Hey People,
Sorry for such low post rate. Been really busy with course work :(
Ok. So here is the deal. In about 12 days, P1 will be over. Yes, it will be fuckin over. Its been awesome so far and I am now going to share my experience with you.
What is P1 all about?
There are two ways to look at it. Either you focus on the course work or you focus on meeting interesting people. As far as course work is concerned its mostly finance related. If you have a background in Finance then you will sail through P1. If not then it will need some work but not too much, unless you want to be on the Dean's list. For me, I dont want to be on the Dean's List because honestly I know what I want to learn at INSEAD and am focussed only on that.
As far as meeting inteteresting people is concerned, let me tell you that it is really important. You meet tons of people here and some of them tend to become your good friends. But then again, most of them will move on to Fonty and wont return. (This is for you V, mate come back to Sing Sing....). For me meeting these new people has been the high point because there is so much to learn from them. For example I know now that consulting sucks as far I as I am concerned. I know a lot more about PE than ever. And above all, I can run a fuckin spreadsheet on Excel like a breeze which I couldnt do before INSEAD. It is important and I suggest it be your priority too.
As far as grade performances are concerned, there are two grades at INSEAD - Dean's List and Non Dean's List. Dean's list is usually abour GPA 3.25 and it doesnt matter how close or far you were, you belong to the second category. If you my reader are into Dean's list and all, work your ass off son. If not then use this time to do things you have never done in your life before. For me, I did two things in P1 which I never did in my past 27 years. And hopefully I will add one more thing to that list by next weekend.
P1 and P2 is all about group work. I will let you discover that by yourself.
Now for jobs. Its all screwed up. So if any of you could link me up with a potential opportunity, I will give you my first month's salary. Number for D08 is around 65% with about 35% returning to their old jobs. J09 is now up for job search and we'll soon find out what the market is like. But I have been doing my snooping around and it honestly doesnt look good.
As far as internships are concerned, there are enough opportunities provided you are competitive enough. ML, GS, Citi etc. have been recruiting in banking. The numbers are very small like 1 or 2 and my personal opinion is that its only because they want to maintain the relationship with INSEAD.
Anything else you want to know??? Ping me and I will reply.
Take it easy guys. The world is all messed up but like the good old saying:
"In the end, everything is good. If its not good yet, then perhaps this is not the end."
Ciao
K
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
P1 @ Singapore
Sorry guys, I know its been ages since I blogged. I was traveling in December and landed at INSEAD Sgp on 3rd Jan and its been crazy ever since. But I do intend to improve my blog rate and give you the real scoop about life at INSEAD.
Right...so where should I start from???
Intense - You all must have heard intense and INSEAD in the same sentence a million times already. I personally thought it was an exaggeration but let me be honest here, this place is fuckin intense. 24 hrs is just not enough. It is a fact that you will be sleep deprived, knee deep in course backlog and still find a reason to party till the wee hours. And somewhere in the middle of all that, you also need to figure out your career. This place is not for the weak hearted. You need to be able to prioritise, perform under pressure and be ready to sleep 6+ hours only once a week.
But, this is an awesome school. I cant tell you how glad I am for having chosen this school.
Course - So far the course content has really impressed me. P1 is mostly about finance aka. corporate finance, accounting, prices etc. The profs are super cool (on this note of cool...I think it reflects in everything INSEAD. Profs, food court, admin staff etc.). I dont have a background in finance so am kind of struggling but the trick is to make sure you do the pre-readings and you should be fine.
Party Scene - In the first ten days I was sober only one evening. From the welcome cocktail to the Bain party to your section parties. Its hard not to get trashed or being in the mix without being a party animal. Its an awesome break. I guess everyone realises this and makes sure to make the most out of it.
Jobs - This is the tricky one. And am sure quite a few of you want to know whats the reality of the day. Well, its fucked. Plain and simple. From the class of December 2008 only about 65% got jobs and of that about 50% went back to their pre-MBA employers. There still are a couple of IBs scouting for talent but the volumes are definitely low. Consulting is steady (oh...and by the way this really is a fuckin Consultant's school. Every other person is McBain Consulting and out here on a study leave. They are sponsored too and hence they account for most of the party animals) and industry is also ok. 2009 does not look any better at this point in time and my guess is that jobs will be hard to come by. By March I should have better numbers as internship recruitment will be on full swing.
Alright fellas....I need to sleep tonight. T'row evening we have another party and I plan to get absolutely loooooosee !!
To life...!
