CEMS Club Budapest Journal / 2013 Fall

C E M S

C l u b

B u d a p e s t

JOURNAL Fall 2013

From Budapest to USA AND MOSCOW

BCG

BRUSSELS

NORWAY

PRAGUE

TOKAJ

INTERVIEW WITH SZILARD BUKSA PAGE #6

DORA DANICS: THE FIRST HUNGARIAN CEMSIE GENERATION PAGE #18

INTERVIEW WITH BALAZS HORVATH PAGE #12

THIRD V4 CONFERENCE IN THE CITY OF PRAGUE PAGE #24

INTERVIEW WITH ILDIKO FERENCSIK PAGE #14

READ ABOUT THE LIFE OF CEMS CLUB BUDAPEST PAGE #10

SAMPLE

“Every day is a chance to explore, to grow, to enjoy. I’ll do it all.”

Discover Program How will you shape your world?

Vodafone.com/careers to discover more.

Vodafone Power to you

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EDITORIAL Dear readers, This is the fourth issue of the renewed journal that we started roughly one and a half year ago. It has evolved as a joint effort of students, alumni and other individuals all around the world and thus embodies the core value of CEMS, internationalism. As the 2013 Board’s term is coming to an end, I would like to thank everyone for the cooperation and helpful responses which made it possible to establish this magazine! I gladly acknowledge that it is now an essential part of our communication strategy and wish the best of luck to next year’s leaders of our CEMS Club!

In this issue we put the emphasis on what former CEMSies have been up to lately or what they have achieved since graduation. By presenting CEMS Club Budapest, the Journal provides motivation for applicants who are about to make their way into the organization. It also gives us, current students, constant support when dealing with CEMS issues in a hard day’s night and it helps spread what our members are capable of among various stakeholders.

Hopefully, in the past we covered the right topics that were not only beneficial for you to read, but also entertaining. I look forward to the future issues, from now on not as an editor, but as a reader.

Published by CEMS Club Budapest Hungary Editors Dániel Drácz Dóra Bálint Éva Kadocsa Gábor Trefán Péter Oláh

Graphic Design Gábor Trefán Péter Oláh Email: budapestcemsclub@gmail.com Club Budapest © CEMS 2013 November Photos Members of CEMS Club Budapest // Patrícia Guerreiro (President of CEMS Club Lisbon) // astrium.eads.net // european-security.com // lemamouth.blogspot.com // pensaleas.wordpress.com // quelestleprix.fr // upphotos.net // wired.com

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3

EDITORIAL

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ON A NEW PATH

6-8

ALUMNI INSIGHT

HANDING OVER THE JOURNAL

CAREER AT MICROSOFT

INTERVIEW WITH SZILARD BUKSA

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10-11

Steering Business Successfully

steering_business_90x80.indd 1

INTERVIEW WITH ZOLTAN SZEGEDI

2013.10.15. 15:30

PROJECT TEAMS LIFE OF CEMS CLUB BUDAPEST

12-13

ALUMNI AT BCG

14-17

FACES OF ALUMNI

18-19

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THE ROAD TO BECOMING A PARTNER

BALAZS HORVATH: FROM CEMS TO BCG

ILDIKO FERENCSIK: WORKING AT EADS

FACES OF ALUMNI DORA DANICS: THE FIRST HUNGARIAN CEMSIE GENERATION

20-23

CAREER FORUM

24-26

V4 CONFERENCE

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FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

THIRD V4 CONFERENCE IN THE CITY OF PRAGUE

ON A NEW PATH CAREER AT MICROSOFT

FIND OUT WHAT’S IT LIKE TO WORK HERE WITH A BUSINESS DEGREE

By Péter Oláh

I met Gábor for the interview at the end of the day after he finished working. He was coming from an IT conference and he could just not stop talking about his recent experience. Namely, besides being the president of our CEMS Club, he is currently working for Microsoft in Budapest. Although his keen interest in the field was impressive, I had to ask him how he ended up in the IT industry after having spent six years at Corvinus. He provided me with the following answer and told me about his job as well: “From this year, Microsoft is one of the major partners of the CEMS Club Budapest. This enabled me to get to know the firm and the opportunities it offered for a young graduate like me.

Apart from several commonly organized events, they also held a workshop where they presented their activities and met most of our CEMS students. Even though we were not a big crowd – like at a public career fair – they organized a case study only for us and what’s more, even the top management made time to be there and participated. I have not thought about it at the time, but this is how my story started at the company. They contacted me afterwards about a job opportunity and I decided to go for it.

Naturally, I still had to go through the complete hiring process, but I was motivated and it helped a lot. In fact I have always been interested in Information Technology. At least on a user level, since I strongly believe that technology can make one’s life easier and more comfortable. Furthermore it also provides a way to gratify my passion for creativity. For example, I am one of the people who is editing the Budapest JOURNAL in a graphics software. However, my knowledge stems from my openness towards IT, I am not a hardcore computer specialist.

This fundamental interest can be very well aligned with my business related skills here at Microsoft. I am working in a sales team which deals with corporate clients. There I assist the manager who is responsible for three main enterprise clients. These are leading companies from major sectors such as telecommunications, finance or energy. As part of this on the one hand, a very sound relationship has to be kept with the IT representatives of the firms, and on the other hand we also build relations with the business decision makers from other departments. Actually, this is exactly why I took this position. Here our concept is to get to know the customer, understand their needs and offer a valuable solution based on this knowledge. So not at all, only about trying to sell something to generate revenue, but trying to be the trusted advisor.

The two approaches differ vitally and the process is completely different this way. Moreover, thanks to this I familiarize myself with the functioning of these companies where I don’t actually work. This is also a positive fact about the job for someone who is generally interested in a consulting like career. This is because you get insight into other firms and consult with them regularly – I am involved in the client meetings from the very beginning where I interact with senior executives.

Additionally, thanks to all the challenges I face I can progress quickly, especially because even though I have to be independent they also support me in my journey. I think we could say that my boss is also my mentor. This way, in several years, hopefully I will be able to handle clients confidently on my own. Sometimes I think about this future and cannot wait for it to happen. However, I know that I shouldn’t be impatient because this role comes with big responsibility. Therefore before entering that level, I have to take my time, follow this path of challenges together with my colleagues and just pay attention to get the most out of this experience.

I feel that I could identify myself well with the company and really feel part of the team. I have to say I probably joined at the best possible time when the new business year started. I quickly realized that the organization is at the start of significant cultural changes. Being a CEMS management student this is extremely alluring as I see only opportunities instead of barriers and issues in such a process.

Let me end this short insight into my professional life by mentioning other aspects that might be of interest to other students.

The corporate culture is ideal for young people. The environment is quite pleasant in our building which fosters productive work but occasional relaxation also to keep your mind fresh between assignments. To be a bit more exact about the latter, we have a room equipped with an Xbox, a flipper, several projectors, a billiard and a poker table and of course ‘csocsó’.

Still, most of the fun I have here is the work itself where I feel I’m on a fast track learning a lot each day. And as a CEMS student I also see the potential for leveraging on all the skills what we have learnt and improved during our studies. How? By giving presentations to deputy CEOs, working in international virtual teams, taking responsibilities and leadership … and … last but not least, playing football cup on Xbox with your colleagues.”

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ALUMNI INSIGHT LEARNING YOURSELF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES SCANNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COLORFUL CAREER PATH FROM SZILARD BUKSA by Éva Kadocsa

Entering a new environment often changes your personality, the way you think and the goals you would like to achieve. This is even truer if the new environment completely differs from the one you are used to, as was the case for Szilard Buksa.

Szilard came to Budapest to study at Corvinus University. He came from a little town in Transylvania, where he lived in a small, closed community with few professional role models.

