Posted 7:22 AM by Zachary (e-mail)
Hit the Ground Running
One of the topics of discussion at the Class of 2005 BBQ I hosted on Saturday was the rapid recruiting schedule that first year MBA students are faced with. More than the average student, I'm fortunately situated in this area: I have a very clear career goal, to return to Wall Street in a Sales & Trading associate program. I've done a couple rounds of career counseling with the Michigan Office of Career Development (OCD), my resume is pretty much prepped, and I've refreshed my contacts within Wall Street.

How tight is the first year recruiting schedule? Over the weekend I bought a big desk calendar at Staples and started filling in the important events. Here are the dates that first-year UMBS students interested in finance need to keep in mind:

9/2/2003 - First day of classes
9/15/2003 - Goldman Sachs MBA presentation
9/16/2003 - JP Morgan office hours, MBA presentation
9/17/2003 - Merrill Lynch MBA presentation
9/18/2003 - Lehman office hours, MBA presentation
9/22/2003 - Deutche Bank MBA presentation
9/23/2003 - Citigroup office hours, MBA presentation
9/25/2003 - US Bancorp Piper Jaffray MBA presentation
10/16/2003 - UBS MBA presentation

Thus, two weeks into the term, there's a span of ten days worth of back-to-back-to-back bank networking events to be held*. On the bright side, for students unsure of what they want to do, these events will serve as a good introduction to Wall Street. For myself, it'll be networking, making my name known, drilling home the right attitude, etc.

Then, come January, the first round interview schedule* is just as packed:

1/20/2004 - Citigroup, Banc of America, Goldman summer associate interviews begin
1/21/2004 - UBS, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch summer associate interviews begin
1/22/2004 - Deutche Bank, Lehman summer associate interviews begin
1/26/2004 - Wachovia, Citigroup, CSFB summer associate interviews begin
1/27/2004 - US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Lehman summer associate interviews begin
1/28/2004 - Bear Sterns summer associate interviews begin

I'd like to wax poetic about the camaraderie of sections, the lifetime friendships built, and all the other sentimental benefits of attending business school will bring, but let's face it: the ten days in September and week in January will decide the success or failure of my first year in business school. Especially as I am signing all the loan promissory notes, the calculus became crystal clear: anything less than a summer associate position is a failure, for me.

* Note: these schedules may change, and only represent what I found doing a quick keyword search on the OCD job website.

Posted 11:04 AM by Zachary (e-mail)

This site has moved!
This weblog is a continuation of michiganmba.blogspot.com.

Posted 5:28 PM by Zachary (e-mail)

Class of 2005 Barbecue

My wife and I are hosting a UMBS Class of 2005 barbecue at our house in Maplewood, New Jersey, on Saturday, July 26th, between 4pm and 7pm. All incoming students (and their families) are very welcome to come. E-mail me at my umich.edu account to RSVP (I'm easily found via iMpact).

Posted 9:58 PM by Zachary (e-mail)
Moving Comparison: From New York to Ann Arbor
Things have moved full-circle: I originally planned to move our stuff myself, then decided to go with full-service movers, and am now back to moving it myself.

Last month, I was sure that I'd take the self-move option: renting a big truck, loading it (with the help of some hired muscle), and driving it myself. But a big question mark loomed over the enterprise: would all of our stuff (from a 3 bedroom house) fit into a rental truck, the largest of which was U-Haul's 26-footer (1540 cubic feet)?

This worry eventually drove me to contact several full-service movers and get free estimates. I received three estimates, which ranged from $3,600 to $5,200.

But using a moving company brought its own concerns. First, the uncertainty. The best any of the three could offer was an estimate of 3 to 7 days of moving time (this is because they place several customers' loads onto the same truck, and hence, don't drive straight to your destination). That delivery uncertainty, besides being irritating, is also costly, since you have to rent a hotel room during the wait. There's also price uncertainty: if the official weight of your belongings comes in higher than they estimated (and here you're putting a lot of trust in the company to do a clean weighing), you could tack another couple hundred dollars onto the bill.

The other big concern is the quality of service. To be blunt, I've heard many, many horror stories about moving companies. The most benign was an individual whose belongings arrived a week later than expected (no, I don't want to wear the same outfit each day of the first week of classes). The worst were stories of (basically) extortion: threats to not unpack your belongings without an extra payment, things like that.

Thankfully, the moving company estimates had a hidden benefit: I got a clearer idea of how many cubic feet of stuff we have! After reading over their estimate forms, I figured that the 26' U-Haul truck would be big enough. Since I am not afraid of driving a big truck, renting from U-Haul was both the cheaper and more in-control option.

The numbers broke down like this:

Using the least expensive moving company
Price Estimate: $3,661.77
Extra Insurance: $428.00
5 Days in a Hotel: $250.00
TOTAL COST: $4,339.77
Risks: Higher weight means higher cost; delivery delay costs, lifestyle and hotel rooms; trucker might not allow potted plants (i.e. angry wife)

Renting on my own
Truck Price: $2,176.00
Gas Cost: $153.21
Car Trailer: $189.00
Loading Cost: (TBD)
TOTAL COST: $2,518.21
Risks: Loading cost (professional movers will cost about $700, contractors about $300); mis-estimate of size of truck needed

In the end, renting a truck seems cheaper (by at least $1,000) and "safer" (in the sense that my downside risk is fairly limited).

Posted 7:49 PM by Zachary (e-mail)
Career Center News
"Don't put off to tomorrow what you should do today." This advice was vindicated with regards to working with Michigan's career center. According to their website, the 2nd year MBAs are making full-use of the center for preparing for full-time recruiting, limiting the Class of 2005's access during the month of July:

"Pre-Admit Counseling: Each July we compile the resume book for fall full-time recruiting. Due to demand for resume reviews by the second year students, we are limiting the number of appointments available to the incoming class of 2005. We will be more than happy to meet with you after the resume book deadline, so please check back in August for availabilities!"

I'm glad that I struck while the iron was hot, engaging in two very fruitful resume reviews last month.

Posted 5:28 PM by Zachary (e-mail)
Current Checklist
Transitioning from gainfully employed to intentionally unemployed made me realize all the small fringe benefits working for a larger firm offers. I've never had to really consider life insurance, besides checking off a box on a form that my employer provided on orientation day.

One big tip I have relates to health insurance: my company coverage extends to the end of the last month that I work in. I've intentionally made Friday, August 1st, my last day, so that I'd have health coverage through August.

In order of importance, the boring-but-crucial items on my checklist are:
1. Securing term life insurance for my wife and I. Dealing with life insurance is never fun, but it is important, and I want to ensure that my wife will be provided for in case (I'll leave it at that).
2. Car Insurance. Thankfully, no matter what company we choose, it's bound to be cheaper than New Jersey insurance.
3. Naturally, we'll be aiming to update the registration of the vehicle. DMV?
4. Health Insurance. I'm lagging on this topic, and will need to do some serious research over the next few weeks.
5. Then there's long-term disability insurance. Not as critical as the rest, but worth looking into.
6. Property and renter's insurance should be easy to find.

When I look at the above list, I feel like insurance overkill, but I can't see going without any of the above policies. I have some serious homework to do on these topics.