Africa Club

The Milk Round (Part II) - Akin

At the start of the Milk round, I looked the part courtesy Moss Brothers sales. But I had to make up my mind about what I wanted to do. I knew for sure I didn’t want to do what I did before the MBA: auditing. But it definitely had to be a career in finance given my strengths and interests. I always had always fancied Investment Banking, but I wasn’t 100% sure. I wasn’t going to tell my interviewers that of course, so going into Milk Round, I had to have a story and stick to it.

I did what most people did, applied to all the banks that presented and hoped for the best. In addition, I applied for an internal finance function at one the big banks. Then when the first two batches of shortlists were released and I was unsuccessful, I panicked and started doing what most people would do, applied to everything, consulting, industry, etc.

Eventually, Helen Green e-mailed me four times. For those of you who haven’t read Part I, that means I got four finance interviews, out of about 11 applications I made. I’d convert one or two, I hoped.

Then I started preparing for the interviews. All my applications to investment banks were for core corporate finance roles, but of the three investment banking first round interviews I got, two were for corporate finance associate positions and one for a markets associate position (if you don’t understand all this terminologies, fret not, I didn’t understand most of them before coming to London). I hadn’t applied for a markets position, but I wasn’t complaining. Interviews were scarce resources, and you had to use them, however.

It’s funny how life works out. I had been preparing all along for corporate finance interviews but I absolutely got hammered in the two corporate finance first round interviews I had. I converted the markets and internal finance interviews into second round interviews, and thankfully converted the internal finance second round interview into an offer.

It would be my only offer. So be it; I had a pretty decent internship, not as well paying as investment banking, but as they say, money isn’t everything. For me, the Milk Round was finally over. I could try to be a student again, after five weeks of classes. I’m still struggling to catch up with exams just three weeks away, but I guess it was worth it. For prospective MBA students, no words can truly communicate the experience but I’ve done my best. Hopefully, you’ll have good experiences with your Milk Rounds.

The Milk Round (Part I) - Akin

When conducting my research to apply to London Business School and reading student comments, I kept coming across the term “Milk Round”. I found out what it meant almost immediately I got to school. The focus on recruitment here at LBS is almost alarming. From day 1, the Career Services people are already on our case to craft out career strategies, prepare CV's, start networking, etc. For me, it was so strange; I mean I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to do, but here I was already pitching myself as an investment banker.

According to Wikipedia, the Milk round is the term commonly used in the UK to describe the phenomenon of companies touring universities each year, in order to advertise their opportunities and recruit students. It’s truly a phenomenon; having just gone through the process, I must say I am a changed man.

At LBS, first year students spend the summer vacation doing internships and projects in various organizations. As such we have our special Milk Round process beginning in January and ending by March.

To prepare for the Milk round, I waited till the Sales Windows at Moss Brothers opened up, rushed there and picked up two sharp suits for a bargain amount. On the technical/interviewing side, I picked up some nine books from the school’s library on interviewing, pitching oneself, writing killer CVs, etc and Vault guides on Finance and Consulting jobs. I was hoping I’d get to read all this before the Milk Round commenced in early January ’07, but it didn’t quite work out that way. Christmas was fun, and New Year celebrations extended for longer than I expected.

The Milk round process at LBS this year was as follows:

The first week was the Corporate Partners week. During this week, four top firms (mostly finance and consulting, few industry) made presentations to us, four a day. Each presentation lasted for about one hour and thereafter, there were 1.5 hour networking sessions. Other firms presented on campus later on but by then classes had started so there was only one firm per day. At the networking sessions, you’d hope to make a good impression on the company’s representatives by engaging them in conversation, listening thoughtfully and carefully, nodding your head intelligently, asking those specially crafted questions that’d show you how smart you were and what a good fit you were, and finally exchanging business cards. Only problem was there were some 150 students doing exactly what you were doing, so I couldn’t help but feel most of the sessions were a waste of time.

Then if you were versed in English etiquette (I wasn’t, not initially anyway), you sent thank you mails to the people you met and made connections with, no matter how tenuous the connections were. In the mail, you’d typically thank them for all the time they took out to help clarify anything you had wanted (all of five minutes) and tell them how they had positively impacted you.

The actual application. In addition to the application form, there was the new concept of the COVER LETTER. For me, I just found it unnerving; you’d basically pour your heart out in the letter and explain your motivation for applying and what was special about you and why you should be hired. Africans living in Africa, beware! It’s a totally un-African concept and I really struggled here. If you had done the earlier step properly, you could better customize the cover letter by mentioning the contacts you had established at the company. Some people just had templates and changed the names and addresses of the companies, me inclusive.

