Interviews
Interviews start this Friday and first years are busy getting their acts together. For those interested in consulting they have what are called "cases" to crack.
In simple terms a case is a hypothetical situation about a company that needs the advise of a consultant to help them increase their profits. The student then explains how he thinks the client should go about his business, it involves calculations and things of that nature.
To be on top of the game, the students have to practice with year mates, second years and people who are already in the field. Sam practiced with first years and most of them said he was good to go, he practiced with second years and they told him he needed to work on his approach in certain areas, he practiced with alumni and he was told, in the words of one of the guys that he "sucked" and that no body would ever employ him. That was such a blow, it took him a while to recover. As if that wasn't bad enough, check out some experiences the now second years shared regarding their actual interviews;
I hope no one got my favorite question from today: "Why did you put your
clubs in this order on your resume?" That seemed like a great way to
evaluate people.
My favorite question of the day was "did you think of being a
politician?" Note: there is nothing on my resume or cover letter that
would suggest an interest in politics.
Whatever...
Mine was "Are you sure you should be at Wharton?"
My guy stopped in the middle of the interview to send an email to her
assistant and answered a call right after that, then cut it short to
catch a train back to NY.
My guy started the interview with "you are standing between me and
lunch"
For my scheduled 5 pm interview (that didn't get started until 5:15 because he was running late)....
My guy glanced at his watch at least three times, made two references to catching a 6 pm train, didn't take any notes, and midway through the interview started asking me a question, only to pause and say, "Wait, have I already asked you this?"
I found these last two quite hilarious;
At my rate, I should be learning to ask the question “do you want fries with that?”
I just had a guy cut me off mid-sentence and say the following: “Off the record, has any one told you sound exactly like Steve Buscemi?”
The good news is they all got job offers and come August they will be off.
In simple terms a case is a hypothetical situation about a company that needs the advise of a consultant to help them increase their profits. The student then explains how he thinks the client should go about his business, it involves calculations and things of that nature.
To be on top of the game, the students have to practice with year mates, second years and people who are already in the field. Sam practiced with first years and most of them said he was good to go, he practiced with second years and they told him he needed to work on his approach in certain areas, he practiced with alumni and he was told, in the words of one of the guys that he "sucked" and that no body would ever employ him. That was such a blow, it took him a while to recover. As if that wasn't bad enough, check out some experiences the now second years shared regarding their actual interviews;
I hope no one got my favorite question from today: "Why did you put your
clubs in this order on your resume?" That seemed like a great way to
evaluate people.
My favorite question of the day was "did you think of being a
politician?" Note: there is nothing on my resume or cover letter that
would suggest an interest in politics.
Whatever...
Mine was "Are you sure you should be at Wharton?"
My guy stopped in the middle of the interview to send an email to her
assistant and answered a call right after that, then cut it short to
catch a train back to NY.
My guy started the interview with "you are standing between me and
lunch"
For my scheduled 5 pm interview (that didn't get started until 5:15 because he was running late)....
My guy glanced at his watch at least three times, made two references to catching a 6 pm train, didn't take any notes, and midway through the interview started asking me a question, only to pause and say, "Wait, have I already asked you this?"
I found these last two quite hilarious;
At my rate, I should be learning to ask the question “do you want fries with that?”
I just had a guy cut me off mid-sentence and say the following: “Off the record, has any one told you sound exactly like Steve Buscemi?”
The good news is they all got job offers and come August they will be off.
I'm upset on yours and Sam's behalf! Being told that 'you suck' isn't very constructive feedback is it. In what ways does he suck, and how can he improve. What were the good things he did! It seems the second years were wiser than the alumni because at least they know how to give feedback!!
ReplyDeleteTell Sam for me to ignore those stupid alumni comments because they are totally unhelpful and designed to just put him down. They are not interested in seeing him improve his lot in life- and I'd rather that such negative people have no say in my life. I cancel all negative statements they've made over his life in the name of Jesus
I really am upset!
It's a tough world, that said, it hasn't been all bad, he got some good comments as well. It's just that the stakes get higher as you go up and I think the alumni was just trying to get the very best out of Sam. People see your potential and push you so that you can be the best you.
ReplyDeleteWe appreciate your feelings.
"You suck"!! What kind of a statement is that? Hand them over to me, looks like there is a black eye right here with someone's name on it!
ReplyDeleteAhem, totally composed now. I happen to have the honour of working with a guy who thrives on bashing people down, what do we do? We remind ourselves of how much we put in and how much we are worth, always seems to make the blows soften!
All the best with the future, Sam and MO