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Job Interviews Begin

After months of waiting for Kellogg to begin, and then months of attending recruiting events during the first quarter of school, interview season is finally here at Kellogg. While many of my classmates spent the last three weeks applying to jobs and bidding on positions to get a few additional interviews, last week marked the beginning of the real interview season. Every day at Jacobs, people are dressing up in suits, taking up study space to do mock interviews, and waiting in the career center to take part in interviews with firms.

Just last week interviews began here on campus. A couple of marketing jobs finally kicked off earlier in the week, starting with Coke, which hosted interviews on Tuesday. One of the big consulting firms also got underway just a few days ago, as did a few finance firms that are hosting their interviews off campus. And you can definitely tell that the time is here. Everywhere you go, there’s not only a lot of people, but also a lot of nervous energy and a lot of people working hard.

To get one of these coveted interviews though, you first have to successfully apply on the Kellogg online application system, which requires submitting a resume and cover letter and filling out an online application form on the company website. But even if you weren’t successful in that process you could also bid points to interview for the position, since we’re all given a total of 800 points to bid on jobs. But some jobs tend to go for a lot of points, so bidding isn’t quite as easy as it sounds.

For some, the process is actually quite strategic, and for others it can take quite a bit of planning. It’s no wonder there are less people at the local Keg these days.  Not only do people don’t have the energy after a full days events but they also don’t have the time, since we still have to figure out school work as well.

But don’t worry, good things will happen if you put in genuine effort. At least that’s what people are saying. But it’s hard to imagine that that’s the case for everyone here.

Most students didn’t get “ALL” of the job interviews we wanted. And some missed out on quite a few and have to employ a bidding strategy. The logical next question is, well what went wrong? Especially if you had straight As, had solid business experience before school, have a couple of extra degrees in your back pocket, and can pull the 99th percentile GMAT card if you’re questioned by employers.

Every now and then, some people submit the wrong cover letter. Whoops! But fortunately that’s pretty rare for Kellogg students. Others submit way too many applications, which is not quite as rare. In fact, it’s possible I even fall into that camp. For them, maybe focus is an issue, and you you should have spent more time refining materials for less job applications.  Others couldn’t decide on what they liked and may have missed the boat on certain jobs. And finally, some students got interviews, thought they did well on game day, but didn’t get positive news.

On the other hand, there are those who are lucky enough to have good fortune on their side. They not only get the interviews with the firms they were hoping for, but they hit a home run and land a job they actually wanted. They seize the moment.

What’s funny though, is that many of these people even admit that they thought they blew part of the interview. Perhaps the lesson is that finding the right job isn’t a perfectly defined process. And while some have the good fortune of landing one quickly, others spend different amounts of time, depending on what they’re aiming for and depending on the role of luck in the process. Either way, good luck to everyone in the search.