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FINDING YOUR IDEAL INTERNSHIP
18 SPECIAL FOCUS ON MBA EDUCATION
IN THE FOOTSTEPS PÁL PÁSZTRAI
17 CHARITY RUN
OF
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EDITORIAL Dear readers, The second issue of the renewed journal is out to present our recent activities and provide you with useful information regarding your professional life. We put a lot of effort into this edition to keep our promise about the complete redesign and we hope it appeals to you! To begin with, those already on exchange are obviously having a pleasant time besides studying in one of the network’s prominent universities. However, we had many chances to enjoy the prerogatives of the community at home as well. What exactly am I talking about? Take the time and see it on the following pages: look back on the charity run or get to know the SAMP which is a beneficial initiative started this autumn! The end of the year is yet to come and we still have some very promising events on our agenda. Especially the Career Forum, which is a great opportunity to build your networks or obtain an internship. You might find some relevant information on that as well which could help you prevail over that weekend!
Published by CEMS Club Budapest Hungary
Editors Anna Mátyus Dorka Bálint Gábor Trefán Péter Oláh
Graphic Design Gábor Trefán Péter Oláh
Furthermore, next year will bring on a new class of local CEMSies as well as another board that will take on the management of the CEMS Club Budapest! Going through the articles might also provide further inspiration for this year’s candidates to deliver an up to par application. I hope you are just as excited as I am about what the future holds for you inside CEMS! I wish you good luck during the interviews and enjoy reading!
Péter Oláh
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CONTENTS 6
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THE POWER OF THE CEMS ALUMNI NETWORK
FINDING YOUR IDEAL INTERNSHIP IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF PÁL PÁSZTRAI
INTERVIEW WITH GÁBOR MARTON
INTRODUCTION
3 EDITORIAL 14 2012 FALL EVENTS FEATURES
10 INTERNSHIP GUIDELINE
5 SAMP-KICK OFF EVENT
12 ON THE FAST TRACK TO CAREER DEVELOPMENT
15 PROJECT TEAM UPDATES 17 CHARITY RUN
GRADUATE PROGRAMMES
TIPS N’ TRICKS
18 SPECIAL FOCUS ON MBA EDUCATION 20 CAREER TIPS FROM MÓNIKA UTRYM
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23 PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEW
SAMP KICK-OFF EVENT
CEMSIES IN BUDAPEST ALL GAVE THEIR VOTES TO MAKE THE STUDENT ALUMNI MENTORSHIP PROGRAM HAPPEN by Árpine Szárkiszján
It serves as a connecting hub to enhance knowledge and experience sharing between the Alumni and the new CEMS generation. It was launched to make sure that students get first-hand insight and guidance from CEMS Alumni about starting, building and developing a career. The kick-off event was held on 20th of September at the CUB rector hall with the participation of esteemed Alumni members and fellow students. As CEMSies expressed well in advance their fields of interest, the event was organized in a manner to facilitate a valuable gathering to meet both parties’ expectations. After the inspiring welcome speech of Gábor Márton, the Local Representative of the CEMS Alumni Association, participants were engaged in vivid conversation with mentors in five groups. These groups were organized on the basis of different business areas. The most popular domains were consultancy, marketing, project management, M&A and finance. More than 25 mentees had the opportunity to
participate on this special kick-off occasion, where 12 experienced mentors with diverse backgrounds were ready to discuss topics related to their career development. Through enhancement of the CEMS network, this semester long bridge program is created to assist both personal and professional development. The five field orientated groups after deciding the upcoming venues will continue to come together on monthly basis. Let’s follow how our common value based community via mutual growing and learning process is bringing out the best in us!
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ALUMNI ASSOCIA THE POWER OF THE CEMS ALUMNI NETWORK
INTERVIEW WITH GÁBOR MARTON, THE LATELY ELECTED LOCAL COMMITTEE OF THE CEMS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
by Anna Mátyus
The CEMS Alumni Association (CAA) could be amongst the biggest benefits of the CEMS degree. Since its foundation CEMS admission: 2005 in 1993 it enables CEMS graduates to Graduation: 2011 continue to enjoy the international and Major: Corporate Strategy multicultural experience that they have experienced as students. It also organises Current job: various professional events to share UniCredit Group ideas and knowledge. Organised on a Risk Manager multi-country basis, the CAA is present in each country through committed alumni. Local Committees (LCs) are fundamental in keeping a global alumni network active on a local basis. While the CEMS alumni network totals 7,000 members, number of registered CAA members is less. What can be done here in Budapest in order to facilitate a fruitful community with benefits for both parties: students and alumni? Valuable events each semester (Alumni Mixer, Conference Night, Summer Camp), SAMP... should the list be continued? Gábor is the right person to help us finds out how.