At Corvinus he became part of the IMP-Intensive Methodology Program community, studied abroad in Paris and Bergen, was a CEMSie, started to work for McKinsey, completed his MBA at Harvard Business School and is currently setting up his own business in Russia. During these years the people he met and worked with all had a huge impact on his career path development. Experiencing these new and continuously evolving environments made him realize the enormous amount of opportunities surrounding him and learned to better understand himself as well.

You grew up and finished high school in a little town, located in Transylvania. Could you say some words about your home town and your life there?

Originally it was a very little mining town, but after my childhood the town ceased mining which resulted in huge unemployment, poverty and general desperation.

Despite the underdeveloped and rural environment there were some outstanding teachers in my school with whom I could work very well so I gained a very good knowledge base, especially in math and programming.

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You mentioned that you entered a completely new world in Budapest.

In which ways did your life become different?

I spent my childhood and teenage years in a closed community where drive and motivation were not virtue. Most people just followed their everyday routine. There weren’t many ambitious persons acting as role models and I was not aware of my opportunities outside of this environment. However, in Budapest I faced an entirely new world. I was surrounded with motivated, energetic and aspirational students who wanted to achieve their goals in life. On the one hand, I saw the drive and the willingness to achieve. On the other hand, I also understood what I could potentially achieve and realized the opportunities that ought to be exploited.

How did you spend your time at Corvinus? Were you the typical active, ‘seize the moment and grab every opportunity’ student?

I was not so active at the very beginning. It might not be surprising, but the first months were rather about making friendships and going out as often as it was possible. But fortunately, I ended this period quite early as I started a special program, called IMP (Intensive Methodology Program, today’s equivalent is SPM) at that time, which was designed with advanced level courses in micro, macroeconomics and mathematics.

I became a member of an amazing community here, where studying and the willingness to put extra effort in your work were real values. I didn’t join any professional colleges at the

beginning, because I had to work besides university to support my studies in Hungary and these student jobs took quite a lot of my time. But later, I started to attend the lectures of Rajk and also completed a few courses in the last two years. I’ve also heard a lot about the CEMS program as it was very popular within the IPM community and I decided to apply. So regarding my activities at Corvinus, all in all, I’d say that it was a learning curve that was a little bit flat at the beginning.

What were your desired jobs during your studies? How did they develop as time passed by?

I can definitely see a gradual development in my career path.

Before applying to Corvinus I imagined myself as a branch manager in a local bank in my home town. By the end of the second year I wanted to work as an auditor at any of the big four companies. I didn’t know much about it, but it seemed to be attractive. After some unsuccessful recruiting attempts, I started to work for PWC and soon realized that the organizations and the job was not right for me. Finally, in my fourth year at Corvinus, after participating at many case study competitions I heard about McKinsey and it seemed to be a fantastic company with super exciting jobs. So my goal was to work for

this company after graduation. I was hired. After a few years at McKinsey I decided to apply for an MBA at Harvard Business School. Looking back now, I have to say, that this also had a huge impact on my career development.

The development of your career path is really impressive. What would you name as the key impacts contributing to this development?

Definitely the IMP program and the community I entered there, the semesters abroad, McKinsey and its environment and the MBA at Harvard Business School. All are very distinct and shaped different parts of my personal and professional self.

What role do the semesters abroad play in this development?

These semesters played an extremely important role as they made me learn about exciting career opportunities, and more importantly, they made me realize that these were attainable.

People often tend to have less selfesteem before studying abroad. I had the perception that I come from a country/university with lower brand equity than other CEMSies which resulted in a mild case inferiority complex. My experience abroad made me realize that perceptions are often very wrong and that we are actually much better positioned among other students than we think. After studying in France and Norway I started to view myself, the more as a European citizen. And of course, we had fun, enjoyed the social events and made long-lasting friendships.

as a 24 year-old you suddenly get the opportunity to work on projects which affect thousands of people’s life. You start to think big and it is an unbelievably exhilarating experience. Solving complex problems, taking responsibility from the very beginning, making personal advancement presented a unique value proposition to me.

What do you like most about your job at McKinsey?

Well, we have fruits for breakfast in the office. :) No… the most important thing at McKinsey is the people you work with. I was fascinated by them from the very beginning!

My colleagues were not just incredibly smart, motivated and very professional, but also really amazing individuals. This is very important as you spend a lot of time together. But when you are surrounded with people like this, the occasional 14 hours working days would easily fly by. I went to McKinsey for very rational reasons, but my love for the place feeds mostly from emotional sources.

Now, I’m working in Moscow, but every time I go back to the Budapest office I get sentimental. I miss the people and the atmosphere.

Harvard had a huge impact on your career path and development. Why did you decide to do an MBA? What was the biggest advantage, added value of completing this programme?

Most people apply for an MBA to take some time off to think about their future career steps, to get to know new people or other reasons. I wanted to gain academic knowledge.

I wanted to study in an environment in which both students and professors are serious about studying. And this was the case at Harvard. People came prepared to class and the quality was outstanding. Although, I got this academic experience, the biggest added value I gained at Harvard was in an unexpected area: the personal development and improvement of my soft skills. At Harvard they put great emphasis on your individual development. They help you to better understand yourself and what you really want to achieve in your life.

Most of the people nowadays follow the commonly accepted career steps after graduation and it is very difficult to realize if your path is different from these ones. Harvard gives you a toolkit to navigate this maze better.

Why did you choose to work for McKinsey?

There were couples of reasons why I definitely wanted to work for McKinsey. First, I liked to work on non-structured, complex cases.

Second, I saw the company’s commitment to the personal improvement of its employees and I knew that it would have an enormous impact on my life already on the short run. Third, after graduating, 2013 // 2 Fall CC BUDAPEST JOURNAL

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ALUMNI INSIGHT an indescribable feeling and a very exciting challenge. This is a fantastic opportunity to deeply experience both the difficulties and beauties of running your own business and get an inside view of the life of entrepreneurs. However the business might turn out, what I have learnt will be very useful for my future career.

“ Put yourself into new, inconvenient and

unknown situations. Do things which you are not familiar with and might sound crazy to others.”

Would you recommend for CEMSies to do an MBA? Yes, absolutely. The aforementioned acquisition of academic knowledge, the soft skill development and the opportunity of getting to know yourself better are invaluable in themselves. Moreover, it also gives you access to a fantastic community with extremely interesting people.

All of them have various past with impressive stories and experiences from which you can learn a lot. I could have spent unlimited time with each of them and still would have learned new things from them.

You mentioned that at Harvard you realized your interest in entrepreneurship and now you moved to Moscow to set up your own business with one of your friends.

Could you tell us more about this business?

Well, I knew I had an interest in entrepreneurship all along. Harvard helped me to take the change and try it out. The idea is this: we found out

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that nowadays, eating at home is very popular in Russia. At least it would be popular if cooking at home wouldn’t have such a high transaction cost.

Our idea is to make cooking more effective and eliminate the transaction costs. Our service facilitates every step of preparing a meal at home starting from the effort to choose the recipe and do the shopping to cutting the chicken into cubes. We would like to ‘demystify’ cooking and convince people that they can cook very exciting dishes without investing too much time in the preparation.

This way they will have more time to enjoy the meal with their loved ones.

What do you like about having your own business?

It gives me variety and flexibility.

And by flexibility I don’t mean less work, startups are bloody hard. But you have the freedom of managing your time and schedule. I can go running in daylight, but that excel has still to be sent out before end of day. To build up your own idea is

You went to different schools and studied in various international environments. What would you name as your key takeaway from all of these experiences?

The most important thing is to identify the opportunities and evaluate their potential. This first step is easy. The second and more difficult one is to understand what you really want to achieve in your life and decide which opportunity to pursue.

Within reasonable limits you can almost achieve anything, you will see.

