being extremely conservative with their hiring decisions these days.

My 1L firm Vedder Price looks forward to hosting a summer class in the summer of 2011, and I look forward to seeing if anyone from Northwestern will join the firm.  For the summer of 2010, the firm did not have an official class, but that was mostly because the firm wanted to focus on current employees and ensure that everyone in the class of 2009 had a spot at the firm upon graduation. And fortunately for graduates, the firm delivered on its promise, and everyone from the previous year ended up having a chance to go back to the firm.

But for a lot of other firms, there’s still the “elephant in the room” as students may wonder what happened to the employees who were recently deferred, laid off, or not given offers, just one year ago, before firms started increasing hiring again.  But I suspect this is a question that likely won’t come up, which in my view may be for the best given that it’s hard to point fingers at anyone given the economic times that we’ve seen over the past two years.  In fact, things were so bad that even many of the best-managed businesses and law firms couldn’t foresee the economic crisis coming, a fact which is supported by leading economists and recent supreme court opinions (Click here for the In re Citigroup legal opinion)

Fortunately, times are better now, and law firms and students are experiencing the best employment prospects that they’ve seen in a couple of years.  This is great news for the class of 2012 and hopefully good news for those in the class of 2011 that are looking for new opportunities this year.  It will be interesting to see how some of the numbers play out over the next few weeks during OCI.

Best of luck everyone with your interviews.

And stay tuned for more careers and recruiting details and news over the next few weeks.

Good Article: Important Skills For Leaders Of Tomorrow

Being the top executive today in any organization is a demanding job.  In times past, most organizations were based on the hierarchical business model.  At the helm of the ship were the managers with the most tenure that made all the decisions, and at the bottom were employees who sat behind and did what they were asked to do.  But today’s leaders have a more nuanced task. Today, organizations are flatter than ever before, job titles are broader, and the lines of authority have become blurred, especially in professional services firms.  Similarly, the ability to scale technology and capacity to work with a diverse team is critical. So the question is, what skills do you need to maneuver all those factors and lead your organization to success in the future.

Leading in today’s environment is difficult but not impossible. And many people have given opinions on how to do that most effectively.  Experts like Marshall Goldsmith, Beth Kanter and Robin Sharma have done substantial research on the topic. Similarly, organizations like the Washington Post, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Harvard Business Review put out dozens of articles about the issue.  And in a recent video post on the Harvard Business Review, a panel of experts discussed the same topic, and each person on the panel answered the question: What are the crucial skills for tomorrow’s leaders?

With a panel of experts ranging from HBS professors to former colonels of the U.S. Army to a company CEO, the videos gives various opinions on what skills it takes to lead in the modern era.  See below for the link to the video article and below that for the panelists.

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Title: The Crucial Skill For Tomorrow’s Leader
Source: Harvard Business Review
URL: http://blogs.hbr.org/video/2010/08/the-crucial-skill-for-tomorrow.html

Summary
“Through Imagining the Future of Leadership, a symposium at the Harvard Business School and accompanying blog series, expert thinkers gathered to investigate what is necessary today to develop the leaders we need for tomorrow. ”

Angel Cabrera President, Thunderbird School of Management
Bill George Professor, Harvard Business School and former Chairman and CEO of Medtronic
Daisy Wademan Dowling Executive Director, Leadership Development at Morgan Stanley
Andy Zelleke Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
Batia Mishan Wiesenfeld Professor, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, NYU
Evan Wittenberg Head of Global Leadership Development, Google, Inc.
Dr. Ellen Langer Professor, Harvard University
Scott Snook Associate Professor, Harvard Business School and retired Colonel, US Army Corps of Engineers

Kirkland & Ellis Career Paths in the Law Reception

A couple of weeks ago, law students and summer interns in Chicago gathered after work to attend a networking event downtown at Kirkland and Ellis.  Kirkland has hosted a number of events this summer, in the new building they moved into along with Boston Consulting Group about a year ago.  These events have not only been a great way to socialize with a wide range of people in the legal industry but also a way to get to know some of the various attorneys and recruiters who work at Kirkland.

This particular reception attracted summers, associates, and partners from the firm, in addition to law students from the broader legal community.  It also gave us the opportunity to chat with fellow law school classmates, meet new friends from other schools, and get insight from those who had made it through the law school recruiting process in years past.

First up on the agenda was a mini-reception, which was upstairs on the sixth floor. This is where a lot of K&E mixers take place, and as usual there was an open bar and some appetizers.  A couple of partners from the corporate and litigation groups were there, including a partner I’ve been in touch with from the antitrust practice.  I also had the opportunity to chat with a Northwestern JD-MBA who is working in their corporate group this summer, an accelerated JD from Northwestern that is working in litigation this summer, and with a couple of friends I’ve made who work full time in the corporate group. I specifically ended up chatting for a while with a K&E corporate attorney from the east coast that I met a few weeks earlier at a similar event, along with one of my favorite and smartest section-mates from law school.

