Day 24: Career Fair galore

I wonder if it was a sign from the heavens that the weather was ABSOLUTELY pissing down during the career fair on campus today. Quite a few of the representatives from the various companies ended up being held up in heavy traffic due to the inclement weather. You could tell that the students milling around the foyer were getting really anxious as the clock ticked by and the empty booths stared back at them

As usual, a couple of more well known companies really dominated the fair, leaving some of the lesser known companies to fight it out for share of attention. That being said, I wonder if a career fair is the best way for a company to really sell itself to graduating students. I find that the on campus presentations tend to leave a more lasting impact and really allow the company to showcase its achievements and opportunities. Often at a career fair, you only really have the chance to talk very briefly about the opportunities without really being able to sell the rest of the company. I understand the rationale that the campus presentations often require a much larger commitment in terms of people and resources and companies may not be able to make that commitment (especially smaller ones). But I think that making the effort really makes a difference in terms of the impression that is formed.

I can't say that I was particularly blown away by any of the participants at the booths at the career fair today but at least I got to learn more about some of the potential opportunities out there. I figured it doesn't hurt to at least get to know more companies and understand what they do. Most of the really large companies either have their own separate campus presentations or they just know you'll apply anyway to skip on campus recruiting altogether.

That being said, I'm only in P1 so the career fair wasn't really aimed at me but at the batch above me. You could see a lot of them milling around anxiously trying to get "air-time" with the right people at various company booths. It's that tense time now when everyone's pacing up and down in suits practicing in their mind what they are going to say in that interview.

My time will come...

Day 23: I wish I spoke Spanish

So here’s the deal right… at INSEAD you need to prove that you know at least 2 languages (1 being English) to enter and you need at least the basic grasp of a 3rd language to graduate. Most Europeans I know easily fit this bill given the similarity of various romance languages to each other. The Brazilians too have a good deal with this because Portuguese and Spanish are quite similar but different enough to be considered by INSEAD to be 2 different languages.

Now I’m not advocating lying but I know some people who’ve put various “Native” languages down that they only “kinda” know. I guess you could say that they are stretching the truth somewhat. It’s true that it may be their “Native” language but they certainly can’t speak it like a native speaker. Still, no one ever really checks your native language so you do get away with it. Add on another 2 languages that you are more confident in and voila! You’ve automatically achieved your exit requirement for languages.

I’m in the unfortunate situation though of only really knowing 2 languages and needing to learn a 3rd while at INSEAD so that I can graduate. Little did I realize that I would be one of only a very small handful of people who have to take language classes from scratch! Now when I think about it, I really should have done some intensive studying at a local language school before starting. That would certainly save me the headache of trying to juggle language lessons on top of an already packed schedule. As someone put it on the very first day, “Your days are already all over the place, language classes only screw that up even more”.

None of my classmates seem particularly keen to learn Spanish with the official language schools. To be fair, they are quoting a pretty expensive fee for the classes. I figured that there’s got to be someone out there whose partner is here in Singapore and possibly a native Spanish speaker who might be keen to give a couple of people language lessons on the side for some extra cash. Turns out that there is such a person! Hopefully we’ll get started soon as I know that languages are not really my forte and I’m keen to put in some effort to make sure I get the basics right.

Day 19: I wish I was a December batch

There’s something they don’t tell you when you apply that I’m going to let you in on now. The December batch is in a privileged position when looking for jobs compared to the July batch. Why do I say this?

Many companies tend to follow the US MBA fall recruitment cycle which coincides nicely with P4 for the December batch but is during P1 for the July batch. What this means for students is that some companies won’t even bother coming back to campus in March/April during the P4 of the July batch. As a July batch P1, this sucks because your opportunities are reduced. Moreover, if you apply in P1 for a company you think you might be interested in, you’ll have to make a final decision on it (assuming you get an offer) without being able to speak to any other companies that might recruit in P4.

Also, the December batch gets the invaluable chance to have a summer break within which to do an internship or perhaps continue to pursue an entrepreneurial venture. If you’re planning on switching industries, that summer internship can be a very valuable stepping stone to get to where you want to go. I’ve heard far too often in the recruitment process that companies essentially want more of the same type of people they already have in the company rather than people with a different background. Proving that you have some experience, even if it’s just 8 weeks over the summer can make a huge difference on whether you even get called up for an interview.