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Alumni Corner: Chicken Soup For Your Career
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Dear First Years: If you’'re debating between a career in finance and one in marketing - I offer my very own patent-pending rule of thumb. Would you rather help people to make more money, or would you prefer to think of creative ways to get them to spend it? Then again, if consulting is what floats your boat, keep in mind the etymology of the word ‘consult’ - a contraction of ‘con’ and ‘insult’.
You can also turn to literature for career guidance. I recently finished Blood on the Street”, which depicts a time not too long ago when being a stock analyst was the best gig on Wall Street, before being Attorney General of the State of New York became an even better gig.
A good companion book is Confessions of a Wall Street Analyst”, written by chief villain Jack Grubman’s archrival Dan Reingold. Both books contain intimate portraits of top brass at leading Wall Street firms, which many of you will be working for.
If you think you can cut the mustard as a bond trader, “Liar’s Poker” will shed some light on the inner circle rituals of this arcane profession. For a look at the darker side of banking and private equity, check out the classic Barbarians at the Gate” - you can save time here by watching the movie by the same name. You won’t find the DVD at your local video store, but it is on NetFlix.
All you aspiring operations gurus, take a look at “The Goal”, where a starryeyed plant manager succeeds in identifying bottlenecks and reducing inventories, and nearly destroys his marriage in the process - but remembers his OB and patches things up with the wife in the end.
I’m not an authority on marketing texts, but if I had to pick a few titles, I’d start with “The Purple Cow” and “All The Marketers Are Liars”, both written by marketing evangelist Seth Godin.
If profit maximizing and agency theory leave you with the lingering thought that maybe corporations shouldn’t rule the world, feed your inner rebel with “The Smartest Guys in the Room”, “Fast Food Nation”, and for your viewing pleasure –The Corporation”.
Finally, I recommend a book called Ballad of the Whiskey Robber”. It’s the amazing true story of a Zamboni driver turned semi-professional hockey player... who later became Eastern Europe’s most celebrated bank robber.
Read this one for the entertainment value, not the career advice!
By Joe Varadi, MBA '07
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