A Quick Breather

Posted by thesenator2014 on July 16, 2012 · 5 Comments 

Once again, the Senator goes dark… my apologies for that. Between completing my move out, wrapping up a huge work project and continuing interviews for internships I haven’t even had time for clear thought. July has been a month of intense travel so far. Back to my hometown of Detroit, trips to Chicago and Kalamazoo for a wedding have taken quite the toll on my little green Mazda. She’s holding strong though, and (hopefully) up to the task of getting myself and my fiance out to the East Coast.

The Job Search

Amidst of all the travel, I’ve managed to keep it together at work (it’s almost over – sigh) and keep moving forward on summer internship possibilities. This week, I travel to New York City for a pre-MBA program with Morgan Stanley called “Early Insights”. For those interested in careers in Banking or Sales/Trading I’d recommend it for next year. I don’t know all of the details, but from what I gather about 50 students from around the country are selected for what I reckon is an ‘accelerated recruitment’ program. I’m lucky to be a part of it given my resume doesn’t exactly say ‘Investment Banker’.

In addition to the Morgan Stanley program, I was also invited to final round interviews for another bulge bracket I-bank in New York that I will leave nameless, for obvious reasons. I’ve got to admit, I’m really surprised at the success I’ve had at this point, because from meeting a lot of pre-MBAs in the past few months there are some spectacular candidates out there that have the charisma and prior experience that I would assume would put them at the front of the line. Anyways, it’s highly encouraging and I’m really glad I filled my summer taking advantage of these opportunities–I highly recommend it for the MBA Class of 2015.

Bittersweet Ending

Last week was the grand finale of the summer program my employer hosts for talented youth entrepreneurs every year. This year’s group was spectacular as ever. At their graduation ceremony my deputy stepped up to the plate and MC’d the program. It brought a bit of tear to my eye. Sure I was sad about leaving my job and reflecting on the career I’ve built in the past three years, but I was so proud of my assistant-in-charge. She’s going to be a senior in college next year and I can say without a doubt she has the skills, knowledge and passion to hit the ground running and make an IMMEDIATE impact on whatever organization is lucky enough to get her.

It’s kind of funny, last year when I hired her, my supervisor disagreed with my decision. At the time, he told me, “I doubt she’ll have the ability to do what you do.” It was at that moment, I made it an obsession to prepare her to knock his (and everyone else’s) socks off for this summer, and selfishly craft a succession plan for the program. She exceeded all expectations, and I know he’s kicking himself for writing her off early… especially since she’s already been snagged for another job next spring.

The experience working with her has been gratifying to say the least. And it really reinforced a great lesson in leadership and management. A leader is only as good as the people they manage. If you take the time and care to develop and mentor the people on your team, as opposed to solely focusing on your personal performance, you’re positioning yourself for greater success in the long-term and the continued success of the organization. And at this point, my team and the organization that’s been built, is much stronger than I ever was and is well equipped for parabolic performance after I depart.

 

And now… see you in a few days Wall Street.

 

–(Picture Above: Participants of our Summer Entrepreneurship Program at a Minnesota Twins Game)—

Filed under About Me, Bloggling, Consortium, Internship, Interviews, Road to MBA, Uncategorized · Tagged with Consortium Graduate Study in Management, internship possibilities, Investment Banking, Management, MBA class of 2015, mentorship, Morgan Stanley, pre-mba, Recruiting, recruitment program, travel