March 2008 Archives

I'm a self-confessed business news junkie.  It started in my undergrad days at Notre Dame when a group of friends and I used to print out archived copies of the Chicago Sun-Times crosswords puzzles to keep us occupied in some of our - shall we say, less exciting - courses.  After a semester we had exhausted the entire archive and, fortuitously, that's when they started offering the Wall Street Journal free of charge throughout the business building.  Back in my day - which wasn't even that long ago - the only way to read the news in class was by reading the paper itself.  It was an acquired skill, but after a couple of embarrassing moments, I quickly learned how to silently flip through pages in the back of the classroom - mind you, there was no Facebook and you would never be allowed to prop open a laptop during class.

While none of my professors - and certainly not yours - would have been too happy to find a student reading the paper in class - even if it was the WSJ - knowing what was going in the business world was essential in landing my first job as a financial analyst.  The first two questions I was ever asked were, "What impact will the terrorists attacks (9/11 was less than a month prior to my interview) on the economy?" and "If you were the President, how would you respond?"  It was my decisive response to this final question, not necessarily the answer itself, that I later learned landed me the job.

If you are business major, you've got to be aware of what's making headlines in the business world.  The truth is that what's going on in the business world is just as interesting - in my opinion, even more so - than anything in the world of television and entertainment.  Just look at the recent and ongoing story of the Bear Stearns collapse.  It's a fascinating story on multiple levels.  You have:

• An 85-year old pillar of Wall Street essentially wiped out over the course of a week. 
• The government (your government) pledging $30B (yes, that is a B) of your money to secure risky loans. 
• JPMorgan Chase buying a stock that was valued at $34 on March 14 and as high as $159 over the past 52 weeks for $2 (now $10) a share.  
• Several individual investors losing hundreds of millions of dollars 
• Widely divergent opinions among analysts and the public, from "They saved the financial markets from collapse" to "We should have let them go bankrupt.  Those greedy b******s got what they deserved." 

What happens on Wall Street in not confined to Wall Street.  The impact of the mortgage crisis and its ever-expanding fall out will hit just about every business, large or small.  Many will be hurt, some will benefit, and the more you know, the better you can position yourself as the candidate (or current employee) who can recognize opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis, anyone?) and help an organization navigate the changing economy.  And you are likely to be entertained.

I just wrapped up what I consider to be a very successful meeting with the President of the Indiana University Indianapolis (IUI) Accounting Club.  A couple of weeks ago he sent me an email asking if I would be willing to give a presentation covering the nuances of the accounting recruiting process, with an emphasis on finding internship opportunities and navigating the application and interview process.  This meeting was our planning session for the April 7 presentation.

I bring this up because I'm well aware of the fact that there many current and/or prospective students aren't aware of the breadth of services available through their school's career services office.  We give hundreds of presentations a year, speak at every orientation and dozens of recruiting events, but if you're not ready to think about planning your career, finding a job, or advancing in your current position at the time, the message can get lost.  It's worth noting - however many times are necessary - that our staff can help with everything from revising your resume to changing careers to customizing a presentation for a student organization.

So what I'm saying is that when you need (or want) something - just ask us!  It's that simple.  You'd be surprised at the range of topics we can cover - and if the CPO can't address your needs or the needs of your organization, we can help find someone who can.  We can also customize any presentation or develop a new one from scratch to meet the needs of any student or professional organization - all we need is a little information - and to be asked.

On a side note, check out the initial email I received from the IUI Accounting Club President inquiring about a presentation. Not only is this an excellent template for requesting a speaker from within the university, but it's perfect for recruiting an external speaker - say, a local executive.  On an individual level, you could use this as a framework for crafting a personalized email request for an informational interview.  It's professional, personalized, and gives the recipient enough information to respond intelligently.  Use it as a guide and you can expect to receive excellent - and prompt - responses.

*And you are, of course, welcome to attend the April 7 presentation - especially current and prospective Accounting majors*

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JR,

The IUI Accounting Association was wondering if you would be interested in being a guest speaker at our April club meeting at IUPUI.  Many of our club members have expressed an interest in learning more about accounting internships.  Specifically, our members would like to get insightful tips on how to prepare and attain internships, the "do's and don'ts," and what to expect.  Naturally, we thought of you as our first contact.

The April meeting is tentatively scheduled to take place on Monday, April 7, 2008 during 4:30-5:30pm at the new Campus Center in room CE 305. This room is reserved from 4:00-6:00pm so there is plenty of time to setup for the presentation.  In addition, we have the media podium reserved (i.e., PC, DVD, Projector, Screen) in case you have a PowerPoint presentation.  You would have the majority of this time (i.e., 45 plus minutes) to give your presentation.

Moreover, I wanted to give you a little background information on our members/meetings. Our meetings are open to all the entire student body and we generally have a good turnout. Many of our members attend to learn about opportunities available to them with the major they are pursuing. In addition, the club tries to give students an informal, relaxed atmosphere for students to network and meet with accounting professionals. Hence, this is really our club's main function--to help students become aware of accounting opportunities and reach their career aspiration.  Therefore, any advice or experiences you can share with our members on ways to succeed as an accountant will be very much appreciated.