Gábor Marton
We would like to know you better, could First of all, let me congratulate on your you introduce yourself briefly? election as LC for the AA in Budapest. As a usual start: my name is Gábor/Gabesz, What encouraged you to take on this role? I joined CEMS in 2005, I took my exchange How/why did you first get involved with semester in Cologne, Germany. I graduated the CEMS Alumni Network? from the university in 2009 and in 2011 I became a CEMS graduate. I made my 6 months internship at Henkel, Düsseldorf. After coming back to Hungary I started working at Eximbank Hungary as an intern, then 6 months past I started working full time as a relationship manager.
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After 4 years at Eximbank I moved on to UniCredit Bank last year, where I work as a Credit Risk Manager. Beside my professional work I have many hobbies: sports (presently I am into TRX and pilates), personal development and coaching. With two friends of mine we have a blog dealing with selfdevelopment, motivation and goals: www. sikerkozosseg.hu.
CEMS gave me a lot of opportunities in terms of development, knowledge, experiences, fun, network, just to mention some of the great aspects why is good to take part in CEMS program. The main reasons for taking this role is to give something back to the CEMS community and support the new CEMS generation via further enhancing the cooperation between students and alumni.
Last time we met was during the CEMS Volunteer Day. You are a regular participant of the seasonal CEMS events. What kept you engaged after graduation? I enjoy these events where students and alumni can come together, since they are great opportunities to meet old friends and also new people with similar mindsets.
ATION These organized events have great value: it SAMP could be one of the events which can be charity, knowledge sharing or meeting creates added value for students and CEMS students and alumni members. alumni also (getting first-hand experience
and insider career tips while alumni can What role do you think AA plays in the find the most suitable candidates). I heard broader CEMS community and in local you also plan to offer mentorship…? CEMS clubs? Yes SAMP is a great opportunity for both As you said in the preface of this interview that Alumni Association’s main role is to generally support the CEMS community. The form of the support can be knowledge or experience sharing, networking with students, etc.
What is your opinion about the current CEMS Alumni alliance in Budapest?
In the past years – thankfully of the efforts of my ancestors and the Student Boards – the alumni network is getting more and more active and involved in the community. It can stated that there many alumni who likes to take an active part in CEMS events. I will do my best to encourage the alumni to take part in more and more events and programs.
A reliable and updated alumni database is probably the first step to start with. It is under process…
Presently we have an alumni database in Excel format, which is a great thing and it will be updated step by step. Beside the database to continue the efforts of my ancestors I highly encourage every CEMS student and alumni to join the “CEMS Club Budapest” group on Linkedin. Presently we have 40 members and we would like to raise this number. This group serves for discussions and it can become an updated database of alumni as well. The next step is to “advertise” this opportunity to all alumni members and students to join this group: so dear Reader, if you are a CEMS Club Budapest member (student or alumni does not matter), please go up to linkedin. com and join “CEMS Club Budapest”. Thank you in advance!
the students and both for alumni. As a side benefit of the program is that it encourages the communication and enhancing the network (and the community) between students and the alumni. Yes definitely, I also plan to offer mentorship. There are CEMS alumni members who also would like to offer mentorship and share their knowledge and expertise with the students.
What do you see as some of the challenges and opportunities you will encounter as a LC? And what is your hope for the future of CEMS Alumni network in Budapest? There are many opportunities in the cooperation between alumni network and students, as examples we can mention the community programmes (like CEMS Mixer) and SAMP. The main challenges are: firstly to activate the CEMS alumni to take part in more programs and events secondly to develop cooperation between students and alumni. I hope that the cooperation between alumni and the students will get stronger and stronger, furthermore that the alumni will be more and more active in the community.
Is there anything else you would like to share as incoming LC?
I would like to share one of my favourite quote from Henry Ford, which is related to the cooperation: “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
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FINDING YOUR IDEAL IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF PÁL PÁSZTRAI by Anna Mátyus
An internship can be one of the most effective tools in your business career: it gives you new skills, provides memorable experiences combined with measurable accomplishments, and lets you expand your professional network. Getting an internship is not a guarantee of a permanent position, but it definitely increases your chances. In some companies you can start your career almost exclusively as an intern (“try before you buy” works ideally in the corporate world). Even during downturns, when companies tend to cut back on their fulltime employees, interns can fill the gap. Unfortunately in the current instable economic environment – which is nowadays a vaster issue in Europe – it is a must if not a qualifying criterion of succeeding in the job market. You can call it also a 3-6 months interview. Still, most of us struggle with finding the internship we were longing for. To ease the stress of job hunting we asked Pál Pásztrai, our young alumnus to share his valuable tips and guide us through the steps of the application process. Let’s see how he managed to obtain an internship at J.P. Morgan in London !
