Comments and suggestions for your job search strategy

I just answered a questionnaire by the Mannheim Business School on my job search. In the end, they asked to highlight what we thought was important and add other points. I added a few.

These are the points that the school suggested which I think are important:

• Career fairs
  
• Contacts to professors or to external people that came to our lecture
  
• Online career services
  
• Analyzing and focusing on capabilities and experience
  
• Career services by partner schools
  

There is no order of preference in the list above, nor in the list below, where I went on writing down what I thought was useful for my search.

• Apply to companies which are not on the top of your list first
  
• www.monster.de
  
• EBS Symposium
  
• Konaktiva Darmstadt
  
• www.access.de
  
• Send a big number of applications, but keep them relevant.
  
• Evaluate clearly what is important to you: salary, function, industry, location, work-life balance, company culture, ethics and reputation. There isn’t only McKinsey with fat bonus.
  
• Keep track of your expenses and follow up on interviews.
  
• Share jobs with your colleagues; they will send you good jobs back.
  
• When talking to companies at fair boths, go in pairs for a general Q&A session, than come back with focused questions alone.
  
• When talking to a company, try to have a specific position you want to apply to in mind. Germans like to see focus and confidence.
  
• Rewrite CVs and cover letters constantly, ask others for feedback and keep good version control. Expect to dedicate several hours a week for this task.
  
• Install a PDF printer driver to convert your documents. Send only PDF files to recruiters.
• Consider going back to your country of origin as a very concrete option.
  
• Be prepared by the fact that the MBA is still a big unknown in Germany.
  
• Learn as much German as you can.
  
• Use your master thesis project to interview high ranked executives in companies you plan to apply for. It is easier than you think, you learn a lot, you train for a real job interview and you get valuable contacts.
  
• Don’t expect too much from the semesters abroad in regards to job search. The timing is not right. Use the career services to refine your application documents and goals.
  
• Get as many reference letters as you can from past employers or professors as soon as possible. In Germany, every line of a CV has to be confirmed by an official document.
  
• Use Xing.com. In Germany, it is more important than LinkedIn, even if it has a horrible name.
  
• Use LinkedIn. Get recommendations from contacts.
  
• Blog and Twitter about relevant aspects of your MBA. I got a job lead through twitter.
  
• Let your colleagues know which kind of job you are looking for: industry, function, location.
  
• Get your GMAT book out and do some math exercises. Good preparation for consulting interviews.
  
• Look for MBA specific positions. In that way, you avoid being compared to 24 year old undergrads fresh out of college.
  
• Don’t ignore positions for 24 year old undergrads fresh out of college.
  

Internet and cell phones in Mannheim

Sandeep, who is planning to start an MBA here in Mannheim soon, sent me this question which I thought I wuld answer on the blog.

From: sandeep jain
Date: Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 21:24

Hi Fernando

How are you doing?

I am sure you must be at a half way to complete your year end company project.

Fernando had a few questions regarding the Internat and mobile technology in Germany.
How about internet at home (provided by Mannheim) is it free of cost or payable. Is it wireless or we have to arrange for the internet on our own?
Mobile technology. Which is the technology used in germany GSM or CDMA. Are mobile services expensive there? Is it a viable option to use for connecting with family in emergencies?

Thank you .......Sandeep Jain

If you are staying at one of the apartments organized by the Mannheim Business School, like I am, then broadband internet is included. In my case, I have a LAN socket and a very long cable in my apartment, which works very well. In other buildings I hear they have wireless LAN connection. So no worries there.
Furthermore, you have wireless LAN connection all over Campus, either through the university's WLAN or through the b-school's own. Some places in Mannheim also offer free WLAN, like the Star coffee shop on N7.

