Though I have already accepted my offer, I attended Sell Weekend the past couple of days. Sell Weekend is much like Admit Weekend at school. After you are given an offer for a company, they invite you to their office to check things out, meet some people, and helpfully offer to answer any questions 40,000 times.
It was a nice time just a bit more time intensive than I expected. We started with lunch in the office on Friday and then had panel discussions with current associates and BA’s about what they do and any questions they could answer. Then we had one on one’s with different people in the office. It was funny when I was scheduled with the same guy I interviewed with and I’ve talked to almost weekly for the past month. He laughed and since he knew I was out of questions for him, offered to give me a tour of the firm’s gym.
We also had a talk with the head of the Midwest offices of the firm. We followed this with “Happy Hour” and ice skating at Millennium Park. It was a great opportunity to get to know other offerees from the GSB who I hadn’t really talked with before, as well as people from Kellogg, Wharton, Harvard, and Stanford. After ice skating, we had dinner at a local pizza place and then I escaped home. They were going out for drinks, but after 10 plus hours, I needed some down time.
The next morning we met for brunch on the north side and then we had the day free to visit museums or look for apartments. I used the time to do my taxes. Then we met up again to eat dinner at a nice restaurant downtown. After the required cocktail hour, (what is the point?) we had a relaxing dinner, talking with partners and associates we hadn’t met before. It was great.
We had our first AAMBAA event as the new Co-Chairs with a dinner at the Weber Grill downtown. I was unable to attend, but we had the biggest turnout we’ve ever had, and people seemed really excited to get together. We are having a potluck with HABSA (Hispanic American Business Students Associate) right before finals. We’re trying to foster more unity and I think it will only get better, as we have a group of people very motivated and passionate about the organization.
After this stimulating weekend, in which I got zero homework done, I spent Sunday at a friend’s house relaxing and talking. I needed the break and the perspective.
I am about to have my life taken over by LEAD. We had a brief training session this morning and found out our squads. I’m looking forward to working with a group pf people I don’t know well. It’s all about relationships!
We had an interesting session on “Diversity in the Workplace”. There were nearly 200 people there from all of the graduate schools and the undergraduate college, as well as some alumni. We got to listen to panel discussions broken up by affinity groups which facilitated bringing up sensitive issues that we generally wonder about but never quite find an appropriate time to ask about. It was nice to see some of the students in the other schools that I haven’t seen since before Winter Break.
I actually understood my investments class this week. Now if I can just learn the first half of the class, I should be OK for the final. I’m being pulled in several directions by three different groups all tasked with a large term paper due finals week. It is sometimes confusing to remember which class I’ve read a case for. Feel sorrier for me!
I’m trying to get stuff started for AAMBAA and prepare for a weekend with the company I’m interning with this summer. It will be a good chance to meet the other summer interns, while getting to know some of the partners and. more importantly, make sure they know me.
I accepted my offer this morning. It was a lot more difficult than I’d thought it would be. You have to tell someone you’ve been talking with for the last few weeks that you’re not taking the offer, and they are disappointed and they fought for you and you feel bad. I tried to be very diplomatic, but it is hard to explain your rationale when there is very little that separates the two in your mind. But I can only choose one.
It’s weird. I mean you spend the first half of your first year chasing after an offer and then you’re unprepared for what to do next. I didn’t really know how to handle calls from several people in the two offices I’d gotten offers from. I was getting bombarded with calls on my cell phone and would come home to four to six messages every other night. It is so crazy how you switch positions so quickly!
I am thrilled and so excited. I feel very lucky to have exactly what I wanted for the summer and I feel like I will get a great experience and come back strong in the fall. The people are really nice and have been very supportive from the beginning of the process. They want me to succeed and that is a great feeling. I’ve received a barrage of congratulatory emails upon accepting my offer. I feel like I’ve made the right choice. Maybe now I can figure out what is going on in my classes…
I’ve got a second offer from another consulting company and now I feel like I’m being pulled in two directions as each one makes their case. I’d already had a preference going in and it hadn’t changed much through the interviewing process. However, I feel compelled to actually receive the offer and review it and then give them my decision. It just seems wrong to blow off a company you’ve been chasing for the last few months.
It is also important to remember that this is a two year process and you should avoid burning bridges at all costs. You never know where you’ll be in the fall. I called the company I’d gotten an offer from in the finance organization and explained that I thought consulting was a better fit for the summer but that I’d look forward to talking with them in the fall. I’m trying to leave a good impression all around.
I got a chance to give some honest feedback about the recruiting process. I think the earlier you reach minority students, the easier it is to attract their attention. After the Jumpstart program this summer, many of us arrived at school looking to become a banker, never having looked at anything else.
I have been given an offer for the summer. I am SO excited. I had a final round of interviews yesterday. I met with four different partners in the firm, talking about my experiences and doing a case. It wasn’t as stress inducing as I’d thought it would be. People were very friendly and wanted me to succeed. I am now in the desirable position of getting exactly what I wanted for the summer and I couldn’t be happier.
The only down side is that I can’t share my elation with my friends, because many of them are still looking for jobs. The situation requires sensitivity and it is an interesting dynamic on campus. The people who’ve gotten offers are supposed to be experts and volunteer their expertise, even when not requested. I think the whole thing is ridiculous. Now I’m trying to support my classmates who haven’t got what they want yet.
Well, I’ve had two interviews so far. The company I interviewed with yesterday called me last night to politely tell me that they had an overwhelming number of qualified candidates. I wavered a little in self confidence, but was able to pull it together and face the next one this morning. I was a little calmer, not being as green, and once I relaxed, it didn’t seem half as bad as I’d expected.
I have to do the long wait now, hoping that the phone will ring with great news. It has been interesting to see the bankers who were discombobulated last week when they didn’t receive offers, now try to jump on the consulting bandwagon. I can’t say that I blame them, as there is no use staying on a sinking ship. Many times this week, I’ve been glad that I worked all of my options and that I always cultivated Plan B. A lot of people are having to come up with a new option on the fly, and doing this when you’re in a panic and feeling kicked by the world, may not be the best choice. Many people are facing rejection for the first time and it can break you. Keep it together, people!