That is why choosing is really a tough decision. Another takeaway is to learn from people and move out of your comfort zone. Put yourself into new, inconvenient and unknown situations.

Do things which you are not familiar with and might sound crazy to others.

This can mean many things, such as working extra hours on CEMS projects or present your idea in your third language in front of 90 professionals at Harvard Business School. It’s not easy at all and it shouldn’t be.

Remember, if you are comfortable with what you are currently doing then you are not trying hard enough and you are missing valuable opportunities to learn and grow.

Lastly, stretching yourself will eventually result in some failures. But the word “failure” only has negative meaning in the short term. In the grand scheme of things the negative meaning fades and the true meaning prevails. This meaning is learning opportunity.

THE ROAD TO BECOMING A PARTNER

by Dóra Bálint

Reaching the top of the consulting ladder can be a long haul. Zoltán Szegedi joined IFUA Horváth & Partners in 2000 as an intern and this year he became a partner of the consulting firm. How can someone successfully climb rung by rung to reach the top?

In Zoltán’s case it all came down to the recognition of his competence, to the acquisition of additional skills, finding the underlying inner motivation which always prepared him for the next level.

Was this vertical progression something you always had in mind?

Not at all. Truth be told, consulting for me was not an obvious choice, as I was thinking more along the lines of the banking industry due to my major in Finance. I was still a student at Corvinus, just before my CEMS semester abroad when my roommate at Ráday College joined IFUA as an intern. He was really content, found the tasks diverse and interesting.

Therefore he suggested that I should apply as well. I thought to myself… well my friend and I are pretty similar, maybe I would also enjoy what IFUA has to offer.

It indeed did turn out to be very good fit. What about your friend, was it the right choice for him too?

Yes, he is still here as well. He became a principal. We were born in the same city, we went to the same university and we have the same workplace.

How did your career path as a consultant at IFUA evolve?

I applied and underwent an interview, where 7 consultants sat across the table from me (at that time this meant a third of the company was present :) I talked about a CEMS case study that we had been analyzing in Copenhagen at the time. I ended up being accepted.

As an intern I managed to get a great insight as the projects were open. I participated at Steering Committee meetings, where I could

see how managers think, behave and communicate among one another.

Early on, after the first project I became junior consultant. Very soon I spent one year in Austria. And on the next project I was already a project leader.

It was a very fast pace.

Which area do you specialize in?

At first I worked on projects at energy suppliers, waterworks, at a paper mill, even at a chocolate factory and in the oil industry. Finally my area of interest came to be the banks and the leasing companies. In the past 7-8 years I have been working as the leader of the IFUA Financial Institutions Competence Center.

Did you never think of pulling the pin?

I mean there must have been situations when you were tempted to consider other options…

I could have taken other routes. In my everyday work I get to see the other side – working full time for one company – so naturally one thinks about switching and making the decisions they are faced with. I think that smaller and bigger temptations are necessary in your climb as well, these make your journey more valuable.

Was it one goal that motivated you in the past years or has your motivation varied?

In the beginning your personal goal is to take part in exciting projects, deliver high standards and be noticed and praised by your boss in hope of upward mobility.

Then, for a long time my goal was to be able to communicate as if I was an employee at the company in scope. Every company has its own jargon, politics and systems. These are unique in all cases; therefore for a consultant it is important not to mix these up. To succeed you have to talk, behave like one of them.

This constant fine-tuning takes time to master.

At this point in time it is not just about my individual success, but our success.

As a partner I have to develop business for the company, and I also get to participate in the strategy planning of IFUA. This means that what I normally do for others, we now have to apply to ourselves.

But then there are goals that are everlasting; one of these is becoming a trusted advisor. A trusted advisor is someone who has earned the right to be the first in line when it comes to asking for advice. Evidently you always wish that this trust would exist in all your advisory relationships.

How long do you think you can keep going, or have you reached the stars?

Until there are new impacts, till the assignments challenge my abilities and force me to learn I can keep going.

Also, I find it very rewarding when at home I see an advertisement in the television for a product we worked on, or when I enter a branch and see the displayed forms we came up with. The feeling of satisfaction can also make you carry on.

What are the most important skills to have?

Trustworthiness, know-how, openmindedness, entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to continuously improve are the skills that are necessary to succeed today. These are the values IFUA identifies with as well.

Steering Business Successfully

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PROJECT TEAMS LIFE OF CEMS CLUB BUDAPEST

SPEED RECRUITING, FALL CAMP, CHARITY RUN AND CEMS BLOG – AND THE WORK THAT IS BEHIND THEM

By Dániel Drácz

In the academic year 2011-2012 the Budapest Board had the honour to be awarded the distinguished title „CEMS Club of the Year”. This prize is not only a remarkable recognition of the effort and performance of the previous boards but at the same time a huge responsibility and challenge for the forthcoming generations to keep on working hard.

Even though the core architecture of the local CEMS Club has been fairly stable for the past few years, there are always new challenges that the teams need to adapt to. However, the shared vision remains the same: to keep up the CEMS spirit that connects all local stakeholders of the Alliance and thus to ensure a superior CEMS experience to all, alumni, the university and corporate partners. In order to do so, members of the Board work together with fellow CEMSies in various project teams.

CORPORATE TEAM

The corporate relations team – presided by Angéla Német – is the main bridge between the corporate partners and the local CEMS community.

Its mission is twofold: in addition to keeping in touch with existing corporate partners, there is a second focus on the exploration and negotiation of potential future corporate partnerships.

Currently there are 9 local corporate partners that cooperate with CEMS Club Budapest, providing professional and financial support to the activities of the organization.

The partnerships are embedded within a corporate relations strategy that identifies three cooperation packages which include different levels of support on the side of the company and corresponding services (rotation dinner participation, appearance in the journal) on the side of the Club. As superior packages have been elaborated lately, many of our distinguished partners have changed upwards for these packages which is a true sign of satisfaction and trust in future cooperation.

As Angéla points out, the main goal now is to maintain this trust by continuously organizing high-quality events on which students and companies have the chance to get to know each other better. In addition to the traditional programmes like the rotation dinner, the team has developed and implemented the idea of a speed recruiting event which took place in October. Furthermore, there are some longterm projects in planning, according to which companies could organize courses related to their special know-how.

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STUDENT BOARD

The Student Board – as chief student governing organ of the CEMS Alliance – is represented on a local level by the Student Board Representative, Eszter Lilla Tóth. Eszter gave us an insight in the work she and her team are involved in. „We are responsible for the planning and execution of the CEMS merchandising project on a global level. This belongs to the activity of the Marketing and Communication Team of the Student Board. In addition to the establishment of the product structure, we chose the designer, launched the online store and handled the orders and potential complaints. We chose the component suppliers, the producers and it is also our task to make sure the products reach our customers.

I personally feel very honoured to have got this task assigned from the Student Board, as it includes much decision competence and thus responsibility. That is the reason why for us the primary goal is the highest-quality of the comprehensive store service and through that the satisfaction of our customers.

Anyway, it is a very nice experience to work with so many talented and good-tempered fellow CEMSies within the Student Board.”

SOCIAL TEAM

The social events team – under the leadership of Máté Széles – is responsible for making the MIM year an unforgettable experience for both incoming and home students. During the past few months, a wide range of gatherings have been organized, starting with the Busó festivities as a kick-off of the year, through the winter and summer camps and just recently the visit to the Tokaj wine region.

These short trips were complemented by other events like the CEMS Sport Days in the Corvinus Festival in Balatonkenese, watching together Champions’ League matches and so forth.

CSR TEAM

Just a couple of weeks ago the Corporate Social Responsibility Team – headed by Dóra Katalin Tombácz and Zoltán Lipcsey – organized the main event of the CSR year: the Charity Run. Many generous corporate partners together with enthusiastic students made their way to the Margaret Island to take part in a sporty morning in order to raise money for the Szemem Fénye non-profit organization, which provides hospice services for children suffering from incurable diseases. Besides the charity characteristics, events like this also strengthen the community and help draw the attention to crucial social issues.

