Canisius MBA

Nick Tober Canisius MBA’08

Nick Tober is a staunch proponent of experiential education. Virtually every day he applies concepts acquired in his MBA classes to some aspect of managing QuadGear, a company he and four classmates launched just two years ago. “There’s a certain knowledge you take away from actually doing things—trial and error,” he says. The company began on the basis of a business plan Tober and his cohorts wrote for a class in Entrepreneurship during the last semester of their senior year at Canisius College. “As soon as the gears got put in motion, we said, ‘You know, we could actually do this,’” Tober recalls. “We were passionate about seeing it up and running.” As members of the Canisius chapter of the community service organization Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), the fledgling entrepreneurs decided to use profits generated by the company to fund SIFE-sponsored community outreach and consulting programs.

Today, operating from rent-free headquarters in the basement of the college chapel, QuadGear turns out such customized merchandise as apparel, pens, mugs, fleece blankets, lanyards—”anything you can think of,” Tober explains. “Our primary business is Canisius—clubs, departments, special events”—but recently they’ve expanded their customer base to include Shea’s Buffalo Centre for the Performing Arts and other organizations in the community.Their bottom line has expanded as well, from $20,000 at the end of the first seven-month fiscal year to nearly double that total this year. The staff includes 14 employees, of whom 12 are undergraduates and two, including Tober, are MBA students. Tober hopes the business will become a magnet for undergraduate business students who decide to earn an MBA before entering the corporate world. Running the company provides “real experience, and employers will recognize that in job interviews,” he says.

In the meantime, he’s working to fuse the didactic and practical aspects of business education at the college. He assists in teaching a business course called The Apprentice, alongside faculty advisor Dr. Patricia Hutton, professor of economics, “to help in succession planning for QuadGear” and address the management turnaround that will occur inevitably every few years as the company’s student employees graduate. Right now the course provides Economics credit or a free business elective credit at the undergraduate level, and Tober hopes to secure academic credit for MBA students who enroll as well.

He also envisions the creation of a Center for Ideas at the college that would forge closer links between the Career Center, the Wehle School of Business, and other departments, as well as promote community-based learning opportunities to further grow experiential learning. Toward that end, he and current SIFE President Jonathan Casey have co-authored and submitted a proposal to the college administration that would “take the college to the next level.”

Clark Banach has a soft spot in his heart for struggling artists.

Banach, his sister and business partner Dean Bourque are all artists who have experienced the challenges of trying to make a living as a full-time artist. Banach knows how tough it is. That’s why in 2006 he founded Creative Hope - a nonprofit agency to help those in underserved communities explore and develop their art and music skills.

“I have to sit here and read spreadsheets all day,” he said. “I don’t mind, but if I had my (way), I’d be performing or doing poetry or something like that. I want to produce opportunities for artists, who have the best stories to tell.”

Last year was an organizing year for Creative Hope, which offers resources for those locally seeking to express themselves: an art gallery, art production and merchandising company and a Web content management company. An Erie, Pa.-based recording studio is also part of the mix.

Interview Horror Stories

The recruiter asks: What is your greatest weakness? The MBA responds: Kryptonite.
The recuiter from a tobacco company asks: Do you mind if I smoke? The MBA responds: Yes, I mind. I am allergic to cigarette smoke

