MiFFT2007 Diary entry 2

In the secon instalment of the MiFFT 2007 diaries, our diarists recount their experiences during weeks 6 - 9 of the programme.

Name Malvika Agarwal MiFFT2007 Nationality Indian Job before London Business School Associate, JP Morgan Chase, Mumbai

The mid-term break – Yes we do get one
As the final week for the CFV project progressed (slowly!) with several late nights as anticipated, I could not wait till the end of the week because that meant a 5-day break. I planned to get a lot done – see more of London, catch up with some friends outside school, maybe do some reading for class which was pending for over 3 weeks then, catch a musical…and the list went on. Ah! But all I did was sleep and watch movies. Thinking back, I'm really glad I took that time off as I was able to come back to the second half of the term feeling more rested and less overwhelmed.

Classes and Electives
The core classes are very well designed. The learning scales from basic material to the introduction of more advanced topics. Seeing some theory for the first time, though I may have already applied it in my previous work was a real value add for me. The professors encourage debates and conversations among students as each draws from his/her experience and readings. It's amazing how much I've learned in the classroom and from casual interactions with my peers. I do feel things have slowed down just a bit compared to the first half. I guess I learned how to manage my time better or maybe that's just the way the classes are structured.

Choosing electives was tougher than I had anticipated – there is a wide range of choices and more than 7 looked very interesting. I read over the course outlines and feedback from the previous year. That helped a lot and I was able to identify the ones that I was most interested in and those that would give me the right tools for my career ahead. It was helpful to speak with fellow MiFs to get additional opinions on some classes.

The job hunt continues
I'm doing more of what I did in the first half of the term – attending presentations and preparing for interviews. The job search does take a lot of my time and it's crucial to balance that with assignments, cases and other course work. Though I'd heard it before, I didn't really buy it, but it's true – the job search process can be a great learning experience.

Are we there yet?
Well that's what I thought I would be asking myself as the end of the first term approached with the prospect of returning to warm tropical weather just days away. However, I can't believe just how fast this term has gone by. A third of our course will be over so soon. (Well there are those finals I hear about before it's really over.) Reflecting back, this is possibly the best investment I've made in myself and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.

Name James Davidson MiFFT2007 Nationality British Job before London Business School Strategic Director, Continuity Planning, London

Electives
The spring term brings with it the option to choose electives of one's own choice (as opposed to the core courses in the Autumn term). I am really enjoying my choices, in particular the Investment Management 2 course (Fixed Income) and the Trading course. It is fun to have dynamic lecturers and interesting external speakers. Last week this included Alasdair Haynes from ITG Posit - a fantastic, and extremely successful, electronic brokerage firm.

Exams
What course would be complete without exams? Fortunately on the Masters in Finance course, exams are taken at the end of each individual core course/elective, and so are pretty manageable. After a few 'emotional' questions, there was a great sense of relief at the end of exams last Christmas and a very well earned session in the local pub down the road, followed by the MiF Christmas party. I've never known a Tequila to taste so good!

Jobs
The desired outcome (for most of us) from undertaking the MiF course was to get a job in the finance industry. I was fortunate enough to interview with a number of firms towards the end of 2006; interviewing was immense fun as I love the challenge of living off your wits and answering really challenging, and stimulating, questions. Ultimately I accepted a job with Barclays Capital - they are a really fun, dynamic and growing company with a great reputation. I will be selling structured products to UK and Irish institutional and commercial clients - a fascinating area that will, I hope, provide superb opportunities within a leading area of finance.

What's Next
We have just started work on our Individual Projects (10% of the overall course grade). My project is to develop a new derivative product in an extremely fascinating and somewhat novel new area. It is an idea I would like to develop further once I start work at Barcap, so will remain sketchy on the details right now! It is a great opportunity to spend the time investigating an idea of individual interest, and apply the incredible academic resources of London Business School to achieving real success.

Name Ana Escobedo Conover MiF FT2007 Nationality  Mexican Job before London Business School  Project Finance, San Paolo Imi, London

Thankfully, after the fifth week we had a week off. I am sure that the reason for this break is to get back the energy and be able to finish the next term alive.  
 
The last two weeks have been full of new enquires, with the start of Capital Market course, my pre-conception of acquiring New Debt as a company and the understanding of Derivative Markets has been   highly influenced. I am looking forward to what is coming next in this course.

Why am I here?
Since the course started, I knew that one of the reasons I decided to study this master, is the opportunity to find a great job. So, I got involved in the first process to achieve that: The MILKROUND. It was hard enough to prepare my CV and my cover latter at the same time that I was trying to keep up with my Corporate Finance class. But it became worse when I needed to get ready for interviews and finish my Corporate Finance Project.  Luckily, what they have asked me in the interviews until now is basically what I did in my Corporate Finance Project, so I don't regret the effort.

These experiences of confronting too many questions of what I want to do, and why I want to work in Investment Banking, had helped me to select the next step in my master: choosing my electives. I thought this process was going to be boring and monotonous, but definitely not. I have already chosen 6 electives and an extra financial modeling course, I know that this means a lot of work in the future moths, but everything that I am going to learn in those classes I know that I am going to use it the rest of my professional life. 
 