After about 30 to 45 minutes of mingling, K&E announced it was time to move to a new room for the highlight of the event which was a panel session. So a few of the recruiters escorted us to a mini-conference room around the corner where there was a panel was composed of former K&E attorneys, a judge from Indiana, a former litigation attorney who now works at a Fortune 1000 corporation, the Executive Director of Public Interest Law Initiative (i.e. PILI), and a current attorney in the IP department.

I sat next to one of the superstar 1Ls from my section last year during the session, and we listened closely as the panel members gave their opinions on the legal industry and the recruiting process.  The panel discussed things such as the impact of the current economic environment, different career paths to consider in the legal industry, and what skill sets are important to develop.  In the process, they also stressed the ability to write quickly and concisely, the importance of networking and getting involved in civic organizations, and the value that comes with working at a big firm, as opposed to starting off in alternative career paths. After all, we were at a K&E sponsored event.

After the panel session was over, the event ended with a bit of informal networking with the panelists and with some of the members of K&E.  In my view, this is often the best part of these events, because it provides the attendees with a unique opportunity to mingle with peers and follow-up on the some of the remarks from the panelists sessions.  In this case, I stayed behind to catch up with a few people I wanted to touch base with and I spoke at length with the former litigation attorney that now works as Counsel at a local Fortune company.  I could tell during the session that he had an interesting professional background and that we a number of similar views on networking and volunteering.  It was definitely a nice connection to make at the end.

We also talked a little bit about OCI.  I mentioned that I am personally excited for OCI, because from a 30,000 foot view, I’m interested to see how the overall numbers will play out as compared to last year and how that will ultimately reshape the legal field.  Based on dozens of talks I’ve had with firms and recruiters, it sounds like the numbers will be a bit better.  But only time will tell, and most students are still a bit nervous since everything is so uncertain.  And understandably so.

Kirkland has had a number of similar events this summer, including an event co-hosted with the Chicago Committee On Minorities In Large Law Firms the following week, which I attended with a few people from my firm, including our head of recruiting, Bo Kim, with my summer mentor from Vedder Price, and also with a firm partner I’ve worked pretty closely with this summer.

Once again, the turnout at the event was good. I suspect that’s because these events have become more important for up-and-coming professionals in today’s economy.  For one, law school recruiting takes place in about two weeks, so students have begun flocking to meet as many attorneys as possible. Second, is because younger professionals are also looking to network more and become even better connected to firms, which may have future opportunities down the line.  In fact, at the event I chatted extensively with a Northwestern alum that I met at another networking reception a few months before.  As it turns out. he had recently moved to a new firm.

This raises an important point. That getting out and meeting people in your industry is important. These events are a great way to start the process.   Not just because you’re looking for a job through OCI or because the economy may be slumping and you want to have future jobs lined up but more importantly because over time people tend to move around a lot, and the legal and business communities in any location are small.  And so it’s good to get to know the people in your field, to share information about trends and emerging issues, and sometimes simply enjoy the success you’ve achieved together.

In the end, this reception was a great opportunity to get to know the local legal community and also attorneys at K&E.  For all those interested in either, it might make sense to attend a similar  future event.

Careers Question: Why Haven’t I Received An Offer From My Summer Employer Yet?

In a bad economy, layoffs and hiring freezes are the norm.  So not only are companies downsizing, but they’re also more hesitant to bring in new employees and making fewer offers to summer interns. Objectively, this makes sense, as company managers strive to reduce costs and cut budgets as soon as possible. But that objectivity changes when it starts to happen at your company. And it really hits home when you come to realize that your position is impacted.  Whether a good economy or bad one, one thing to keep in mind is that every job is still a sales job, because ultimately you have to sell yourself.  And in a recent question I received on GottaMentor.com, a summer intern asked a question exactly about that.

In a recent question from a visitor on GottaMentor a member had a question about getting an offer after her summer internship.  Although the member thought she was having a great summer at the firm, it turns out that she has yet to receive an offer at the firm, while another intern that has been getting guidance from her all summer did receive an offer.  Not understanding what happened, she is worrying about her future prospects at the firm and also trying to reconcile why things happened the way they did.

I thought this was a great question that’s especially relevant in today’s economic environment.  Although the writer didn’t make specific reference to the economy, it still plays large part in hiring decisions today and interns are more reliant on getting an full time offer than ever before.  I also thought that there were some very clear takeaways to discuss regarding how to sell yourself in the workplace.  So I framed my response by discussing those takeaways and then discussing what I might do if I were in her situation.

As I’ve done in the past, I am putting this post on my website to showcase GottaMentor.com, an careers internet start-up company that I contribute to.  I recommend that everyone take a quick look at the site and consider joining if it makes sense for you.

Below is the reader’s question, and below that is my response.