Then the agonizing wait. Typically, the companies would contact LBS Career Services who in turn would contact short listed people via email. Helen Green became known as the Rain Maker; she was the Career Services person in charge on Finance jobs, basically the banks. If a shortlist was out, you’d open your mailbox praying that there was something from Helen Green, anymail from her was better than no mail. Otherwise, it was a ding.

Then the interviews. Could be one round, usually two rounds, could be more and for some organizations interested in torturing you, up to five rounds. In each round, you could have up to four interviews, so do the math.

Then gratification for the successful few, THE OFFER.

I know people who got multiple offers, that happens every year. But for most people it is a totally nerve racking and often time painful process that should only be experienced once.

For my personal experience of the Milk Round, see Part II.

Exams - Akin

The Autumn term went by so fast it was alarming; yet it’s the longest term in the first year calendar. I can only imagine how quickly the Spring and Summer terms will fly by. Anyways, you know what comes at the end of school terms, yes EXAMS!

For a proper Nigerian guy, exams at London Business School need getting used to. Ever heard of take home exams? Or for the Finance and Accounting courses, crib sheets (basically double-sided A4 paper with pretty much anything you want written on them)? Some of you probably have, but a better question would be, have you ever experienced any of these things? I’d say for most of you, NO, because our schools just don’t have exams like these; instead, we’d be expected to cram stuff and then churn it out.

On the flip side I was alarmed about the crib sheets. Could this be signaling the complexity of those exams? I guess so, because here at LBS, the curve reigns supreme. Basically, you don’t get graded based on your absolute grade, but instead on your performance relative to everyone else in your class. Thus, professors would seek ways to differentiate students, typically by placing strategic bombs in questions for students to get caught in. Issues, issues, issues.

I particularly hated the take home exams, because I agonize over stuff a lot and the longer the submission period was, the more agonizing it was for me.

Anyways, in characteristic Nigerian style, I adapted. The take home exams did traumatize me, but the trauma would end once I turned the papers (for Strategy and Economics). For a hardcore Nigerian guy, Finance and Accounting went very well; once I faltered on my crammed information, I had the crib-sheets to fall back on.

Once the annoyance of exams were out of the way, I started looking forward to the Christmas/New Year holidays, and the frightening prospect of the Milkround- that deserves it’s own article, so watchout.

Holidays (Road Trip) – Akin

The Christmas and New Year holidays were looming and I didn’t have a clue of what to do. It would have been prohibitively expensive to go home because I didn’t book a plane ticket early. Plus after spending some 27 Christmases in dear Nigeria, I figured I needed a change.

Ade, the other Nigerian on the program suggested that we get together and go on a road trip before Christmas, touring England, seeing some of the World Heritage sites and historical landmarks in England. Not exactly my idea of having fun (I always struggle to appreciate the “finer/cultural” things in life), but hey, I wanted a well rounded education.

The trip lasted two days and we had some fun. Ade had two of his friends over from the US and we discussed some pretty interesting things on the trip (don’t think they appreciated my ipod mania though). I didn’t get to drive (still find the English road conventions confusing, plus Ade wouldn't let me), but it was fun being the co-pilot and brushing up my map reading skills.

Where did we go, you might ask? First we headed south for the Stonehenge, and made it there right as the grounds were closing for the day. Took some dark distant pictures, definitely not postcard quality and then headed out to the ancient city of Bath where we spent the night. We had a Turkish dinner (a first for me), then hung out outside the buildings that contained the ancient Roman baths, saw some churches and an ancient cathedral.

We left Bath the next morning and headed north, or so we thought, After being on the road for two hours, my map reading skills were called into question, and we realized we had been heading south all the while, and had reached Exeter. We quickly assessed the financial viability of heading north and figured we could by slightly exceeding our budget.

We cheerfully turned around, covered the two hour distance back to Bath in some three hours and then proceeded north. We pretty much spent the day in the car and arrived at Yorke at 7 p.m. It was painfully cold, my first experience of freezing temperature, and a terrible one at that. We had a quick dinner and took the famous Ghost tour for four pounds, in my opinion, money well spent.

We woke up early the next day determined to catch up on the hours we had lost, had a traditional English breakfast, and took the tour of the famous Yorke cathedral. The wonders of modern architecture and engineering; the basement was very well preserved and I enjoyed it immensely. We then went to some ancient lighthouse facility and I spent the worst three pounds of my life, paying the said amount to go up to a moderate height and then look down! In my opinion, money not well spent.

We left Yorke for London at 12.30 and I looked forward to warmer weather. I was to be disappointed. Winter had officially kicked in, and five hours later when we arrived in London, I realized I would have to get used to very cold weather for a while.
I still had the Christmas and New Year holidays to get through, but as far as my cultural education was concerned, I figured I had done a good job for 2006. I got back home, reflected on the trip, typed up this blog and completely forgot to post it until now.

