Archives for the Month of November 2006 on Chris E. Carson's Blog
MGMT250: Success!
That battery of interviews I had with two of the Big Four accounting firms in September have finally paid off. I interviewed with Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers at the Career Center after attending the Meet the Accountants breakfast. Spots for these interviews were extremely competitive as there were only around eight spots per company.
I first interviewed with the tax department of one of the Big Four, with a man who was a senior partner. He held a law degree, which intrigued me, because I was originally planning on attending law school after graduation. He had much advice to give me as a lawyer with an accounting degree, telling me about the doors that this combination could open. When I walked out of that interview, I felt very confident that I would receive a callback.
The day immediately following, I had to get up early for my interview with another Big Four firm. I threw on my suit, neglected to shave, and overall felt very emotionally unprepared for the interview. Thankfully, this company did not ask any nonsensical behavioral interview questions, to my great relief. The interview was restricted exclusively to things that mattered, such as my qualifications, experience and the details about the job at stake. When I left that interview room, I was not confident at all and essentially wrote off employment at that company.
Almost a month had passed when I received an email from the second company, inviting me to come downtown for an office visit. Yes, this was the fabled "second interview," and I was extremely excited and astonished. I had not received any word from the first company, the one who surely would give me an offer. Determined not to repeat my first mistakes of unpreparedness at an interview, I decided to obsess over the details of the interview, arrive excessively early, and brush up on those accursed behavior interview questions.
When I arrived, I interviewed with one of the managing partners, who was very familiar with one of my co-workers at my current job who had previously been employed at this firm. We talked about everything from tax law to golf, and had a good time. We had an enjoyable enough time that we did not realize it when the time deadline came and passed.
I also interviewed with a director of tax who was very impressed at my description of the MGMT250 concept and program. Essentially, I did nothing but detail the inner workings of the HR simulation related it to real-life work situations. I believe I impressed the man here as well.
After the interviews were complete, the interview candidates and accounting staff enjoyed some fine dining at a fancy restaurant across the street. I could not believe that they would spend such money on internship candidates; but then again, these companies believe that employees are their greatest asset.
I was informed of the deadline for their internship decisions, and called the office on that day. They offered me a summer internship position! I am excited and looking forward to working for one of the greatest accounting firms in the world over the summer.
MGMT250 - The Interview and MGMT250
When trying to battle the bane of my existence that is the behavioral interview, I often find myself using examples directly from Management class. When an interviewer hears about the unique nature of the MGMT250/251 sequence, he or she usually becomes intrigued enough to inquire further about the class, thus distracting attention away to the list of awful, awful questions in front of the interviewer.
The HR simulation is a particular favorite answer to the nonsensical behavioral questions that involve "leadership skills." The idea of a class where four students are grouped together and given an objective with no prior experience is an unprecedented one in the business school setting. While I truly despised the fact that I was not given enough background on the simulation to simply jump right in, I now realize that this kind of practice is quite an accurate simulation of the way the real-world work environment works - many times, you will be assigned to a team with an objective but with no road map to get there. That's the job of the team - to find out how to achieve the goal. Using the resources at our disposal: i.e., the textbook and the "CEO," we were able to discover on our own what we were to do to complete our assignments. Interviewers love that.
MGMT250 - The interview
In October, I interviewed with several accounting firms, seeking a summer internship. The primary focus of these interviews were largely behavioral; they asked such questions as, "Tell me about a situation where you were unable to solve a complex problem," or "Describe a leadership experience of yours where you had to overcome large differences in a group." Every time I hear one of these questions, I am reminded how much I despise behavioral interviews. They are devious, underhanded ways to test an interviewee's ability to make up nonsense and exaggerated stories on the spot. They serve no real purpose to the interviewee except to put him or her on the defensive, and serve no purpose to the interviewer but to see if the other can remain communicative and professional on the other side of the table.
When I walk into an interview, I expect nothing less than to be interviewed about my credentials and real experiences, without having to answer nonsensical questions about my problem-solving experience. Frankly, when an interviewer does not address my work and school experience directly, I am insulted. Having to communicate my experience through a series of answers to irrelevant questions is not my idea of an equitable interview experience.