Today, as I met with a friend in the LSR, he greeted me with a broad smile. "You know, Bain and BCG both let me know they just love me so much, they want to offer me a spot. We just have to go through some formality of 2 rounds of interviews before it gets finalized." This is a friend that I'd gotten to know well during Ski Trip, and man did he make my day.
Even walking to a recruiting event later this afternoon, thinking about his statement had me grinning. If there ever was the right mindset to take about this ambiguous, impossibly-heavy-workloaded, and intensely stressful quarter, this guy has got it. We stand at roughly the halfway point of the intricate recruiting mating dance; most of the applications were due today at 5pm (another spate is due next week), and today the first wave of the closed list invites were sent out. I'm not going to rehash an explanation of the Kellogg on-campus recruiting process when an alum has already done an excellent job of giving one, but suffice to say today was a big milestone for those looking at consulting (which recruits 2-3 weeks earlier before other industries). There is still a long, long sleep-deprived way to go as we rush through the next two weeks trying to prepare for interviews, but from listening in on the buzz going around, the majority of students are satisfied with their responses.
I know the next few weeks are infamous for the tension and worry that spreads around the Atrium like an infectious disease, but I also remember the incredible amount of focus given last quarter to, in retrospect, silly things. It turns out, people I know got closed listed whether their grades were good or mediocre, whether they attended every single networking event or didn't attend a single one, whether they brought the wrong company's umbrella or not. I'm not going to say hard work didn't matter, because that would be silly. But I don't think the recruiting process deserves the amount of obsession that 500+ Type A's crammed in a small space give it.
I think one of the most important things I have gained [and will continue to gain] at business school has been perspective. Some of it has been self-discovered, some of it has been bestowed upon by friends, and some of it has been forced upon me by circumstances I would never wish for but have learned from regardless. As I learn to keep things in perspective, I find that I am learning to let go of things that don't matter, keep my sanity, and that it is truly a skill to be able to roll with the punches and adapt. There is a LOT of advice heaped upon first years regarding what to do/not to do, from the CMC, advice websites, second year mentors, peer students, etc... I say take all of it with a grain of salt. Everybody is well-meaning, but in the end, do what feels right, natural, and comfortable to you.
All of us will survive the recruiting season. I dare us to face it not as an obstacle, but as a gateway. For that's what it is, a gateway: to career improvement, professional development, financial security, whatever it is we came for. This quarter will be a real test for me; I don't think I have ever tried to do so much in so little time before in my life. But I am not fearful, I am excited. Because I know, 5 years ago, I would have fallen apart under the workload, lost my sense of humor under the strain. Now, I am challenging myself to not only make it through, but do it while staying (as my ex-boss put it) "bouncy." Because I know if I can stay positive, truly be smiling throughout the next few weeks, then success will naturally follow.
Yeah cool post. I agree that it's definitely a delicate tight rope walk trying to balance working as hard as you can to achieve a certain result with obsessive preparation. This is especially true in graduate school recruiting, where most people are attending for that very purpose of finding a job and a good number because of the discontentment associated with past job experiences. This last point can be quite a motivating factor. I like your idea to try to keep perspective, but as you suggested, that may be easier said than done for some of those "500+ type As in b-school."
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your job search!