The Milk Round

We've all heard about Milk Round before, but until you're actually a part of it, it's pretty difficult to understand. Milk Round this year started off with a Corporate Partners week, being the first week of term, with no lectures, and 4 company presentations a day. Yes, very tiring...! An interesting part of the whole week was watching how people change when they're around recruiters - transforming from nice people into something quite different right in front of you! The first week was only banks and consulting firms, but still attracted a massive number of people. I only applied to the banks, and was fortunate enough to secure an internship with Goldman Sachs in investment banking. The process was really quick (4 days), but nonetheless new and interesting. A Friday afternoon of 4 interviews, with 6 people, is a very steep learning curve! When I left the office, I was told I'd hear back by Tuesday, but was lucky enough to get the call later that evening. A feeling pretty difficult to describe. A lot of my friends have also secured internships, while there are still many that haven't, especially those looking to work in industry, as their recruiting is only getting into full swing now. A pretty crazy experience, Milk Round, but something I'm happy I went through...

Term 1 review...

Well, it's almost end of term - only 3 more full weeks to go! And what a term it's been! Tomorrow (Saturday) is the finance exam. It's the 2nd actual test we've written so far. The 1st one was 2 weeks ago, which was Economics. I think most people did ok. Other than that, everyone, including me, has been really busy. We've had a lot of assignments (individual and groupwork) to do over the last few weeks, as well as regular class, clubs and societies, sports, and... oh yes, general living! The term has been really busy, but has been really incredible.

We had Tattoo earlier this term -- it's an annual evening which celebrates the cultural diversity of the school. An amazing night, where students from different areas of the world serve food and drink from their areas, as well as dancing etc. This was an incredible night! The picture below is of me, Tim, and Ade.

Another highlight of the term so far was a rugby trip to INSEAD. Although we lost the game, it was a great weekend. Given the old saying of "what goes on tour stays on tour", there's not much more to say, other than I'm happy I went. Given that it was only a week before the Finance exam, I was a bit nervous, but in retrospect, it was a good decision! There are 2 big rugby tournaments coming up next year; one hosted by us at London Business School, and one at Duke in the US. I'm going to try and get to both!

At the Africa Club, we've been pretty busy too. We hosted an alum from Goldman Sachs for dinner the other night which was very informative. Also, we're well into the organisation of the Africa Trip to Southern Africa (March next year - spring break) as well as Africa Day (26 May next year).

Besides all this, I've been trying to meet some people in industry. On the first day, we were told that finding a job is about networking, and guess what? we're still told that today. So, between classes, I've been to meet a few people here and there. Although no-one is going to give me a job on the spot, it's good to meet people in the know, I guess. January is the beginning of "milk-round" and then from there, I'll know more about the companies and hopefully secure a summer internship for next year.

Time to be off... 1 final recap of Finance before tomorrow's exam...

Week 1 (Akin Oladapo)

The first week was orientation week. It started on the 28 August, a Monday and a bank holiday. The Notting Hill Festival was ending on that day and I wondered if the school was sending a subtle message that there would be no time for fun during the term. I got to the campus quite early and started meeting my future class mates. The school promised us
international diversity, and we certainly got that. I met my study group members, the guys
I’d be seeing a lot of over the next year. Jan is from the Czech Republic and used to work
in retail banking, Linda from China, Warrick a physiotherapist from Australia, Ahmed a
consultant from England and Vijay used to work in the oil sector and is from India. Anu wasn't present but I found out that she owns a wine bar in India. With my background as an accountant/auditor, I thought: What a group!
Registration literally took all of one minute and then we went on to take the class picture.
Initially thought it was impossible to cram 300 people on the platform but somehow it
happened; looking forward to seeing the picture (I fear my eyes were closed).
Day 2 was also interesting. Dean Laura Tyson addressed us, then we were divided into regional groups and each group made a presentation to the rest of the students about
their region of the world. I certainly learnt more about the culture of the Chinese, Indians
and Aussies from the presentations than I knew before. We also had presentations from the
Head of the School's faculty, an investment banker and from an ex P&G General Manager
Mohan Mohan Mohan (yeah, his first, middle and last names).
On days 3 and 4, we moved to the Lord's Cricket Ground and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists where we got to see some of the MBA alumni, got an introduction to case studies, and some more Mohan Mohan Mohan.
Day 5 was Volunteer's Day. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what happened because I went
house hunting. But I can tell you this: it was an interesting week that promised more interesting (and possibly more stressful) months to come.

