INSEAD Week 5

The focus of the past week has been for financial services industry presentations. These have taken place in the evenings after classes, with successive sets of representatives from Barclay’s Capital, Nomura, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and the venerable Goldman Sachs. From the presentations I attended, I noted on average 40 people attending each presentation and networking/drinks event that always follows. However the Goldman Sachs presentation saw some 150 people show up, easily half of the Fontainebleau class. The hiring drive on the part of banks in general is much greater than last year, it seems the directors of the planet’s financial resources are making up for lost time from 2008-9.
Attached photo is the audience during the Goldman presentation. I found the Goldmanites (I have no idea what they call themselves) to uniformly speak in very hushed tones, even when addressing the full amphitheater – as if to implicitly advertise the emphasis they place on discretion with clients’ information. By comparison, Morgan Stanley who presented right afterwards were very lively and animated, showcasing their culture in direct contrast to the Goldmanites. Most of the other bank presentations I saw fell somewhere in between in terms of energy shown during the presentation.
The schedule at INSEAD is becoming increasingly rigorous. Courses alone wouldn’t stress me out, but add them to personal administration with respect to localizing/registering in France, and job searching activities and all of a sudden the 1-year MBA becomes much more challenging in practice than it sounded. The school’s Career Services is truly a machine, and the hiring process particularly with respect to financial firms is extremely regimented. In contrast to the intended order behind this approach, all parties (banks, school, and students) universally agree that the only way to actually *get* an internship with a bank is to network relentlessly with alums and friends who currently work for them. Because otherwise, the banks don’t have any way of differentiating among the hordes of similarly highly qualified CVs they receive.
This weekend saw an American themed party in one of the biggest chateau residences featuring frat-style drinking games and people dressed in football jersies. Americans, like every nationality, are a minority on the campus. Kind of funny to look in on how others perceive your culture. Actually, I felt honored that there were enough salient aspects of American culture that it would be even possible to have an American themed party. Cheers!