Germany is GSM country, which is very practical, as you can change operators by simply changing SIM cards, as long as your cell phone is not locked. You can either buy a contract (usually 2 years, gets you a free handset for a fixed monthly price plus extra expenses. You might be able to cancel the contract uppon departing Germany, but you have to make sure of that before signing) or, as I prefer, pay as you go or pre-paid plans.
I am a happy customer of Symio, a pre-paid provider based on the internet. Their plans are simple and the prices are good, so far I am happy, even though there was a great deal of confusion when I decided to change from GPRS SIM card to a UMTS one.
This means, of course, that I use my cell phone for internet on the go: maps, e-mail, twitter, reading, news, train schedules, IM, etc. Works pretty well on my Nokia E61 and the Symio internet price is unbeatable: 0,24€ per MB. That means that my weekly internet bills are usually below 2€, even with daily internet use.
Call prices are 0,09€ per minute any number in Germany. To Symio number it is even cheaper, but I have no idea who of my friends also use Symio. And SMS is also 9 cents.
For international calls, I use Skype Out. Other alternatives are the several call shops available downtown and near the train station. rAtes are just cents per minute, if I am not mistaken.
Now let me put a link in this post and continue our project work.

Queen's clothing sales

I wanted to buy a hoodie from the beginning of my course here, but, at $50, it was too expensive for me. Well, now I have one and 4 T-shirts. Not buying T's for a long time. Only today.

They even have a facebook page.

http://www.campusbookstore.com

Queen's Tee Shirts Gray, White, Navy, Red Sale: $5.00 Reg.: $14.95 You Save: $9.95 *Only 500 Available

Water Bottle Variety of Colours Sale: $5.00 Reg.: $11.95 You Save: $6.95 *Only 100 Available

Long-Sleeve Tee White, Gray, Navy, Red Sale: $9.00 Reg.: $18.95 You Save: $9.95 *Only 100 Available

Queen's Track Pant Gray, Navy, Red Sale: $15.00 Reg.: $34.95 You Save: $19.95 *Only 400 Available

Standard Hoodie Navy, Gray, Red Sale: $19.00 Reg.: $55.95 You Save: $36.95 *Only 200 Available

Premium Hoodie Gray ONLY! Sale: $25.00 Reg.: $59.95 You Save: $34.95 *Only 200 Available

Be sure to sign up for our "Surprise Sale" email alerts through the Reminder Service.

A presentation epiphany

When designing your presentation, create some extra slides anticipating some of the questions that the audience will post at the end. It will certainly impress the heck all of them if, besides answering the question well, you have a graph or other evidence to support your point. And you can still use the Q&A time to present that extra idea you are so fond of, but hat to strike from the main presentation because of time constraints.

Preparing your laptop for a presentation

If you are using your own laptop to connect to a datashow projector for a public presentation, make sure that whatever the audience sees is up to your usual standards.
The best scenario is, of course, to set everything up in advance. When the audience gets in, the cover slide is already up.
If you have set up on the spot, get the slide up on your pc and only then hook it up to the projector.
In any case, it is important to check what is showing on your desktop. What background or wallpaper are you using? What icons are on your desktop? What other files are stored in the same folder where your presentation is saved?
I've seen the weirdest stuff around. Uggly colours, tasteless wallpapers, bad pictures of loved ones, weird filenames, set of presentation files aimed at a competitor in the same folder, cute love cards from girlfriends, icons to embarassing games or websites.
A good solution might be to set up a complete new user or identity for presentations only and have a clean desktop with a meaningful background and the presentation files conveniently placed on the desktop. Simple, but certainly effective.
Another thought is to selectively make information visible clearly intentionally or seemingly unintentionally. It might be the company's logo and slogan, it might be a hint to that talent recruiter that you have been approached by others or simply a gag to break the ice in the beginning or having a good laugh in the end.

Winter shoes

Be sure to bring or buy good winter shoes for your winter semester in Kingston. The main characteristics, in order of importance, are:

• Water proof



• Anti-skidding



• Warm



• Easy to clean

Well, it gets wet here. That's because of the snow and ice mixture that you will find on streets, even when it's cold. So you want a water proof shoe. It is not fun to walk around in negative temperatures with wet feet.

the mixture of snow and ice also stains all sorts of materials, specially leather. So you don't want to ruin your nice dress shoes. And you want your new shoes to be easily cleaned for the same reason.

It gets really slippery around here, so a good sole design is a safety necessity.

And if the shoes aren't that warm, that is not a big problem, as long as your feet are dry. You can always use warm socks, or layers of socks.

