By Caitlin DeClercq Rochester is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own feel and sense of community. When my husband, David, and I first moved into the South Wedge neighborhood, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much pride our neighbors took in their “Wedge” community. Several of our neighbors went out of their [...]
The 2010 U.S. News & World Report rankings on the top business schools released earlier this week placed Simon at #27. This is the 20th time that the Simon School has been ranked in the top tier of b-schools since the survey’s inception in 1990. “The Simon School has long been regarded as one of the [...]
Apr 26, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
Want to get a taste of what Simon’s students, professors, and alumni are thinking and talking about? Consider attending our upcoming conference, Challenges to Leadership and Governance. With all the turmoil in recent economic times, executives are coming under greater pressure to meet high ethical and moral standards. This trickles down into the organization through [...]
Apr 06, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post
By Hitesh Nathani
M.B.A Candidate, Class of 2011
Everyone knows well enough that networking and active participation in clubs help in interviews. If you have ever wondered how exactly does it help, read my story…
The end of the second quarter is considered by many as the most hectic time at the Simon School – with seemingly infinite assignments and projects suddenly becoming due in the final two weeks. It was right then when I got my first interview call from Rio Tinto. While I had been networking for literally every company that I had applied to, for some reason, I had not networked with anybody from Rio Tinto. A quick search through the alumni database gave me two names – the CFO and a financial associate, who had joined just recently. I decided to speak to the latter, even though she was in a totally different department. I was applying for the position of a Business Improvement Consultant, whereas she was in Corporate Finance.
Because her profile was so dissimilar from mine, the conversation was mainly about general topics like work culture. She explained to me a culture of safety sharing that was followed at every meeting and was taken very seriously at Rio Tinto.
On the interview day, the interviewer mentioned that before he began the interview, he would like to tell me about their safety sharing culture. When I mentioned that I actually already knew about it, he was awed, because none of this is mentioned on the internet. The interview started on a positive note, and everything went uphill from there.
I received the second round interview call in less than 24 hours – this time with the CFO himself. He is an alumnus of the Class of 1991 and didn’t know about the club mentioned in my résumé (for which I am the President) – Simon United (which was formed just a few years ago). Understandably, his first question was – ‘What is this Simon United?’ to which the shortened version of my response was somewhat like ‘Simon United is a cultural club at the Simon School that holds one of the biggest quarterly events at Simon – Broaden Your Horizons (BYH).” During our first quarter, along with my friends, I was given the opportunity to represent my home country, India, in front of an audience of over 150 people. I also did a dance performance. I think diversity is the heart of the Simon School, and was thus motivated to lead the club’. I had prepared all sorts of behavioral questions but not this one. This was spontaneous but passionate. Looking retrospectively, it showed that I embrace diversity (similar to the Rio Tinto culture), it showed that I can communicate in front of a large audience, and it showed my leadership skills. I think the CFO got all his answers from this one example. He had made up his mind – the rest of the interview was just to confirm it. I did go to Denver this summer to pursue my internship, and am raring to go.
The above is just one of the many advantages of networking and participating in extra-curricular’s. I have learned many more lessons through networking that I will probably share with you in my future blogs!
Now that the recruiting season is beginning for us in Admissions, we get to meet and converse with prospective students from across the county and abroad who are just starting their search for the perfect MBA program. These interactions are what help us shape the incoming MBA and MS classes, but also give us insight into marketplace perceptions. In recent travel, I have had to assure students that, one, we do not live in an ice and snow laden tundra; two, that the city has great culture and lifestyle; and three, that one studying in Rochester can find employment opportunities post-graduation beyond upstate New York.
Let me begin by dispelling the climate myth. Occasionally someone will come up to speak with me and say, “I was considering the Simon MBA because of its great programs, but I just can’t force myself to live in snow nine months of the year…” or perhaps instead they say, “I can’t force myself to survive in subzero temperatures…” This is not true. While we do get snow (definitely more than any school in Florida), it’s usually only from late November until March. Since we know we will be getting snow each year, the City of Rochester is very good at plowing roads in the wee hours of the morning before any traffic really begins, and the university maintenance staff is equally prepared and effective to clear sidewalks and passageways on campus. There are also underground tunnels for students to use so they never have to leave the warmth of a building. The plus side to the weather in winter is that there are dozens of sports and activities that students get involved in ranging from downhill and cross country skiing to simply sledding. This also means that we are a four season city, with autumn (my personal favorite for hiking and biking around town), spring and summer each having their own unique festivals, events and activities in which to participate.
