Studying Abroad: Further Your Education and Become a Global Learner

By Khalid Khalid, Peer for Career

Along with being active on and off campus, another great way to truly step out of your comfort zone and expand your horizons is to study abroad. From the moment of your arrival to your host country, almost every interaction becomes a learning opportunity.

Regardless of where in the world you decide to study abroad, there are many amazing new things to discover, learn and explore. Take, for example, a great, advanced nation like Germany. As a historical landmark, you will have first-hand insight and expand your knowledge of the country by physically being there, seeing it and walking around its beautiful streets and astonishing museums. Immersing yourself in the German culture, speaking to locals, and interacting with them on a daily basis will not only sharpen your ability to see the world from a different perspective but also help you understand yourself and the importance of keeping your own traditions. Too often, just reading about another culture in textbooks or hearing about it from others is not enough to fully understand it.

Additionally, attending a study abroad program at a host university could be another great way to explore other countries’ educational systems. For instance, studying at a German institution of higher education is somewhat different from what we are accustomed to in the United States. All levels of education are nearly free-of-cost and many universities also offer “Corporate Programs.” A Corporate Program involves sponsorship by real world firms such as IBM, Bayer or Biomet who fund students while also offering them opportunities for practical work during school breaks and summer vacations. As an international student, you will have the chance to learn from excellent German instructors who teach real world applications as well as from classmates who have been working with companies for years.

Once you have lived in a host country for a few months, you start building networks and making connections with students from all over the world. As the saying goes, “You never know who the person sitting next to you is going to be.” Whether it’s a classmate, instructor or your dorm-mate, the relationships you form while studying abroad might well be some of the most valuable relationships you will ever make. Even though this might be true anywhere, studying abroad especially brings long-lasting relationships that can pay in the future in different ways.

Believe it or not, by immersing yourself in unfamiliar culture, experimenting with new ways of thinking, or trying a different way of living, you will experience some sort of personal growth and mostly likely come back home with a renewed interest in the world and newfound knowledge. Although living in a foreign country can be overwhelming at times, it can definitely put into motion significant personal development. So here is some advice: take a risk, further the great education you receive here at Baruch and be better prepared to face challenges in the future!

Photo credit: Khalid Khalid, September 2015

Alumni Interview: Tasvir Hasan

By Jubi Gauchan, Peer for Career

On a beautiful Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tasvir Hasan, an alumnus of
Baruch who is heavily involved in recruiting at his alma mater. Father to two sweet daughters,
husband to a beautiful wife that he has known more than half his life, and a friendly, kind and
awesome personality, he is currently a Vice President at J.P. Morgan. Read on to find out more!

1. What year did you graduate? What was your major and minor?

I graduated Baruch in 2004 with an Accounting degree. At that time, an Accounting major
was not required to have a minor.

2. Where do you work and what is your current role?

I have worked at J.P. Morgan for 15 years, including four years during college, as a Smart
Start Scholarship/Internship participant. I worked full-time in the summer and part-time
during the school year.

Currently, I am the functional head of the North American Multinational Credit Risk team.
We handle inbound requests for the North-American subsidiaries of companies with
overseas headquarters. Clients come to us when they need loans, or other products / services
that have credit exposure.

3. Could you tell us a little bit about your experience in Baruch? Did you participate in
any clubs or organizations?

While attending Baruch, I worked at J.P. Morgan, which did not leave me with a lot of free
time; however, I was in the Honors Program, and I was a Student Academic Consulting Center
(SACC) Tutor for math, accounting, finance and other subjects. I was also a student
counselor.

4. Please name some steps that helped you to launch your first internship/job.

I graduated high school with an Engineering degree and was very involved in extracurricular
activities. I wanted to keep busy and have a good profile for college applications. In addition
to being the Salutatorian of the school and engineering program, I was the Editor of the
Yearbook and Captain of the handball team. Our handball team won the city championship
and my partner and I won the city doubles tournament as well. I even had my story
published in Newsday and another newspaper.

Towards the end of my junior year, I asked my professor and mentor where I could transition
to outside of engineering, and was advised that I should look into business. That is why I
came to Baruch, and then joined the J.P. Morgan Smart Start scholarship/internship program.

