The takeaway here: I hope to have some more time to post over the next couple of weeks until exams and the holiday travels drag me away.

The most important bit of news to share is that I finally accepted a full-time job offer this past week!  I’m headed back to the consulting firm I worked for during my summer internship.  Given the amount of time and stress I devoted to the recruiting process this year, it’s ironic that I’m accepting an offer that was on the table back in early August.  In retrospect, it shouldn’t have been a tough decision.  I had a fantastic experience over the summer, built a lot of strong relationships, and (I think) established a solid reputation within the office.  I really hope I haven’t sacrificed all of that goodwill by exploring other options over the last few months.

It’s tricky to know how best to handle this.  HBS’ policies are both a blessing and a curse.  They require firms to keep their offers open until this weekend:

“Second year class of 2010 students may not be required to accept offers before 1/15/10, or 3 weeks after the offer is made, whichever date is later. Full-time offers to previous employees and/or summer interns must be held open until at least 11/16/09. It is permissible to offer incentives to students who accept a full-time position in advance of these dates. The base offer (including base salary, base signing bonus, performance bonuses and job function) must remain open until the decision date.”

I think it may have been even later (Dec or Jan) in years past, but the power balance has shifted solidly to the recruiter’s camp in this dire economic climate.  The policy is great in that it gives us the chance to explore other options… BUT, only within the bounds of firms that recruit on-campus during recruiting week.  The 50-60% of jobs that arrive after the 11/16 deadline are outside this process… and tend to include many of the more interesting possibilities (VC/PE, start-ups, etc…)

I hope I’ve made the right choice here.  When I stop to think about it, it’s kind of amazing that I’ve signed a contract that doesn’t even have a start date until 1 year from today…!  Part of me thinks that’s a bit insane.  I can barely make firm travel commitments a few months in advance.  For the firms that require you to do this (consulting + i-banks), it’s really quite a good deal.  You’re able to remove candidates from the job market during what’s likely the most attractive period of their lives — all without paying a dime.  Now, that’s a *good* contract!

Maybe I’m just feeling a bit fatalistic now that I’ve (basically) locked-in the end result of two years at HBS… and while it’s a great option, it doesn’t involve a risky turnaround, stock options, the c-suite, or private jets.   (So much for everything I’ve learned here…!)

Or maybe it’s just typical melancholy from a rainy, rainy Saturday morning:

Rainy November #1

Rainy November #2

A disclaimer: I’ve been sketching out what I need to post about here and there are 29 (!) posts sitting in the queue, waiting to be fleshed out and published.  That’s a bit overwhelming, and I thought it might be somewhat confusing if I continued posting “as is” without any explanation for why final exams are happening in July. 

So, (to reveal the true timeline)… 

Yesterday was the last class day of the RC year!  I have conflicting feelings  about the whole thing:

1. Academically: We’ve studied and discussed hundreds of businesses over the last year, and it has been a fascinating journey.  From start-up to multi-national, from retail to raw material, from citizen to criminal, from gov’t agency to NGO.  When I stop to think about it, the sheer magnitude of businesses we’ve studied is astounding.  Taken individually, 30-page cases seem short, but they add up quickly (one statistic from BGIE shows we read over 1000+ pages in that class alone).
2. …but, I’m not sure how much of that has translated into generalizable lessons.  Where are the hidden business secrets that are reserved for those who devote time to deep study?  Should we be modeling about all those esoteric complex financial instruments like they do at Chicago?  Or is the learning  possibly more surreptitious at HBS?  I think you have to hope that the 500+ cases have built a deeply embedded database in your mind… ready to be drawn to the surface by pattern recognition when you encounter a similar situation in the future.  Realistic?
3.  Socially: I’ve been blown away by how close I feel to the 90 people in my section.  I would never have expected to build the bonds we’ve built… part of it’s the way the case method works (like a big group discussion) and part of it’s from the social activities.  I definitely feel like I could call any of these people up in the next 5-10 yrs and ask for a favor.
4. …however, I’m not sure if I’ve built the type of relationships that last 10 yrs+.  Part of it’s due to choice – I’ve definitely spent more time “outside the HBS bubble” spending time with my significant other than most.  Most of it just has to do with interests… the majority of people here seem to go out and drink every night.  While I wish I could enjoy that more, it’s just not my scene.  Still, even though that crowd get all “the press”, I think there’s a huge portion of my section (and HBS) that are more like me.  
5. …the real tragedy is: every once in a while I’ll find someone who likes exploring the outdoors, enjoys museums, prefers dinner parties and politics, and might even humor a dorky game of Pictionary.  My greatest regret from the year is that I didn’t seek these people out and spend more time with them. 

All in all, though, it’s been a fantastic year and I definitely wouldn’t give it up for anything!

1. Life gets busy (in this case, recruiting and holidays).
2. My backlog of time-sensitive “posts to be written” increases.
3. The day-to-day stuff that could be interesting is tossed aside.
4. And the backlog builds to the point where it’s too much work to even try!!

So, I usually delete the blog at this point and start over.   This time, I’m just going to say “Sorry!” (to myself and the few people who read this) and just stick with the two-month gap.  At some point, maybe I’ll go back and fill in the missing posts (backdated, of course), but for now…  on to new things!

Next semester is about to start, and I’m excited about the new HBS courses:

• Strategy
• The Entrepreneurial Manager (1/2 Year)
• Negotiations (1/2 Year)
• Business, Government, and the International Economy (BGIE)
• Finance 2
• Leadership and Corporate Accountability (LCA)

I’m particularly excited about BGIE.  I can’t imagine how the class will work, but it sounds like there will be a lot of healthy debate about politics — fun, fun!  Also curious about the Entrepreneurial Manager & Negotiations… from what I’ve heard, there are a number of simulations / active learning opportunities, which I always tend to enjoy.  Less excited about LCA (essentially, corporate governance) and Finance II (determining optimal capital structure?).

You know, I’ve forgotten how exciting it is to wipe the slate clean and start over with a new semester.  This is something you rarely experience in the business world, but it’s such a great feeling.  New courses, new professors, new material,  (same people), but still a fun way to start the New Year!