Happy New Year

Hey all, I wanted to write to say happy new year and thanks for following my blog in 2009. It's definitely been great getting all the comments and emails, I hope that the trend continues in 2010. Given that we are already in the new year, that means that our first day in class is lingering. I just got back into Chicago a couple of days ago, and am getting ready to begin school in two days. I'm looking forward to the second semester and I suspect I'll be posting quite a bit over the next few weeks.

Also, given the new year, I've recently noticed that there's a lot of talk going on about whether the end of 2009 was the end of the decade or if that's not until 2010. I'm not sure what the technical answer is, but either way, the Harvard Business Review (MBA leadership blog) did happen to post a couple of interesting (and short) articles on business issues over the last decade if you're interested. I've also posted an article on the Top Ten Business School Stories in 2009 by BusinessWeek, which is a pretty good read. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything similar for law schools.

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Title: “A Better Decade Of Business Is Coming”
Author: Gill Corkindale
Source: Harvard Business Review

Title: “The Decade in Management Ideas”
Author: Julia Kirby
Source: Harvard Business Review

Title: “Top Ten Business School Stories of 2009"
Author: Alison Damast and Geoff Gloeckler
Source: BusinessWeek

Job Search Tips From WSJ (As Posted By Marquis Parker)

Hey all, I hope everyone is enjoying your holiday seasons so far. After chatting with a couple of friends this holiday season, it sounds like a lot of students, and even professionals, are spending a significant amount of time updating resumes and cover letters during the break. So I thought I'd pass along a quick article on job search tips from the WSJ, an article that was originally posted last week by my fellow Stanford blogger, Marquis Parker.

By now, I suspect that most of my MBA followers are familiar with Marquis Parker. If not, you should take the time to be. Marquis is Stanford GSB alum (Stanford is our connection) and after graduating from b-school he's spent time at Mckinsey & Co and in the private equity space. Ever since starting at the GSB, Marquis has been one of the best MBA bloggers out there. In fact, he was part of the reason I began my blog. In a recent post, Marquis passed along this article about job search strategies, so given a couple of recent conversations I've had with classmates, I thought I'd do the same here.

Click here to see Marquis' blog post. I've also copied the intro to his post below:

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Excerpt from Marquis Parker's Post from the WSJ

"As many of you know, the global economic downturn has left many people around the world, particularly in the U.S., without full-time employment as we approach the holiday season. This is an issue that has been top-of-mind for me lately because of a few friends who have been on the job market for a while and are starting to wonder if they’ll be able to find a gig about which they can be happy. As a result, I’ve been keeping an eye out for job-related resources and recently came across two articles from The Wall Street Journal’s website that could be of interest to folks in the middle of a job search. The first article provides advice on how to improve on a resume and the second gives tipcs on how to kick-start a job search that has stalled. If you’re looking for a new gig, both of these articles should be useful to you."

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Title: “Creating a resume that sells”
Author: Sarah E. Needleman
Source: The Wall Street Journal Online, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574539403154677622.html

Excerpt from intro text:

“In today’s cutthroat job market, having a top-notch résumé is critical to success. But there’s a host of conflicting advice about exactly what makes a good résumé—and not every tip is right for every industry. To find out what hiring managers look for most in these documents, The Wall Street Journal introduces Résumé Doctor, a new feature in which recruiting experts and hiring managers critique readers’ résumés and suggest ways to improve them.”

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Title: “Giving a stalled job search a jump-start”
Author: Sarah E. Needleman
Source: The Wall Street Journal Online, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574483430441125284.html

Excerpt from intro text:

“For many out-of-work professionals, finding a job in today’s market requires far more effort than it did in the past—and a lot more stamina. Last month, the Labor Department reported that it takes unemployed workers an average of 27.2 weeks to land a job, up from 19.1 weeks in September 2008 and 16.7 in September 2007. But career experts say there are several ways job hunters can revive a stalled search.

Taking a highly targeted approach, as Ms. Jones eventually did, is one strategy. Another is to focus on obtaining leads to unadvertised positions where the companies seek out their own applicants. Relying solely on job-board listings, which have been shrinking, isn’t enough these days. There were roughly 3.3 million jobs advertised online last month, compared with 4.4 million in September 2008 and 4.7 million in September 2007, according to the Conference Board, a research firm.”

MIT Sloan Student Becomes New Cambridge City Councilor-Elect

Hey all, this will be a pretty quick post, but I wanted to write to tell you about a pretty interesting guy I know. Leland Cheung is a Stanford alum who I met in Boston a few years ago. We were both board members for the Stanford Club of New England and hosted a few alumni events together around the city. He’s currently in the dual MBA/MPP program at MIT Sloan and the Harvard Kennedy School, but recently decided to run for City Council in Cambridge. Just last week he became the City Councilor- Elect, which is pretty great news.

Leland offers a pretty different perspective than most city council members. He's currently a student, worked as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and also relatively new in returning to Cambridge which gives him a fresh perspective on things. I also think his success so far is great proof of just how strong and versatile the MBA degree is. While most graduate degrees out there tend to be a bit more field specific, an M.B.A., especially from a top school, can often open up a wide variety of career options.

When you get a chance, check out his website at this link.