My move to London (Akin Oladapo)

Despite the fact that I was accepted into the MBA program as far back as December 2005, my move to London did not work out as well as I would have wanted. I stopped work two weeks before the program commenced and arrived in London 10 days before orientation. I had to start the house hunt immediately and I am yet to really enjoy the sights and sounds of London!
As this is my first time outside of Africa, I found it quite an awesome task to adjust to London life. The weather for one had me confused: cold in morning, hot in the afternoon and very chilly at night. I was told it was late summer and that I should enjoy the warm spells before autumn kicked in. What about the food you might ask? I’m still trying hard to adjust to the Englishman’s idea of lunch: cold sandwiches, chocolate bars and tea. How I crave eba, beans and pounded yam. I would advise traditional Nigerians coming next year, bring as much Naija food as you can, I was warned but I didn’t listen.
I didn’t find a place immediately and I had to stay with friends in Stanmore and Dagenham. For those of you who know the town well, you’ll know that these are two extreme ends of London and quite a commute. Eventually found a place relatively close to school and trying hard to settle in.
The admissions office was very helpful. The fact that I was London Business School student certainly made things happen. I opened a bank account in a day (wouldn't have been possible though if I had not brought my bank statements from Nigeria) and got into a mobile phone contract that makes Nigerian GSM service providers look exploitative.
For me, the move was full of ups and downs. My advice to people coming in next year is to arrive in London with at least 3 weeks to spare. It really makes a lot of difference.

My first month (Richard Hasson)

Now that it's early October, I've been at school for over a month. In truth, it feels more like 6 months, but hey - time goes by when you're having fun! :-) Lectures started in week 2! It took me some time to get used to a class of 77 people having a single discussion. As expected, some people love hearing their own voices, but it is clear that the lecturers are fully aware of that. I found the lecturers very impressive in terms of giving the lectures as well as controlling the class discussion. It really has taken some getting used to (the talking in class), but I'm slowly getting used to it. Some of the courses I did in the first month were:

1. GLAM (Global Leadership Assessment for Managers)
2. UGM (Understanding General Management)
3. GLDP (Global Leadership Development Programme)

These courses were a great introduction to the course and were excellent in terms of explaining general management. In GLAM, we received feedback from our previous managers, which we analysed, and then prepared personal development programmes to work on weaknesses which we maybe didn't know we had, ie: in the eyes of others! Softer skills, but really helpful!

The first month was also time to decided whether to learn a new language or not, and to decide whether to waiver any courses (there are only 2 options, being stats and accounts). I wrote a diagnostic test for Afrikaans and got a level 2 grade, so i can now "officially" talk 2 languages. I had decided to take French as an elective, but have now decided against it. I would have to use a credit for each level I want to do. Given that there are only 12 credits in 2nd year, I decided that I could learn French another time. Also, there's not much point in only doing 1 level...! I also decided to waiver Financial Accounting. I am a qualified Accountant, so decided to rather focus my energies else where...!

Most important thing about the first month, I think, has been the people I have met. My study group has been working really well together - not always 100% smooth sailing (as expected!), but definitely productive! Also, I've met lots of other people through the clubs (rugby club and Africa club being the 2 main clubs I've been attending), as well as Sundowners - every Thursday night, there are drinks at the bar!!! Great evenings! And also just meeting other people around campus!

So, the foundations have been firmly laid, and I am prepared for a great 2 years ahead! Till next time...

Week 1, and my study group (Richard Hasson)

The first week was a lot less scary, and a whole lot more exciting and interesting than I had thought it would be. Day 1 far exceeded expectations. Everyone was really friendly, and the atmosphere on the day was definitely one of massive excitement. We had our class photo (well done to the camera man for arranging over 300 people!), and were then free to meet our future class mates. We were also introduced to our study groups, which really confirmed the variety of students at the School. A brief introduction to the people in my group:

Guy - British, worked for Andersen for many years, and has been working at his family company in Italy more recently
Liam - American, spent 4 years as a US Marine, and has been working at GE for the last 2
Khizar - Pakistani, been designing computer chips in the US Bay Area for the last 8 years
Anton - Russian, studied in Russia, but has been working in Iran for the last 4 years, including working on the reconstruction of Iraq
Sonja - German, but been living in UK for a while, working as a Consultant
Hillary - American, been working in the marketing department of UBS for the last few years

So, yes, a wide variety of Nationalities and backgrounds, as promised! Fortunately, we seem to be getting on pretty well, and seem to be working well together. Hopefully, it remains like that!

The rest of Week 1 was at Lords Cricket Ground, where we were formally introduced to the School. We met lots more of our fellow students and listened to some excellent talks!

All in all, a great week that prepared us, and made us even more excited about what lay ahead!