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Reader’s Question

My coworker – let’s call him Joe, and I started our internships at the same time in the same department. Joe frequently asks for my help, mostly with excel modeling or to explain procedures to him. Even though he seems to understand most of it, he comes back to me several times a day to check if he has it right. We are nearing the end of the internship and I found out that Joe received a full time offer! I did not receive an offer and am totally dumbfounded.

Everyone knows that I help this guy and that he’s totally dependent on me. Other coworkers have even mentioned it to me. I can’t believe my manager hasn’t noticed. I don’t want to sound like a jerk, but should I tell my manager that I should be the one receiving the offer?

(Anonymous)

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My Response

Dear (Name),

It’s hard to give a strong opinion without understanding more of the context of your story. But in the end, I think there are a couple of lessons you can take away from the summer.

1. One lesson is that even though hard work is critical in any organization, success in business is often about more than that. Among dozens of other things, it’s about fitting in culturally, showing passion for the work, selling yourself to those you work with, and being someone who others want on their team. Similarly, as “anonymous” mentioned previously, the ability to “ask for help and clarify things when necessary” is a skill organizations definitely look for.

2. Another lesson is that it’s not only about the models you build and how good you are technically, but it’s also how you deliver the information and the relationships you build with the people you work with. This is true in every profession, even the most technical ones. In this example, if you had a good relationship with the coworker, you might have leverage to ask the context of how he/she received an offer. The same might also hold true with your manager.

3. And one final takeaway is the importance of having sponsors. I won’t take credit for the takeaway, since it’s something John Rice mentions on his GottaMentor profile. “As you demonstrate that you are competent and can get things done, it becomes all about the relationships. It is not who you know, but instead it is who knows you well and thinks highly enough that they will go to bat for you.”

If you’ve already shown #1, now might be the time to work on those relationships and see if anyone will go to bat for you regarding a full time offer. After all, if everyone knows you do quality work like you said, and if you are a good fit for the organization, then I suspect you’ll at least get the company’s attention. But as a summer intern that has only been at the company a short time, you may not want to overplay your “relationships” card. On the other hand, it probably does make sense to really speak up about how much you like the company and that you’d be thrilled to come back, if that’s actually the case.

In the end, I’d also recommend that you do your best to leave a positive impression no matter how things turn out. The world is small and it’s likely you’ll run into one or more of your current coworkers again if you start your career in the industry. Similarly, if it turns out that the company has another job opening, then the company would probably consider you for the position. And finally, it’s likely that you’ll need a recommendation or a reference at some point.

Good luck!

Applicant Question: How To Discuss Short and Long-Term Career Goals?

Writing essays for business school is a daunting task.  Applicants usually find it difficult to decide what story they want to tell the committee and as a result they have a tough time bringing all the details of their essays together.  That’s because some applicants are unhappy in their current jobs. These people invest a lot of time discussing the job they want after business school, but neglect talking about what they want to do in the long term.  Another group of applicants is more idealistic. They are strongly compelled by their long term goals, but in the meantime don’t articulate actionable steps to achieve them.  In my experience speaking with hundreds of applicants, many of them tend to fall into one of these categories.  That was confirmed in a couple of recent phone conversations I had last week with applicants who will be applying to business school this fall.

Just last week I spoke with two business school applicants.  One was like the first person I mentioned above. He didn’t like his current job and was focused on working in a very specific role after school. The other was just the opposite, focused on what he wanted to do ten years from now and willing to do anything he could to get there, no matter what industry or function.

In a sense, I could relate to both of them.  On one hand, I’ve been in jobs I didn’t like and felt like I had to maintain a laser focus on making my next move, so at the time I didn’t spend as much time thinking about my long term my career path.  On the other hand, I’ve also come to find the value in keeping the bigger picture in mind, especially when more opportunities become available. Today, I tend to spend most of time thinking about things from that perspective.

But specifically in terms of business school application, both the short and long term are important.  Without a long term plan, you’ll miss trends, be more likely to follow the crowd, won’t adapt to changing economic circumstances like today’s economy, and may not head down the path that makes the most sense for you.  On the other hand, without short-term goals, you may never even make it to the long term, because competition for post-MBA jobs is still and applications for business school are higher than ever. So being focused will give you an advantage.

Ultimately, both of my conversations ended on this idea of short-term goals.  That’s because admissions committees, at times, tend to be more interested in seeing those stated clearly in applications. And that’s especially true today, where the job market is contracted, and the committee will want to ensure that students can get jobs immediately after school in the slumping economy.  On the other hand, admissions committees are at times also more likely to give deference to an applicant’s long-term goals.  That’s both because many young professionals can’t articulate what they’ll be doing tens years from now, and also because even when they can most still end up changing their minds anyhow.

During my discussions, I talked about a couple of things with the applicants, and specifically discussed how to address these short term career options in their essays.  The list below isn’t exhaustive but it’s a short recap of what I recall discussing about in both of my calls. I hope the information is helpful.