Notes from recruiters
1. Candidate said he was so well-qualified [that] if he didn’t get the job, it would prove that the company’s management was incompetent.
2. Stretched out on the floor to fill out the job application.
3. Brought her large dog to the interview.
4. Chewed bubble gum and constantly blew bubbles.
5. Candidate kept giggling through serious interview.
6. She wore a Walkman and said she could listen to me and the music at the same time.
7. Balding candidate abruptly excused himself. Returned to office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece.
8. Applicant challenged interviewer to arm wrestle.
9. Asked to see interviewer’s resume to see if the personnel executive was qualified to judge the candidate.
10. Announced she hadn’t had lunch and proceeded to eat a hamburger and french fries in the interviewer’s office.
11. Without saying a word, candidate stood up and walked out during the middle of the interview.
12. Man wore jogging suit to interview for position as financial vice president.
13. Said if he were hired, he would demonstrate his loyalty by having the corporate logo tattooed on his forearm.
14. Interrupted to phone his therapist for advice on answering specific interview questions.
15. Wouldn’t get out of the chair until I would hire him. I had to call the police.
16. When I asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap dancing around my office.
17. Had a little pinball game and challenged me to play with him.
18. Bounced up and down on my carpet and told me I must be highly thought of by the company because I was given such a thick carpet.
19. Took a brush out of my purse, brushed his hair and left.
20. Pulled out a Polaroid camera and snapped a flash picture of me. Said he collected photos of everyone who interviewed him.
21. Candidate asked me if I would put on a suit jacket to insure that the offer was formal.
22. Said he wasn’t interested because the position paid too much.
23. While I was on a long-distance phone call, the applicant took out a copy of Penthouse, and looked through the photos only, stopping longest at the centerfold.
24. During the interview, an alarm clock went off from the candidate’s brief case. He took it out, shut it off, apologized and said he had to leave for another interview.
25. A telephone call came in for the job applicant. It was from his wife. His side of the conversation went like this: “Which company? When do I start? What’s the salary?” I said, “I assume you’re not interested in conducting the interview any further.” He promptly responded, “I am as long as you’ll pay me more.” I didn’t hire him, but later found out there was no other job offer. It was a scam to get a higher offer.
26. An applicant came in wearing only one shoe. She explained that the other shoe was stolen off her foot in the bus.
27. His attache [case] opened when he picked it up and the contents spilled, revealing ladies’ undergarments and assorted makeup and perfume.
28. He came to the interview with a moped and left it in the reception area. He didn’t want it to get stolen, and stated that he would require indoor parking for the moped.
29. He took off his right shoe and sock, removed a medicated foot powder and dusted it on the foot and in the shoe. While he was putting back the shoe and sock, he mentioned that he had to use the powder four times a day, and this was the time.
30. Candidate said he really didn’t want to get a job, but the employment office needed proof that he was looking for one.
31. He whistled when the interviewer was talking.
32. Asked who the lovely babe was, pointing to the picture on my desk. When I said it was my wife, he asked if she was home now and wanted my phone number. I called security.
33. She threw-up on my desk, and immediately started asking questions about the job, like nothing had happened.
34. Pointing to a black case he carried into my office, he said that If he was not hired, the bomb would go off. Disbelieving, I began to state why he would never be hired and that I was going to call the police. He then reached down to the case, flipped a switch and ran. No one was injured, but I did need to get a new desk. (purported to have appeared in The Wall Street Journal 1989)

Tips on Buying Interview Suits

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Tips on Buying an Interview SuitThe suit is the vehicle by which you create a first impression, says Norman Fryman, former CEO of The Grief Companies and current consultant to Bidermann, manufacturers of tailored men’s clothing. He goes on to explain that a suit’s silhouette, drape, and color provoke a conscious thought in the mind of the recruiter of what you are all about.

Let’s face it, a recruiter not only judges your resume and communication skills, but will be influenced by the visual image projected by your suit. The recruiter wants your clothes to say, “I am productive, I know the rules, I can fit in.” For this reason, you must think seriously about its selection and purchase.

This easy checklist should help you in your selection.

Your Shopping Checklist

First, decide what type of job you’re interviewing for. What’s the industry? Advertising jobs allow greater apparel flair than do investment banking jobs. Sales and traders can be more expressive than those in corporate finance; commercial bankers are more staid than investment bankers; and Silicon Valley jobs allow even greater variations in dress.

Second, allocate a day from your busy schedule to shopping. Focus your thoughts on the purchase of your suit. When shopping, men should wear shoes, trousers, and a dress shirt with a collar. If you try on a suit in a t-shirt and high-top sneakers, neither you nor your tailor will get a true picture of the fit. Women should wear a bodysuit under their blouse if they plan to try on blouse and jacket ensembles. A bodysuit will also eliminate the tuck-in problem during interviews.

Third, go to a store. Try on a variety of colors, patterns, sizes, styles, and cuts. Tell a knowledgeable sales associate that you need an interview suit for your specific industry. Try on an expensive suit, just to get an idea about its fit, the drape of its fabric, and the comfort of the suit and the fabric’s finish.

