1. Off Grounds Recruiting Guide - for Chinese MBA Students at Darden Version One, April 2011

2. Your Career Objectives
Are You Not Sure Yet ??
Consulting
Investment Banking
Corporate Finance
Other Financial Services
Marketing
General Management

3. Companies Offer to Chinese MBAs at Darden - Class of 2011 and 2012
W.R. Grace
Booz Allen Hamilton
Cargill
Bain
Amazon
Deutsche Bank
Microsoft
BCG
J.P. Morgan
It’s Your Time. Class of 2013
Barclays Capital
Roland Berger
Nomura
DuPont
McKinsey
A.T Kearney
Johnson & Johnson
Danaher
Celanese
Eastman
Eli Lilly
IBM Consulting
Marsh & McLennan

4. Off Ground: Consulting Firms in China 1
Firms with regular hiring for China offices
Firms w/t regular hiring program
A.T Kearney
Accenture
Bain
Deloitte
BCG
IBM Consulting
Booz & Company
Monitor Group
LEK 2
Oliver Wyman 2
McKinsey
PRTM
Roland Berger 2
Siemens Consulting
ZS Associates
The information is based our understanding in year of 2010 and It may change in different years.
These companies don’t have job postings/campus recruiting at Darden but they hire Darden graduates.
3. More company names can be found on the website:

5. Off-Ground Recruiting Timeline - Consulting
Process
October
Modify your cover letter and resume according to CDC instructions
Networking is not a must for applying China offices but it will definitely help to win interviews
November
Resume Submission
Resume has to be submitted on line via each company’s website
Make sure you have enough time to fill the online application – they are as time-consuming as MBA online applications
Check out each company’s website as early as possible since deadlines change every year
December - January
Interview Invitations
Interview will be sent via phone calls or s
Prepare interviews day and night (both behavior and case interviews)
January – February
Interviews and Offers
Interviewees will be invited to a hub city (normally in NYC, Chicago, Boston or Philadelphia) for first round
Second Round decision will be made immediately after first round interviews (Booz only had one round interview for summer interns in 2011)
Offers will be made in around one week (Waiting-listed students will have chances to get off the waiting list in February or March)

6. More information about Consulting firms in China
Tips and Un-official information based on current students’ experiences:
M/B/B normally hire 5 to 10 summer interns from around 20 business schools for Great China offices, majority of summer interns will be stationed in Shanghai and Beijing offices.
Each consulting firm has a recruiting committee. There probably will be one person in charge Darden’s resume book.
You have to make decision on which office is your first choice when you fill the online application.
Consulting firms pay more attention to your academic performance (GMAT score, undergrad GPA etc) and your pre-MBA experience, i.e, whether you worked in a well-known company.
“Networking is not a must for Consulting firms in China” is based on the fact that you meet the criteria above.
You HAVE TO start interview preparation before you get invitations. Make good use of winter break - This is VERY important.
Don’t give up if you don’t get internship offer in consulting. Consulting firms might hire more for fulltime jobs.

7. Off Ground: Investment Banks in China 1
Banks with regular hiring for China offices 2
Banks w/t regular hiring program
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
ABN Amro
Barclays Capital
BNP Paribas
Credit Suisse
Houlihan Lokey
Citigroup
Jefferies
Deutsche Bank
Macquarie
Goldman Sachs 3
Piper & Jaffray
HSBC
RBS
J.P Morgan
Rothschild
Morgan Stanley
Standard Chartered
Nomura
UBS 4
CICC 5
__________________________
1. Positions are in Hong Kong unless otherwise noted; 2. IBD hires most interns. S&T, Research and PWM department’s hiring plan differs from banks; 3. Chinese Candidates will be placed in Beijing office for its IBD department; 4. It has positions in China; 5. Most positions are in Beijing; 6. Please follow each banks website for details; 7. Local Chinese investment banks except CICC are not included in this lit.

8. Off-Ground Recruiting Timeline - Banking
Process
October
Modify your cover letter and resume according to CDC’s instructions
Networking is a must and it’s extremely important if you don’t have finance or consulting experience.
You are highly recommended to enhance your networking skills by attending on-campus networking events organized by NYC Banks.
November
Resume Submission
Resume has to be submitted on line via each company’s website
Make sure you have enough time to fill the online application – they are as time-consuming as MBA online applications. Some banks request short essays and online test.
Check out each company’s website for available positions and deadlines.
December - January
Interview Invitations
Interview will be sent mostly via s
Prepare interviews even you haven’t received any interview invitation because banks in HK typically give you very short notice.
January – February
Interviews and Offers
First round and second round interviews normally include two half-hour phone interviews back to back for each round (some banks only have one round before the final round.)
Final round (Super Day) will be held normally in NYC with 4-6 back to back interviews with Directors or above levels. (PS, Deutsche Bank Asia organizes both first and final round interviews in US.).
Offer will be received in one week.