1. Play to your strengths. Applicants should leverage things they have experience in and the things they do best, and then they should discuss how they will continue doing those things going forward.  Don’t get me wrong,  I’m a generalist at heart, and  I always think it makes sense to try new things and get as broad experience as possible.  On the other hand, focusing on your strengths will show you have a unique skill set to bring to the table and will differentiate you as a candidate.  Keep in mind, part of playing to your strengths means being explicit with details and discussing how those strengths will allow you to add specific value.  One, this will prove that your experience was one of substance, and second, organizations always want to add someone who will add value to their community.

2. Do (and discuss) things to reinforce your image. Applicants should also take part in activities that reinforce their image and make them a better fit for their short-term goals.  This means taking part in activities that enhance their story and help you develop the image they want to convey.  For example, if you want to be a project manager, then volunteering on community based projects would be useful. Similarly, if you want to enter the media space or be seen as a technology person, starting a website or helping an organization start one will demonstrate interest and experience.  There’s not much science behind it, but people should consider getting involved in activities that are correlated to their short-term goals as a way to not only show interest but also to build skills.  And during the interview, be sure to discuss it.

3. Understand the context of your surroundings. You should do the best you can to surround yourself with people that have common interests and similar values. These might be people you want to work with, or people who want to work you.  If you can find people at your career stage and have similar career goals you can leverage each other’s resources and work together. For example, if you want to enter the consulting industry, working together to research firms and practice cases is key.  Similarly, if you can find people that are older than you, then maybe they’ll eventually serve as a mentor,  and if you can find younger people, then you can do the same.  In the end, the more information you can obtain and the more people you can work with, the better off you will be and as a result the better off your applications and interviews will be.

4. Create an angle. In every circumstance, you want your resume/ application reviewer to walk away with a very clear picture of who you are.  So do your best to convey not only why you’re a good fit for an organization but also the things that make you unique and suggest that you would have real impact right away (i.e in the short-term).  And this idea of impact is especially true for people who are really good fits, because good fits tend to be the most common types of applicants to jobs and business schools – good fits in terms of grades, prescribed career path, and academic history.  But often times, there’s only a baseline of intelligence needed to do well in a professional environments, depending on the nature of the job or the industry that you’re in, so those who stand out, often do so because they have unique experiences and bring different perspective to the table.  But even if you can’t point to that any measurable impact, creating an angle will still usually tend to make you more memorable.

5. Give details. And last but not least, it’s important to provide details.  That’s because details evince that you’ve done your research, prove that you have not only the relevant experiences to contribute, but also the substantive understanding of the job role at hand.  So be sure to give details of your experiences, not your impressions, and when possible take that further by discussing  insights that your experience has given you and how those insights will also be helpful.  In the end, being explicit about how details played out in the past and how you will specifically contribute in the future will help you stand out from the crowd.

Good luck!

Law School Graduation And The Bar Exam

Have you ever waited for a special moment just to find it wasn’t everything you thought it would be? Like finally graduating from college after four years but then realizing that you had one more course before you actually got your diploma. Or running a marathon and when after running for hours you were excited to finally turn the last corner, but when you looked up you realized that you had another couple of miles to go.   Well something similar happens with law students, not only at Northwestern but at every school.  And after experiencing the euphoria of graduation, walking down the isle, and getting their law school diplomas, the students still have to take the Bar Exam at the end of July.

At long last, the Northwestern Law Class of 2010 finally made it. The law school class officially graduated back in May, and my JD-MBA classmates graduated from Kellogg in June, since it’s a quarter system.  And what a momentous occasion! After giving it all they had to survive the workload of the 1L year, spending dozens of hours interviewing at firms, agencies, and organizations the very next fall, finding jobs in one of the  most depressed legal economies of all time, and then surviving the final year of school despite thinking it would never be over, they finally made it.  Congratulations everyone!

But unfortunately, as good as that news sounds, it’s not quite as good as you think.  Unlike MBA students and students in other graduate program, instead of starting new jobs, going on lavish vacations, and enjoying summer time on the beach in Chicago, the newly minted law school alums have spent the past two months studying for the bar exam.  In fact, on my way to work today, I passed three new alums who were headed to campus at 7am to study for the day.

But there is one piece of good news. That news is that the exam is next Tuesday, so one week from now, all those things I said above, will become reality for 3Ls everywhere. I’m sure it will be a time of great celebration.

In any event, best of luck to everyone studying.  And if you’ve put in the work all summer, then don’t worry, people pass and I’m sure you’ll do great.

And a special good luck to all those at Northwestern Law!

Careers Question: Should I Confront The Other Intern? Or Should I Tell My Manager?