COMMUNICATION & PR TEAM And finally, dear Reader, you could not get all these stories without the committed work of the Communication and PR team, headed by Péter Oláh. Although most of the energy in the past was concentrated on the CEMS Budapest Journal which is published biannually, lately new projects have gained more and more importance. At the beginning of this semester, we successfully launched our new blog, which intends to serve as an up-to-date channel about the CEMSational life of our students and alumni. Further stories from CEMSies spending their exchange all around the world – heavily illustrated with photos – are still to come.

Moreover, we try to optimize our other communication channels by improving the visitor number of our Facebook site, for instance. Another path of the team strategy is dedicated to external communication and public relations.

As the new admission period is approaching, we are trying to elaborate a comprehensive recruitment strategy (reviewed posters, flyers, a CEMS Club Budapest video) in order to draw the attention of the most people possible to the MIM programme and encourage them to apply for it. All in all, we try to show the best face of CEMS to anyone interested in the programme.

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ALUMNI AT BCG FROM CEMS TO BCG

by Péter Oláh

I talked to Balázs Horváth – former CEMS student currently working for The Boston Consulting Group - about his experience and inner motives for being so active in the Club. In short, I believe a commitment to our organization prepared him to readily face any challenges that arise at such a top-tier firm. Read the interview and see it yourself!

When did you decide to apply for CEMS and what was your reason for doing so?

I applied in 2003, so about 10 years ago. How I discovered about CEMS was completely accidental, I remember it very vividly. I was on holiday at Lake Balaton, bought the business magazine Figyelő in which there was an article about CEMS. I was very impressed by CEMS’s multi-faceted offering so the first thing I did in the next semester was visiting the CEMS office. . What I heard reinforced my enthusiasm about the programme and I immediately decided to apply.

What is your most decisive CEMS experience? And the funniest?

It’s hard to pick one. The most condense experience was representing CEMS Club Budapest in the international Student Board. The Board at that time met 3 times a year for a long weekend to work together on projects that went beyond the local CEMS organisations.

I had the chance to work with exceptionally driven and well-rounded individuals who all wanted to make a difference to CEMS. We were also given exclusive workshops by CEMS Corporate partners that enabled us to develop new skills and network with these multinationals in a more informal way.

The funniest experience happened during my CEMS exchange at Stockholm School of Economics, before taking on the president position.

I played basketball with local students and travelled to a business school

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tournament in Barcelona. Luckily the CEMS Student Board meeting happened to be there at the exact same time and I was friends with my predecessor, so she introduced me to the SB members.

I was amazed by how smart, ambitious and at the same time easygoing they were. One of the evenings we were out and they waved down a black limousine with shaded windows. They actually got into the limo and drank champagne with the people who were in. It was just hilarious!

What was your role in the Board of the CEMS Club Budapest, what did you do in the organization?

Being President of the Board was an exceptional opportunity to try yourself as a manager and as an entrepreneur, while still being a student. By having this network of smart and ambitious people, the multinational companies along with the CEMS brand, I felt that the Student Club could be so much more and could add so much more value to the CEMS curriculum. Moreover, I

wanted to give back to the community that gave me so much before. The local board consisted of four students (we are still good friends, and three of us ended up in management consulting by the way). It’s great to see that lot of the things we have done first in the history of local and global CEMS are not only still present, but our successors developed them further.

I am particularly proud of the CEMS Association or the Budapest JOURNAL, but we also started the committee initiatives to involve more students in CEMS Club Budapest.

Apart from your presidency, what turned out to be the most significant in the programme (the attitude towards life or the academic knowledge that you received)?

Although I liked my courses both at Corvinus and SSE, I would probably highlight the exchange experience at a CEMS university. You are surrounded by so many great individuals and you learn how to succeed in a really

competitive environment.

This experience not only arms you with a diversified set of skills but also gives you enormous self-confidence to apply for jobs at the best companies in Hungary, or anywhere on the planet.

If you ask me about the long-term experience that was probably the one that really shaped my attitude.

But there are other things to mention.

When you are a student, fresh out of your bachelor or master, the most important thing is to get a good internship or full time job. While the CEMS brand opens some doors, the courses, skills seminars, language exams clearly help you to actually go through these doors. Before I applied to BCG, talking to BCGers I knew through CEMS was a great advantage that helped me through the interviews.

Could you summarize what have you done at BCG so far?

I have spent 3,5 years with the firm and really enjoyed the ride. In the beginning, I had the chance to

work in multiple industries, lately I’ve become focused on energy and telecommunications. I have worked on domestic cases as well as on international assignments: the cases I did took me to Sweden, Germany, Cyprus and very recently to Indonesia.

At BCG, you have virtually unlimited potential for professional growth: You are given constant feedback during and at the end of each case. BCG also sends young associates to general trainings as well as targeted skill seminars. If you are lucky they take place at a cool location like Barcelona or a castle in the Loire valley. After three years tenure with the company, if you meet certain standards, you can either do a full year abroad working in a different BCG office or do an MBA in one of the top schools. I did the latter, and got admitted to Columbia Business School in New York. There, I took several entrepreneurship and media-related courses, worked for cool companies like Google and Universal Music and most importantly had time to reflect on my experiences. I realized that I enjoyed being a consultant and hoped to learn much more so I rejoined BCG this September.

What motivated you to keep on involving yourself in our organization, as president of the CEMS Association, after you started working?

Even though I already held a position during my university years, because I received so much from CEMS, I wanted to keep paying my dues. I felt that the Association I helped to be founded as a student was my baby, I mean I was one of the parents at least, and I wanted to make sure that it becomes a healthy strong adult. Furthermore, since I had connections with firms and CEMS Alumni, I believed I could help to get more Alumni and corporate partners on board. I would like to think I played a role along with other CEMS Alumni at BCG in that the company has been one of the most dedicated local corporate partners.

Why do you think a well-functioning alumni involvement is important?

I could see the importance of a strong Alumni network very closely at Columbia Business School. There the lifelong ties with the alumni are very important. Former students go back to the school to hold presentations, become adjunct professors and they also donate money to the institution.

At recruiting events, most of the corporate people are former students and they wear the class year when they graduated very proudly on their name tag. Being a CBS Alumnus has certain prestige to it. Considering they have decades of relevant experience at top-tier firms, the knowledge they share is incredibly valuable to younger students. A proud alumna or alumnus is glad to return, have informal chats about job opportunities or recruit people from the school because he or she knows the value of the programme.

Hence, I would say that it is a win-win situation.

Do you have a message for the next CEMS generations? And for prospective consultants?

For the prospective CEMS generations, I cannot emphasize enough that it is a great programme. If you are looking for a challenging job with international aspects, then I believe CEMS is the place where you wanna be. However, you get as much out of it, as you put into it: be active, make your own contribution to the organization.

For future consultants, I would say consulting – BCG in particular – is definitely one of the best options fresh out of school. It gives you a very well-rounded skill set; it gives you a great work experience and the international exposure you were training for in school. Above all, for students, I would probably give the following advice: don’t try to save time on soul searching, make sure you think through your career aspirations and find out what you are passionate about. Find something that keeps you ticking, and you will be successful and happy in your job. At the end of the day, this is what really matters.

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FACES OF ALUMNI WORKING AT EADS AFTER CEMS

by Péter Oláh

Who hasn’t dreamt about becoming an astronaut, pilot or stewardess? For most of us this dream has probably faded over the years, but who isn’t still interested in the aeronautics industry? If you want to be involved in a business function in a challenging global environment, there are opportunities awaiting for you! I dive into discovering careers in the aeronautic world with the help of our CEMS graduate, Ildikó Ferencsik, who currently works at the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company’s Global Graduate Management Program.

