Semester I Darden

One fourth of my Darden MBA is officially over. We finished our exams yesterday and have been chilling. And boy.. what a difference 4 months makes!! I feel like I’ve learnt more in these four months than I have learnt in 4 years at work. I wanted to reflect on some of my key experiences at Darden and highlight the happy moments.
Among the happiest moments for a person like me is the opportunity to contribute in class. Darden thrives on knowledge sharing through class contribution. By the second quarter everyone in class knows what to expect from each other. It gives me immense gratification when I make a point in class and when someone comes up to me and says they found my insight useful. You build a reputation of some sort in class and people respect you for the quality of your comments.
Exams are enjoyable, though very challenging at Darden. Professors truly test the level of depth to which one understand concepts. The honor code makes the process of writing exams very convenient (all exams are take home and in case format) and grading is very fair.
Come end of the year, it is time to get to go full throttle on job search process. Companies started arriving on campus the moment the class of 2009 arrived (if they could attract talent any earlier, they would). First quarter was focused on doing self analysis type work to a great level of depth(I wasn’t too fond of this), identifying one’s career focus and then getting our resumes ready. All this happens while companies hold briefings and conduct office hours and we continue to prepare for 3 class cases per day. The learning team model at Darden really helps balancing academics and career search possible.
I am blessed with a great learning team – some of use believe academics is one of the foremost reasons for us to come to Darden (yes, we all want jobs but want a great education too). Having worked with a team like this, I am hoping my future career path with allow me to work with such highly motivated people on challenging problems.
The Career development center runs a parallel career search facilitation program in the I and II qtr (and beyond) and I have tremendously benefited from their initiatives. The CDC brought in an industry consultant to train people who are interested in consulting and it has turned out to be a great resource for students.
Darden conducts a yearly Kaizen (process improvement) event in collaboration with Danaher, in one of its plants. I had the privilege of being picked by Darden faculty to participate in this one week program where I will get to work in a Danaher plant and solve a plant level manufacturing/operations/marketing problem using Lean/Six-sigma tools. I have had training in transactional process improvement at Seagate but the opportunity to work in a factory floor and make tangible improvements for one of the world’s leading industrial companies is an opportunity I cannot pass up. The event is in January and I will write more about my experiences one I am back.
Lastly, I am also organizing a little job trek to the DC area to visit a few consulting firms and experience what it is like to work in one. Over the break, while I wind down a little and recharge my batteries, we also need to prepare for the January recruiting season. Jan – Feb is peak recruiting time with interviews etc and it is going to be exciting.

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