EMBA Survival

Nonprofits, board seats, and self-funded EMBAs

I ran across a surprising story about a student that paid her entire $100k+ EMBA tuition at Kellog out of pocket.  She was working at a non-profit.  What was surprising is post-graduation, she stayed in the non-profit world, but managed to boost her salary enough to make the EMBA a worthwhile investment:  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_43/b3956601.htm

A few of my friends, neighbors, and coworkers have board seats at non-profits.  The #1 thing non-profit boards are looking for, I'm told, is the ability to raise money for the organization.

If you want to serve your community via a non-profit board seat, get good at raising money.  For those of you that already have solid fund raising experience, you will be highly sought after.

Operations Manager needed

DataCert has an open position for an Operations Manager.  DataCert is one of the fastest growing companies in Texas.  As you know, companies that are growing quickly tend to be a good career opportunity (stock options / promotions.)  Good luck!

MBA Summer Internship

https://sjobs.brassring.com/EN/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?jobId=51804&type=search&JobReqLang=1&recordstart=1&JobSiteId=5018&JobSiteInfo=51804_5018&GQId=0

Capital Group, my employer, currently manages over $1.3 trillion in assets.  This is a fantastic opportunity for a future Equity Analyst / Portfolio Manager:

Title	Equity Analyst - Summer Intern
AutoReqId	4993BR
Functional Area	Investment Research & Management
Work Location	London, England Los Angeles, CA (Downtown) Tokyo, Japan
Full Time / Part Time	Full Time
Position Description	This position is specifically posted for 1st Year MBA students. If you are NOT a 1st year MBA student, please do NOT apply to this position. Feel free to apply to other available opportunities with The Capital Group Companies. The qualified summer intern in the equity research area will analyze and begin to understand companies in an industry or area with the objective of producing an investment recommendation on the securities of those companies. You will analyze economic, financial, and industry trends as well as interview company managements. You will be guided in your work by a research analyst although the expectation is that you will be largely self-directed in your approach and conclusions. You will have an opportunity to learn more about investment management generally and about the people and process of research at Capital specifically.
Hiring Criteria	We seek bright, highly motivated and disciplined individuals who: 1) are capable of directing their own independent work effort in a friendly cooperative but largely self-guided environment; and 2) thrive on a heavy diet of research, analysis, writing, and business travel.

Come work with me at a great company - Finance and Accounting Management

If this job interests you and you know me personally, please contact me before applying.  Good luck!

Title	Accounting and Finance Manager - Relocation Assistance Available
Functional Area	Accounting & Finance
Experience Level	5-10 years
Work Location	San Antonio , TX
Position Description	As a Manager, you will be accountable for overseeing the daily operations and activities of a full accounting team, including accountants, senior accountants, and team managers in a team of about 6 to 7. We are seeking an individual who has demonstrated an exceptional ability to assess performance, provide feedback effectively, and coach and develop team members to deliver best business results. Other responsibilities include: • Monitoring of, and ensuring adherence to, all external guidelines, policies, regulations, and laws related to accounting and operations services provided for our client accounts • Communicating with other areas and departments within Capital Group to resolve issues • Creation, development, and maintenance of external business relationships that support the business need • Oversight and delivery of training as needed In addition to routine responsibilities mentioned above, you will have the opportunity to work on special projects involving new business issues and to present mutual fund reports to fund officers. You can also expect to work collaboratively with your peers to manage resources, enhance work processes, and improve overall service delivered to our internal and external client groups.
Hiring Criteria	To qualify for this position, you must have: • Minimum 6-8 years of accounting experience, including at least 3-4 years of successfully supervising and leading people in a team environment • Bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting or finance • An exceptional standard of quality: this involves attention to detail, organization, thoughtful analysis and problem-solving, and accountability for excellent results • Strong leadership skills, including the ability to coach and instruct others in order to reach desired results • Excellent written and verbal communication skills The ideal candidate will also possess: • CPA and/or MBA • Knowledge/experience related to supervising investment management accounting teams • Knowledge/experience related to supervising an audit team
	www.capgroup.com

financial models by headcount

I've seen head-count burn-rates calculated at a couple of places, but it's not the norm.

