Inside the London MBA

US Internship

So it has been a while since I have made a posting, the end of the year was an incredible whirlwind for me and it hasn’t stopped since.

Within 4 hours of finishing my Management Accounting Exam on the 16th of June (a Saturday), I flew out to Newark, NJ that to begin my internship at Johnson & Johnson that Monday.  I didn’t have much time to breath until that ended on August 21st.  I want to highlight my summer experience as it is a bit unique and might be of interest to some prospective students, particularly those thinking about working in the US past-graduation.  Most of the recruiting that happens on campus is for positions in the UK and Europe (even more so for internships).  I had to put in a bit more legwork to get interview opportunities in the US, but the Career Services office was extremely helpful and was able to put me in touch with most of the companies I was interested in.  The US recruiting season is a bit earlier than in the UK so I was doing my first interviews in December, before the ‘milkround’ kickoff for internship recruiting on London Business School campus in January.  But things went well.  The contacts that I made got me interviews and by mid January I had two offers for internships with consumer goods companies in the US.  One in NYC and one in northern New Jersey.  So although the formal, on-campus recruiting opportunities are mainly for the UK and Europe, if you want to pursue an internship or full-time career in the US, a little legwork and some help from Career Services can make it happen.

The internship I chose was a brand management internship in the consumer goods group of Johnson & Johnson.  For the 10 week internship, I worked on their Aveeno brand specifically on the Facial Care team.  I had not been in consumer goods or in marketing before business school so this was a complete career switch for me.  I chose this path for an internship because I like the industry, and wanted to get on a track towards general management.  Brand management in consumer goods is a great opportunity to get general management experience right from the start.  Brand managers are in charge of pulling all of the pieces together to get products on shelf and in the homes of consumers.  My time at J&J was great.  Moving to unknown territory with a change of industry and job function was a leap of faith, where I was relying on the knowledge I collected throughout my first year about this industry and this type of role.  I was very happy to see that it was exactly what I had expected.  As an intern, I was involved in numerous projects touching all parts of the business (R&D, package design, project management, advertising, CRM, copy writing, etc.).  As I head back to school for my second year I know that I want to continue with this chosen career path.  The internship was a huge success, allowing me to test out the industry, the role, and the company.  Now I can return to school and hone my marketing skills to prepare me for a full-time brand management position.   

Welcome 09s

It's quite interesting to see the fresh faces around campus. The MBA2009s start their journey today and I heartily welcome them to campus. It is quote unbelievable that I am no longer a first year MBA student.

They will start their orientation tomorrow at Lords. My own orientation seems so far back in the past. Today is when the 09s get allocated their streams and their *ahem* study groups. I remember getting together with my study group for the first time and chatting for a couple of hours with everyone trying to figure out where we were  coming from and where we were headed. After spending so much time with my study group over the last 12 months, that discussion feels alien.

Anyways, I gave this piece of advice to some 09s I met a few days ago and it is the one thing I wish I could change about my first few weeks on campus. Make the most of your time with your peers. Get to know everyone while you all are still new. Once you get into your streams and study groups you won't get the same opportunity as you will over these next few days.

Once again welcome to your home for the next 2 years.

D-day minus three...

... I am back to London from a 2 month break back home in Bordeaux, France. A bit tough to leave friends, family and the beach, but there should be a lot of fun waiting for us at school. The first week won’t be too rough; a barbecue is even planned on the first day! I am going warm up at the Notting Hill carnival this Sunday. If I show up early enough I’ll be able to video tape the parade. Hundreds of thousand people are going to invade the neighbourhood, zillion of decibels and smells of jerk chicken will be there too. I promise you a video with some highlights next week.

Life as a newly-minted alumna

Wow. That's it. After two years of hard work, lots of fun and laughter, the occasional frustrational moment (I seem to recall the Financial Accounting final exam wasn't my brightest moment), making a ton of new friends, meeting the most amazing people, finding a direction in my professional life that makes me happy and fulfilled, living in New York for 4 months, and finally graduating, I'm now officially an alumna of LBS. It still feels a bit odd saying that, I still have to get used to it.