BRUSH UP YOUR CV It sounds simple but writing a resume that conveys you are a perfect fit for an employer is a challenge, especially considering how quickly recruiters scan CVs. You have (at best) 30 seconds to prove that you merit an interview during the screening. A well-constructed resume by itself won’t win you the job, but it is your marketing tool to get the attention of potential employers. Your resume must make you stand out quickly. Resume readers look for mistakes to filter the applicants, don’t give them opportunities, such as typos or formatting errors to quickly eliminate your application. These minor mistakes can cost you a chance at the company. Always make sure that friends and professionals checked your CV, in particular. Their outsider view and advice can assure that your resume is 100% ready for submission. University career service offices are also there to help, don’t hesitate to ask for their opinion. They have seen hundreds if not thousands of CVs and can provide you also very country-specific advice. Side note: Even though my CV was shining brightly, I only had 4 responses out of 30. One reason for this can be the automatically set corporate filters. Many companies review CVs coming only from selected list of prominent schools, the so-called target universities. Thus you may consider putting your CEMS exchange school first place with the proper description of the programme. >> See the full guideline on Page 10
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INTERNSHIP
ABOUT PÁL Present @ J.P.Morgan Investment Analyst – Diversified Industrials & Transportation
Internships @ J.P.Morgan - M&A Analyst @ Walker and Williams Investment Group S.A., Luxembourg @ Ministry of Finance, Hungary @ K&H Bank, Hungary
Graduation: 2012 at Corvinus University of Budapest (Corporate Finance) Exchange: National University of Singapore (2010-2012) Member of the ‘New Wave’ Mentoring Program for Future Leaders Professional water polo player for 10 years, did competitive swimming for 8 years beforehand
My internship experience
Fierce competition for obtaining a fulltime offer in a truly international team of 6 interns. Competition does not kill work spirit, but fosters a healthy atmosphere among the co-workers. Long working days, no free weekends and committed attitude merited a full-time position in London, preceded with an invaluable 2-months training in NY.
Memorable quote
Manager delegates a new task at 2am and says: “Please don’t kill yourself with this, but it would be crucial to have it ready by 8am.”
Message for the youth
Finding and keeping an internship is a tough journey. But rest assured: you will have your supporters along the way. Don’t hesitate to ask the Alumni for advice, mentorship and don’t forget: the true experience is just about to begin when you start on the “real-job”.
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INTERNSHIP GUI 1
IDENTIFYING YOUR IDEAL INTERNSHIP
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CUSTOMIZED COVER LETTER
Before you begin applying, take a good look at yourself. Be prepared to think through your activities and achievements and how they are linked to the targeted position. Take time to answer one main question: What do you want to do? Are you looking for a fulltime position or an internship? What is your field of interest? Do you have any functional or industrial experience or expertise? More importantly, do you have the necessary level of language skills to work in the country? Developing a solid command of the industry and the employer might not be sufficient. As a foreigner you start with a handicap compared to local candidates. Make sure that you are knowledgeable about the socio-political conditions in the country.
In your cover letter, include information that truly tailors to the position. Complement and reinforce your qualifications, using words and phrases from the employer’s website. The content of the letter should respond to three questions: Why are you writing? What do you have to offer? Why is this the next step in your career? The tone of your cover letter should be professional but thoughtful, persuasive but restrained. Many websites and forums can be at your assistance in providing industry and/or function-specific best practices and templates (e.g. CEMS is in partnership with two online career management platforms: Going Global and WetFeet).
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START YOUR SEARCH
A less widely used, but very relevant searching tool is the Job Market on cems. org. My first Skype job interview in Singapore was via this platform. Its great advantage is the fact that the companies present are looking for CEMS students in particular. Do your homework on the respective businesses, cultures and staffing approaches of the company. Research is the most important thing you can do before any interview. With so many resources available there’s no excuse for being uninformed. I urge you to talk to alumni who have worked there and the best is to have already a mentor in the company. This will give you a clear, insightful understanding of the industry and the company itself. Most of the companies provide specific instructions about their recruiting process. Sending CVs as attachments is increasingly replaced by online application forms. Take these forms seriously; take your time in filling these out, since if you fail to properly enter your information, you may never be visible in the candidate pool due to their strict filtering mechanisms. The amount of applicants from all over the world is so immense that the companies have to be very selective and should distinguish only the best applicants for the further process.