My return on investment until now
Without a doubt I can say that the highest return I have got back until now is my experiences with the people. Although knowledge and expectation of a better job was my main goal to achieve in this Masters, my classmates have contributed so much to develop my personal and professional skills. It is still an adventure to discuss possible projects with some of them, or study together for the final exams, or even learn from them how they did in their job interviews.

There are so many opportunities to learn from others, and to share what I think and what I feel with them, that every single day is different in London Business School. Normally I start at 9:00am and leave school around 8:00pm, and I have been trying to convince myself not to go on Saturdays, but sometimes I do.  I know that this is going to last just a year, and a third of it is already gone, so I can conclude until now that my RRI is higher than the market rate, and I definitely have a positive NPV on the time I have spent in London Business school.    

Name Steven Reid MiF FT2007 Nationality Canadian Job before London Business School Analyst, CIBC World Markets, Toronto

The second half of my first term in the Masters in Finance programme has gone by extremely quickly! While I have been busy with classes, assignments and employment recruiting, there have been several social events to enjoy and the mid-term break was a nice change of pace with a good chance to relax.

Corporate Finance and the Valuation Project
We have officially finished our first course at London Business School. Corporate Finance and Valuation ran at double speed for the first 5 weeks and culminated with an intense valuation project. It was a lot of work but it was a unique learning experience that was well worth it in the end. I learned more than I expected and I got to know my group members really well. The timing of the course and the project were aptly planned as it left us prepared in time for job interviews which started in late October.

Full Time Recruitment
The employment recruiting process started early in October and is still moving ahead at full speed. It's tricky balancing classes, company presentations and interviews but it has been great getting exposure to such amazing people and leading organizations.

Electives
In mid November, we began selecting our electives for the remaining two terms of the Masters in Finance programme. There is a diverse list of electives to choose from and it's important that we tailor the programme to our specific interests. The professors from each discipline presented the electives briefing. Hearing first-hand about the courses and who they are designed for really helped put things in perspective. It's been an exciting process because I can finally delve into the core areas that I want to specialize in.
 
Social Activities
In addition to all the school work, the last few weeks have also been a lot of fun. On campus there have also been lots of events including the annual Diwali Party thrown by the Indian club, a Beaujolais Nouveau celebration last week and weekly Sundowners pub nights. Many students also took advantage of our mid-term week off to travel throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. I had the opportunity to travel to Wales which was definitely an eye-opening experience that I would highly recommend.

As the end of term approaches, I'm beginning to focus more on my studies because exams are looming near. I've had a stimulating 10 weeks in the programme and I am already looking forward to what the next two terms have in store.

Name Ellen Zhu MiFFT2007 Nationality Chinese Job before London Business School Director, Structured Markets China Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank, Hong Kong

I am so surprised to find myself still alive after finishing the CFV Valuation project.  Most of my fellow students were as stripped of their mental and physical energy as I was, but we all found the process extremely rewarding.  We were forced to learn to apply the theory and tools acquired in the CFV class immediately to the valuation of listed companies as if we were equity analysts at investment banks.  It will be interesting to see in the near future who has made the most accurate valuation and projection in the stock prices. 

The mid term break came timely after the completion of the valuation project – just when we needed the rest the most.  The first thing we did was to organise a group lunch before everyone on the group headed out of London for the break.  After a month together as a team, we all felt a bit sentimental learning that we will be assigned to different study groups for the next half term.  On the brighter side, though, it means we will be able to get to know other equally talented colleagues.

When the second half of the term began, I was actually relatively more relaxed thanks to an improvement in time management skills.  However, it was still quite impossible to get to bed before 2am in the morning if I was to finish all the individual problem sets, group case write ups and homework, and eighty percent of the required readings on top of a busy schedule for career services events and interviews and social activities.

In my view, at least half of the return on our investment in the MiF programme at London Business School is the excellent career services provided by the school.  Blessed with its unique location in London, the school had been able to attract on to campus most of the top players in IB, consulting and industry for the milk round recruitment process.   It would be really hard to attend all the presentations/interviews while striving to meet all the deadlines at school.  But no one could deny that attending even the presentations of the big banks and consulting companies was a great learning experience not to mention the highly challenging interviews.  .

And it was during the interviews that you realize how carefully the school had arranged the first three core courses and how important were those resources that you have access to through various special interests clubs at the School.  Although junior job offerings in the milk round were not what I had in mind, I was prompted to seriously consider jobs in new areas other than global markets.
 
Soon came the time for deciding on the electives for the next two terms.  By no means was it an easy task.  Every elective seemed to be an interesting subject worth spending the time studying, yet due to the short tenor of the program we were only allowed to select a maximum of 7 electives.  I talked to quite a few MiF alumni and gathered valuable feedback on the courses before I finally made my choices. 

We had barely finished the last assignment for the FAA when the exam week began. Preparation for the exam not only refreshed my memory of all the courses (especially the CFV course which was finished before the mid term break) but also deeply enhanced my understanding of them.  Three-hour exams were gruelling, but the sense of satisfaction and 3 week break after finishing all three exams was so pleasant that it braced me for the next round of the process all over again.