I bought short boots at Mountain Equipment Co-op in Toronto, and am happy with them. Somewhat similar to the ones pictured below. It was boxing week and, with tax, I paid less than CA$70. A good price, I believe. Expect to pay up to CA$150.

Yes, I know. Not a very exciting article. But it was one thing I was considering before coming here. Winter boots are difficult to find in countries where you don't have a strong winter and heavy to carry in your lugggage, so I really recommend buying them here.

Washing clothes at the University of Warwick

Not much to explain here, just some hard information for you.

There are several launderetes around campus. The ones I know are the one at in the Lakeside 4 building (pictured below) and the one behind the students' union next to the mail room. There are others, of course.

The first thing you'll need is soap or detergent. You will have to buy this at Costcutter or Tesco, there is none available at the launderetes.
Then you will need coins. Washing is 2 pounds, drying is one pound and you might need an extra 20 pence.
A big bag. You'll need it to carry your clothes and people usually use the green recycling bag you get in your rooms.

The washing machines are big and strong. That means that you can collect clothes for a long period of time and wash ever 2 or 3 weeks only. Or you can share the washer with a colleague. As written before, it costs 2 pounds per washing and an extra 20 pence for a longer cycle. Not sure if those extra 20 pence do any good. It takes around 50 minutes to wash your clothes.

Then you have to dry them. For 1 pound you do that. Follow the instructions on the wall and transfer your clothes from the washer to the dryer. it works pretty well without creasing the clothes too much. It also takes around 50 minutes.

Go during the week during the day, you won't have a problem in finding available machines. On weekends you might have to wait until somebody's clothes are ready to use the machine. Then, if they are not there to free up the machine, be merciless: get their clothes out, store them somewhere, put yours in and go continue studying OB.

You will find chairs for the wait and even a Coca-Cola vending machine.
So, remember:

• Coins in the correct amount: (2 pounds + 1 pound + 20 pence).
• Detergent
• Good planning ;-)

BTW, good place to meet that cute girl from the opposite flat...

Index of useful posts about life at WBS

OK, I should be studying accounting and OB, but let's try to keep it simple.

Here is a list of links to information that I brought together during the term regarding practical tips for life on campus and classes. I hope they are useful. They can easily be referenced by clicking on the "WBS Tips" button on the top right of this blog.

• Adapter plugs
• Have at least 2
• Washing clothes at the University of Warwick
  
• The book fair
• An event to buy used books
  
• How good is the internet connection at Warwick University?
• The Language Centre
• If you plan to brush up your French or Japanese or...
  
• Societies
• You'll probably not have time for them, but...
• Midterm exams and a little bit more about Bristol
• A bit on exams here and some unrelated stuff
  
• Submitting assignments at WBS
• The tap issue
• A British curiosity
  
• High tech infrastructure
• An ode to Nicholas Bate
• Some about some of the teachers we had here

I wish I'll find time to write more practical tips for the benefit of all, but, realistically, I think that will be it. But if I do, I'll update this list.

If you are going to study at ESSEC, France

There are Mannheimers all over the globe. Even near Paris, at the ESSEC school. Pete is one of them and he sent these tips for those going there in the future. Not my case, but enjoy.

DSC00692
Originally uploaded by
Patrick Blum

From: Peter Findlay
Date: Dec 7, 2007 6:11 PM
Subject: For ESSEC Students - Winter Term 2008 - Ignore Otherwise

Hello all If you are going to ESSEC for the January semester - here are a few points of advice.

Maina gave us some great advice about Warwick - let us know if anyone else has anything to add to that.

Cell Phones - the other guys were paying for prepaid cards - but they are quite expensive about 0.39 EUR per minute, with not too many deals. If you want to go through the hassle of getting a bank card like I did - (you have to make an appointment, bring a passport, attestation of residence and school enrolment) - then you can sign up for a long contract. The great thing about this is, you can legally break your contract after three months as long as you leave france. Delphine, the academic advisor gives you a attestation of leaving france and you're off the hook. A much cheaper way of doing things - but definitely requires some more hassles.