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IDELINE 4
FOLLOW UP
Support all that hard work of the application with an additional step: continue to show your interest after submitting it. After 2-3 weeks you are encouraged to follow up your submission with a call or an email to reiterate your desire to join the team. There is a fine line between the interested candidate and the pushy one. A respectful manner can win a battle.
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PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEWS
Interview preparation is a continuous process. Having defined my work expectations, I consciously and thoroughly prepared for getting an investment banking position: this ambition is represented from my choice of school, the courses I took, the workshops I attended, the career services I had taken advantage of and the forums, websites I followed.
The preparation largely depends on the field you are applying for. A successful consultancy interview must be preceded by extensive case study practice for long months, while getting into investment banking requires knowing certain books by heart and be familiar with the daily economical/financial/political news/the daily international news. An easy, but equally important step is to familiarize yourself with the most common brainteasers. Companies tend to be more interested in checking the candidates’ capacities on reacting to unexpected and strange questions. Having seen and done a bunch of them will assist you to handle this question as well with ease and professionalism.
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DURING THE INTERVIEW
Besides persuading enthusiasm and knowledge during the interview you have to keep in mind 2 things: in order to build a good rapport conveying confidence is vital…and don’t forget to smile! People are looking not merely for excellent candidates but at the same time also for people who they enjoy working with.
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WHAT COMPANIES WANT
You’re just as responsible for ensuring that the internship is mutually beneficial as the employer. Your daily work should reconfirm the employer that they made a good choice when selecting you and that you meet their expectations in terms of ability, possibility and fit. The inevitable quality of an employee is his people skills: you must feel comfortable to network and be a colleague “good to work with”. A good ice-breaking technique is to say a couple of words in their language even though you don’t master the language.
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GRADUATE PROG ON THE FAST TRACK TO CAREER DEVELOPMENT by Péter Oláh
Since human capital is a key factor in organizations’ success, companies strive to attract the best talents to ensure their long term viability on the marketplace. Every year HR departments open up several positions as
part of their graduate programmes to offer attractive career development options. This is understandable, but what’s in the deal for us? Renáta Ondok (Sony) and Zsombor Szirmai (Novo Nordisk), former CEMS students, were kind enough to share their experiences with me so that I can form a general perspective. As part of these programmes graduates have the ability to rotate among different locations and divisions. These roles can be part of one functional area, but can even represent more diverse ones such as finance and marketing. Such positions imply mutual benefits for both the candidates and the firms. On the one hand, successful applicants can travel and get business experience abroad; participate in a planned programme to accelerate their career and actually take on responsibility from the start. However, in order to do the latter, one has to know the company and more importantly, identify himself with its core values and key activities. Such devotion is most likely present in the accepted persons’ mindset leading to a long term commitment
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to the employer which is the ultimate aim of them. These programmes have not lost significance as a result of the crisis and the competition is growing every year with thousands of students applying for only a handful of positions. In culmination of the application process the very few of them from all over the world are
invited to a two day Assessment Centre where they are further evaluated from many angles. The importance of this part resides in ensuring that they eventually hire the right people who possess the values which can be aligned with that of the company’s. In the exhaustive series of events recruiters have plenty of time to look for the necessary communication, interpersonal and professional skills as well. The concept is ideal for people who are still not sure about what they want to do or simply too curious about the different areas of an organization. They can try themselves in numerous functions and obtain sufficient knowledge about an area in 8 months or a year. Yet, such timeframe is typically not enough to get bored before moving on to the next rotation. Additionally, this thoroughly planned programme provides numerous trainings which help graduates further improve their personal skills, but also to generate a clear overall view about the company’s various operations. Eventually, after going through such a considerable
GRAMMES amount of experience one can settle down at the desired department of the company without any doubts. Graduates can also benefit from the network they build up throughout the programme later on, since it could facilitate more efficient working practices. Imagine, for example if one needs the expertise of someone else from another area, then he immediately knows who to contact. Identifying that person
colleagues can also mitigate this problem.
could otherwise take a longer time. Another advantage is internationality as the scope of the programme is either European or global. So one will have to prevail in a multicultural environment; firstly because of the foreign colleagues, but also because on and off people are sent to new locations.
they can better focus on developing their leadership skills for which is the best way to take on responsibility.