On to the next myth: that there is nothing to do in Rochester. While we are not as big as New York City in either population size or cost of living (thankfully), we still have plenty to keep you busy. As of the year 2000, the metro area of Rochester had a population of more than 1 million, with social and athletic activities, restaurants and cultural venues catering to each person. Restaurants from a wide variety of ethnic designations, dozens of bars, theatre, museums (for young and old as Rochester is home to the Strong Museum of Play), music conservatories, and parks are everywhere. The geography of the region allows for easy access to the Finger Lake region where there are dozens of vineyards to explore or numerous state and national parks where one can walk, hike, bike or camp. Rochester is fortunate that the location is accessible to the 14 northeastern states in the U.S. as well as two major Canadian cities, Montreal and Toronto. This means the majority of large cities in the Northeast and Midwest can be reached in less than a day’s drive, usually in only a few hours. For those who want to move a little faster to get to their intended destinations, the Rochester International Airport also services more than 200 flights daily across the U.S. and abroad.
Now, let’s address the last myth about job placement. While it is true that students attending a graduate program can expect more job placement opportunity in the region where their program is located, (for us that would mean the northeast region of the U.S.) that does not preclude students from placing elsewhere. Our most populated alumni networks for the University of Rochester are in Rochester and New York City, however, we have strong alumni networks in Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles and in most major cities abroad on each continent. If students are looking for placement based on geography rather than job function, there are at least a few well-connected alumni in almost every city on the map for the Simon School.
Hopefully this blog has opened your eyes a bit to the possibilities available here in Rochester for a fun, intense and rewarding education that isn’t underneath 20 feet of snow in the winter quarter. Even so…I still recommend you buy a winter jacket before winter quarter arrives.
By Abhishek S. Dalvi – MBA Class of 2011 Candidate
So you finally got the much awaited acceptance from Simon School of Business and are now preparing to complete the next set of documentation formalities to get here. While you add every little brick in this process, that seems never-ending, you are in reality much closer to the great journey that Simon is set to offer you. While most students already living in the United States have an understanding of what it is like to study full-time, the international student community will have all the wild animals of anxiety running inside their bellies in anticipation of the things to be expected in the following months. But worry you must not! Because over the years the entire Simon team including the Admissions Office, International Services Office (ISO), Office for Residential Life & Housing Services, Career Management Center (CMC), Students Services and the Graduate Business Council (GBC) have worked hard to map the processes involved in enrolling every student at Simon, part-time, fulltime, MS and MBA.
From the first day when you arrive, the Admissions Office will be your first point of contact, where after recording your arrival details you will be guided to another important set of folks, working endlessly, at the ISO. Your job is nothing more than just to carry your passport and the Form I-20 to the ISO office. And as I mentioned earlier, the rest is all a defined process. At the ISO, every international student will go through the mandatory registrations required by the US government and it is this office that will help you, some days later, to know the procedure to obtain your Social Security Number (SSN) so you can file your taxes, get a post-paid phone connection and so on. Before you arrive in Rochester, you would have most likely contacted the Office for Residential Life & Housing Services and now know whether you will be living on-campus or off-campus. If not, this office will have regular updates to ensure you get housing close enough to campus.
You came here for a professional degree and most obviously need a “hot” job after graduation. The first office you will see after you enter the Simon school building from the front side is that of the CMC. This team is our best contact with the professional industry out there no matter which sector you wish to work for later. From making your resume the way US companies want to drafting your cover letters and scouring through multitudes of databases of employers across the world, the CMC will walk you through all of these critical tasks and make a thoroughbred business school professional out of you.
As classes begin, you will have the best opportunities to gain immense knowledge from the renowned faculty at Simon. Simultaneously, the Students Services office will keep you updated about the various guest lectures by industry professionals organized by it for the benefit of the Simon student community. Simon is one of the rarest schools, where the Dean invites you for a dinner at his residence. I don’t know of any of my friends in B-schools around the world who got a chance to interact so closely with the Dean within two months of arrival on campus.
Finally, to ensure that you are also a part of this long chain, the school has its student body called the GBC. This council has various branches, whether you are interested in a career in Finance, Consulting, General Management, Marketing, Entrepreneurship or even sports, there is a club to keep you engaged all the time. Needless to say, you can be a part of multiple clubs at the same time. We reckon you will join more than one club and that you will manage your time well, because ultimately this school aims to prepare you to learn multi-tasking and timely execution of tasks.
When I joined Simon school, I did not know I would be capable of doing so many things, some sequential and most simultaneous. In less than eight months of coming to Simon in Rochester I have known that I am capable of doing much more than I thought was originally possible. It is true, someone once said, “Simon aims to bring out the best in you”. It does; it sure does. For me this is a big dream come true and a dream I wish never ends….
Looking forward to my entrepreneur class in Sept @simonschool RT @WSJ 10 mistakes start-up entrepreneurs make http://on.wsj.com/auxfny
photos @SimonSchool EMBA teambuilding & leadership process in #Rochester NY. http://bit.ly/a1aS3q by @netsetjet
@simoncareermgmt Our internship and trainee positions are posted! Please let your students know to follow us and apply: http://bit.ly/aosAU0
[Blog Post] Leadership and #Entrepreneurship http://bit.ly/djhXRW There are several critical steps required when going from idea to market.