Busy!
The past 24 hours have been incredibly busy for me and it is only late in the afternoon that I have had the time to check news and the various blogs I follow. About 60% of the time was spent in work related stuff with another 20% in taking a friend to the hospital for surgery and ensuring that my name is spelt right as the emergency contact. The final 20% which is probably what this post will expound on in detail was my interview with Chicago.
As they say third time lucky, I finally managed to walk out smiling from an interview. This was by far my best interview of the season and certainly one where I managed to hit all the points I wanted too and make my case very coherently in a very logical fashion. I am sure that my past experiences helped me craft my story to a very acceptable level allowing me to stop worrying about my story and concentrate on the delivery style. Coming from a very traditional background and moving into a very non-traditional role, I face the added burden of laying the groundwork for my dreams to be taken seriously. Having more time to explain things in detail certainly helped my cause. The personal settings also make a big difference. I don't know but there is something about speaking your innermost thoughts in a public place like Starbucks that makes you feel naked.
Getting back on track, I interviewed with a fairly recent GSB graduate who interestingly was working on the buy side of a fund. The interview was held in the alumnus office in the evening and contrary to the image of investment bankers working LATE in the night, the buy side bankers obviously get out of office by 5:00 pm. The place was completely deserted by the time I got there and there were almost no cars left in the parking lot when I got out (but for a couple of limo's). It did my heart good to just breath air that dripped RICH RICH RICH, MONEY MONEY MONEY with every inhalation. Wow it felt good! Compared to technology firms, bankers sure have better office furnishings.
Again I digress, well the interview lasted for a little over 90 mins. I had made a decent impression by being proactive about the meeting to start with, and though the interviewer dint know much about the field I worked in, I was given the impression of quite competence. The conversation started with a cursory glance of my resume, and jumped right in with reasons behind why I decided to attend the schools I did, and what I learnt there. The conversation then moved to some trick questions that I negotiated adroitly (luck or skill, is anyone's guess). We then touched upon my job profile, jumped back into my track record and where I wanted to go, we discussed career goals and then got into my professional experience. By this time I was at full stride, very comfortable with the line of questioning that explored the thoughts behind my story. For the first time in all my interviews, I felt truly comfortable speaking about my achievements and management style. We discussed why I wanted to apply to Chicago (Definitely need to thank onmyway here for helping me prepare for this question), this was around when I felt that I had achieved all my goals for this interview, laid to rest any doubts over my candidacy as well as my passion and potential. I was now in cruise mode coasting gently towards the end.
Shortly before the interview section came to a close, I had a small unprofessional moment, I had forgotten to turn my cell phone off and it rang, causing us both to jump out of our skins. Neither of us were initially sure where the ringing was coming from, until I was told that it was probably mine. Apologizing profusely I turned the volume off, cursing myself for the slip up. I just hope that isn't a mark against me, but other than that I must say it was a great conversation. It was very frank and positively the best experience I have had. I learnt a lot about the program and a no nonsense glimpse into how exactly it can help students and alumni.
As they say third time lucky, I finally managed to walk out smiling from an interview. This was by far my best interview of the season and certainly one where I managed to hit all the points I wanted too and make my case very coherently in a very logical fashion. I am sure that my past experiences helped me craft my story to a very acceptable level allowing me to stop worrying about my story and concentrate on the delivery style. Coming from a very traditional background and moving into a very non-traditional role, I face the added burden of laying the groundwork for my dreams to be taken seriously. Having more time to explain things in detail certainly helped my cause. The personal settings also make a big difference. I don't know but there is something about speaking your innermost thoughts in a public place like Starbucks that makes you feel naked.
Getting back on track, I interviewed with a fairly recent GSB graduate who interestingly was working on the buy side of a fund. The interview was held in the alumnus office in the evening and contrary to the image of investment bankers working LATE in the night, the buy side bankers obviously get out of office by 5:00 pm. The place was completely deserted by the time I got there and there were almost no cars left in the parking lot when I got out (but for a couple of limo's). It did my heart good to just breath air that dripped RICH RICH RICH, MONEY MONEY MONEY with every inhalation. Wow it felt good! Compared to technology firms, bankers sure have better office furnishings.
Again I digress, well the interview lasted for a little over 90 mins. I had made a decent impression by being proactive about the meeting to start with, and though the interviewer dint know much about the field I worked in, I was given the impression of quite competence. The conversation started with a cursory glance of my resume, and jumped right in with reasons behind why I decided to attend the schools I did, and what I learnt there. The conversation then moved to some trick questions that I negotiated adroitly (luck or skill, is anyone's guess). We then touched upon my job profile, jumped back into my track record and where I wanted to go, we discussed career goals and then got into my professional experience. By this time I was at full stride, very comfortable with the line of questioning that explored the thoughts behind my story. For the first time in all my interviews, I felt truly comfortable speaking about my achievements and management style. We discussed why I wanted to apply to Chicago (Definitely need to thank onmyway here for helping me prepare for this question), this was around when I felt that I had achieved all my goals for this interview, laid to rest any doubts over my candidacy as well as my passion and potential. I was now in cruise mode coasting gently towards the end.
Shortly before the interview section came to a close, I had a small unprofessional moment, I had forgotten to turn my cell phone off and it rang, causing us both to jump out of our skins. Neither of us were initially sure where the ringing was coming from, until I was told that it was probably mine. Apologizing profusely I turned the volume off, cursing myself for the slip up. I just hope that isn't a mark against me, but other than that I must say it was a great conversation. It was very frank and positively the best experience I have had. I learnt a lot about the program and a no nonsense glimpse into how exactly it can help students and alumni.
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