Have you ever saved a file at work, just to return the next day to find out that it looked different than it did the day before? I have.  And I bet you have too. Did you think that someone else changed your file, either purposefully or mistakenly, and that your real work was compromised as a result? Or instead did you assume that it was your fault and that you must have done something wrong? It’s often the case in these situations that a manager will come up to you and to address the mistakes. In such cases, you can either defend yourself and ensure that your boss understood that the mistakes were not your. Or you can agree to fix the work that you’ve, often never actually resolving the misunderstanding that actually happened. In my experience, most people have been in both situations before and often they find it hard to manage this conflict.

In a recent on GottaMentor.com, a person asked me just that. “I believe someone is trying to sabotage my work” the person said. The person mentioned that they love their job, and want to make a good impression because they’d like to return to the firm, but on multiple occasions they have found their work on the shared drive changed and the person has reason to believe that one of the fellow co-workers may have played a part.

It’s a tough question, and a hard one to answer without knowing more of the facts at hand. But I did have a few thought to share around the idea of handing conflict at work.  See below for the message (part of the message), and below that for my response.

And also be sure to check out GottaMentor.com for hundreds of similar question on careers guidance and information.

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ORIGINAL QUESTION

Hello,

For the summer I am interning at a financial services firm.  I love it.  However, I think an intern in my group is trying to sabotage me.

On at least three occasions work that I saved to the shared drive was altered and errors were inserted.  I don’t have proof it was her, but I’m 100% sure that the documents were altered because the last two times I kept hard copies of my work before I left for the evening.  When I returned in the morning the documents had been changed.  How should I handle this?  Do I tell my manager or confront her directly?

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MY RESPONSE

Dear (Name),

The advice you received that you should “not insinuate bad motives or imply fault” hit the nail on the head. And I also agree that you should definitely not be quick to point fingers if you decide to chat with the supervisor.

Why? First, because you don’t actually know what happened. After all, mistakes do happen. Maybe the wrong copy of something got saved or perhaps there are IT or Microsoft problems. Similarly, maybe someone was given permission to check out the file and happened to make a couple of honest mistakes. And it’s also possible that at least of the errors did turn out to be yours. It’s happened to the best of us.

But even if neither of those are the case and someone did change your files with malicious intent, you still don’t have the proof that it happened or that there was mal-intent behind the action.  And even if you did have proof, in most cases, it’d still be a really bad idea to battle a coworker, especially give you’re still an intern. And that’s especially true now, given that economic times are tough and getting a FT offer for a job is more difficult than ever. At the very least you’ll want to walk away with a recommendation letter but ideally you’d like to come back, as you mentioned.

So instead of thinking about confrontation, and rather than playing the blame game when you discuss the situation with your manager, in my view the best thing to do is stand up for yourself without being defensive, and without blaming.

Being defensive is rarely the right answer. It usually comes off as a negative reaction, it tends to evoke negative emotions from others, and no matter what actually happened, it may look like you are doing your best to avoid responsibility. After all, the project was yours, and you were responsible to finish the work both accurately and completely. And from what you mentioned, it looks like you likely did a pretty good job of that.

On the other hand, keeping your cool tends work well in a majority of cases. Keeping your cool as you summarize the details of the project, walk through the facts of the answers and the subject change, and as you show the original file so that the manager knows exactly what happened. Part of that means being prepared to give any factual details if the supervisor asks you questions about the “right” answer and about what happened. It also means being patient to let the supervisor speak, even though you’ll be excited to tell your part of the story.  Similarly, you should try to keep your composure, smile when you can, and show confidence in your work, rather than anger at the situation.

And finally, if you’re up to the challenge, you should also be thankful for the parts of the feedback that are constructive, even given in the midst of controversy, because that shows that you can keep an eye on the bigger picture and that you’re above the back and forth that often happens at the ground level. And if you do that you’ll not only be better off now as an intern and be more likely to get an offer at the end of the summer, but it will also be good practice for when you get a high impact leadership role and need to manage conflict of an entire organization.

Good Articles: How to Spin Your GPA and Impress Campus Recruiters

I overheard a guy talking at a networking event earlier this week.  Turned out he was a law student working in Chicago this summer and had just finished his first year at another law school. Like so many others, he was afraid he might graduate without a job and was looking for a few tips on how to navigate the process.  He mentioned that he attended a top tier program outside of Chicago, spent a few years before that as a paralegal at a white shoe firm, and attained a median GPA at his school. But he still feared his prospects coming out.

Unfortunately, that story isn’t unique. I know dozens of people, if not more, that have been saying the same thing for the past twelve months.  And suddenly now, there’s an epidemic of fear rushing not only across the Midwest, but also across the entire U.S. because law school recruiting happens in just a couple of weeks.  Resumes are due in late July and interviews begin in mid August. And in the first recruiting cycle since the worst legal recruiting season ever, the question is, “how are law students going to fare?”

As you might suspect, that’s a really difficult question. One that most students, and even law firms, can’t answer.  After all, the legal industry did just experience on of the worst economic aftershocks in history.  Firms cut classes and handed out deferrals. Profits per partners fell. And morale has followed suit.