Right...so where should I start from???
Intense - You all must have heard intense and INSEAD in the same sentence a million times already. I personally thought it was an exaggeration but let me be honest here, this place is fuckin intense. 24 hrs is just not enough. It is a fact that you will be sleep deprived, knee deep in course backlog and still find a reason to party till the wee hours. And somewhere in the middle of all that, you also need to figure out your career. This place is not for the weak hearted. You need to be able to prioritise, perform under pressure and be ready to sleep 6+ hours only once a week.
But, this is an awesome school. I cant tell you how glad I am for having chosen this school.
Course - So far the course content has really impressed me. P1 is mostly about finance aka. corporate finance, accounting, prices etc. The profs are super cool (on this note of cool...I think it reflects in everything INSEAD. Profs, food court, admin staff etc.). I dont have a background in finance so am kind of struggling but the trick is to make sure you do the pre-readings and you should be fine.
Party Scene - In the first ten days I was sober only one evening. From the welcome cocktail to the Bain party to your section parties. Its hard not to get trashed or being in the mix without being a party animal. Its an awesome break. I guess everyone realises this and makes sure to make the most out of it.
Jobs - This is the tricky one. And am sure quite a few of you want to know whats the reality of the day. Well, its fucked. Plain and simple. From the class of December 2008 only about 65% got jobs and of that about 50% went back to their pre-MBA employers. There still are a couple of IBs scouting for talent but the volumes are definitely low. Consulting is steady (oh...and by the way this really is a fuckin Consultant's school. Every other person is McBain Consulting and out here on a study leave. They are sponsored too and hence they account for most of the party animals) and industry is also ok. 2009 does not look any better at this point in time and my guess is that jobs will be hard to come by. By March I should have better numbers as internship recruitment will be on full swing.
Alright fellas....I need to sleep tonight. T'row evening we have another party and I plan to get absolutely loooooosee !!
To life...!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
All set for next year !!
I am still alive. I know its been almost a month since I blogged but I was busy with a lot of things. Plus, I wanted to post only when everything was in place for this MBA year. And fortunately things have fallen in place over the past 4 weeks. I have also formally resigned from work and the next two weeks will be all about handing over. Then am off to a much awaited month long holiday before moving to Singapore on 1st of Jan.
I have confirmed a condo at Heritage View. Its a 3 bedroom unit which we got for SGD 4600, which seems to a very good deal, and I will be sharing it with a European tech consultant and an Asian banker. They both seem to be really fun people and am sure we will have a great time next year. We need to, especially because the world around us is falling apart and recruitment at INSEAD is totally screwed up. My advice to guys coming in for future promotions is look for a condo first and then flat mates. If you can get your hands on a good deal then people will always be willing to share it with you.
I started with one of the books from the pre-reading list and it was really a silly book. If you have read Freakonomist or Undercover Economist then you can definitely skip Principles of Microeconomics. I couldn't get my hands on the other two books which are all about hardcore financial models but am sure they are the ones which do need to be covered beforehand. But one thing worried me. You see my view is when you study something, it helps you develop new ways of looking at a situation. But in the book I read, at the end of every chapter there were silly questions like "Name the 7 models.." and honestly speaking I think that is a load of bollocks. I think education should be about reading new concepts and then applying them to a situation to show how much you have learned instead of just writing down the name of concepts you came across. I honestly hope this is not the case at INSEAD.
My finances are sorted out. Got a scholarship from INSEAD and also secured a small student loan from Prodigy Finance. Initially I was not keen for student loans but given the current economic situation, I was not too sure if I should dry up my financial resources. Don't want to be unemployed and broke. This scholarship and student loan will allow me to have a comfortable MBA year and my savings will ensure I have something to fall back on in case no recruiter shows me love next year.
There needs to be a special mention here for Prodigy Finance. What comes to your mind when you think of a Loan? For me it is, first a well dressed rep talking in some non human language about all sorts of conditions and stuff, then a truck load of papers which you need to submit for your case and finally another truck load of papers which you need to read and sign. With Prodigy, you can cut it all out. Its a very simple process and they have structured it really well.
