Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Interviews, Part 1
Riter asked me to talk a little about my experience last year with interviews, since that's what all the Round 1 people are stressing over. I applied to four schools in Round 1: Kellogg, Texas, Stanford, and Harvard. Kellogg requires an interview of every applicant, while the other three aim to interview 100% of accepted applicants.
My Kellogg interview didn't go very well, although I doubt it's the reason I was dinged. It started even before the interview when I spoke to my interviewer on the phone and incorrectly recorded his e-mail address. He worked for Hines, and I heard Heinz. A common mistake I'm sure, but it just started things off on the wrong foot. We arranged to meet at a Starbucks that was just a few blocks from my office, so when the time came I was generous and allowed myself 15 minutes to get there. Unfortunately, there was bumper to bumper traffic the entire way there and I wound up 2-3 minutes late. Ah well, these things happen. I never really connected with the interviewer, and although he made Kellogg sound like a very fun place, I was turned off by his HBS-bashing. I also made the mistake of ordering a Frappuccino on an unseasonably cold November evening, and so I shivered through the entire outdoor interview. Anyway, all things told it wasn't even close to being a disaster, but it was definitely the least fun. I'll try to write about the waiting game and the other interviews in the coming days...
My Kellogg interview didn't go very well, although I doubt it's the reason I was dinged. It started even before the interview when I spoke to my interviewer on the phone and incorrectly recorded his e-mail address. He worked for Hines, and I heard Heinz. A common mistake I'm sure, but it just started things off on the wrong foot. We arranged to meet at a Starbucks that was just a few blocks from my office, so when the time came I was generous and allowed myself 15 minutes to get there. Unfortunately, there was bumper to bumper traffic the entire way there and I wound up 2-3 minutes late. Ah well, these things happen. I never really connected with the interviewer, and although he made Kellogg sound like a very fun place, I was turned off by his HBS-bashing. I also made the mistake of ordering a Frappuccino on an unseasonably cold November evening, and so I shivered through the entire outdoor interview. Anyway, all things told it wasn't even close to being a disaster, but it was definitely the least fun. I'll try to write about the waiting game and the other interviews in the coming days...