EADS Group is the truly European number one firm of the industry grouping Airbus, Astrium, Eurocopter and Cassidian. Ildiko started her career as business developer at the Astrium division that provides access to space by specializing in space transportation, satellite systems and services.

Ildikó Ferencsik

CEMS graduate, is working at EADS. The company’s developments can be seen on the other pictures.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do at EADS/Astrium and explain us briefly the main characteristics of the industry!

I am a CEMS graduate and I have been working for EADS for a year now as part of a global management programme. I am involved in a number of activities inside the group and currently work in Brussels at the space division, called Astrium. As part of the Institutional Key Account management team, my main task is to develop new business opportunities with the European Institutions. I am looking for new business domains, adjacent business opportunities where the company could capitalize on its existing competencies but has not focused on yet. I am in contact with a number of external and internal stakeholders on a daily basis, the position requires frequent travels in Europe. Aeronautics is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and EADS is the cooperation that brought successfully together the leading aeronautics nations of Europe: the UK, French, German and Spanish governments, the last three still having a considerable amount of shares in the firm.

Accordingly, the corporate culture is not totally like at other multinationals but this is partly stemming from the nature of the industry: many times the clients themselves are governments or international organizations. The Group which will be called Airbus Group as of 2014 currently has four divisions: Airbus which is a leading commercial aircraft manufacturer; Eurocopter, the top civil-sector helicopter manufacturer which provides military products too; Cassidian which is the defence division offering secure communication and other similar products; and Astrium the space division where we cover the whole value chain of the space industry. Actually,

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Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV)

is not only a ‘space truck’ supply vehicle and one of Europe’s main contributions to the International Space Station, but could also be the basis of European manned spaceflight.

Ariane 5

is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or low Earth orbit (LEO).

we are the only one doing that: we create satellites, we launch them into space and we have related satellite services as well. People don’t even think about it but they use satellites so many times a day: when you wake up in the morning, you use your television thanks to satellites, then you turn on your phone which uses GPS (by the way in the soon operational European version of GPS/highprecision positioning system called Galileo, EADS is also involved) then when you use the internet, you probably use satellites again: internet connection at any remote area of the Earth can be provided by satellites.

How important is this function for the company? Could you tell us some specifics about it?

I look for new business opportunities as diversification is important to ensure long-term financial sustainability.

In a corporate function like mine, I have to work in close contact with all our business units to match the right market opportunities with the right competencies. I am in direct contact with the customer, this way I am able to help them in the set off and in the realization of the business unit’s new projects/concepts. The European Union considers satellite programs as strategic initiatives to fulfil its long-term objectives under Europe 2020.

Having an excellent understanding of the key EU stakeholders, timelines and legislation procedures is an essential pre-requisite of my role. In short I am working on matching our competencies with the needs of the customer. Every project is different and it is all case by case scenarios therefore require agility, creativity and open mindedness. Nevertheless, just like at any business development role at companies, you need to have a really good network in the organization: firstly when an external opportunity pops up you must propose it to the right people at the right time in the company. Secondly, the situation can be the opposite as well when engineers have a good idea/business case you have to help in its implementation. And thirdly, you can also approach business development from a market-base perspective.

I got the responsibility to review the Romanian market prior to the Council of Ministers of the European Space Agency, I went there to meet potential clients and exchange about their priorities.

Airbus A380

is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner. It is the world’s largest passenger airliner.

How do you work with engineers? Is the communication with them hard in any way (since you see projects from different aspects)?

Not surprisingly, engineers dominate the aeronautics sector. So it can be challenging for some with a different background to find the way to complement their profiles.

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FACES OF ALUMNI their language to and from the language of institutional stakeholders who are mostly not engineers. To move from ‘just’ a good idea to a successful product the firm needs people like us who sell their ideas.

Do engineers understand that they need you?

I believe they understand the necessity of having colleagues with different backgrounds and appreciate them. They rely on me when it comes to topics that they do not master and there are other topics that I do not master and I also rely on them. This is all about diversity and bringing our knowledge together. Therefore you must be open-minded to work in such an enriching environment.

At Astrium, do you capitalize on your previous professional experience in marketing and sales?

Absolutely, my current job combines all the competencies I gained beforehand. Working in the European sales team of Bosch to Toyota Motors Europe was an excellent learning experience to see how you can work together with engineers and successfully develop your own ideas with a challenging client. Furthermore, I have a marketing background as well as I worked in such roles in global teams for P&G, Henkel and Electrolux which bought me creativity and project management skills. I knew the EU Institutions thanks to a wonderful experience of being EU Youth Delegate of Hungary during the Belgian-SpanishHungarian presidencies of the Council of the EU and several EU projects. Here at EADS I have to combine all of the above, so for me it is a perfect match.

A400M

is the most versatile airlifter currently available responding to organisations in the 21

You mentioned that you are in a graduate programme called EADS PROGRESS. What are the advantages of participating in it?

There are only advantages. I honestly recommend to each and every graduate of CEMS. This programme is the global young management programme of EADS’ all divisions, all sites and all functions. The key benefit is the network: during these two years I have regular trainings on topics like international communication, project management in the executive training centre of the Group or exchanges with colleagues from other divisions . I am exposed to top management who know this programme, listen to our ideas. They give the opportunities and responsibilities from the very beginning. I also have a senior manager mentor at the company. Furthermore, without doubt the most exciting experience was when under the framework of the programme I had to spend two weeks in the factory of the A380 final assembly line as blue collar worker. The programme gives you perspectives since you receive an unlimited contract

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Eurocop

is an experimental high-speed compound helicopter. It surp hr in level flight and 487

the most varied needs of world Air Forces and other 21st century.

pter X3

passes the unofficial speed record for a helicopter (472 km/ km/hr during a descent).

(important to note as some firms only offer a limited one even at graduate programmes). EADS is giving all the tools to become a manager in a few years time.

What is it like to work in the space industry as a woman since it was initially dominated by men? The first woman to lead an aerospace company was last year at Lockheed Martin.

As it is still dominated by men, it is a challenge.

However, I truly believe that the one and only way to really grow is by stepping out of your comfort zone.

I had many opportunities in other industries when I finished my studies, I decided for EADS and I said it is such a big challenge of a lifetime that I have to take it! I just read an article in Harvard Business Review on women in leadership and it is in line with my opinion.

It was about how the values are different for men and women leaders. It states that you expect men leaders to be really independent, decisive and to do things on their own way. But what do you expect from a woman?

To be friendly, nice and to consult you. So basically if a woman is a standard man leader type, she can come across as arrogant. On the other hand, if a woman starts being very nice she might be seen too soft. The question where is the line. What can you do? You cannot double your identity. According to me, as a woman you have to be self-confident, you have to set your values and principles and stick to them (but it doesn’t mean that you have to be rude, but simply just neglect any comment related to gender differences). If you check figures on which disciplines are more preferred by women and men, not surprisingly you find that engineering attracts more men than women. EADS is very keen on changing this stereotype. The experience you gain in CEMS – meaning you meet so many people from different cultural and educational backgrounds – is a great advantage for such an environment because you are not shocked when you end up being surrounded only by people that have different gender or cultural, educational heritage: for you it is just natural to live in complex international environment. I am happy I did CEMS because it does help me to take-off in this new journey!

SKILL SEMINAR TIP

There is a seminar organized every year in a cooperation between the European Space Agency and Rotterdam School of Management.

