“My pleasure, other people’s leisure” – Spud in Trainspotting, 1996
Only a few brown leaves remain on Hanover’s brittle branches. Morning frost covers cars. Fall B midterms are over. Evenings are dark. Killington is open. As winter creeps up on us, the temperature is rising in my classmates’ search for a summer internship.
Today, we have a session about bidding for on-campus interviews. Unlike most schools, Tuck requires on campus recruiters to offer some open spots to students whose resumes they did not select. Students win these spots through a points bidding system, meaning they can almost always interview with a firm if they want it enough. And, yes, many people do get jobs with firms as a result of the bidding process.
A frighteningly large number of magnificent companies are coming to campus. Tuckies are frantically polishing cover letters. Suits feature more heavily than usual in our classrooms. Byrne’s luncheon queues are shorter. Amidst the mayhem, it’s worth stepping back and looking at what’s going on. Some of my classmates are fearful of not getting a good job. In the vast majority of instances, this fear is entirely unfounded. These are among the smartest people I’ve had the pleasure to meet; they good fun, team players; they demonstrate passion and initiative; they are extraordinarily capable and well educated. In short, they would be a credit to any organization.
Add the world’s best alumni network and a tip-top CDO to the equation above, and you can see why this article was published last week.
The bigger challenge, I believe, lies with the many students who, like me, have firm plans about where or what they want to do and / or have delusions of grandeur. (I suffer from both afflictions.) We came to business school believing that a successful career in a great organization was not enough. We wanted fulfilment and feel that we know exactly where that will come from. We want the job that provides our families with a lifestyle our parents could not have dreamed of giving us, to spend more time with our children than our parents could ever spend with us, and to make a lasting, positive impression on the world. Easy, right? Perhaps not when the US economy is, in many people’s eyes, on course to be the next Japan or, worse?, Europe. But more on that later.
I know what I want to do after my MBA and the recruitment path is not traditional. Yet, Hasbro and PG&E, amongst others, came into town at lunch yesterday. Think of what one might be capable of after a few years with McKinsey. These wonderful organizations have very attractive post-MBA programs. Who is coming today? Here’s another complication: non-traditional recruiting happens later and requires more self-driven effort. It’s pretty much impossible to have a back-up plan in one of these fine organizations – apply and be committed, or keep your eyes on the golden goose of your dreams and hold out for the internship you want, while your classmates secure internships that you may be perfectly satisfied with. I believe this is what people meant when they mentioned FOMO. It’s not always easy, but it’s a privileged problem to have: remember, classmates, there’s a reason Tuck topped that survey.
Read the full article: The temperature is rising