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The beauty of a human-level machine
I have always been fascinated by human psychology and how our thoughts differ. To me, exploring how different our minds work is not only joyful but also a journey that requires a lot of patience and sympathy. I grow to hate the coined terms of psychological...
My social network dream, five years later
Very few people know about this story of mine. These narratives are indeed the stories less told, just because, who’d like to publicise their failures, right? It was my first shot at entrepreneurship when I was still a final year student at LSE. I remembered a...
My Personal Finance System – Part 2
Last month, I pondered over the idea of writing about the various systems I have in place in my life to automate and reduce its mundanity as much as possible; since some readers seem to be interested in the practical steps of how I manage different compartments of my...
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The beauty of a human-level machine
I have always been fascinated by human psychology and how our thoughts differ. To me, exploring how different our minds work is not only joyful but also a journey that requires a lot of patience and sympathy. I grow to hate the coined terms of psychological...
My social network dream, five years later
Very few people know about this story of mine. These narratives are indeed the stories less told, just because, who’d like to publicise their failures, right? It was my first shot at entrepreneurship when I was still a final year student at LSE. I remembered a...
My Personal Finance System – Part 2
Last month, I pondered over the idea of writing about the various systems I have in place in my life to automate and reduce its mundanity as much as possible; since some readers seem to be interested in the practical steps of how I manage different compartments of my...
Earn vs. Make
The vivid memories come back to me of a winter night in the Alps when I was skiing with a group of friends in finance and banking a few years ago. At that time, I wanted to apply for a Master in Computer Science but could not afford the international tuition fees. I...
Follow The Money
The below is a guest article for the LSE blog. ***** I had a call today with someone who's in her final year at university, coming to doing an internship with GS this summer, but also working on her start-up venture. She was offered £50,000 for 20% of her company...
$100,000 and the price of freedom
A long while ago, when I was on the first date with the Señor, I was admittedly quite tipsy because I had been in my boss' BBQ gathering for the whole day earlier. His wife was an excellent and charming host who kept pouring us more and more wine throughout the day....
I made associate
It was in the middle of a busy afternoon last November when I had back-to-back calls on a live transaction. After I just hung up on a colleague, my dealer board rung of an internal number from Paris. “It’s Mai speaking. May I ask who’s calling?” I picked up the call...
What would I do if I weren’t afraid?
I remembered the years of the 1990s when I grew up in a small village in Vietnam. In those years, one of our childhood’s trophies were Coca-cola - the soft drink. The soft drink was considered a “treat” to kids, reserved only for special occasions such as weddings,...
100 Bullet Points For An Analyst
Recently, I have been asked for advice by a few people with regards to their incoming IBD analyst positions. For their benefit, I tried to find this helpful-but-lesser-known list. 1. First impressions last a long time 2. Never be late 3. Know your place 4. Believe...
Not getting that job offer after the internship
The title, albeit painful, is obvious. HR has just called/emailed you with some kind words wishing you the best as you did not get that job offer you yearned for after the internship. As soon as you heard they murmured the word “Unfortunately…”, the months ahead for...
“Being Important”… And The 10 Commandments Of Goldman Sachs
*All of my articles are of my own individual opinions and is by no means representative of any institution’s views. When I was an IBD intern in 2013, we listened to a talk from Lloyd Blankfein who shared several bits of advice for summer interns. (YouTube Link) One of...
How Can You Have A Lot Of Time And Money At The Same Time?
I have been travelling a lot lately. One observation I find, particularly true for long-haul and international flights, is that the elder travels a lot. In fact, on most long-haul flights, you'll often find elder (50 years old and beyond) travelling than youngsters....
(The Improved) “Student Seeking Advice”
The below post was originally written and published in April. I have done some editorial work to improve it as well as obtaining the consent of the people mentioned below so hope you'd enjoy this re-published version. ****** Having put my email address on the...
Ambition, Discipline, Purpose
*Written at Zurich airport I remember the day when I left Vietnam to the UK 5 years ago: 8 September 2009. I was 16 and had never taken a plane before in my life. It was frightening somewhat to step away from the warmth of family, although I have lived by myself for 7...
3 Months In The Job And This Is What I Learnt
The below are actual lessons I learnt from the mistakes I made in the past 3 months as an investment banking analyst: 1. Read or listen to the instructions carefully (Listen and note down words for words, or read it words for words. Because otherwise, you might...
What Being Wealthy Actually Means
Wealth is among the most prominent desires that human spent their life in pursuit of. It is paid with blood, tear, anger, efforts, one’s own happiness and sometimes one’s own life. However, little were discussed why we actually sacrifice a great deal of our life...
5 ‘smart’ Tips For Spring And Summer Interns
Over my three years at LSE, I have done so many internships and work experiences that I now deleted many of them from my LinkedIn profile because it has become too long. The workplace became a severe obsession. Some of my friends called me the “Internship Queen”, an...
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