Here at Ellin Lolis Consulting, our goal is to ensure that our clients choose MBA programs they love for life — after all, you can only do one MBA!
One of the most popular programs our clients ask us about is the Michigan Ross School of Business. In recent years, Ross graduates have been in high demand, with 97% of graduates earning a job within 3 months. 87% of Ross grads are career switchers, and the school offers unprecedented support for MBA students with this goal.
That’s why we got in touch with recent graduate Arthur Lilenbaum Valadares to get an insider’s view of what life is really like at Ross and how the program helped him land a job in the United States.
(Arthur Lilenbaum Valadares, Recent Graduate of University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business)
Ellin Lolis: How did you end up choosing to attend Ross?
Arthur Lilenbaum Valadares: My decision-making process was based on personal and professional reasons. Regarding the former, I wanted to have an experience living in a small size city, since I’ve lived all my life in a major metropolis. I also wanted to stay on the East Coast, close to my family.
From the professional perspective, I wanted to work with Consulting, so I searched for universities in which the job report showed good results in the major consulting firms.
EL: What most surprised you about Ross after arriving on campus?
ALV: It was amazing to see how diverse my class was. Not only internationally, but also people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and points of view. I believe that everyone lives in a small bubble in their work after graduating from college, so having the opportunity to expand my horizons and be in this environment was great!
EL: What were your classes like?
ALV: They varied a lot. There are cases studies in which everyone needs to present their opinions, there are lectures, in which the professor teaches some new subject to the class and everyone takes notes, there are laboratories in which you can put in practice everything you learned and there are also action based classes, in which you are assigned to a team and work directly with a major company to do a specific project. In this last instance, you don’t even go to a classroom per se.
EL: What did you end up doing for your MAP project? How did learning outside the classroom compare to your other classes for you?
ALV: I believe MAP is one of the greatest experiences in the Ross. I went to southern India to do a project in a small microbrewery looking to expand its business to other cities such as Goa and Mumbai.
When you are assigned to a team and have to travel to the other side of the world with them, you learn a lot. It is astonishing how you can know them better as an individual and co-worker, and see how they bring their past experiences to the table.
It is also very challenging to manage the relationships and move forward with the project when there is no hierarchy structure. This is the kind of experience you don’t get in a classroom or even in a short term group project.
EL: How did you balance classes and involvement in clubs during your MBA?
ALV: I saw many people get very excited about all the opportunities to engage with the university in the first week, so they ended up over-committed with many different things and couldn’t take care of them all. I avoided this mistake and tried to do the opposite.
Firstly, I chose all the classes I wanted to take and estimated my time commitment with them. Secondly, I was committed to helping another MBAs land their dream jobs and as a Coach, I also prioritized helping students who were still recruiting. After that, I picked minor positions in some clubs and always offered additional help when I had some spare time.
EL: What was the process to obtain your summer internship like?
ALV: The process is not easy. People think that coming to a top MBA school guarantees a job in their dream company, but that is not true. You have to work hard and put some time into it.
Specifically, in Consulting, the recruiting process is very competitive and it is quite different. You need to network a lot and connect with your preferred firms before you get an interview, which is not something Brazilians are used to do, especially after college. But in the end, the process is very structured and the university gave all its support to help me find the summer job that I wanted at the Boston Consulting Group.
EL: How did your summer internship go and how important was it in landing the job you wanted after your MBA?
ALV: Ross has a pretty early schedule, so I got the chance to do 2 summer internships. I was a consultant before my MBA and I always wanted to get an experience in a “real” company, so my first summer internship was in the HR department at Itau Bank. I met brilliant people and got the chance to create a new team that I believe will completely revamp how HR works with data.
(The Boston Consulting Group recruits heavily at Michigan Ross. hiring 33 Ross graduates in 2016)
My second internship was at BCG and it was an amazing experience. It is very common to put a lot of pressure on yourself during the internship to get an offer, but the summer internship is also the ideal time to get to know the firm, people who work there and also have fun! In the end, both internships were really important, since I got my offer to come back to BCG after the MBA.
EL: What was the process like to get a job in the United States? Do you have any tips for current or prospective MBA students who would also like to work abroad after the MBA?
ALV: In Ross, we have a very helpful Career Service department. They invite several companies to come on campus and also connect you with any other firm you’d like. For on campus recruiting, there is a very structured process which you have to connect with your employers and then you will be invited for an interview. Especially for Consulting, you will have 2 case interviews in the 1st round and if you make it, another 2 or 3 interviews in the 2nd round.
First of all, international students have to be very fluent in English. Hence, a very simple tip is to hang out with other students that don’t speak your language. Secondly, students need to be focused and organized. It is much better to focus on 5-10 firms than try to connect with 30 different companies. If you know who you want to connect with and spend some time reading about them, I believe you’ll have better chances.
As a last piece of advice, many people freak out with case interview and think that by doing thousands of cases they will master it. I’m not saying you don’t need to practice, but people need to keep in mind that Consulting firms are looking for intelligent people with critical sense and business acumen and not robots that can crack a case by heart.
EL: What was the best experience you had during your MBA?
ALV: At Michigan, we have a program called Story Lab.
(Michigan Ross student participating in Story Lab, an Action Based Learning course. Photo courtesy Michigan Ross)
It is a workshop that teaches you how to speak in public, but also how to tell a meaningful story. After the workshop, you get a chance to present your story, whatever it is, to the whole university. It was an amazing experience, where I could open myself to other students and also practice a skill that will be very important as a consultant.
EL: Overall, what surprised you the most about your MBA experience?
ALV: My goal in my MBA was to have an international experience. However, an MBA is much more than it. It is much more than classes and extracurricular activities. An MBA is all about different experiences and interacting with different people. I got the chance to know students that I would never have met if it wasn’t in Ross. I believe that your class makes all the difference and mine was the best.
EL: Do you have any final advice for recently admitted or prospective MBA students?
ALV: Be mindful of your time.
If you are an admitted student, make sure that you enjoy every minute of this experience, because time flies. These 2 years looked like 3 months for me.
As a prospective student, I would first do a very introspective analysis to see first if an MBA is the right program, second if it is the right time and then, carefully select the Schools you are applying, because each of them offers a different experience.
But most importantly, have fun!
EL: Thank you so much for your time, Arthur. You’ve definitely helped us gain greater insights into the Michigan Ross experience and your recruiting experience. Congratulations again on landing your dream job!
My team and I pride ourselves on being with you at every stage of the process as you apply to an elite program, giving you the confidence that you are taking the right steps toward your future with the information you need not only to get accepted into a top MBA, but to find a program you love for life. That’s why I truly enjoyed talking with Arthur, and bringing this information to you.
If you need help planning school visits, designing an application strategy, or even if you’re just starting the application process and aren’t sure exactly what to do next, my team and I can help! Schedule your free consultation with us today.
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