As mentioned earlier, the objective is to pose real challenges to the employees from day one which can be looked upon as a key benefit, as in many starter positions they only get to influence decisions later. However, it also raises some concerns. How can fresh graduates manage to interact with people and coordinate them? Having a meaningful task does not mean that at the same time they become a manager. Nevertheless, requesting certain tasks from people who have been in the company long before them could still prove to be challenging. The beginning may be difficult but they should think of it just as another reason to prove themselves. Additionally, instead of placing themselves above all, a proper, respectful attitude towards
Another complicated situation is when rookies have to obtain information from high ranking managers or request approval of something with a deadline. The graduate’s priority might not be a priority to them so they have to learn the tricks how to approach them. Once they overcome these hurdles
However, graduates usually get a mentor to guide them along their programme as well. Of course leadership as such, is a tacit knowledge and is quite hard to teach in theory; no one would deny the benefits of it. Owing to their position in the firm and many years of experience, these senior managers can provide valuable information to the graduates when the two parties actually sit down and have a conversation. Unfortunately, these people are very busy and one has to pay much attention to manage his relationship with them in order to get the most possible out of it. That is why I perceive this merely as a complementary perk. But these things add up and if one is brave enough to actively take part in it he can find himself in a very favourable position in just about two years time!
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2012 FALL EVENTS
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PROJECT TEAM UPDATES IN OUR SPRING ISSUE WE INFORMED YOU ABOUT THE LATELYBORN PROJECT TEAMS WITHIN THE CEMS CLUB BUDAPEST AND THEIR AMBITIONS. AFTER 5 MONTHS OF HARD WORK WE WANTED TO FIND OUT HOW THEY SEE THEIR WORK AND ACHIEVEMENTS. RECRUITEMENT AND PROMOTION
What were your objectives? and Upon forming our team we set very ambitious goal. As a principle we wanted to raise awareness and visibility of the CEMS program among the prospective students of the Corvinus University of Budapest. We are aiming to reach100 applicants in November, which is 20% more than last year.
Where are you now?
We initiated, organised and executed many promotional events starting from the TATA festival in June, where we held the CEMS Sports Day. Additionally, we were present with brain-teasers
ice-breaker activities in the Corvinus Freshmen camps, both for Masters and Bachelor students. Currently we are working on the CEMS Info Day which is going to be an informative event for students interested in the program, the application process. We plan to visit and involve other student clubs and business colleges in Budapest too.
Could you name the biggest challenges? Since most of our work was done during the summer break it was difficult to have everyone present at the meetings or meet the
deadlines. This was especially hindering and had a tangible effect on the level of commitment and inspiration.
What did I gain from the work?
Despite the challenges I managed to stay on good terms with everyone and we became true team mates. I believe our strengths lies in the fact that we could always count on each other. Eventually, every task was completed on time, this experience and common work led us to be more responsive and hard-working in other fields of life too.
TEAM MEMBERS Ádám Bereczky Árpine Szárkiszján Tamás Sváb Vera Szabó Zoltán Lipcsey
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COMMUNICATION & PR
What were your objectives? for consistency and better Next, we intend to focus on In June our team developed visibility we recognized room a communications strategy for improvement throughout these channels for different with the following 3 goals: reasons. 1. Support the work of CEMS Club Budapest by sharing Where are you now? relevant information with all The issue you are reading is stakeholders the team’s 2nd Journal to be 2. Standardize and develop published. The development the communication policies and the launch of the new (much needed because of CC Budapest homepage annually changing Board has been very successful members) ( h u n g a r y. c e m s c l u b. o r g ) . 3. Enhance the image of Motivating other CEMS Clubs CEMS Club Budapest both around the world to follow locally and globally in our steps. The homepage has greatly helped not only In order to achieve our goals in improving the image of we planned to build on and the Club but also to attract communicate through the prospective students. For CC Budapest homepage, the the Career Forum we built CC Budapest Journal and a dedicated page providing the CC Budapest facebook useful information for fan page. While aiming CEMSies attending the event.
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engaging members in our community and generate discussion through our Facebook page.
Could you name the biggest challenges? The biggest challenge is communicating in a team where all members are based in different countries (continents!) to one another. But this is the CEMS way We can only learn from this.
What did I gain from the work?
Most importantly valuable insights, an opportunity to develop various skills (writing skills, problem solving, teamworking, time management), and many funny and cheerful moments.
