Electives & Recruiting Season

A month has passed since my last post - sorry for the delay. Before I knew it I was caught up in studying for exams, and all other tasks become low priorities. I wrote my exams two weeks ago: Accounting on Tuesday the 26th, Finance on the 28th, and Strategy on the 29th. All three went fairly well, although I don't want to say much because over the years I have developed a superstition against speculating on exam performance. The best part was walking out of the Strategy exam on Friday and jumping on a plane for Vancouver. I spent Labour Day weekend at my parents' place and slept in my old bedroom down in the basement. This was the first time I had been back home since April. The familiarity of everything came flooding back - how quickly I forget what my "real" life feels like. I spent most of my time visiting friends. I was able to see Jamie and Gordana and their new baby girl Zoe. She was beautifully delicate, and so well behaved! She only cried once during our entire visit. Jamie and Gordana seemed really happy with their new addition. I truly think they will be fantastic parents. Seeing them reaffirmed my desire to want to have a family of my own. While career is important, it will always come second to my family and friends. Speaking of friends, I also caught up with the usual gang over dinner and drinks, and then again on the golf course on Sunday. Unfortunately I didn't get to visit everyone I wanted to see - perhaps when I'm back over Thanksgiving. And this time Julia will come with me (she had to work Labour Day weekend so I was on my own).

Electives have begun and my school experience has changed noticeably. Classes are now held at the Ivey building on main campus, as the new September cohort has started classes at Spencer. I must admit: it's nice to no longer be the "new guys." We are now the more experienced cohort and are able to give advice to the incoming students. I think they appreciate our efforts: a new student told me that he really liked our class and found us to be very helpful and friendly. Personally, I see no point in trying to harbour feelings of competition. There are so many opportunities out there for all of us - why not make this a great experience for everyone?

We will be done electives at the end of next week. They go by very quickly but we have classes almost everyday. At the same time recruiting season is in full swing. This is a very important time for MBAs who are looking to get into ibanking or consulting. There are dozens of jobs posted and many firms are holding on campus interviews. It is common to see many of my classmates sitting in class wearing suits. Fortunately for me this is not a very busy time as there are few technology companies posting jobs. I have been able to take two electives rather than taking one as recommended by Career Management. This should mean my course load will be lighter later on this year.

Another piece of big news is I'm going to China!! Ivey offers a China Study Trip that takes students to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong with the goal of experiencing Chinese business and culture. It is counted as an elective so there will be some work involved. Not everyone chooses to go on this trip, as it cuts into Christmas holidays. Others have signed up for a separate China Teaching Trip at the end of the program and choose not to go twice. For the rest of us, this trip will be a great experience and a lot of fun! At the end I will fly back to Vancouver (hopefully, since we don't yet know Julia's schedule for Christmas).

Right now my MBA is about one third complete. I can't believe it - things are flying by! I expect the pace to slow this winter once recruiting season is finished and the end is in sight. For now, I am really looking forward to the China trip followed by a nice break over the holidays.