So today, firms today are treading new waters, scrambling to change the stakes of the market. And that’s not only happening in law school, but the pandemic and the associated reflex by the industry is also happening in other graduate programs and for those freshly minted out of college.

In my view, though, law students are probably feeling it the hardest, largely because the legal market trails the economic market, which has only started to recover in the past months. So students are studying a little harder, stressing out a bit more often, and many now believe that they’ve already sealed their career fate after two semesters.

But it’s always good to take a step back and think about things from a 30,000-foot view. Because in the end, there’s a lot more that goes into finding the right employee than two semesters of GPA.  After all, there’s a gigantic list of CEO, firms partners, and successful politicians who came out of school without a 4.0. And many of them had grades below the median.  In fact, I wrote a recent post about the CEO of the decade, Steve Jobs, who did not even graduate from college. But because things are looking so uncertain now, because things haven’t worked out perfectly for the classes ahead, and because summer associate numbers at firms have been cut by more than half, I definitely understand the concern.

And with this in mind, I recently stumbled across a couple of articles on the Wall Street Journal website. The first article is on GPAs. It discusses how to talk about your GPA during interviews, when to put it on your resume, and what other things you can emphasize if your GPA isn’t as high as you would like – things all of us have thought about before.  The second article is a shorter piece on how to interact with campus recruiters.  It comes from the perspective of a recruiter. And although it’s intended audience might be college graduates, it’s content is very relevant to anyone interacting with recruiters from any industry.

See below for summaries of the articles and links to written pieces on WSJ.

And more importantly, good luck with recruiting this fall.

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ARTICLE ONE

Title: “How To Spin Your GPA”
Source: Wall Street Journal Online
Link: Click here for the article

“By the time a college graduate transitions to the working world, he or she has spent years being defined by numbers: SATs, GPAs, GREs, class rank and so on. As a result, and understandably, college graduates with a thin portfolio of work experience assume hiring managers will place a great deal of stock in their overall GPA as a gauge of intelligence, capabilities and competence. That’s not always true. …”

ARTICLE TWO

Title: “How To Impress A Campus Recruiter”
Source: Wall Street Journal Online
Link: Click here for the article

“As a member of the campus recruiting team for Ford Motor Co., I would travel to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign two to three times a year on a mission to discover the best available talent for opportunities at the company. These trips enabled me to gain key insights into the relationship between employer and prospective candidate. The most valuable lesson learned was…”

Free Webinar With Advice For Top MBA Applicants By TheArtOfApplying.com

Hey everyone, I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend.  This will be a pretty quick post, but I wanted to write to tell you about a recent MBA graduate I know named  Kaneisha Grayson. Kaneisha is a recent graduate from the dual MBA/MPP program at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School, and she just launched a new MBA admissions coaching site called The Art of Applying.  To jumpstart her new venture, Kaneisha is hosting a free webinar for up-and-coming MBA applicants, where she’ll not only provide tips for applying but also share her story with the audience.  So I wanted to pass along a bit of information about the webinar.

I personally hope to join the call this Thursday and will probably do so from my office here in Chicago. Blogger extraordinaire Marquis Parker also plans to attend the call.  Click here to check out his post about Kaneisha.

I hope that some of you will join as well.  It sounds like it will be a great opportunity for those of you applying to b-school this fall or who plan to apply down the line.  Here is a bit of info about the call and about Kaneisha.

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Title: “B-School Despite the Odds”
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 5:15 PT
Cost: Free
URL for Webinar: http://theartofapplying.com/2010/07/b-school-odds-webinar/
Event Registration: Click Here To Register

“Hello from Los Angeles! I’m Kaneisha Grayson, a 2010 graduate from Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. I recently received a grant from Harvard to found a coaching business. I specialize in working with what I call “interesting people,” applicants who have ambitious goals for where they want to attend school but whose grades, test scores, and/or work experience do not accurately reflect their best abilities. I help people tell their story so that schools can look past the numbers and see how phenomenal of a person and student the applicant will be. I’m a writer, storyteller, and coach rather than just an “admissions consultant”. My priority is to be as helpful and relevant as I can be in aiding people in achieving their educational and professional goals.”

Leadership Lessons from the Chairman Of My Firm

About two weeks ago, only days after beginning my new job at Vedder Price, I had the special privilege of having lunch with Bob Stucker, the Chairman of our firm. In addition to making a good contact at the firm, and eventually making my way onto a couple of his interesting projects, I also had the thrill of seeing first-hand how a top lawyer and revered leader in Chicago navigated his way to the top and what his thoughts were regarding the future.