Many people have asked me what the best thing about the whole MBA experience was, and I find that an incredibly hard question to answer. I can't point to one thing, there have been so many highlights. On the academic side I have been fortunate to learn all I wanted to learn and a lot more that I didn't even know existed! On the people side I've met the most amazing people, both on the student as well as on the staff side, and I'm lucky to have made some very very good friends. On the extracurricular side, I've been able to be involved with a number of clubs and activities such as the Student Ambassadorship, the Marketing Club and the Yearbook, which were very fulfilling (but did not make life to juggle sometimes ;-)). In terms of finding out what I wanted to do post-MBA, I think I've cracked it. I've started working for a small branding and design consultancy in London and I'm loving my job. So for now: all's well that ends well. I'll try and check in occasionally and give updates on life post-MBA but in the meantime it's back to the MBA2008s, and of course I'm looking forward to the MBA2009 bloggers!

Flying out to London

School starts in 7 days, and I cannot emphasize how nervous I am. I
am completely not ready for this. It feels like there are still a million
things to do, yet I can't think of them. First, I had to pack all of my
bags to fly to London (from New York). Now, one would think that a male with
no furniture to his name would not be able to fill 3 very large duffle bags
(each capable of holding a human body), but then one would be wrong. I
filled all three bags and 3 extra boxes to be shipped. I am ready for
anything. Interviews for great internships? Check. Clothes for
exploring the great pubs and clubs? Check. Tennis? Check. Cricket? Oh no, how
have I missed this?

Then, my roommates and I had to find an apartment. Actually, I had to
stay and work in New York, so my roommates took care of that. If there is
any advice that I can give to MBA 2010ers - outsourcing.

But I realize that I should relax. I will be at a pub tomorrow night
meeting all of my classmates, and many of them will have the same
thoughts that I have now, so we will be able to work through my phobias together
- but I bet they brought stuff for cricket.

Cool Dubai

45C is more tolerable than I thought. In fact, the weather has been really cool by desert standards: only between 40 and 45C.

I arrived to Booz Allen Hamilton Dubai two weeks ago and immediately joined an oil & gas project. In spite of six years of oil & gas experience, I am learning a lot about the industry and the consulting world. I am using my experience and business school tools on top of everything I am learning here. At the moment, my team is out of town but we will meet in Abu Dhabi next week for what I hope will be intense teamwork and thought leadership.

I am excited about everything. There are lots of people with different nationalities working on different projects. It feels diverse and busy. Projects are big, interesting and with significant impact on the region's development. The office is huge, new and with lots of heal thy and non-healthy food.

Dubai is better than I could remember. Tall building rising across the sandy landscape and ever more great places to shop, eat and look around. Did I mention night-life?

Preparing for the Start of the Term

Alternate title: "The Ongoing Destruction of my Liver." I'm about to head off to the fifth night of the Flathunter's Pub Crawl, a two week long party that is designed to meet flatmates and share advice. Finding a flat and moving in seems to be foremost on everyone's minds right now, although, after a few hours, the next round of drinks seems to work its way to the top of the list.

I am lucky enough to have already found flatmates and a place, however, my mind won't be at ease until I am physically lying in my new bed. Living in a hotel may contribute to my Hollywood-like image, but it is certainly not the most economical way to carry on.

Most other preparation, for me, revolves around getting situated in London and the UK. Trying to look the right way before crossing a street, trying to keep my mouth from being agape when bills come, trying to improve my umbrella unfurling speed, etc.

As someone who has moved around a lot, this currently just feels like another move; the reality of me being in a classroom soon has yet to fully sink in. After meeting many of my new classmates, and tasting a bit of London, however, I am excited to embark on this new journey.

MBA2009 Bloggers wanted!

With under two weeks to go until Orientation and the start of term for the new class, the MBA 2009s have been slowly arriving at School and one group of MBA2009s have already begun their studies as part of the two week long Business English course that runs in advance of Orientation.

Meanwhile, the search has begun for the bloggers of MBA2009. An advert went out this week seeking volunteers to follow in the footsteps of Martha, Manish, Sean and Stephen and blog about their exploits during the first year of their London Business School MBA. Watch this space for the new faces of MBA2009 coming soon!

(If you are an Admitted MBA2009 and you would like to learn more about how you can become one of the blog team, check out the posting on Portal discussion > MBA2009 > Programme Office Updates, or email us here.