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FACES OF ALUMNI BACK TO THE ROOTS: THE FIRST HUNGARIAN CEMSIE GENERATION

by Dániel Drácz

On 2nd December 1988 four distinguished individuals representing Bocconi University, ESADE, HEC and University of Cologne assembled in Barcelona in order to sign a historic agreement. On that day they put pen to paper and made official their vision taking management education to a Paneuropean level. Their considered view of creating a European benchmark of excellence was now a reality.

Today, after a quarter century, we celebrate the 25nd anniversary of this community which became – since then – a global alliance. How did it all start in Hungary? What expectations did the first generation have in mind when applying for the programme and how did it change their lives since then? Dóra Danics, from class 1997, tells us the story of the first Hungarian CEMSies.

Dóra, you were among the pioneer students of CEMS in Hungary. Can you tell us what drew your attention to the programme?

I was studying at Közgáz (then Budapest University of Economic Sciences, BUES) between 1992 and 1997. After the first three years I had two important goals: to choose the right specialization and to gain international experiences.

Our generation – being students after the regime change of 1989 – studied in an era when the world was opening and this offered many opportunities.

I joined AIESEC already as a freshman, I made long-lasting friendships and at the same time acquired various skills like how to work together with our fellow Hungarian and international friends. We organized seminars, took part in exchange internships, studied languages and discovered each other’s cultures. These were exactly the same features that I somehow looked for and eventually found in CEMS. At that time, BUES already had several partnerships with many other universities and we also had the chance to obtain exchange scholarships – primarily within the framework of the TEMPUS programme. To get selected, in addition to the excellent academic records one needed good foreign language knowledge and high personal motivation as well.

I was accepted to the TEMPUS programme, and I wrote my thesis at the Finance Department of RUG (University of Groningen) in the Netherlands.

However, CEMS was something different. It was the first time that we got offered a complete double-degree. In 1995 Hungary was just dreaming of a potential EU membership and we were not fully certain whether our Hungarian finance degree was accepted abroad as well. That is exactly what drew my attention to CEMS, it was an exclusive programme incorporating many different modules: completion of a half-year exchange semester, an internship abroad and the proficiency of two foreign languages were rewarded by an internationally recognized degree.

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What were the main components of the MIM year that time?

At our university the programme started in 1994-1995, however in that year BUES was not an officially accredited CEMS academic partner yet. There were about twenty of us who recognized the unique opportunity and headed for the admission procedure. We were in our fourth year. As the university got the right to emit official CEMS degrees only by the end of 1996, the first CEMSies graduated in 1997.

There were two of us.

As for the academic requirements, we had to successfully complete 4-5 courses in English and according to the exam results there was a ranking of candidates followed by an interview conducted by the International Department.

Taking the overall results into consideration, ten of us got the opportunity to continue the programme.

It was the fall term of 1995 when the first Hungarian students could start CEMS exchange semester abroad. If I remember well, two or three foreign students were interested in doing their CEMS exchange semester in Budapest even that time as well. That is how it actually started. Having completed the study semester abroad, the initial steps were followed by the application for an internship and the language exam preparations. At that point, many students gave up – but few of us carried on.

assignments with long discussions and many parties. The city itself was breathtakingly wonderful, I have returned so many times since then.

What kind of courses did you take? How about the CEMS community in Budapest and during the exchange semester?

At BUES we had international finance, international marketing, organization and leadership, organizational development and environmental economics. During the exchange term we could choose from the course offer of the host university either in English or in the local language. In addition to the German language and the obligatory Danish language course, I picked finance, intercultural management and consulting at the Copenhagen Business School where I spent my exchange term.

The CEMS community in Budapest was a small group, everyone knew the each other and these friendships still last to the present day. I am glad to see how the CEMS community in Budapest has grown since then. I am eager to help the students who come to me and are curious of my experience and opinion, I have also been a mentor many times.

What comes to your mind when you think of your exchange in Copenhagen?

It was a fantastic community formed by CEMSies and the other international exchange students.. An intense term including lot of course work, joint team preparation for the

How do you think CEMS contributed to your further professional development? You work and live in Norway now, what is your experience about the acceptance of the CEMS degree abroad?

Over the years the CEMS degree’s recognition and acceptance has grown significantly. I am convinced that holding the card of “CEMS MIM degree” assures excellent job opportunities and a precious network to the students and alumni. Numerous big multinational corporations and prestigious universities keep joining the program which is good for students graduating and looking for a job.

However, further along the career path the importance of the degree gets less dominant, an extended network capital becomes more and more relevant. A good programme management both coming from the headquarters and programme members are of crucial importance to assure that the real value of this degree is fully acknowledged.

I myself tried to contribute to this by volunteering as CEMS Alumni Executive Committee, I was vice president during the period of 2000-2002 and actively participated in the support of Norwegian and Hungarian local committees. ..

On the occasion of the 25th birthday of the programme and the 18th anniversary of the Hungarian start, I wish all the best for the forthcoming generations.

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CAREER FORUM 4 PEOPLE, 4 PROFESSIONAL PATHS, 4 FUTURE PERSPECTIVES – ONE CAREER FORUM WHAT CEMSIES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD EXPECT FROM THE CAREER FORUM IN BUDAPEST

By Dániel Drácz

This is the 4th year in a row that Corvinus University has the honour to welcome the whole CEMS Community for the Career Forum in Budapest.

It is not a surprise that the neorenaissance palace of our alma mater – now even listed as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site – provides an ideal setting for the prestigious event taking place on 15-16th November.

Not less than 40 distinguished corporate partners of the CEMS Alliance will offer pre-scheduled interviews, present their current internship and job opportunities at their stands and organize more than twenty skill seminars. Furthermore, this year even students spending their fall semester far from Europe won’t miss the unique

opportunity: newly established Skype interview sessions will enable CEMSies from all over the world to grab the best job offers – even if they are physically far from the fair itself.

Most of the over 1000 participants – fresh graduates and students at the end of their Master’s studies – have already collected some professional experiences on various fields. These internships enable students to gain a valuable insight in the industry and the profile of the company they work for.

How do these first experiences influence the further professional path of CEMS graduates? Do CEMSies wish to remain in the same sector and develop a deeper understanding of the

underlying processes of that particular industry or do they prefer to venture towards other fields in order to try out as many different areas as possible?

What are the major industries and functional areas CEMS graduates are particularly interested in? Do they have any geographical preferences or are they perfectly mobile?

During the past few weeks, we have been posing these questions at Milan’s Bocconi University to get an answer and have a better understanding of what CEMSies’ from various home schools think about their career perspectives and what their expectations are of the CEMS Career Forum.

BIANCA BORCSICZKY Home School: Vienna University of Economics and Business

What kind of professional experiences do you have so far?

How did it influence the way you think about your future career?

I have worked previously in London, Budapest and Vienna, in the fields of finance and investment banking. I have greatly enjoyed all my internships, as they have been all challenging and I feel that I have learned a lot from them.

I prefer to have responsibilities already as an intern, which contributes much more to the learning curve of a person.

Which companies/industries are you interested in general?

I generally keep my options open, and thus don’t specialize too much regarding my interest. I would like to try myself out in a leading FMCG company for example, in the field of finance or sales, to experience how it is to work with consumer goods. Otherwise, staying in the banking sphere or in the finance department of an industrial firm are my other wished alternatives.

Which are the companies present at the forthcoming Career Forum that you are really looking forward to? Have you

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applied for any pre-scheduled interviews or skill seminars?

As mentioned before, I will go and have a look to all the company stands that will be present. I believe it is a great opportunity to have such a wide range of choice for the students: who knows, perhaps I will find something interesting I did not imagine before. However, FMCG companies and those focusing on finance/sales internships in general will have a clear advantage. I have already the maximum hours of skill seminar, and thus decided to dedicate my time in Budapest for my Student Board Representative tasks: we will work on our MIM team’s project involving Corporate Relations and CEMS Alumni.