Fourth, men should choose a wool suit. There are four major types of wool: Worsted, Tropical, Flannel and Tweed. Forget tweed, especially if you have a wide body. Concentrate on worsteds, flannels, and tropicals and their weights. Wool blends are blends among wools and other natural fibers or synthetics (synthetics are not natural, they are made from chemicals). Hartmarx, Fezza, and Hugo Boss use soft flannels. Read the tag on the suit’s sleeve to discover the fiber content. MBA Style magazine recommends that men stick with a 100% wool suit for the interview suit. Women can choose wool, wool blends, linen, and a variety of natural and synthetic blends that mimic wool. Linens do not travel as well as wools, tweeds, and synthetics — meaning they wrinkle quickly, so if you’ll be getting callbacks that involve travel, you may wish to avoid linen.

Fifth, have a price range in mind, but try on suits with lower and higher price points.

Sixth, try on the suit. If it doesn’t fit, don’t buy it, even if it’s on sale. Never sacrifice fit for color, fabric, or price. Don’t get caught up in an embarrassment over the sizes. Sure, I’d like to be a 40 Long. But I am not. I am a 42-Long. Okay maybe even a 43. Same goes for women. Although a model, like Pamela Anderson, is a size 6, the average American woman is a size 10-12. As a matter of fact, the average American woman is 5 feet-4 inches tall, brown-haired, 143 pounds, with size 7.5-B shoes. Therefore, just forget about what size the tag says, and find a garment that fits right and projects the proper image.

Seventh, you can change a suit’s fit, but not its design. Meaning, you can alter the sleeves and hems, but shoulders and lapels should not be changed. By the way, any alterations should be measured by the 1/4 inch, at least.

Eighth, look in a three-way mirror, no matter how painful it might be to see your big nose in profile, your butt, your bald spot, or the cellulite on your calves. Now, Men should check the suit from top to bottom in relation to the checklist below. Women can skip the part on trousers and sizes.

Your Quality Checklist

Men’s Suit Sizes There are over 21 sizes for man’s jacket, from 36 to 48 inches, from extra short to extra long. Try on a few jackets to find your right size and length.

Men’s Fabrics and Patterns As noted above, choose wool. Worsted wools are lightweight for spring and summer. Gabardine wools are heavier for fall. Wool Crepes are lightweight with softer finishes. Flannel wools are heaviest.

Patterns for interview suits are limited to solids, stripes(pinstripe, chalkstripe, beaded-stripe, multistripe), Glen plaids, and checks (hounds-tooth, windowpane, and herringbone). If you’re buying a patterned suit, check whether the stripes match up to each other at the suit’s seams. Although they don’t have to, it’s better if they do.

The Collar The suit should hug the back of your neck without buckling or pulling. No more than one half inch of you dress shirt should be exposed under the suit’s collar.

Arms and Sleeves High armholes let your suit drape well, but your armholes should not feel tight or binding. The bottom of the armhole should not be digging into and irritating your armpits. Your sleeves should end about 1/2 inch above the point where your hands meet your wrist. In other word, the sleeve should end at the midpoint of your wrist bone. This will expose your shirt cuff, and even your cuff links, for the extra 1/2 inch.

Men’s Lapels Lapel styles come in high or low notches. Button your suit. The lapels should lie flat, clinging to you chest. They should not buckle or bunch up. Take your thumb and first finger, and rub the inside and the outside of the lapel together. The inside and outside lapel panels should move independently. If they don’t, your lapels have probably not been sewn, but heat-fused with glue. Hand stitched lapels usually have 14 stitches per inch, while machine stitched one have 8 per inch. The more stitching, the better.

Shoulders The suit should lie flat against your shoulder blades, with some room for growth. If a concave, river valley forms between your two shoulder blades, the back of your suit is too wide. The jacket should flow down from your shoulders, draping along your lower back, and break over your hips and seat (your butt). Your suit should entirely cover your seat.

Your Waist Can you button the suit without the buttons popping? If not, your waist is too wide for the cut of your suit. Full cut suits, like sack suits, have waists that are not tapered. European cut suits taper as the suit drops from your shoulders to your seat.

The Drop The Drop is a technical term that defines the difference between a man’s suit size and his waist. If a suit has the current average of a six-inch drop, it means that a 40 Regular suit will come with a pair of 34 inch waist trousers. Athletic fit suits will usually be cut with 8 inch drops (32″ waist with 40″ jacket).