TEAM MEMBERS Tímea Lajos, Gábor Trefán, Dorka Bálint, Anna Mátyus, Péter Oláh
CHARITY RUN FUELLED BY THE ENTHUSIASM INCITED BY LAST YEAR’S CEMS CHARITY RUN, CEMS CLUB BUDAPEST HAD DECIDED TO ORGANIZE ITS SECOND CHARITY RUN IN SEPTEMBER OF 2012 - BUT THIS TIME BOLDER, BIGGER AND BETTER! by Anikó Kraft
The goal of this year’s CEMS Charity Run was to increase the number of participants while organizing a professional event that showcases our CEMS spirit. The concept, therefore, included receiving donations from corporate partners that would be transferred to the National Association for Children with Leukemia in its entirety; collecting further donations from the participants of the Run; and collecting in-kind donations to provide the infrastructure and refreshments for runners. And so the dawn of September 29 saw dozens of volunteers and organizers setting up the infrastructure on Margit-sziget for the CEMS Charity Run 2012. Registration tables and lists had been prepared based on the team lists of our corporate partners and feedback on our Facebook event. Snacks and refreshments, such as apples (provided by the Corvinus University’s Experimental and Research Farm), power bars (by Nestlé), bottles of water and Gatorade (by Coca Cola Hellenic), and dairy products (by Danone) were lined up for visitors. To ensure entertainment, MEEX, a youth organization dedicated to organizing extreme sporting events, joined the initiative, and took responsibility for setting the mood by playing energizing music.
Shortly after registrations were completed and the group warm-up activities finished, runners were off to compete in either the 5 or 10 km tracks. The fastest male and female runners received a sport Walkman offered by Sony each, while the youth organization delegating the most number of runners received a special, panoramic camera offered by Rombolt Lomography.
More than 150 runners participated this year, adding further voluntary donations to that of our corporate donors, IFUA Horváth and Partners, KPMG, and P&G adding up to more than HUF400,000 (EUR1,400). The National Association for Children with Leukemia will use this donation to buy new Assistor Pci machines to enhance the living conditions of children diagnosed with cancer.
Seeing the enthusiasm and the positive community impact of the CEMS Charity Run, CEMS Club Budapest is dedicated to continue to organize these runs and offer every stakeholder of the CEMS community the opportunity to become involved in healthy activities, forming new relationships and experiencing the power of joining forces for a good cause.
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PLANNING AHEAD SPECIAL FOCUS ON MBA EDUCATION by Péter Oláh
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surprising that the application process takes a substantial amount of time and effort. Especially if you take into consideration that you will probably be working whilst writing numerous essays, preparing for the GMAT and TOEFL exams as well as gathering the rest of the administrative documents. The assistance of someone having gone through these procedures is greatly helpful. They could help you indentify expectations of the certain school which is basically a balanced personality with the right variety of skills and past achievements. On the whole, when forming a group, universities strive to compose a class of diverse individuals. Industry representatives from all over the world include consultants, investment bankers or private equity experts, just to name a few.
I myself have recently started my Master program and therefore there is a lot ahead of me before I can finally start leveraging my skills in the job market. Most of you are probably at the same phase of your studies. Our focus is on where to continue after Master’s. Which skills should we further improve in the remainder period of university in order to be in a favourable position at the beginning of our careers. Although we all plan forward, our knowledge about MBA education might not be that comprehensive. With the intention of providing you a little insight I talked to our former CEMSies: Beatrix Kerekes (IE Business School; Europraxis) and Balázs Horváth (Columbia Business School; BCG) regarding Due to the considerable as well as outstanding work experience of MBA students they the topic. can contribute significantly more to class To begin with, there are discussions (compared to Bachleor or Master several rankings which can students). For that reason participation in help you deciding where to do classes is essential owing to sharing of personal your studies (e.g. by Financial comments and experiences which implies that Times). However, there are the substance of such qualification resides several other factors which in an active attitude. There is much more can influence your choice. An American emphasis on training each other in this kind of MBA tends to be more globally accepted education than it is the case in Master/lower thus firms in the U.S. can be sceptical about degrees, but students also gain more from the the European ones. This is important to note university itself. Think about a class where if you are aiming for a career at an anglo- not only you read the case about a Columbian saxon company. Generally, pursuing a degree microfinance company, but also hear about it in your desired location could be the best personally from the CEO’s presentation and solution to tackle the issue of foreignness. receive feedback on your coursework from Additionally, schools tend to excel in certain them; or meet the leading executives of the fields such as marketing or finance, and if it biggest and most well-known firms in the is aligned with your personal interests you World. You actually meet the people whom can get a higher value (examples: INSEAD others only get to read about and it makes a - Marketing; Stanford - Entrepreneurship; huge difference. Columbia - Banking). However, before you start researching the For those of you who have already applied potential business schools there are several for a job or school abroad, it may not be other things that you should bear in mind. In
the U.S. it is more important to have an MBA than in Europe because of the differences in the educational system. Nevertheless it will be profitable wherever you are, though rather in the long than run. Many things have changed in the business world since the crisis and substantially increasing your salary right after graduation is less common. Moreover, for some, even finding a job proves to be a challenging objective in today’s economic situation. Hence, one has to be very realistic about what they can get out of an MBA and has to know exactly what they want to do in the future. It might be an easier decision for most of the consultants since it is included in their career path and therefore they are supported by their companies. Who leave their work for one or two years it can be a risky choice. Particularly for those who are doing it because they want to switch industry as it is also very hard these days (in fact it is the case for many students). They have to be determined from day one by joining relevant clubs; talking to people to get meaningful input on how to enter and be successful in the desired field.