Residence - the residences are pretty average when compared to the Mannheim and from what I've heard Warwick residences. Nothing is included at the beginning, not even toilet paper. No bedding, no dishes, no light, nothing.
They charge you 90 EUR for a really crappy package - that we suggest you don't take. We all went to Ikea and spent anywhere from 50 -100 EUR and got more and better stuff - most of which we can resell for half price or maybe even give to you if we can figure out where to store it over the holidays. - We should arrange a swap system somehow. If you cant get to ikea - there is also Au Chan, which is about 5 min from ESSEC in the big shopping centre. It is a giant food store and has Wall Mart like items as well - cheap clothes / electronics / dishes, etc. Heating and windows are poor, so good to have an extra blanket. Internet has been a problem - bring your own internet cable.
Also we haven't been able to use torrent or other download tools which is annoying. Skype is sketchy sometimes.

School - not too bad, some of the rooms really need renovating - and often not well heated. Get used to sometimes wearing your jacket in class. The university is well-renowned (MBA just ranked 7th in the world for international business schools in the Wall Street Journal ahead of Harvard and Insead!!), however in reality - the program is not really an MBA. The students, although very smart, are very young and often without any real work experience. They are hired to work at the best banks and consultancy firms in France and throughout Europe, but they don't go in at the MBA level, but at an undergrad position essentially. However, you are going to ESSEC in the best term, as no other of our partner schools offer as many options for courses to take and you can really find courses you like from some generally pretty good professors. You will feel a little old here - the average age is probably around 22 in the MBA classes and many students on campus are like 19 or 20.

Paris - about 40-50 minutes on the RER subway train - a must do almost every weekend,and even during the week. Cergy really does suck and paris is amazing on so many levels. So make use of your time here to enjoy the city.


Food - Food at school consists of French sandwhiches at the cafeteria or the pub for about 2.5 EUR which are essentially a big baguette a few small toppings inside, or there is a student restaurant close which is shared with some local colleges - you have to by a booklet of 10 tickets for 2.8 EUR per ticket - and when you go downstairs - you get a big meal for your 2.8 EUR.
The meal is not always amazing, but lots of choice generally, and good to get veggies, stuff like that. Otherwise - there is a food court in the shopping mall which will be 5-10 EUR (be carefull the asian places are really expensive). To go out to a restaurant - Paris is obviously the best - but if you have to stay in Cergy - there is 4-5 nice little chain restaurants down by the harbour about a 10-15 walk from school - about 12-20 EUR. Residence - Le Haut - not to sure, but seems like there is nothing really around other than a bakery. Linandes - A McDonalds / KFC / Overprice American Steak restaurant and a bakery within 2-3 min walk.

Parties - go to Paris on your own or if you want to do one of the many ESSEC parties - we suggest the "MASTERIZE ME" parties organized by the masters students who are normally > 22 so there a little more your age. Many of the ESSEC parties are like 19 years old. The Foy's pub is pretty cool usually on campus - lots of French people there of course - but beer is only 1 EUR (25cl) or 2 EUR (50cl). Normally in france beer is 4 EUR (25 CL) and 6-7 EUR for (50 cl), so this is the best deal around.


Bakeries - these are everywhere, not as healthy as German bakeries, but more tasy. Almond Croissants are my favourite. Basically its like a croissant getting nuclear bombed by almonds and chocolate such that it doesn’t even look like a croissant anymore.



Hope this helps.

Pete

Submitting assignments at WBS

Tip of the week for the Mannheimers coming next term.

Assignments are submitted online through www.my.wbs.com. Usually the intranet is quite stable, although we had a problem during the submission deadline on Monday. But things were sorted out nicely.

Take a look at the e-mail below and do your files in shades of greys.

Gratuitous x-mas
tree bokeh, with a twist.
Originally uploaded by
Corey (a.k.a. Ten0fnine)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Miriam Mason
Date: Dec 6, 2007 11:52 AM
Subject: EBE assignment
To: FMBA students 2007 intake

Dear All

I understand there's been some discussion regarding submission of the assignment in colour. This is just a reminder for clarification purposes that you're required to submit online, and according to University policy all work is printed in black & white. It would therefore be more beneficial to produce your graphs/charts accordingly, i.e. using shading etc, rather than in colours which may not be clear when printed.

I hope this helps - and good luck with the assignment!

