Manu Phatak » Experience
Why I am so great..
Graduating from a fine 4-year university is not a sure-fire way of getting the job that you want. Expectations have grown exponentially and I get the impression employers value proof of execution. My attempt here is to show that--I have large thoughts and even bigger intentions, but--in this world I have proven capacity to "deliver".
Business Analyst Intern
JP Morgan - Investment Bank Technology: Core Processing North American Equities Plan (IBT CP NA Equities Plan)
For Summer 2008 I worked out of the Newark, DE office for JP Morgan. I filled a support role for a plan team working on a variety of different projects. I participated in implementing the quarterly release of fairly ubiquitous, vendor-managed processing system, creating and distributing management newsletters, and designing a training platform for globally-released application.
The take-aways were about understanding the value of project management and business process analysis. I left with a practical and applicable understanding of IT solutions and Financial Markets. The keys of success for the internship were to test what I have learned in the classroom in the real-world and to bring the practicality of the "real-world" back to the classroom.
Resident Assistant (RA)
Temple University - Elmira Jeffries
Chances are you were not a fan of your RA when you lived in university housing--it happens.
I was a RA for Temple University for the 2007-2008 academic year; my building, Elmira Jeffries, housed about 130 residents, 36 of which were (more or less) my responsibility. I created a variety of programs and events throughout the school year, I made myself available for ad-hoc "advising", and, at some points, I confronted and resolved serious issues. I was the mentor for the building's Executive Senate, which is a representative resident group; my duties to them was limited to managing the scope of their work and making campus resources available to them--they were fairly self-sufficient.
It is important to me to understand that the value of this experience is completely relevant to my career path. A large part of my experience was about analyzing and understanding the culture in my building and tailoring it to the point that it actually encourages academic, professional, personal, and social progress--understand you can't force these things. This experience left my leadership and my confidence finely tuned with excellence.