professors – who are also recognized business professionals – one is able to establish an extremely valuable network which could even be interpreted as the key reason to pursue such a degree. It further develops your leadership and negotiation skills, and you can learn about things from a much more In conclusion one may have to think it over practical perspective. If you still haven’t been twice, but it is still a good investment and convinced you also have to know that many those who decide to go through with it get participants returning to the classrooms after experiences which they will surely use later several years of intense working consider the on to advance in their career. Through years spent at MBA as the best years of their interacting with these students and the life!
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CAREER TIPS GET THE MOST OUT OF THE CEMS CAREER FAIR BY FOLLOWING THE ADVICE OF MÓNIKA BUTRYM, TALENT SUPPLY CENTRAL EUROPE P&G by Anna Mátyus
Before talking about business can you please introduce yourself to the readers?
I started my career at P&G 10 years ago, originally at the Global Business Services (IT) Department. After a year and a half I moved to Human Resources which was closer to my studies and interest (I graduated in psychology). In this position I was responsible for recruiting for Poland and the Baltic countries for 4 years. Since I’ve returned from the maternity leave I have been responsible for learning and development for Central Europe (exciting and diverse challenge It is after the summer break when we are the to tackle 9 countries!). Since July this year I most ambitious and eager to take on new have moved back to recruiting but now I am tasks and start planning our career. Updating responsible for the whole Central European CVs, filling in numerous application forms region. I am Polish and I love winter and and attending career guidance workshops. winter sports and I am very much interested Fall also means CEMS Career Forum in in the Nordic cultures. Budapest for many CEMSies. For the 3rd consecutive year the Corvinus University What do you look for in a resume? of Budapest hosts this prestigious event. Activities other than education. Professional Almost 34 Corporate Partners, 20 Skill experience is not a requirement. Voluntary Seminars, 459 pre-scheduled interviews, 440 work, responsibilities in student organizations students attending skill seminars and infinite can prove achievement-orientation. memorable moments when meeting our International exposure is definitely a valuable friends from the other side of the world. benefit of CEMS students. In order to help you make the most out of the Career Forum we asked Monika Butrym, responsible for talent supply in Central Europe at P&G to see what FMCGs and P&G in particular are looking for, how job seekers are falling short and some tips to help.
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What is the most common mistake a job seeker makes during an interview?
When giving examples about their achievements people tend to think that we are looking for something “sky-rocketing”, which is definitely not the case. However, we would like to hear the examples that prove that the candidate had a purpose when performing a certain task, took specific actions to achieve it and he/she is aware of the results.
work schedule. What counts is having the work done not necessarily the amount of time How should one get through a FMCG spent in the office. Moreover, I enjoy a lot possibility of frequent assignment changing. application process? Most of our applicants fail by not giving the We value career development and employees right examples. They underestimate their usually move to another role after 3 years, in achievements while the examples can easily line with their career plans and interests. come from private life as well. We want to see consecutive steps of setting an objective, What are current issues that P&G is facing actions and results. And very importantly, we that would have an impact on new hires? The harmonization of two regions into one expect self-awareness. - Central Europe (previously Central Europe South and North) has affected the life of every How can the interviewee impress you? We recruit students, fresh graduates who are employee. Positions and tasks are becoming aware of their strengths and can turn them more complex and challenging, since the into advantages in every position. Don’t be majority of the projects have to meet the shy, don’t be afraid of overestimating your requirements of 9 countries. On the other qualities: your experience beside studies, hand it provides our people as well as new your international mobility and result- hires entering the company with possibility to orientation can make you stand out from the develop really fast. Besides, this change also crowd! Be energetic and passionate about allows people to have a lot of independence in their roles and it also brings exposure to your achievements. multicultural work environment.
What particular skills do you value most?
At P&G we are looking for 3 qualities in Thank you for your valuable inputs, on particular. Agility, meaning the ability to behalf of the Hungarian CEMS community fast adapt to changes: our employees should we wish you all best in your new role. enjoy a dynamic working environment, which is a very common need specific for the whole FMCG industry. Moreover, candidates must be able to efficiently work in teams Read more and communicate effectively with often very useful tips to ace diverse groups. Lastly, analytical thinking is a very crucial skill. Since we work in complex a job fair systems with high budget responsibilities a logical mindset is a must.