Kind regards

Miriam Mason
Programme Manager, Full-time MBA
The Warwick MBA
Warwick Business School

Two photos to wrap it up today

The picture above shows how focused everyone gets when it is revision week and the subject is accounting. And attendance was also high, as you all can see. This is also a nice shot of the class where we have our lessons, with around 80 people. The number of students increased from around 50 last year. It won't get any bigger, that's for sure. Maximum asset utilization (which is one of the ratios we have to know for the exam next Monday).

And then we have my favorite tree on campus. I guess it's an oak. I don't need to write much about it. It's imponent.

The Language Centre

The Language Centre is the language school here in the University of Warwick. There the students can take the core language courses (one term) they need for the MBA and other courses, but they also can take extra-curricular courses, called leisure courses.
Originally, I wanted to take up French again. But I found it to be too much.

• First of all, the courses usually take up two terms, and I would be able to use them only for one term.
• Secondly, I personally could not free up the time for language studies. Just not high enough in my priorities list.
• Thirdly, there is a cost involved, about one hundred pounds for each course. So I decided not to try it this time.

Apparently, the Language Lab also has good multimedia facilities and material available to the public, so you could, in theory, go there to use their learning DVDs and do some private study in the language you prefer, on your own time and rhythm. I haven't tried it, though.
The full time MBA students will have to take one language course next term, when a second group of Mannheim exchange students will come. This means that they will have a group of colleagues to accompany to the language course, and this might work as a good incentive. Here is their website:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/languagecentre/courses/


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How good is the internet connection at Warwick University?

This is how good it is:


I mean, that is pretty good, wouldn't you say so? Anyway, I am happy with it.
But don't think of using P2P (peer to peer) networks over here. They are not allowed here. And I have the impression that the guys running this network know what they are doing and would catch you quite quickly.

Update

The first test was on the 3rd of November. Today, I got another result, rather disappointing:

Midterm exams and a little bit more about Bristol

These are the two reasons I haven't been too active around here, besides the two thumb messages below.

On week 5 of the first term of the full time MBA we have the midterm exams. So it is a whole week with exams, accounting on Monday (gone!), marketing and organizational behaviour tomorrow, economics and operations management on Thursday. Lots of things to read and re-read, little time for e-mails and blog.
These exams account for only 20% of the final grades, but are a good way to measure your position in the course and, if you want distinction, every bit of the grade is important, so you do work hard.

But I tried not to get too stressed about all that and even did something which some of my colleagues considered academic suicide: I travelled during the weekend, departing on Friday to Bristol and coming back on Sunday night. Needless to say, my OB book travelled with me, but saw little use, if any.
In Bristol we had the annual convention of the National Harmonica League. I must admit that I love these harmonica gatherings and always have a good time. And this time it wasn't different. It was great to meet new and old friends and to hear great music all around.
There were a couple of things to learn from this experience:

• a scooter is quite handy, but keep your distance from drunken youngsters
• check in at your hostel early, don't leave it until 2:30 a.m.
• having good friends saves you in desperate situations like the one above
• be passionate about what you do and things will happen easily. I had a great time doing the workshops on harmonica maintenance, and got really flattering feedback
• there are good opportunities if you choose to work with the passion of people. I gotta figure out how to keep the harmonica business in my future plans

I will try to post some videos (the hotel lounge and bar full of harmonica players is hilarious!) or pictures soon, but the priority is low due to the exams. I also owe some material on the Spitz! punk blues festival, I know.

But now let's go to sleep. Tomorrow the day starts at 6:30 a.m.
And we have only 2 hours time difference between São Paulo and Coventry.

The tap issue

OK, we are in Britain, have I mentioned this? Diferent country, different culture, different habits. At least the language is understandable. Sometimes.
But those faucets, man, those faucets! I just can't get it! And so can't the Brits themselves, it seems.
I have already tapped into this subject before (no pun intended), but I'll elaborate: it is common in the U.K. to have two taps on a sink, in the bathroom or in the kitchen. One for hot water. One for cold water. Steaming hot. Ice cold. On. Off. No in-betweens. The digital water system! Arrrgh!
"There must be a logical reason for that. Or at least a historical one." I thought. And I guess that I am right about the historical one, although nobody was able to confirm it to me.
It is quite clear that you are expected to block the drain hole, pour some hot and cold water into the sink into the temperature mix you want and use the pooled water for whatever use you have.
Yeah, right. That must have made sense 70 years ago when a mixing faucet was really expensive, but nowadays? Doesn't convince me, as I see this arrangement in places where the investment in mixing systems would have been definitely covered by the construction budget.

