Reflections, Looking, Back and more....

This morning was I was driving to work, I was reflecting on the time that I've spent at Intuit over the last 12-13 weeks. Then I started to think about my career as a whole and the journey. When I graduated from college, I was living in a delusional world with expectations that everything should be handed to me on a silver platter and that I shouldn't have to work for less than a certain amount. It was basically the ego of the first dot com generation. We all felt entitled to say the least.

When I look back over the last 13 weeks, one thing really stands out to me. The amount of personal growth I've experience over the summer is probably equivalent or greater than the personal growth I've experienced since I graduated from college. Personal growth from come from a number of experiences, moving to a new city where you don't know anybody, working in an industry where you have absolutely NOTHING in common with the people you are working with, working somewhere that forces you to deal with people from ALL walks of life and more. While this isn't my final blog post for my intern blog, it's getting really close. But the advice I would give somebody when searching for a job or an internship is, don't just look at whats going to give you professional growth, look at something that will give you the opportunity for personal growth too because the personal growth is the fuel for your professional growth.

Being in the Moment

I wrote a previous blog post about this subject where I talked about being present. The reason I'm writing about it again is because I feel like it's really an ongoing theme in my growth this summer. The power of presence has made me realize that it really is essential to your happiness. What I've found is that in my career and in my life, I've always been worried about getting ahead. It's ironic that the extreme desire to get ahead can actual be counterproductive. You'd think that a focus on getting ahead would get you there. Ironically excessive focus on getting ahead reduces the quality of the work you are currently producing.

After reading a ton of books this summer, listening to podcasts, hearing executives talk, I realized that when you can master presence, the rest of your success in life is just a byproduct of being present. Looking back over the course of my internship, I would say the major thing I was guilty of was being so obsessed with making my internship lead to a full time offer that it actually took away from the experience to some degree. So, my one piece of advice to anybody in any internship is to go ahead and let the cards fall where they may, enjoy yourself, work hard, and live in the now, not the future.

The Final Stretch

Well, I thought I'd write a quick blog post on the final stretch. I'm about 12 working days away from being done with my internship. I started much earlier than most MBA students, but it has been a jam packed summer with a ton of learning opportunity. I've gained significant expertise in areas I was previously unfamiliar with. I'd like to think that I've added value to my resume that will make me quite marketable. I was in the middle of wrapping up one of my projects and came to realize how much I really did use skills from my MBA to work on my projects. I think the biggest challenge I've had as an MBA is to be concise and to the point. But, when I write things now, I think about how much shorter I can make everything. I'll have another update on my wrap up and some video footage posted pretty soon. Oh yeah, if you ever get to live in San Diego, do it.

5 FASTEST WAYS TO FIND A JOB

5 FASTEST WAYS TO FIND A JOB

1) JOB ALERTS- Simplyhired.com and Indeed.com allow you to setup numerous job alerts based on keywords and can also be setup with an exact phrase. For example, if your interest is internet marketing positions for MBA’s, setup an alert that says internet marketing MBA and every job with that combination will be sent to you daily or weekly.

2) LINKEDIN- Linkedin is probably the most awesome thing in the world for finding jobs. Linkedin can help you find hiring managers, contact info and more. Here’s some cool ways to get right in touch with people.

· Find a job on indeed or simplyhired

· Do a search for the title/department and company on Linkedin

· Make a list of names

4) FACEBOOK- Today with massive growth of Web 2.0, companies are setting up Facebook pages constantly. Many are even recruiting from Facebook. Do a simple search under Facebook groups and you’ll see groups dedicated to careers with specific people you can reach out to.

5) JOB BOARD FORUMS- Simplyhired and Indeed.com have discussion forums on companies. Sometimes you’ll even find recruiters there looking for resumes.

Be Present

I know that I've spent a good deal of time writing about thinking about your future, thinking about your job search and more. One of the things that humanity as a whole has become completely obsessed with is progress. Ironically, so much of our progress has led to misery. We become obsessed with getting ahead and moving forward, so that there is never any ability to be present. You can see this all around you.

• The person who sits in a restaurant or a bar looking at their cell phone or their watch waiting for the other person
• The person who spends all their time planning for the future, writing down ideas, and never acting on them
• The person who lives in the past and constantly starts stories with "I used to"
• Waiting for events or circumstances to be favorable in order to have a favorable emotional response

When you are not present, you are in a mental prison which keeps your from reaching your full potential. This mental prison is really responsible for the state of misery you are in. At the rate that information reaches us today through mediums like the Internet, there is a tremendous danger that humanity will not only perpetuate this misery but fuel rapid spread of this misery.

After my recent reading of the Eckhart Tolle Book A New Earth, I realized that when you get to the future you are still in the present moment, and the future will continue to exist until you die.
You will find that the more present you are, the more power and impact your interactions with people will have. Just to be clear, I'm not saying don't have goals, don't plan, the key is to make plans and not concern yourself with arriving at your destination. In other words, enjoy the journey.

Patience

Lately my blog entries have taken an interesting turn and become sort of a reflection on life. A good friend came to visit me this weekend from the bay area and noticed that I had become much calmer, despite having tons of energy. It made me think about something that people throughout my life have talked to me about.

The first person to talk to me about this was my dad. When I was younger, he always used to tell me “Srinivas you need to be patient.” It ranged all the way from a computer that wouldn’t boot fast enough, to an internet browser that wouldn’t load a page fast enough, to the old lady who wouldn’t drive fast enough. I was listening to the audio book The 48 Laws of Power this weekend and it talked about the power of patience. And it made me think back to the job search and about how if I had just been patient everything would have been fine. It all turned out the same regardless of my impatience. So, I’ll end today with a quote by somebody very wise. As Ferris Bueller once said “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.” In other words, be patient and don’t get caught up in the race.

Top 5 things to look for in an MBA internship program

1) A recognized Brand Name
2) A formal MBA Internship Program
3) A project that leverages your career and first-year MBA skills
4) A project that helps you grow personally and professionally
5) Potential for future employment

Choosing the right MBA internship

Choosing the right summer internship is something that’s really important especially at the MBA level. One of the best pieces of advice that I got as an MBA student was to go somewhere where there is a formal internship program and you’ll be among other interns. One of the great advantages to a formal internship program is that they really integrate you into the organization.

As far as my experience with Intuit, I’m amazed at how well they do this. One thing they are really good at is matching up your strengths against the projects and responsibilities you get. Another thing that has been awesome is how well my project is aligned with the skills I gained from a year of business school. I recommend that anybody who comes across this blog a year or so from now or is in the internship search process seek out positions with will utilize the skills you’ve gained as an MBA. That’s it for today.