9. More information about Investment banks in China
Tips and Un-official information based on current students’ experiences:
Bulge Bracket banks hire 4-10 summer interns in Hong Kong ever year. Some only hire 1-3 in bad years.
Boutique banks don’t have hiring plan during bad years. You need to follow their websites closely.
Banks prefer candidates who have finance and consulting background
Net working is not a deal breaker to get interviews from HK if you have a highly competitive resume. However, you are strongly recommend to attend HK Job trek and go through the networking process with NYC banks.
Never stop networking, and it’s never too late to network.
You’d be aware that you are competing with peers from HBS/ Wharton/ Columbia/ Chicago/ NYU who have solid finance background prior to business school.
You HAVE TO start interview preparation before you get invitations. Make good use of winter break - This is VERY important.
Don’t give up if you don’t get internship offer. You still have chances for full time offers with relevant finance internship experience.

10. Off Grounds Corporate Opportunities Looking for Chinese MBAs in USA
Companies
Program
Positions
Cargill
Strategy & Leadership
Fulltime
Citigroup
Commercial Banking
Internship/Fulltime
Conde Nast
Management Training
DuPont
Marketing
Eli Lilly
Marketing/Finance
Groupon
Leadership Program
Johnson & Johnson
Microsoft
Marketing/Finance/Tech
Tencent
Strategy
_____________________________________
Note: The list only includes off-ground opportunities posted at Darden. Please follow CDC’s website for on-ground opportunities

11. Off-Ground Recruiting Timeline - Corporate
Before January
January to March
After March
Resume & Cover Letter
Company Briefing
Networking
Interviews start from mid to late January
Two-Three rounds phone interviews in both Chinese and English
Final round interview
Decisions will be made one to two weeks after final round
Other programs
About DuPont, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson
DuPont, J&J and Eli Lilly are the three most aggressive recruiters for Chinese MBA students. Both companies approach candidates proactively but it doesn’t mean it’s easy to get into the three.
All three companies organize webinars multiple times to introduce the company and its hiring program for international MBA students. They also host Darden students during the China Job Trek.
Networking is important if you don’t have relevant work experience (functionally) prior to business school. J&J and DuPont typically looks for candidates with at least five years work experience.

12. More information about off-ground corporate recruiting programs
Un-official information based on current students’ experience:
Cargill Asia SBD program doesn’t officially recruit among US Business schools. Please reach out to Darden Alumni (both in Cargill US and China).
Microsoft China MACH fulltime program is new in There will be probably internship program in the future.
Finance experience is a plus for Citigroup’s commercial banking program but it’s not a must. It’s more like a business management role.
Tencent recruiting process might be very long. Be patient if you are interested.
There are some other off-ground MBA hiring program don’t post at Darden, i.e. John Deere hires at Duke. Education First hires at Kellogg and Tuck.
Companies generally care more about your commitment. Be well prepared about “why company” questions.
Enhance your phone interview skills.

13. Darden China Job Treks in 2011
Shanghai Job Trek - Jan 2011 (Trek Leader: Yi Yang)
Cargill
Manufacturing
Education First
Education
Dell
High Tech
Booz
Consulting
Bain & Company
JNJ Medical China
Healthcare
AT Kearney
Roland Berger
ZS Associates
Medtronic
DuPont
Eli Lilly
Hong Kong Job Trek – Nov 2010 (Trek Leader: Shirley Wang)
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Morgan Stanley
J.P. Morgan
UBS
Citigroup
Deutsche Bank
Nomura
Barclays Capital
Goldman Sachs
* HK Trek is co-organized with another three business schools. Companies list may vary in different years depending on banks’ availability.

14. You Can Be More Aggressive!
Other Resources :
Chinese students in other US business schools. Kellogg’s career report has very detailed information for students’ job placement.
Insead and CEIBS are good resources – there are some China MBA programs only hire at CEIBS, i.e. Dow Chemical’s General Management Program.
China PE/VC conference in NYC is a good resource if you are interested in PE/VC/IM
Reach to Alumni in China properly. Don’t take it personal if they don’t reply. They are just busy but they will help.
You personal contacts and previous employees. There are successful examples on getting a full time job from former employer’s US office.
If you’ve followed the whole process yet you haven’t got an offer, please keep reflecting why you haven’t succeed.

15. No Pains, No Gains Normal Constructive Feedback for Chinese MBAs:
Indecisive about Career Goals
Admissions won’t question you but be ready that your life at Darden would be miserable if you don’t know what to do.
Reluctant to do networking
You have to move out of your comfortable zone as early as possible. Some companies really care about networking though some don’t. Don’t be over confident – your stunning resume may mislead you.
Resume and Cover Letters
Polish your resume and cover letters with “buzz” words and get it ready before early October – Don’t screw yourself to wait until resume due dates.
Meet your career consultants, career coaches and second years before they push you, even you are overwhelmed by amazing HBS leadership cases.
Interview Preparation
Interview Preparation should be your first priority other than travelling during Winter Break, especially if you are looking for consulting or investment banking jobs.
More mock interviews. Sometimes you are not as good as you thought.

16. never, never give up.