One Man's Interviewing Advice
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James Bryant, 2011
Many people approach the interview process with different goals in mind. Some have no idea what they want to do and some know what they want to do, but realizes that other opportunities may exist that they haven’t heard of yet. The entire MBA experience requires students to strike the best balance possible for themselves. Balancing classes, new colleagues, social life, family life, networks, and everything else can prove quite challenging. Throw in the real reason we came back to school, a full time career opportunity, and a challenge becomes a minor miracle. The easiest thing to do in such hectic times is to start prioritizing so that you don’t run yourself into the ground with bunch of activity that gets you nowhere. The flip side that I often see overlooked is the danger of spending so much time “focusing” and “prioritizing”, that nothing gets done due to lack of action. A great way to create action and results in your search is to just “W.O.R.K.”
Waste no time. – It’s never too early to start practicing your “pitch” or your interview answers, particularly for specialized interviews such as cases.
Over prepare. - Just when you think you’ve mastered the S.A.R., P.A.R., or S.T.A.R. answer format, have someone else mock with you that you don’t know very well. Become a master of interviewing and you will have all of the choices you’d like at graduation.
Reach out to as many people and companies as you can. - This doesn’t mean you have to go through the entire process with all of them, but it’s much better to decline an interview offer than to never get it in the first place. This also lays plenty of the groundwork for 2nd year recruiting.
Keep things in perspective. You didn’t come back to school for an internship, you came back for a full time career advancement. The ideal situation is to land an internship with your dream company in your dream position. Don’t put all of your eggs in that basket. Another great way to spend your summer is with an internship that will prepare you for your dream full time job. Sometimes that means spending your summer in a city you wouldn’t live in full time, with a company you wouldn’t work for full time.
Rarely, if ever again, will such a wealth of companies and opportunities literally line up to present themselves to us the way they do for MBA students. Rarely will we have the chance to explore the different directions in which we choose to take our careers as we can right now. Have fun with the journey and don’t leave business school secretly wishing you had explored more options.