What do you like about working for your organization?
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Flexibility and work-life-balance. P&G in Central Europe offers flexible work arrangements like possibility to work one or two days per week from home or reduced
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ACE A CAREER FAIR WE HAVE COLLECTED SOME HANDY TIPS REGARDING THE CAREER FAIRS. ALL THE REST IS UP TO YOU! GOOD LUCK!
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6 REASONS TO ATTEND
TO DO BEFORE THE EVENT
Wide range of employers: government agencies, non-profits
Know which employers are attending and what are they offering
You can make a good impression in person
Do enough research to make “A” &”B” lists of employers to meet
You can learn more about employers than you can learn from their websites
Have plenty of copies of your resume ready (You might need to prepare more than one version)
Take advantage of meeting employers face-to-face: to be evaluated on more than just your resume
Be prepared that some employers cannot accept hard copy resumes and will ask you to apply online
Possibility to be invited to an interview after (might be on spot)
Prepare a 20 to 30 second introduction to use with employers
Nothing replaces in-person contact for making an impression
Prepare questions in advance
DO
DON’T DO
Watch your manners and mannerisms: have a good handshake and make good eye contact
Don’t ask about: - Information you could have easily learned on the employer’s website - Salary and benefits
Be clear and engaging when you speak
Don’t be misled into thinking of the fair as a social event
PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEW INTERVIEW WITH
TAMÁS SVÁB PRESIDENT OF THE CEMS CLUB BUDAPEST 2012 ON HIS GREATEST CHALLENGES, IMPROVEMENTS AND MORE. by Dorka Bálint
In January you are going to hand over the presidency to the new board. How do you feel about it?
I have ambivalent feelings about that. I’m sure that I will miss working in the CEMS Club; working with the people I have been working together with and even having responsibilities. At the same time it will be relieving as well, as someone else will have those responsibilities and I will have a lot of free time and the opportunity to figure out how to spend that and what to do next in life.
What made you apply for the Presidency a year ago?
I already had numerous positive experiences related to CEMS at the time, both during the spring semester in Budapest and in Stockholm early autumn. Also, the former president, Dávid got me involved with CEMS Club Budapest, I became part of the V4 organizing team. Working in the CEMS Club seemed interesting to me and the opportunity to lead it was very appealing. My motivation was to gain various and useful experience via leading CEMS Club, an organization which had values that I could identify myself with.
I guess you have developed both personally and professionally during this year. What are the aspects you would like to point out?
You should ask the other members of the board about that... Anna, our SB representative mentioned at one of our recent meetings that I got way better in leading and structuring our meetings. It was nice to hear that, even though she could have meant that I was pretty bad at it before. :) I think I improved in many different areas; making quick decisions, delegating tasks or motivating people.
What did you enjoy the most?
Probably it would have to be the V4 Conference. Seeing the participants getting good impressions, making new friends and having fun together was a great feeling after the months of preparation and organization.
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After the numerous events and the V4 And what about your biggest challenge? Conference, how do you feel about giving After the organization of the V4 Conference, the biggest challenge was to get people speeches? I still find it very challenging. I think there are very few people, who have a natural talent for public speaking and have no fear of speaking in front of many people. For me and the others not being so lucky, it is all about practicing: the V4 Conference was great for that as well.
involved and keep them motivated.
Key take away from your year?
The basis of every activity is to always be aware of the main aims. It may sound obvious, but sometimes it is very easy to make the mistake of going with the flow: concentrate on the urgent and must-have stuff, things that we are asked to do out of our responsibility. In the CEMS Club Budapest, we have many different initiatives: raising awareness, communication, promotion, CSR or big events. All of these gave us tasks that What is your most memorable moment? we felt were needed to be done. But still, the Probably it was in the winter camp. We invited main aim is to get the students together and a trainer to do a team-building workshop and to build a community, we have to always keep some of the exercises turned out to be special, this in mind when making decisions. or you could call them strange as well. I tried to observe the faces of the students: some of them liked it, some didn’t, some were surprised What is your message to the next Board? or even angry. But still, everyone was doing State your aims, devote time happily for the the funny exercises at the same time...it was Club and start building team spirit among the members! We will prepare you for your great to see that! roles and give you our know-how in January personally. Until then, enjoy your CEMS terms!
Would you do it again? Definitely.
We wish you best of luck and thank you for your work on behalf of the CEMS community in Budapest!
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