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/10/financial-model.html

Scroll down to the bottom, in part II: lessons.  The number 1 take-away was Focus on headcount.  Granted, that won't work for all business models, but it is interesting how accurate it turns out to be.

leveraging student creativity

http://www.informationarbitrage.com/2007/10/leveraging-the-.html

Look forward to more companies hosting contests to generate value and attract top job applicants at the same time.

If you don't read information arbitrage, you are missing out on some brilliant insights.

stragey+business is forecasting a talent shortage in the oil and gas industry

http://www.strategy-business.com/li/leadingideas/li00011?pg=0

Some companies are recruiting MBAs while they are still in school

Got an email today describing a fast-track leadership development program at AT&T.  Interviews are in early Nov.  Funny, the interviews are walking distance from my loft.  Small world.

The program is described in this doc: Download ATTFLPApp.pdf

Good luck with your application!

2nd Year MBA Job Opportunity

This is a fantastic opportunity:

Title	Investment Analyst - Equity (Other MBA)
AutoReqId	6872BR
Functional Area	Investment Research & Management
Work Location	Geneva, Switzerland Hong Kong London, England Los Angeles, CA (Downtown) New York, NY San Francisco, CA Singapore Tokyo, Japan
Full Time / Part Time	Full Time
Position Description	This position is specifically posted for 2nd year MBA students. If you are NOT a 2nd year MBA student, please do NOT apply to this position. Feel free to apply to other available opportunities with The Capital Group Companies. https://sjobs.brassring.com/1033/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?Agent=1&jobid=78169&ClientId=13910&PartnerId=13910&SiteId=5018&JobSiteId=5018&Language=1&JobReqLang=1&JobSiteInfo=78169_5018 Capital's investment research professionals are responsible for gathering, analyzing, interpreting and communicating the information on which most of our investment decisions are based. After a relatively brief period of time, usually within one year, analysts are given the responsibility of managing a research portfolio within their area of coverage. This allows them to bring to life their conviction on a particular security. There is no formal training program for new analysts because we believe there is more than one way to make investment decisions. We have two offices in Los Angeles and usually new U.S. based investment research professionals tend to begin there. Other U.S. investment offices are located in San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., and Atlanta. Most non-U.S. investment research professionals are based in our offices in Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Singapore, and Tokyo. This year we have opportunities in North America, Europe & Asia.
Hiring Criteria	We seek bright, highly motivated and disciplined individuals who can: direct their own work in a friendly cooperative but largely self-guided environment; thrive on a heavy dose of research, writing, and business travel; enjoy the financial investment process and the elements required to make it successful and who want to understand the connection between numbers on a financial statement and what a real business actually makes or does; communicate easily and effectively, both orally and in writing, with colleagues and with top management of other companies.

market turmoil - conversation with a trader up 4x norm

A friend of mine works at Kershner Trading in Austin.  I had a chat with him on Friday:

me: how is the credit crunch and the downtick rule change affecting traders like yourself?
halfdeadcat: oh my gawd it is so awesome
halfdeadcat: though, i've made most of my money long in the crashes
me: the market has been very volitile; i'm sure that's a good thing
halfdeadcat: get a low entry buy on a someone's panic out and flip it a few minutes later
halfdeadcat: heck yeah it is.  the whole office is making bank
halfdeadcat: I've already made twice as much this month as i have every made in any previous month here
me: congratulations!!!
halfdeadcat: thanks. and august is normally the slow month
me: oh, that's right, summer slowdown
halfdeadcat: yeah.  all the traders in ny head to the hamptons
halfdeadcat: it can't last though.   all those manhattan trophy brides are used to 3 weeks vacation in august
halfdeadcat: all those guys aren't getting laid right now
me: lol, mind if i tell the folks in my MBA program about this and name-drop your firm?
halfdeadcat: sure
halfdeadcat: feel free if they are interested in that sort of thing
me: i would think kershner would benefit from attracting some of the best and brightest from jones
halfdeadcat: point them our way

They are always open to new people, and they are very open-minded about their backgrounds.  Not everyone can trade, but good traders can come from all different walks of life.  Oh, and for the math-challenged; the 4x vs. twice comes from I chatted with him halfway through the month.  Could you go work for them and make 7-figures?  Yeap, it is possible.