With my engineering background, the internship program managers thought doing something
technology-related would be a good first rotation. I was placed in a role responsible for
testing software and web applications for employees. Thereafter, I wanted to enhance my soft
skills, so I went through a leadership and management curriculum training rotation. In this
program, we assessed the internal and external training courses that were made available to
J.P. Morgan employees.

I knew I wanted to be an Accounting major, so I joined the Corporate Tax department for my
third rotation. It was a very good role, but I realized that accounting is too objective for my
personal preference. Since I wanted something a bit more subjective in nature, I looked into
Finance. Fortunately, I was asked to be a summer analyst for Credit Risk, and I submitted
my resume. I was two out of 40 Smart Start interns that joined a group of six Credit Risk
interns in the Commercial Bank. I really enjoyed it. Early on, I presented my views on why
we should lend money to large corporations, using quantitative and qualitative factors
through SWOT analysis, etc.

I then joined as a full-time analyst in Credit Risk. Although I have not worked outside of
Credit Risk in my full-time career, I have rotated through several industry groups in the
Commercial Bank and Corporate & Investment Bank.

5. What are the qualities that are the most valuable for your current position and your
company?

You have to be diligent, inquisitive, a good team player, and commercial. It is easy as a
Credit Officer to say “no.” However, I think the purpose is to find a way that works well for
everyone. It is about the right risk and return. Credit is a foot in the door for the
relationship, providing you with an opportunity to deliver other products and services.

Currently, I also manage people so have to be thoughtful about what is in their best interests,
and think about the team in general. It is good to be humble – knowing that there are a lot of
people who are smarter than you in certain aspects through experiences or simply smarter by
nature. That being said, it is important to keep in mind the importance of EQ, in addition to
IQ.

It is important to keep an open mind, and understand that we are not always right. We have to
be flexible when thrown a curveball. It is important to not to get rattled when surprises
happen; I see a lot of senior colleagues that stay calm, cool, and collected. As a leader, they
are the face of the team. I think they recognize that if we see them calm and focused, we will
feel more comfortable as well.

6. Could you tell us about the challenges you faced when you first started your
internship/job?

The internship started in my freshman year of college. I went from being a laid back high
school student to coming into a professional work environment. For the first couple of days, I
thought it was okay to go with my shirt un-tucked. My manager pulled me aside and said that
was not okay.

Everybody has specific roles and responsibilities, some of which are less interesting, but
you need to remind yourself of the bigger picture. You need to remind yourself that this is
part of delivering solutions to your colleagues and clients, and then it becomes more
meaningful.

Getting adjusted to the business world, breaking out of my shell, and understanding the
bigger picture were important things I learned early on.

7. What are some tips that you would give to students for a successful recruiting
experience?

Come prepared. It will help if you know who you are meeting with, know what they are
doing, and what the hot topics are in that industry/profession. Have your 60-second pitch; and
do not talk too much about yourself unless you are being asked for more information. It is
important to sell yourself in a smart way, but don’t overdo it. Ask the professionals about
themselves too.

Don’t take it personally when people don’t connect with you right away. It sometimes
depends on the kind of day that they’re having, or other things that are going on in their lives.
Always keep a smile on your face.

Don’t be shy in a networking environment. People are there to help you. If things don’t go as
you want them to, don’t take it personally.

I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason, so be yourself, do the best that you
can, be honest, and you will find yourself in a place where you are meant to be.

8. If you were to give one advice to Baruch students, what would it be?

Be yourself and challenge yourself to be the best person you can be. Competition is definitely
big in any job, let alone finance. I think we should just compete with ourselves. Just try to be
better than who you were yesterday and that’s something you should never regret or feel bad
about. I think a fitting way to end this would be to paraphrase a quote from Bernard M.
Baruch himself: You don’t have to blow out the other person’s light to let your own shine.

Staying Active During the Summer

By Ajay Rattu, Peer for Career

It’s getting warmer out which means that summer is right around the corner. Summer is the time for students to not worry about tests and just soak in some sun and relax. While enjoying the weather and relaxing is great, there is also plenty of time to to spruce up your resume as a student and gain experience in your field of interest. Three main activities that you can add to your summer are: landing an internship, securing a summer job, and volunteering your time to help the community.

