The high-powered world of investment banking requires perseverance, attention to detail, a capacity to learn, and effective communication. In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, proud Houston native Jordan Aré talks about how Rice Business helped him tap those qualities in himself. Read on to learn how Aré not only honed his skills in the MBA program, but acquired powerful new ones to thrive at Goldman Sachs.
Jordan Aré, Rice Business MBA ’22, Investment Banking Associate at Goldman Sachs
Jordan Aré, Rice Business MBA ’22, Investment Banking Associate at Goldman SachsAge: 30
Hometown: Houston, TX
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Dartmouth College, Government Major
Graduate Business School, Graduation Year and Concentration (if applicable): Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business
Pre-MBA Work Experience (years, industry): Morgan Stanley Sales and Trading (5-yrs)
Post-MBA Work Experience (years, industry): Goldman Sachs, Investment Banking (1yr)
Why did you choose to attend business school?
I reached an inflection point in my prior role where I was seeking a new challenge and was seeking a holistic immersive experience that would provide an opportunity to enhance my existing skills while exploring new skillsets.
Why Rice? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
As a native Houstonian, I have always been familiar with the prestige of Rice and it has always been a feeder into investment banking opportunities. My undergraduate experience at Dartmouth was amazing, especially because it had a strong sense of community, community was also an important factor when deciding what MBA program to attend.
What about your MBA experience prepared you for your current career?
Investment banking is a dynamic career that requires a high level of attention to detail, capacity to learn, effective communication skills, and perseverance daily. My MBA experience prepared me to effectively balance and compartmentalize multiple responsibilities at once. The structure of the multi-disciplinary case study method enhanced my problem-solving skills.
What was your internship during business school? How did that inform your post-MBA career choice?
Goldman Sachs Investment Banking. It provided me with a very realistic experience and view of a career in investment banking.
Why did you choose your current company? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to work?
Regardless of your background and professional/personal achievements, Goldman Sachs, by nature of its bright and hardworking employees, will provide opportunities to learn and extract value from your experience. I knew that Goldman, similar to business school, would create an environment where I would be pushed to grow beyond my existing experiences and knowledge.
Advice to current MBA students:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of the job search?
Have a good understanding of potential career interests before going to business school. Truly understand what factors are driving your WHY to applying to business school and what you hope to get out of the experience.
Doing your research on what opportunities exist early and taking inventory of personal alignment was critical for me.
–One thing you would change or do differently?
One thing I would do differently is challenge yourself in an entrepreneurial way. Business school is the best time to think of yourself and skillsets as an entity, and in doing so, thinking through what your personal and experiential currency, coupled with your interests, looks like as a business.
–What piece of advice do you wish you had been given during your MBA?
I spoke to many people prior to getting my MBA, I would encourage people to connect with individuals that are a generation or two post-MBA and see how an MBA has impacted their professional and personal lives.