It was about 11:10am, and only my second week at the firm. I had a lunch scheduled with a couple of associates in the office, one whose office is across the hallway from mine and another who sits right next door.  At Vedder, most people tend to head to lunch around noon, so at the time, I was rushing against the clock to get a few things printed and to draft a couple of emails before heading out.  But as I was typing up my first email, I looked up and saw Maryanne head into my office.  Maryanne is the Chairman’s Executive Assistant, and she told me that the chairman wanted to take me to lunch.

“What a remarkable opportunity I thought to myself.”  So of course I told Maryanne that I was excited to head to lunch with Bob, and she replied that he’d drop by my office to grab me at 11:50am.  So after rescheduling my lunch with my coworkers and getting started on a couple of emails, Bob dropped by at 11:50 on the dot. He had on a nice gray suit that day, despite the fact that our office recently went business casual in the summer.  Fortunately though, I haven’t followed that trend, and I’ve been wearing a shirt and tie to the office every day. So I was dressed for the occasion.

So Bob and I headed toward the elevator, walking past reception on the 26th floor.  I noticed that Bob spoke to every single person we passed on the way out, addressing each one by their first name, including our great receptionist Vickie, who sits by the elevator. And although he’s a very busy guy, not once did Bob seem like he was too much in a hurry to say hello to anyone.

On the way down the elevator, he explained that he loved being at the firm and that it was a great pleasure to get to know everyone there over the years. And it was clear that he was sincere about it. After all, he had been at the same firm for his entire legal career and took the time to know everyone by name and learn about their families.

In the elevator, Bob said we would have lunch at an Italian restaurant, Coco Pazzo, which was a few blocks down. It was lightly raining that afternoon, so instead of walking, we hopped in a cab.  Bob had an umbrella but unfortunately I didn’t bring mine, a fact that Bob noticed before I did. Bob told me to wait inside while he waived down a cab. We hopped in, and then he sent me to the restaurant while he paid, so I could avoid the rain.

When Bob walked in, all the waiters said hello to Bob and greeted him by name. As it turns out Bob if pretty well-known in Chicago and at a lot of the local restaurants. So they sat us down ahead of the line, took our orders right away, and Bob and I had a nice discussion for the next eighty or so minutes.

We kicked off the conversation with a little business, first discussing an upcoming project he wanted me to get involved in, where we were retained by a CEO to help negotiate an employment contract. But the conversation quickly diverted into more interesting things, such as his background and mine. The practices I thought I’d be interested in and his process of choosing a practice back as a younger attorney. I also talked a bit about my personal history and Bob talked a bit about himself.

It’s funny, how when you’re having good conversation, eighty minutes can feel like twenty.  And before I knew it, we had finished our meal, paid our tab, and had to head out. Fortunately the weather had cleared up, so we walked back to the office, which was the perfect way to finish off our chat less abruptly.  On the way home, I brought up a few people I’d worked with in the past, including the Practice Chair of my old consulting firm, who Bob knew directly.  That was a good way to really connect with him at the end.

Upon reflection, here are a few lessons I learned from the discussion:

1. Good leaders are also good entrepreneurs. Bob spent his entire legal career as an entrepreneur. Out of law school, he turned down a couple of white shoe firms to join Vedder Price, which at the time was still an up-and-coming law firm in Chicago.  “It gave me the opportunity to have real impact” he said.  But rather than simply playing a part in an up-and-coming firm and taking what came his way, he also decided to make his own opportunities.  And along the way, he helped build a couple of practice groups, including the financial institutions group and the executive compensation group. Today, Vedder Price does more work with financial institutions than any other Chicago firm, and Vedder’s executive pay practice is second to none in the U.S.  Most law firms, and business for that matter, are not wildly successful entering new markets, but Bob was an exception to the rule because he sought out new opportunities.

2. Good leaders focus on their people. Bob was the kind of person who inspired others in the office. As I mentioned above, he said hello to everyone we passed and remembered everyone’s name and personal story. “It’s critical to retain every single employee that comes here” Bob said at lunch.  Not only because it’s economically better for a firm to do so, but also because we want everyone here to be successful and build a career here.  And it wasn’t just rhetoric. In fact, Vedder Price has done a great job of not letting many of its attorneys go during the economic downturn, and it didn’t let a single staff person go, despite the worst of the economic downturn. Bob had a laser-like focus on everyone at the firm. He knew there names, knew where they sat in the building, and reached out to them when it made sense. After all, he was even taking me, the new and only summer associate this year, to lunch during my second week.

3. Leaders reach back and develop leaders. Just a few days before lunch, I was speaking to one of the firm receptionists, and she mentioned that Bob had been a great mentor to many of the attorneys at the firm. At the time, I was glad to hear it, but she had also never worked directly with Bob, so I solicited a few other opinions.  I went to lunch that day with two senior partners here at the firm, and one of the them was the lead for partner recruiting at the firm. He said the same thing about Bob, that “Bob has mentored me over the years at the firm and that’s why I’ve done so well today.” And for the last couple of weeks I heard similar comments from a few others. “Was it all just rhetoric?” I asked myself a few times. After all, balancing the tightrope walk of managing client development and people development has always been difficult at services firms.