Landing a summer internship, whether paid or unpaid, may be one of the best things a student can do to prepare for to finding a job after graduation. An internship not only provides more content for your resume, but more importantly, it also provides you with experience. Experience is always welcome, whether the opportunity was ultimately a good match for you or not, because something can always be learned through experience. The experience you obtain from an internship helps you, as a student, decide if your field of interest is a great fit for you. Through an internship, a student will learn and understand some of the daily responsibilities of their position of interest. Some of the questions students may have, such as, “What kind of things will I be doing on a daily basis?” and “Who do I interact with?” will be answered. Through that experience and a better understanding of the position and industry, the student is able to effectively gauge if they are the right fit for that particular line of work.

Another way a student can gain experience in the summer is through a summer job. Obtaining a summer job is a great way to increase your overall skills and also to create some type of income for yourself. The summer income can assist in a student’s semester expenses. Expenses like tuition, transportation, and food can be taken care of either partially or wholly with the summer income. Along with the summer job and income there is something students should learn to master, which is budgeting! By budgeting their expenses for the semester, students can focus more on their academics rather than stressing if they will need to find work mid-semester.

Although internships summer jobs are important, taking part in some type of volunteer work is also beneficial to a student. Volunteer work and community service is a great way to stay active during the summer while gaining interactive experience. Regardless of the type of assistance a student provides, the student will gain more knowledge either in the work itself or on how to interact with others.
Other suggestions for the summer that may be useful for students are to learn a new skill and to continue reading through the summer. By learning a new skill a student can increase their knowledge and also incorporate it to their resume. Hopefully as a student you are able to do at least one of these things to pave the way to a dream job after graduation. Enjoy your summer!

Alumni Interview: Kamran Malik

By Jiaxin Karen Lu, Peer for Career

Kamran Malik is a Baruch alumnus who graduated in the year of 2005, with a major in Computer Information Systems and a minor in Graphic Communications. He currently works at EY as a Senior Consultant. Please see the following advice he has for students.

1. Could you tell us a little bit about your experience in Baruch? Did you participate in any clubs or organizations?

I was involved in the student leadership team called T.E.A.M. Baruch. I taught Freshman Seminar classes and helped new freshmen get acclimated to Baruch. Within T.E.A.M. Baruch were branches of all kinds, including Peers for Careers. After an intense training on how to make the best possible resume and stand out in front of employers, I assisted Baruch students with their resumes and helped them prepare for interviews by holding mock interviews.

2. Please name some steps that helped you obtain your first full time job.
I was fortunate enough to work at the Starr Career Development Center while at Baruch, so I was very on top of my job search from the beginning of my college career. I started interning at Citigroup after my first year in college. My summer internship turned into a part-time internship. While working at Starr, I saw that Citigroup was interviewing for an Analyst program, which I immediately applied to, and I was offered a position. What helped me most was the motivation from watching other students try hard and take time out of their lives to better their interviewing skills and improve their resumes.

3. What are the qualities that are the most valuable for your current position and your company?
I am currently in consulting, where networking and selling yourself is key. You should be able to speak to different levels of management and establish relationships with those individuals. Also, try to be part of the “best of the best” – this means get certified, or take higher education courses whenever you have availability to do so.

4. Could you tell us the challenges you faced when you first started your full-time job?
My biggest challenge was my lack of industry knowledge compared to my peers, because I was fresh out of school, and working among many senior level people, I felt a little intimidated. I was expected to know a lot because I was an intern there, but I really lacked in that area compared to the rest of the team. Fortunately, I was blessed with a wonderful team that helped me in every way possible and guided me to the right courses to excel.

5. If you were to give one piece of advice to Baruch students, what would it be?
Network. Network with everyone! You never know when you may need them, or they need you. Invite everyone you meet to your LinkedIn list. I like to try to find a common ground with someone and have them remember me that way. Have an “elevator pitch” ready to be able to sell yourself to them. If you are an intern, and are taking the elevator up with the CEO, you want to be able to say something to them, to have them remember you.