My fall semester was pretty much occupied by job applications, interviews, writing cover letters, reviewing my resume, and pretty much everything else that could go into a job search...on top of classes & trying to spend as much time with Parvati as possible before she graduated.
It was quite the process. Much more intense & overwhelming than I thought it would be. I expected to have accepted an offer by the end of October. After that I would get into Babson's MSA and life would be smooth sailing for the rest of the year.
Totally didn't happen that way.
I went through the process of applying to all the major accounting firms, as well as some mid size firms and rotational programs, but the main focus was on the big companies.
Silly me.
While I got an interview almost everywhere I applied, and many second round interviews as well, there was apparently something missing. So I kept applying and interviewing. By the end of the semester I was starting to feel very overwhelmed as I did not yet have a job offer unlike almost every single other one of my accounting friends.
And I got wait listed for the MSA on a technicality due to having not officially completing the requirements since I had been abroad. This was an unexpected wrench. I had sat down with the professors in charge and walked through how to get everything done in time & in the right way. Yet I had apparently managed to miss the point where I can't officially get accepted until I have some of the requirements out of the way. But more on that in another post.
Some interviews were easy to get. There was one company I didn't even remember to apply to but career services (go Babson being really super helpful and on their game!) got me in anyways.
Others were more difficult. For one company I was sent options of times to interview, but was apparently slow on the draw and chose the more popular slot after it was already full. It took some negotiating but I managed to get an interview...that's actually a somewhat entertaining story.
So it was the Monday after Thanksgiving and I got an email from this really awesome company called CA Technologies (http://www.ca.com/). They had two first round interview times: that Friday in Framingham, or the next Friday in Manhattan. Naturally, you would think, I would choose the one in Framingham seeing as it's right down the street from Babson.
NOPE.
See, the interviews were four hour blocks which included an information session followed by a round of one-on-one interviews and a meet & greet. As a busy Babson student I couldn't work my schedule out for a four hour block on four days notice so I called and asked if there would be a problem with going for the Manhattan one. I was told that should be fine, so that's what I went with.
While waiting for the confirmation I (very excitedly) went to Feng to tell her I had another interview lined up (at this point you would think all my friends would be tired of hearing that, seeing as I'd had around 15 so far, but she was still really excited for me. My friends are simply awesome people). Instantly she went to work, without me even asking, on figuring out the best way for me to get to New York. A bus or train wouldn't work because if they were delayed I wouldn't have much turn around time to figure things out. So instead we opted for me to fly from Boston to New York. After a little hesitation from me, we bought a one way ticket to NYC on Jet Blue (LOVE Jet Blue now). We figured I could get back however I wanted after.
Then I got an email back from CA saying the slots were all full for that Friday, but the Framingham location still had plenty of space. Well, I'm sure if I absolutely had to I could have figured something out, but it would have been really inconvenient. I already had my travel arrangements secured so I emailed them back. After a few days of emailing back and forth, talking to close friends & family and career services we were at a stand still.
Friday passes, then the weekend and I'm sitting with a plane ticket that seems almost useless at this point. At very least, I figure, I'll take the time to visit Sarah Bhuiya and Ifreen while I'm in the city. So I get in touch with them and we agree to meet up. I knew then that if nothing else I would get to see some of my favorite people who I never get to see any more, at least not nearly enough.
Meanwhile, I'm arranging a going away celebration for Parvati. The whole ordeal is somewhat of a disorganized surprise. She knew we would do something for her; she had essentially told me I had to as her best friend (I was planning on it anyways, but still). For pretty much everyone Satuday worked best. So I let her go along thinking that's what we would do. But for me, I had no idea what state I would be in on Saturday, and I knew I had a LOT of studying to do for my exams which were on Monday and Tuesday (
great scheduling :P). So I arranged for it to be on Thursday. The problem was, Feng and I had to leave for the airport at about 7am the next morning & Feng is NOT a morning person. So really Thursday wasn't all that convenient for me either. But I made it work. I got a few people together, including some throw backs to freshman year, and I'd say Operation Surprise Parvati was a success. Then we were quick to shoo everyone off to midnight breakfast (my careful planning got people out of the suite early so I could get some sleep).
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| "Babson" waffles at Midnight Breakfast! |
But that's not the point. I finally get an email back from the recruiter. Seeing as I was going to be in the city anyways they would work out how to fit me in.
Now the pressure was on. I had fought hard to secure the interview so I had to be at my absolute best so they would not regret coordinating with me. Going off of very little sleep (early flight + arranging a celebration for the night before = not the best idea for anyone who wants sleep) Feng and I made it off to the airport. I boarded my flight and was in the city within an hour.
I get to the city with hours to spare so I scope out the location of the office, then just kinda walk around a bit. I got myself some lunch, wandered through the city & some stores, then made my way for the interview.
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| First thing's first: find the building. Then, off to explore! |
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The wonderful thing about NYC in December: all of the
Christmas decorations! |
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I had never been in any of the NYC churches, so with time
to spare I figured I'd check one out. STUNNING organ! |
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| Casual carrying a Christmas tree through the city? |
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| #NOMS! Found the Hershey's Store! I went in later on but didn't take any pics |
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| ...and the Disney store. Always a kid at heart <3 |
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| So where to next? To see the Ball from Times Square, of course! |
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| A wall of Hopes & Dreams, how sweet! |
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| And to top the Times Square Ball? THE DISNEY STORE! |
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| "When you wish upon a starrrr!" |
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| Found the princess castle! |
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| "They say if you dream a thing more than once it's sure to come true" |
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| Christmas in the Disney Store ^.^ |
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| SO excited about The Hobbit! |
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| And in an attempt to top the Disney Store: TOYS R US! |
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| Boxes of Nerds as big as my head!!! |
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| Statue of Liberty made completely out of Legos...Awesome! |
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| and the Hulk made completely out of Legos! |
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| Throw back toys! |
Nerves abound (again, PRESSURE) I walked in, hung up my coat, and mixed with the other candidates. I could go into detail of what the company does, what the position is, etc. or you could just look at their website (link above) because that is mostly besides the point.
After the information session we were all sent into the main reception area to mix with a few young workers at CA. We got the chance to talk to them, ask them questions, etc. I made sure to get some face time with each of them and ask at least one good question. I don't tend to be overly inquisitive, but I made it work in this case. Then I was called in for my one-on-one. For this I lucked out. The woman interviewing me reminded me of an older version of myself. We got along great.
I left feeling really good. If nothing else, I had put my best foot forward. The ball was once again in their court; I was once again in a waiting game. I had to make it through finals & prepare for Ghana. That's a lot to do, and I only had a few short weeks to do it.
This was also a night of closure. Like I mentioned early, I had plans to meet up with Sarah and Ifreen. The two of them never really knew each other, but seeing as they're both good friends of mine I figured it'd be okay to mix the two of them. We went to this neat little place that I totally might be able to find again...might.
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| The menu! |
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| Salted Caramel Milk Shake: Delicious! |
I had the chance to talk to Ifreen about her experience at PwC. What it came down to: she told me I wouldn't be happy there, or any of the major companies. They just aren't my style. At least not now. I needed to hear this. It was true, which I suppose I had known for a while, but I needed to hear this from her. Had I known how much I needed to hear this from her maybe the whole semester would have gone much more smoothly. Oh well.
So that's how I concluded the semester. And seeing as this post is already really long, I'll leave you wondering what happens next until maybe tomorrow?
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