But for Bob, the answer is a resounding “No.”  Bob has already gone out of his way a few times now, to bring me into meetings and teach me lessons about the world of law firms.  And after the meetings are over he’ll always imparts a few lines to me.  He has also set me up with a couple of attorneys that he works with, so I could learn more about the firm.  I was glad to see this was Bob’s style. In fact, I recently wrote about this myself a few weeks back (click here to see the post).

4. To get to the top, do something you like. People who make it all the way to the top do because they are passionate about what they are doing, something I talk constantly about here on my site (click here for one of my favorite posts on passion).   Not only do they have good ideas but they actually have a real desire to go after them.  During lunch Bob told me that he’s always loved practicing law and that he’s never thought of leaving the firm. He also mentioned how much he like the legal aspects of executive compensation, financial institutions, and securities work.  And even though it wasn’t that hot of an area legally back then, because Bob enjoyed it and thought there was opportunity, he paved the way for Vedder Price by initiating work in those areas. That passion is especially evident now given the fact that he’s stayed with the firm and practice areas many years later, despite the modern trend that many professionals have of hopping from firm to firm.

5. Leaders are humble and kind. And it goes without saying based on my story above that Bob was as humble as firm Chairmen come. As I mentioned, Bob knew everyone’s name at the firm, he made sure that I didn’t get wet in the rain, and he even made sure I got enough to eat for lunch, ordering an extra plate while we were there. I was also impressed by the fact that Bob actually showed up to take me to lunch at 11:50 that day, rather than a little earlier or later. Leaders at his level are often so busy that they prioritize their work over other people’s schedules. In fact, many lawyers and client service professionals do. I was particularly impressed that Bob didn’t do that, because he valued my time.

Conclusion. Today’s leaders are called to help tomorrow’s leaders learn all they can, especially now, as the business and legal worlds are changing, as they become filled with new technologies and expand to the ends of every continent, and as they reshape themselves to thrive in today’s changing economy.  Fortunately, there are people like Bob who are already engaged in this process.  These leaders dedicate serious time and energy to prepare the next generation to face these new challenges and to take on some of the current ones.

That’s because the best leaders know that mentorship is critical. That a leader’s job is not only to cut costs, meet with clients, and negotiate deals but also to make sure the up-and-comers in the organization are well-equipped to do the same. Leaders set the tone and inspire others on how to produce results and eventually how to become leaders themselves. And when they do, these up-and-coming leaders will be inspired and committed to take on more than they ever could have before, which is critical in the ever-changing business and legal worlds.  And in the end, these lessons, meetings, conversations, and even lunches with interns can make all the difference.

Tags: Careers, Leadership/ Management, Networking

Taking A Break Before The Fourth Of July In Chicago

Law firms, and most professional service firms, do everything they can to compete in today’s global market. That often means working long hours regularly, pulling all-nighters, coming in on weekends, and even going without vacation for the year.  But that wasn’t true for many people yesterday, as a lot of people at my firm, and in Chicago, took at least part of the day off to get started on the fourth of July weekend.

That’s because it’s finally the fourth of July weekend. It’s a weekend where families take off for a relaxing vacation. Where non locals come to town to enjoy the beach and see all that the big city has to offer.  And where students put the books down to roam the streets for the day, which is especially satisfying during times when we’re really busy.

For lawyers those times happen pretty often. After all, law firms are filled with people who are eager to make millions, make it to the top, and eventually make partner. Whether they’re competing in a litigation trial, writing a closing argument for a jury, or negotiating the terms of a deal, lawyers are often workaholics who constantly think about work, check their blackberries, and take on more responsibility, all while neglecting relaxation. And that’s especially true now given the economic times and the incessant need to generate revenues and find more hours to bill.

For me, this summer has me feeling a lot like a lawyer, because it’s also one of the most busy periods of my life. Although most JD-MBAs take classes full time during the summer, I am both working downtown at a law firm and taking classes. And I’m doing that in addition to a few sides jobs and all the other activities that I am involved in.

But on Friday my firm, felt like a ghost town.  Most of the offices were empty and most of the lights were turned off. And the same seemed true for many of our neighbors, because the streets were less crowded than usual and the bus ride home had a lot of extra space on it.

So unlike usual, I’m going to slow down a bit and enjoy the three day weekend. Sure I am going to get started reading a case from my accounting class and perhaps work on homework from another class, but I’m also going to catch up on a few blog posts, go see the Taste of Chicago, and re-connect with a few friends and classmates here in the city. In fact, just last night, one of my great JD-MBA colleagues threw a get together at her house. It was good to see some of the JD-MBA family together again.

I haven’t planned the specifics for the rest of the weekend yet, but it will definitely involve a mix of work and relaxation. Hopefully you’re planning to do the same.