What are your general expectations concerning the Career Forum? Have you been to Budapest before? Have you heard any stories from past participants?

I was born in Budapest, and after growing up in Vienna, I have also visited Corvinus during my BA studies. I love Budapest, it is definitely one of the greatest cities on Earth! I hope to have a good opportunity to network with company representatives, and find out extra information from them that I couldn’t just look up on their website. I have heard great stories from previous participants, and I am looking forward to meeting CEMSies from all around the world! See you there.

BART HEUVELS Home School: Erasmus University Rotterdam

Do you have any professional experiences so far? How did it influence the way you think about your future career?

Yes, although not through an internship or work. During the last year I was the chairman of Faculty Association Asset, the study association for the Tilburg School of Economics and Management. As chairman I had to manage the general policy, the relations with external parties, a merger and post-merger integration process of all economic study associations and many other tasks from which I have learned a lot. I really enjoyed the variety and challenge that my board year brought me.

Which companies/industries are you interested in in general?

I am interested in working as a consultant or in an advisory/ strategic role, since I appreciate the challenges these tasks bring. The consulting firms therefore have my interest as well as the general management or consulting tracks within multinationals.

Which are the companies present at the forthcoming Career Forum that you are really looking forward to? Have you applied for any pre-scheduled interviews or skill seminars?

I applied for a skill seminar and will participate in the presentation skill seminar of Skoda Auto. I did not apply for pre-scheduled interviews, since I will finish my master in February 2015 the earliest. However, I am looking forward to meeting companies such as McKinsey, Maersk, Siemens management consulting and LVMH during the job fair.

is. From past participants I did not hear too many stories yet, but most of what I have heard was about the boat party.

I am looking forward to experiencing this myself.

CLAIRE-MARINE PANDRAUD Home School: HEC Paris

What kind of professional experiences do you have so far? How did it influence the way you think about your future career?

I have done two internships before.

I worked as a Brand Manager Assistant in Garnier, which belongs to the L’Oréal Group.

The internship lasted 6 months and was located in Saint Ouen, in the suburbs of Paris, in the mass market division of L’Oréal. My second internship took place in Hong Kong, China and lasted 6 months as well. I was an intern in strategic marketing for Veolia Water China Ltd, whose headquarters are located in HK. Both of them were really interesting and challenging at the same time, but I really liked them both, each one for different reasons.

Which companies/industries are you interested in in general?

I am interested in both the beauty and fashion industry.

I plan to work in product development in the cosmetic industry within the next years and I am writing my thesis about the consumption of beauty products in Asia and Europe. I am interested in consulting companies as well.

Which are the companies present at the forthcoming Career Forum that you are really looking forward to? Have you applied for any pre-scheduled interviews or skill seminars?

I have applied for three skill-seminars. I am really looking forward to meeting consulting companies such as McKinsey or A.T Kearney and more “marketing oriented” companies such as L’Oréal or Procter & Gambler.

What are your general expectations concerning the Career Forum? Have you been to Budapest before? Have you heard any stories from past participants?

I expect the Career Forum to be a professional but also fun event, where there are ample opportunities to talk with Corporate Partners as well as other CEMS students. I have been to Budapest three times before, all for recreational purposes, so the city is not new to me, but the Career Forum

What are your general expectations concerning the Career Forum? Have you been to Budapest before? Have you heard any stories from past participants?

I want to meet companies which can be interesting for my future and to get to know the opportunities that they offer to graduate students like us. I am also very happy to discover Budapest as I have never been there before! And of course I expect this trip to be professional and fun at the same time, which is the perfect balance I am looking for!

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CAREER FORUM JOOSEP KADAK Home School: Aalto University School of Business

Have you had any professional experience so far? How did it influence the way you think about your future career?

I have been working on 3 different business related jobs so far. As a Cargo Coordinator in Estonian logistics/transport services company TallinkSilja, as a teaching assistant in Economics at Aalto University School of Business and as a trainee in a Swedish bank called SEB. The most useful for my career has definitely been the last experience at SEB, where I did credit analysis, searched counterparty information and worked on financial contracts. I have really enjoyed all of these professional experiences and gained a lot of practical job experience.

Which companies/industries are you interested in general?

At the moment I am not 100% sure which industry I want to specialize in, but so far I have found the banking industry the most interesting and demanding. In the future I definitely want to work on something related to finance or management. I am most interested in working for big international banks, major real estate investment companies or consulting companies. This is not to say that I would not fancy working in other industries, since I believe all the large companies have interesting positions for CEMS students.

Which are the companies present at the forthcoming Career Forum that you are really looking forward to? Have you applied for any pre-scheduled interviews or skill seminars?

Mostly I’m looking forward to meeting the representatives of big banks, such as Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Société Générale. I applied for a few pre-scheduled interviews to the companies, in which I would like to work in the future, and I received one interview with Unibail-Rodamco.

What are your general expectations concerning the Career Forum? Have you been to Budapest before? Have you heard any stories from past participants?

I have never been to Budapest before, so I booked the flight tickets for Thursday to have some time to explore the city. I expect the Career Forum to be a very nice experience since you can meet the CEMS Corporate Partners and also spend time with other students. I have heard a lot of stories about this “Boat or ferry” and I have concluded that the trip to Budapest will be awesome.

These brief Q&As prove the findings of the official CEMS Employment Statistics, according to which in 2012 the

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main sectors of activity of CEMS graduates were consulting (30%), consumer goods (15%), financial services (14%), energy (6%) and advertising, PR and media (4%).

ALESSIA MARCHESETTI Corporate Relations Coordinator at UB

After having collected the students’ thoughts, Alessia Marchesetti, CEMS Corporate Relations Coordinator at Bocconi University shared with us her views about the career fair and provided us with some useful tips that can be applied when preparing for the interviews. Alessia has an over 10-year experience at Bocconi with career fairs: besides the organization of the regular Bocconi career event attracting more than 4000 visitors and 70-80 companies twice a year, she has assisted the establishment of an international satellite network of Bocconi career forums in Shanghai, Mumbai and London.

However, she is convinced that the CEMS Career Forum is indeed something special.

There is an ever growing number of career fairs on the market, however, I consider the CEMS Career Forum as a truly unique construct because of various reasons. It is to be underlined that this event is exclusively dedicated to the CEMS network – both in terms of students and alumni hunting for a job and in terms of the Corporate Partners who offer those opportunities. Being part of this multistakeholder organization, students and companies share common values and thus have a common vision about what a potential job candidate should be like. That is why I believe that the Career Forum is a huge opportunity for job hunters: it is a privileged access channel for CEMSies to get in touch with top tier global companies. However, students and alumni have a remarkable responsibility at the same time: as Corporate Partners identify CEMS graduates as high-profile, talented candidates, it is their task to maintain this trust and experience of excellence. This duality – chance and responsibility – makes the CEMS Career Forum extremely challenging.

When it comes to pre-scheduled interviews, I believe the worst thing a candidate can do is not to prepare properly for it. Do not improvize when starting a talk, as I always suggest to my students: there is no second chance to make the first impression. Analyze the company in advance – its field of activity, its mission – and think about how you as a potential candidate fit in its organization. Pay attention to nuances: some companies in the consulting business or banking are more formal in style than new media, FMCG

or IT firms. Adjust your rhetoric and way of acting to this difference as well. Furthermore, remember key words and mottos: „client service”, „entrepreneurship”, „international mindset” can be of crucial essence. Select everything you want to say about yourself, but never forget that an interview needs a hyper tailor-made approach.

All in all, I believe participants need to keep in mind three key issues. First, preparation: job hunting is just like a marathon, you can’t run 42 kilometres without an appropriate preparation, the same accounts for the interviews as well. Secondly, you need to be curious. Do not just go to company stands you know, catch the opportunity and have a look at firms you are not so familiar with. And thirdly, remember your responsibility, the force of the network is in common trust, it is your mission as well to maintain it.