But it is also frustrating when they try to solve this problem by actually installing a water mixer. Like in the kitchens of Lakeside 4. I was delighted to see a mixing water tap in kitchens there. "How lucky they are" I thought. Well, not that lucky. If you take a closer luck at the photo below, you'll see why.
Note that there are two streams coming out of the tap. And yes, you guessed it, one stream is hot, the other cold. In theory, they should mix in the air, and all would be fine. In practice, it doesn't work that well. So, even if they try to solve the problem, it doesn't really work!

So one has to take the matter in his own hands, and be inventive. And really, it is not difficult. All it takes is a PET bottle, a Swiss army knife and 3 minutes, and the problem is solved a bit more satisfactory. No, it doesn't look great and yes, it is a bit fiddly to work with, but, so far, no one has burnt their hands under the hot water any more.

Fawcets and room

I promisse I will elaborate on the fawcets (or taps) theme later on. Meanwhile, take a look at Maina's description of our accomodation and her pictures (including the taps), which show very well how I live here in Lakeside.

The book fair

This is a post for the future, as the book fair has already happened on Saturday.
Every beginning of term the Students' Union (SU) organizes a not-for-profit used text book sale in the end of week 1. It surely is a great place to get the books that you need for a very good price.
Below some observations that I made:

• Arrive early. I arrived at 9:50, and this was good. I was one of the first 50 people to have their pick. The fair opened at 10:00 and by 10:20 the best offers were gone. By 10:30 there were thousands of people queueing.
• Cheapest books are on top. You will find different tables with piles of the most popular books. In those cases, the ones on the top are the cheapest, so it is easy and quick to grab what you need. If you want a book in a good condition, grab a bit lower in the pile.
• Take cash with you. Only cash accepted.
• Make a list of what you need and prioritize. You won't have much time to decide.
• Be prepared to get an older edition. I got two books, both of them are not the newest edition, but one before. But, for 5 and 3 pounds each instead of 45 or 50, it was really a no brainer.
• Be prepared to spend more than the bargains described above. If you get a book which costs 45 pounds for 25, it is still a win-win situation for you and the seller.
• Take a strong bag with you.
• I hear that we are going to have something similar this week at WBS.

• Ah, yes, very important: take good company with you.

Well, that's it for now. Let me grab my new (usede) Accounting book and do some work.

Societies

We do have strong students' unions in Brazilian universities, and they do support or host a fair amount of groups and clubs. But I haven't seen nothing similar to what we have available here at Warwick University: 250 societies and 70 sports clubs! One gets dizzy just to think about all the possibilities and how easy it will be to spend far too much time doing fun stuff instead of preparing for classes.
Well, to help sort out what to do and when, here a bit of useful information:

• The societies fair
  At the Students' Union
  Wednesday the 3rd of October to Friday the 5th
  
  
• An introduction to societies and clubs
  http://warwicksu.com/news/article/Sign-up-for-Societies-and-Sports-clubs/
  
  
• The societies portal
  http://warwicksu.com/societies/

I promise that I will join only one. Maybe two. Maybe... it is tempting!

Adapter plugs

There are eletric adapter plugs available at Costcutter for those of us who have electrical appliances from overseas. There are 2 types:

• For shaver only, maximum load of 1 Ampère
• Universal adapters, maximum load of 13 Ampères (I think)
  

Be sure to buy the universal adapter. Around 3 pounds at Costcutter, near the Rootes Building.
If you buy the "shavers only", use it for shavers only or for small appliances. In Britain, plugs have a protection fuse which will, surprisingly enough, go bust if you try to use appliances which need more power than the nominal power of the adapter.
You have also to be careful when using more than one appliance on a multisocket adapter. If they add up to a lot of power, the fuse may go bust again.


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