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.

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[Bíró Zoltán]

http://www.grain.hu/eso.htm
rainmaker

[Bíró Zoltán www.grain.hu]

http://www.grain.hu/eso.htm
RAINMAKER