A major component of this site is a weblog that has had several lives, from its start as a featured MBA applicant/student blog on a separate site to its own presence on the Blogger system and now to its own domain as my personal website.
As you read through the entries, you'll see me go through three distinct phases in my life:
- Pre-MBA experience: Experiences that one typically goes through before matriculating at business school
- Life as an MBA student: Highs and lows of my time as a student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in much more detail than most would expect to see
- Post-MBA life...and serving as a career/education/life coach to the masses: Responses to questions emailed to me by readers, where I use what I have learned through my own missteps and experiences to help others achieve their goals and avoid making the same misstepsÂ
College student asking to leverage my connections for an in with McKinsey
I often receive emails from people who are interested in joining McKinsey & Company and, in those messages, I'll be asked general questions about company background, practice areas, interview prep, and the recruiting process. That information is basic enough, so I...
Leadership advice for a college student managing team motivation issues
The message below is from a college Freshman who attended a talk that I delivered back in the Fall. He asked me about a few things in his email, but the most notable one centers on this role in an on-campus organization. He is in a leadership role for the org and has...
A few tips on how to approach informational interviews
The message below is from a college Freshman, who I met earlier this academic year when I gave a talk at his university. Back in December, he emailed me with questions about how to best position himself to pursue a summer internship and the email exchange below is an...
College student with questions about launching his own website
The email below is from a college Junior that I first met 3 years ago when I visited his campus to deliver a keynote speech. Over the years, I've become a friend and mentor to this student and he reaches out to me every now and then with career-related questions. The...
Aspiring Consultant with questions about Excel modeling and McKinsey
The email below is from an Atlanta-based MBA graduate who aspires to transition into a career as a Management Consultant. Her questions to me vary in specificity, from wanting to know how to develop Excel modeling skills to wanting to know about projects/industries in...
Engineering undergrad wondering if she needs B-school to get into consulting
The email below is from someone who found me after reading the interview that I did on Management Consulted a few years ago. I swear that that interview is the gift that keeps on giving in terms of bringing people to me with questions. 🙂 The person is an undergrad...
Recent college grad weighing MD/MBA against a job opportunity
The email below came to me from a recent college graduate who I met through my Princeton alumni network. He's a really sharp guy who is interested in a career that bridges the areas of business and healthcare/pharma. In our previous conversations, we've talked about...
Does an MBA make you an entrepreneur?
Hey folks, So many people email me and ask if an MBA will help them be a better entrepreneur. My answer is always “No.†An MBA stands for Masters In Business Administration. It was originally designed for managers, not entrepreneurs. If it was called a Masters in...
A few quick takeaways from my time working in IT
Back in October, I did my annual visit to Indiana University's Kelley School of Business to present to a group of its undergrad business school students. The primary purpose for the visit is to deliver a keynote speech to Freshman in the Kelley Living Learning Center....
$25K MBA scholarship opportunity from @EconomistGMAT — “Brightest Minds Contest”
This morning, I was contacted by the folks at The Economist GMAT Tutor with a heads up about their launch of a $25K scholarship program for stellar applicants to MBA programs. Along with some other people in the MBA/business blogging community, they asked me to help...