Preparation, curiosity and responsibility – with this I wish you all the best luck for the Career Forum.

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V4 CONFERENCE THIRD V4 CONFERENCE IN THE CITY OF PRAGUE KEEPING UP THE COOPERATION BETWEEN THE VISEGRAD CEMS CLUBS By Éva Kadocsa

The V4 Conference which started in 2010 as a joint effort of the CEMS Clubs of Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary came to its third annual event building up on the success of the previous two years in Warsaw and Budapest. From 11th to 14th April 2013 the CEMS V4 Conference was held at the University of Economics in Prague.

Quick History V4 Conference was initiated by the CEMS Clubs of Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. The aim of the cooperation is to increase awareness of the CEE region and foster regional cooperation within the international CEMS community. Supported by the embassies of all four Visegrad countries, the first V4 conference was hosted by Warsaw in 2011, with the topic of The Competitiveness Evaluation of CEE Countries. In Budapest, 2012, participants of the conference were investigating the question How to be Europe’s Pioneers focusing on topics from Energy and Human resources. In 2013, the third V4 Conference took place in Prague and covered the issue of Strategic Decision in a fast-changing Environement.

The conference brings together students from CEMS universities in the Visegrad countries, as well as students from other CEMS universities across Europe. For them, it offers an outstanding opportunity to learn and network with one another as well as with present company representatives. To the participating companies, the conference provides a great talent pool of top business graduates. Networking has traditionally been a strong asset of the initiative, which is highly appreciated by both students and corporate partners.

The V4 Conference in Prague, which was accepted by the highly ranked CEMS MIM program as a 1,5 day skill seminar and worth 0,75 ECTS credits, attracted 70 students from 13 different CEMS schools. The topic of the conference covered the issue of Strategic Decision in a Fast-changing Environment.

The programme was divided into two separate tracks.

The first one concentrated on Innovations and Change Management, coordinated by CEMS Corporate Partners Škoda Auto and A.T. Kearney. Over the two days of skill seminars, participants were searching for the answer to the question “How to sustainably nurture innovation and innovative spirit in the company to answer market needs?”

The second track focused on Strategic Marketing, more precisely on the topic of entering new markets, by CEMS Corporate Partner Google and Unilever.

Participants on the first day left early in the morning from

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the city of Prague and headed to Mlada Boleslav to spend a whole day skill seminar with Skoda. The Head of Corporate Strategy opened the seminar with a presentation about the company itself and then let students be creative in order to figure out how they imagine the future of cars with internet hotspot as a must in today’s car production. Students grouped into different teams and came up with a wide variety of innovative ideas such as application MySkoda or car pooling and electronic data gathering about the ride.

After presenting the ideas on future cars the skill seminar finished with a 2-hour visit at Skoda Museum.

The second day was led by A.T. Kearney. The company’s 3-hour lecture on Innovation and Change Management was followed by a case study, carried out in groups of CEMS students. After presenting each group’s solution, participants had the opportunity to express their opinion, evaluate other groups’ performance and vote for the best solution.

Although the programme with full day skill seminars was very intense, participants were happy to enjoy colourful side events during the evenings in Prague. On the first day, students were invited to a Rotation Dinner with the CEMS corporate partners Skoda, A.T. Kearney, Unilever and Google where they had the opportunity to discuss future career possibilities, requirements regarding certain jobs or anything that interested them. After networking at the dinner, students and some of the corporate partners followed the night at a rotation bar for further chitchatting, but knowing that another busy day was ahead of them.

The Conference on the second day ended with a Gala Night attracted the entire Czech CEMS Community with more than 200 Czech CEMS students, alumni, professors and corporate partners.

To get an inside view of how participants truly experienced this two days annual event here, we provide some personal opinion and impression about the third V4 Conference. Let’s see the best moment of V4 2013 from a CEMS student point of view!

‘Even though the topic of the workshops to which I was accepted interested me and were also linked to the subject of my Master thesis, the major reason for participating at the conference was to further engaging myself into the CEMS community through seeing back old friends and meeting new people.

Meeting new people from Czech Republic and other CEMS schools was probably what I enjoyed the most. As you meet many bright people during your two official CEMS

semesters, it is unlikely that longlasting relationships are created during such a conference. However, the specificity of the CEMS spirit lies in the possibility of revitalizing links or relationships wherever you are. This is exactly what the so-called theory of weak ties tells us: through the acquaintance of a personal connection it is the most likely to get something valuable such as a contact in the company you plan to apply to, hints to get accommodation when moving to a new city or simply finding new friends when doing the former.

me

This shouldn’t of course downgrade the workshops given

by Skoda Auto, and A.T. Kearney. Both workshops include a good mix between “auditorium presentation” and creative work done by us, the students. The latter part is always the most important mean to ensure that really something major is retained after the workshop.’

(Joël Theisen, Louvain School of Management)

insights into the business world together with opportunity to

‘The Skoda skill seminar was a great experience with great corporate support from the company itself. In the end we were leaving with a feeling we have actually contributed to SKODA’s corporate strategy, bringing up so many ideas which they found valuable.

What I enjoyed the most is The CEMS Spirit. Friends reunion, networking with corporate partners and amazing atmosphere. CEMS-like friendly and welcoming.

My key takeaway is that one day we might make a difference, both with radical or incremental innovations.

Our ideas matter and we should share them throughout the whole company, because we never know who will find it useful to build further innovations on.’

(Jana Horackova, University of Economics, Prague)

is

to

be

open

and

look

for

opportunities.’

(Máté Széles, Corvinus University of Budapest) ‘What I enjoyed most during the Conference is the fact that the days were full of exciting events leaving no time whatsoever to be bored!

Starting with the workshops early in the morning, exploring the beauty of Prague in the afternoons and finishing days with events like Rotation Dinner or Gala Night, the Conference encompassed what CEMS is all about – getting get to know other students, network and have a great time!

Having a background in Finance and a CEMS year ahead at the time of the Conference, it gave me an insight into the nature of work in marketing and how different tools and techniques can be used to change the destiny of a product or brand.’

(Natalia Brzuskiewicz, Warsaw School of Economics) Looking back to the skill seminars, the colourful social and networking events, reading the comments of participants, watching videos and checking photos taken during the two days we can say that the V4 Conference was a long-lasting and valuable experience for the CEMS Community. As Head Coordinator of CEMS V4 Conference, Stepan Mejzlik said ‘Our desire was to organize an event in the beautiful city of Prague, which would leave our participants with great memories and a feeling that they have truly expanded their horizons. Looking back at the four days we all spent together, I think it is fair to say that we succeeded.

‘I really enjoyed the Conference.

I gained valuable and useful knowledge during the two days.

Discussing with corporate partners were especially inspirational.

I enjoyed the most the CEMS Community and meeting with new people. Experiencing the truly CEMS spirit with openminded and aspirational people…The takeaway for 2013 // 2 Fall CC BUDAPEST JOURNAL

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YEAR 2013

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Bonding Event at Szentendre

Unforgettable Winter Camp at Bunabogdány

Corporate Open Day at Microsoft

Alumni Mixer

Busó Festivites at Mohács

Speed Recruiting

Charity Run

Wine Tasting Fall Camp at Tokaj

Rotation Dinner

Running Dinner

Class of CEMS MIM 2012

Class of CEMS MIM 2013

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We are looking for ambitious candidates for the following positions: • • • • •

Audit Tax Advisory Business Advisory Information Risk Management IT Advisory

What we offer: • • • • • • •

Clear career opportunities Continuous professional trainings Competitive salary and benefits Modern and friendly working environment Competitive professional experience Opportunity to work abroad Opportunity to build life-long professional relationships

If you are interested, apply at kpmg.hu

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