The Gorge The Gorge is a technical term that defines the distance between the shoulders of the suit and the first button. Gorges change from season to season, and are just a function of personal and designer style. A high gorge means the first button is placed high on the suit.

Check your Buttons Tug at your buttons before you buy the suit. Make sure they’re sewn on well, and none of them are dangling. The jacket will either have two or three buttons, depending of the suit’s cut. Although the fashions from Milan and Paris are pushing the three button jacket, the two button jacket will remain the style for this Fall’s job interview schedules. Button stances is the term used to define whether the jacket buttons are sewn high on the jacket or low on the jacket. Men with athletic builds, especially those MBA’s who play rugby, look better with lower button stances. Men with beer bellies from weekly Happy Hours look better with higher button stances. The rest of us can rely on average middle stances.

The buttons that appear on your wrist cuffs are mostly for show. Well made (more expensive) suits will have real buttons and button holes for your wrist cuffs. These are called “doctors cuffs,” because doctors used to unbutton these cuffs to roll up their sleeves to deliver babies in the subways. For those MBA’s with a “roll up your sleeves” demeanor, buy a custom made suit with real buttoned cuffs.

Vents The skirt of a man’s jacket is the area below the waist. This is the domain of your vents. A suit can have a single vent, which is a vertical slit in the middle of the back of the skirt. Or it can have two vents, side vents, which are vertical slits on the left side and the right side of the suit. Or your suit can be ventless, with no vents. The average student can wear any type of vent, it’s a matter of personal style and fit. If you have a flat seat, you can wear a ventless jacket. Fuller seats should go with double, side-vents. Check in a 3-way-mirror to make sure that a big butt doesn’t make a side-vented jacket’s flap flip up like a side table. Vents should overlap each other by about 3/4 of an inch. so your trousers do not show through the vents.

Fusing of the Lapels Don’t buy a fused suit for your interviews. Better suits are constructed by sewing together the front panels of the suit (which the recruiter sees) and the inside lining (that only your shirt sees) Between the two panels is a layer of interlining. Sewing will allow the two panels to move independently, allowing the suit to drape well over your body. Sewing however costs more, so some manufacturers will heat fuse the panels together using glue. This makes the suit stiff and harder to clean and press. After several dry cleanings, fused suits will begin to bubble up and pucker when the glue dries and cracks.

Pockets Your suit should have flaps over the side pockets.

Vests In 1982, three piece suits with vests were di rigeur for interviewing. This year, vests will be hot for casual wear, but not for interviewing. However, if you decide to wear a vest, leave the bottom button undone, in homage to Britain’s King Edward VII, who initiated that style. Suits today are cut so that we may button all the buttons, but style dictates that you leave the bottom one undone.

Men’s Trousers When trying on your trousers, bend your knees and squat. Make sure the crotch is not too horizontally tight or vertically short. There should not be a horizontal crease along your lap when you are standing erect. The trouser’s front creases for each leg should cross the middle of your kneecap, or fall on the inside of your leg.

Trouser Rise The rise is the vertical area between your waistband and your crotch. If your waistband is not resting over your hips, you need a higher (longer) rise. Men who are well endowed by their creator will either dress-left or dress-right. Most men is the U.S. dress-left, so most suits have a tad more width on the upper left leg of the trouser, near the crotch. And while we are on the subject of endowment, full pleats are especially good for those buyers with fuller abdomens. Unless you’re dressing like M.C. Hammer, your interview suit trouser leg will have 19 inches of fabric surrounding your knee, and 17 1/2 inches surrounding your ankle (thus you have a tapered trouser leg). The inseam is the length between a man’s crotch and the cuffs of his pants. The break is where the cuffs of the pants lightly crumble into the front of the shoe.

Men’s Cuffs Originally designed to protect the hem, cuffs are standard fashion in business. The classic American suit has a 1.5 inch cuff, while a European suit uses a 1.25″ cuff. If your legs are short, choose a 3/4 inch cuff. It will look better. If you are big footed with a height of over 6 foot - 3 inches, you may wish to have cuffs that are closer to 2 inches. Ask your tailor. If you admire Brooks Brothers, then you should have a 1.75 inch cuff on a 3 button suit, and 1.5 inches on a 2 button suit.

