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Category Archives: Guest & Alumni Bloggers
There and Ba[n]k Again: An Accountant’s Tale by Paul Whitmire
[my apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien for the punny title]
It had to be a Chick-Fil-A sandwich… it only seemed fitting that the call about my first “big boy” MBA job would come while I was eating the same sandwich that I was making during my first real job as a “chicken maker” at Chick-Fil-A ten years ago while in high school.
Okay… that’s a lie… I was eating the new spicy chicken sandwich which wasn’t around when I worked at Chick-Fil-A in high school, but it was still delicious nonetheless. If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend the new spicy chic… wait, we’re getting off topic. Back to the story!
Coming to business school, I had set my career goal to work for an investment bank. Before Owen, I worked for a public accounting firm in their audit practice focusing on Energy companies in Houston, TX. Given my experience working with financial statements, especially companies that had to consistently raise money to build new rigs, buy new barges, or acquire new pipelines, I felt like I had a good background for joining an investment bank. My job as an auditor involved reviewing supporting documents to ensure that balances in a company’s financial statements were properly stated in all materi…
Posted in Guest & Alumni Bloggers, Job Search, OwenBloggers Tagged banking, finance, internship, Recruiting 1 Comment
Don’t Waste Your Life
On [a rainy] Easter Sunday, it is particularly relevant to write a few thoughts about the past few years of my life here in Nashville. Today is about meaning and significance. It begs remembrance, reverence, and purpose. I feel that I must call myself to account for my time in this city; and as it has revolved much around business school, I will try to especially hone in on that context.
The title of this writing is borrowed from the reverend John Piper, who wrote a book by the same name that was given to me by my church community upon graduating from high school near Charleston, South Carolina. I had absolutely no idea nor conviction as to why I should have read it at the time, because I was 18 and ruled the world. But its message was as relevant then as it is today, will be tomorrow, and I suspect in the last minutes of my life. It’s also a great title because I figure that 97% of anyone glancing at this only wanting the twitter version, or executive summary, can already walk away with it.
Posted in Graduate Life, Guest & Alumni Bloggers, OwenBloggers Tagged business school, International Experience, project pyramid Leave a comment
Are you there God? It’s Me, a Flailing First Year Recruit
On Monday, January 7, 2013, at approximately 4pm, I return home, sit down, and crack open a Coors Light, smiling at the blue “Super Cold” bar near the bottom of the can. The first day of Mod 3 classes is done, and I have to admit, it feels really good to be back at work, though today it somehow feels different. Not long after my first sip of cold Rocky Mountain magic, my roommate enters with a new, but soon-to-be common request: “Hey bro, you have a minute to take a look at this cover letter? My application for this internship is due tomorrow.”
“Sure man…email it to me and I’ll send you some feedback.”
“Thanks. You’re so lucky you don’t have to worry about this shit anymore.”
Somehow, I’m a trusted source of cover letter advice these days.
Now why, when recruiting season is just beginning to amp up, am I drinking Monday afternoon beers instead of sweating over internships? Let’s Tarantino this thing and go all the way back to the beginning to find out…
Posted in Graduate Life, Guest & Alumni Bloggers, Job Search, OwenBloggers Tagged hop, human organizational performance, internship, Recruiting 2 Comments
Marketing Madness
I’ve dressed up as a lot of different things in my life, and I’m not merely referring to the various costumes I wore as a child (or adult) for Halloween (Turtles in a half-shell. Turtle Power!). No. Quite seriously, I’ve had to “be” some pretty crazy things over the years. For brevity’s sake, I’ll only include in the list a woman, a 7-foot tall chicken, a cow of similar height, a Viking, a bowling ball, Carrot Top…it goes on. And now I have the distinction of adding “Tube of Toothpaste” to the list.
As a first-year MBA student, several friends and I had the pleasure of participating in the Marketing Madness contest during Mod II. The idea behind Marketing Madness is that you and a group of friends volunteer to serve as tradeshow marketers at an Owen Thursday Social. The Marketing Association contacts CPG companies of all types that might be interested in sending product down to be “marketed.” Participating companies from this past year included Mattel, Miller-Coors, L’Oreal, and Proctor & Gamble, among others. By the luck of the draw, my team got P&G. The product: Crest Pro-Health Clinical line of toothpaste, mouth wash, and tooth brushes.
Posted in Clubs, Graduate Life, Guest & Alumni Bloggers Tagged marketing, marketing madness, VMA 1 Comment
A Day in the Life of a 1st Year International MBA Student
6:30 – 7:00 am: Wake up – I have an 8am class on Monday/Wednesday (for Tuesday/Thursday, I have class at 9:40am, so I usually wake up at 8am). During the winter, it is very hard, mainly because I spend long night hours studying, and the cold doesn’t help me get up! I try to schedule my classes starting at 9:40, but sometimes you have to take what fits in your schedule.
7:30 am: By this time, I am leaving for Owen. As I don’t have a car, I ride my bicycle or motorcycle, or walk to school. Whenever it is raining or really cold, I tried to get a ride with some of my friends who live in the same building as I do.
7:45 – 8:00 am: Today I had an interview for my summer internship at 8am. So, I got in school earlier to make sure I had everything ready. Even though is quite a stressful situation, the CMC (Career Management Center) staff and resources are incredible helpful in developing self-confidence and emotional intelligence to deal with those situations.
Starbucks break!!
Posted in Graduate Life, Guest & Alumni Bloggers, International Students, OwenBloggers Tagged Brazil, business school, international students Leave a comment