Six things I have learned after joining a top business school - Part Two

A few weeks ago, I posted a couple of things I learnt from my experience in business school. It has been a long semester and hopefully I can contribute more insights on the life of a graduate student at LBS.

By now, the most important thing I can remark is that an MBA/MIF is not necessarily about what you get from the class hours, but from what happens after them. Aside from the obvious academic subjects and classroom experience, a business school pushes you to bring up competencies that were either hidden or that you had to develop from scratch to cope with the expectations of being a business student. To complete my previous post, here are a few things that will help me explain in detail my experience and hopefully they can give some prospective students an idea of the life at business school.

Networking

Consulting, banking and management have always been people-centric roles. Consequently, personal relationships are equally, if not more, important than technical skills. You will be told this pretty much by anyone working in these industries. Since you will probably be applying for a senior position, getting along with your potential peers and bosses will be much more important at this stage of your career. Even in start-ups, or technical jobs like hedge funds and Asset Management, a good impression can make the difference between being jobless by the end of the program and building a career in one of the most prestigious firms in the street. At this point of your career and coming from a top business school, no one is expecting less than an outstanding professional that can do his/her job while communicating clearly with colleagues and clients. Conclusion? Regardless of how good your skills are, you will need to test your soft-skills by networking your way into the job you want.

Most business schools know that and thus encourage students to take part in networking events and coffee chats that can easily account for more than half of your free time during your first year in the program (when I say free time, I also include that extra time you could have dedicated to some classes).

Furthermore, there are incredible opportunities that can be achieved through networking and that are not obvious at first glance. However, these opportunities put you on track for a new and exciting career. For instance, many great start-up ideas and business partnerships have been developed within the walls of the most prestigious MBA programs. Taking some of your classes in another campus abroad or in a partner university is an example of how to take this advantage even further.

Competence

There are many comments on how some top business schools are more competitive while others are more collaborative. The truth (at least from my personal experience) is that both happen at the same time. Competition is fierce and it reaches its climax when there are limited job opportunities for a specific role in a prestigious firm. Nonetheless, to this date, I haven’t met anyone who has not been willing to address a friend’s doubt or request. Of course, no one is willing to do your job, and people can easily differentiate between someone who really wants to learn and someone who is just complaining and trying to get a free lunch.

The real competition will be with yourself, and how you can leverage your assets to achieve your expected goal. There are always some students that are better than others either in class, in the quest for a job, or in extracurricular activities. Sometimes, a couple of them will be great at all of them, and this advantage can be the product of a combination of brainpower, experience, and dedication. However, these people are usually willing to help others and probably feel confident enough to give you some really useful tips. At the end of the day, the people that end up getting the best jobs and recognitions are those who were either good from the beginning and never lost track of their objectives or those who worked their way up by sacrificing other priorities.

Location (Bonus for international students)

One of the main reasons I came to London is because, as an international student, you have many benefits that would not be available anywhere else in the world. Whether you choose New York, London or Hong Kong, being in a world capital allows you to be exposed to unique development opportunities, personally and professionally. For instance, when looking for a job, if you are lucky enough to get in contact with some major bank or investment fund, it makes it substantially easier to arrange a meeting or chat with an executive when you are only a few stations away by metro.

Additionally, when it comes to enjoying your free time, a big metropolis always has some interesting event going on and thus you can have a great time whenever you are able to take some time out. Believe me or not, I met some bankers through social events that had nothing to do with a recruitment process. Finally, if you want to travel during a break, it is relatively easy to arrange a convenient and economic schedule from a big city like London, from where you can travel economically to many countries in Europe.

Author's Bio: Jorge Palomeque is currently reading for a Masters in Finance at London BusinessSchool. Jorge started his career in Latin America, at an investment banking boutique as a DCManalyst. He then moved into M&A and Transactional Services at Pricewaterhouse Coopers covering different transactions along the Andean region. He expects to work in InvestmentBanking in London upon graduation. At LBS, he plays a role as an Executive Committee officer at the Finance Club and the Latin American Club. Among his other interests are history, science, tennis and sailing.