Men’s Belts Your leather belt color should be coordinated with your footwear - black with black, brown with brown. (and you socks should be coordinated with your pants)

Women’s Cuts If you decide to wear a matching men’s-tailored blazer, skirt and blouse, make sure that the blazer is cut fully enough to cover your bust. The skirt should fall at mid-knee.

Women’s Skirts Since most of us interview over the winter months, choose a skirt that is fully lined with a lining materials that matches that of the skirt. Check the skirt’s waist. If the waist isn’t reinforced, the skirt might look baggy during an interview. Choose a skirt that has an extensive hem (so it can lowered if styles change). If you decide to use a zipper on your skirt, make sure it is concealed in the hem and that it’s color matches that of the skirt.

Women’s Sleeves Women should definitely avoid suits and blouses with puff sleeves. According to several bank recruiters, women should also never wear off-the-shoulder outfits.

Women’s Pleats Pleats on short skirts make them seem longer than they are.

Women’s Buttons For your interview, you should choose classic designs, one that avoid buttons that don’t unbutton. Buttons should be covered, matching, or concealed by the placket. You should try to avoid contrasting trims. Pleats on short skirts make them seem longer than they are.

Hey All,

 I know I have not posted in a while….but here is something that will cheer up you final exam blues.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vx1BTBhg4c

Call for MBA volunteers
2nd annual Jesuit MBA Care Day

Jesuit MBA Students across the country plan to give back to the community and we need your help!

Please volunteer at one or both of these events!

Buffalo Re-use
Saturday, April 12, 2008
(9am – noon)
Work on either de-constructing houses (saving salvageable unique pieces within abandoned home) or board up houses with artwork that local public school children are currently painting.

Children’s Hospital Stone Buddies
Saturday, April 12, 2008
(noon – 3pm)
Assist in running a party for terminally ill children. Activities include: organizing events and helping the kids with crafts etc. During the party, parents will be able to participate in activities that would help support them through their child’s illness.

Click here & sign up for these events now! If you have any questions please call 888-2140.

At some point during the semester, students tend to feel worn out and question the legitimacy of their MBA…Well here’s some inspirational people, that might help you thought the upcoming weeks!!!

Michael P. Healy, ’70 – Vice President of Original Movies, Disney Channel

Gene F. Jankowski ’55 – Former Chairman, CBS Broadcast Group: Chairman and CEO, Jankowski Communications

Gregory R. Maday ’70 – Senior Vice President, Warner Bros.

Mary E. Belle ’73 – President of Licensing, Jones Apparel Group

Calvin Darden ’72 – Senior Vice President, United Parcel Service; named 8th most powerful Black Executive in the U.S. by Fortune Magazine

Rocco J. Maggiotto ’72, MBA ’76 – Senior Executive Advisor, Booz Allen Hamilton

Sir George Mathewson ’72 – Chairman of the Board, Royal Bank of Scotland

John W. Rowe, M.D. ’66 – Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Aetna, Inc.; member of the Academy of Science

Daniel W. Stanton ’79 – Advisory Director, Goldman Sachs

Dennis F. Strigl ’74 – President and Chief Executive Officer, Verizon Wireless

Lt. General Peter M. Cuviello ’69 – Vice President and Managing Director, Lockheed Martin

Our One-year MBA students are honored to assist in the selection of the Buffalo Niagara Business Ethics Award. The Buffalo Niagara Business Ethics award is an annual award given to a local company that has demonstrated a commitment to Ethics with in their corporate culture and the companies surrounding community.

The recipient will then be considered for a National Ethics Award!

John Stossel, co-anchor and correspondent for ABC Television Network’s “20/20,” will speak at Canisius College on Thursday, April 3 at 7:00 p.m. in the Montante Cultural Center.  The lecture, entitled “America:  The Home of the Free and the Prosperous,” is free and open to the public.  The evening is presented under the auspices of the Canisius College Republicans’ Speakers Series and is sponsored by the Young America’s Foundation, the college’s Senate Programming Board and the College Republicans.  For more information, click here.

Citi Presentation

Monday, March 10, 2008

4:30 to 6:30 pm

Grupp Fireside Lounge

Citi will be talking about the departments at thier Amherst location and employment opportunties.

Laura McEwen Director, Graduate Business Programs Bagen 201 888-2140