Prodigy was started by a couple of INSEAD grads. Their view was that INSEAD looks for truly international people and often most of such people find it difficult to raise finances in their home country due to their global career or quite a lot of applicants come from emerging markets where the cost of MBA converts into a few millions. They aim to help such candidates by raising funds from INSEAD alumni, recruiters etc. and offer student loan to only those people who have already been accepted to INSEAD. Plus having themselves been through the process, they are able to look at a candidate's profile and evaluate if it will be worth anything in the market post MBA. Of course you have to do the traditional background/ credit check but even that has been simplified to a large extent. In my case for example, I have never used a credit product and a credit check on me would result in "no trace". The only catch is that they cannot guarantee a loan to every applicant as the funds they are able to raise is limited. But nonetheless they are doing an excellent job and hats off to them !!
At work, I have been officially relieved of my duties although I will continue to work for the next 2 weeks. This job has been a life changing experience for me. I came in as a clueless boy and am leaving as an ambitious, capable man. This job really broadened my perspective and gave me the balls to dream big. And I am leaving not because I am unhappy with the job but because I have set higher goals for myself which cannot be achieved from this platform.
So finally, I really am moving on to INSEAD.
By the way if you are thinking about what the recruitment scene at INSEAD is at the moment, then let me be the one to tell you this - its all fucked up at the moment. Jobs are hard to come by and even though firms are coming in, the offers aren't. I will be able to get some solid numbers on recruitment only when am at the campus but don't be surprised is recruitment at time of graduation is around 50%.
I have confirmed a condo at Heritage View. Its a 3 bedroom unit which we got for SGD 4600, which seems to a very good deal, and I will be sharing it with a European tech consultant and an Asian banker. They both seem to be really fun people and am sure we will have a great time next year. We need to, especially because the world around us is falling apart and recruitment at INSEAD is totally screwed up. My advice to guys coming in for future promotions is look for a condo first and then flat mates. If you can get your hands on a good deal then people will always be willing to share it with you.
I started with one of the books from the pre-reading list and it was really a silly book. If you have read Freakonomist or Undercover Economist then you can definitely skip Principles of Microeconomics. I couldn't get my hands on the other two books which are all about hardcore financial models but am sure they are the ones which do need to be covered beforehand. But one thing worried me. You see my view is when you study something, it helps you develop new ways of looking at a situation. But in the book I read, at the end of every chapter there were silly questions like "Name the 7 models.." and honestly speaking I think that is a load of bollocks. I think education should be about reading new concepts and then applying them to a situation to show how much you have learned instead of just writing down the name of concepts you came across. I honestly hope this is not the case at INSEAD.
My finances are sorted out. Got a scholarship from INSEAD and also secured a small student loan from Prodigy Finance. Initially I was not keen for student loans but given the current economic situation, I was not too sure if I should dry up my financial resources. Don't want to be unemployed and broke. This scholarship and student loan will allow me to have a comfortable MBA year and my savings will ensure I have something to fall back on in case no recruiter shows me love next year.
There needs to be a special mention here for Prodigy Finance. What comes to your mind when you think of a Loan? For me it is, first a well dressed rep talking in some non human language about all sorts of conditions and stuff, then a truck load of papers which you need to submit for your case and finally another truck load of papers which you need to read and sign. With Prodigy, you can cut it all out. Its a very simple process and they have structured it really well.
Prodigy was started by a couple of INSEAD grads. Their view was that INSEAD looks for truly international people and often most of such people find it difficult to raise finances in their home country due to their global career or quite a lot of applicants come from emerging markets where the cost of MBA converts into a few millions. They aim to help such candidates by raising funds from INSEAD alumni, recruiters etc. and offer student loan to only those people who have already been accepted to INSEAD. Plus having themselves been through the process, they are able to look at a candidate's profile and evaluate if it will be worth anything in the market post MBA. Of course you have to do the traditional background/ credit check but even that has been simplified to a large extent. In my case for example, I have never used a credit product and a credit check on me would result in "no trace". The only catch is that they cannot guarantee a loan to every applicant as the funds they are able to raise is limited. But nonetheless they are doing an excellent job and hats off to them !!
At work, I have been officially relieved of my duties although I will continue to work for the next 2 weeks. This job has been a life changing experience for me. I came in as a clueless boy and am leaving as an ambitious, capable man. This job really broadened my perspective and gave me the balls to dream big. And I am leaving not because I am unhappy with the job but because I have set higher goals for myself which cannot be achieved from this platform.
So finally, I really am moving on to INSEAD.
By the way if you are thinking about what the recruitment scene at INSEAD is at the moment, then let me be the one to tell you this - its all fucked up at the moment. Jobs are hard to come by and even though firms are coming in, the offers aren't. I will be able to get some solid numbers on recruitment only when am at the campus but don't be surprised is recruitment at time of graduation is around 50%.
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