“You’re overqualified for this position”, Did this just happen to you? March 7, 2008
Posted by John in Job Hunt.Tags: Overqualified
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I think this may have just happened to me. It’s a great company, and I’m still pursuing other opportunities with them, but several questions came up in the interview for this position about expectations and how they almost never even interview MBA candidates for the position. I’m willing to put in the hard work and lay the foundation for a career within a company so mastering the basics really isn’t an issue.
It’ll work out, it’s just one of those things. For a list of some of the reasons why companies might say this, check out this article here.
Networking is critical to career success March 5, 2008
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One of the primary values of the MBA experience besides the skills you develop is your connections with your classmates, your unique cohort that went through alot together. When you search for the “best way to get a job” (without the quotes) in Google, the top two results relate to networking. It is in fact the way I got one of my interviews.
I’ve been acquaintances with someone from the company for several years now, and at a recent career fair I asked if there was any positions coming available that might be a good fit for me besides the one they were hiring for. He gave me the heads up on a position that wasn’t available on their career site yet, a “hidden job”. While he didn’t have the say so on hiring, it helped get me in the door early in the process.
Two lessons here: one, its good to know people and have a connection established. Two, unless you ask for it, you may never find out about certain job opportunities. So ask around, tap your connections for opportunities, see what pops up.
Resources to Help Prepare for a Job Interview February 27, 2008
Posted by John in Job Hunt.Tags: Interview Questions
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Rather than rehashing what has already been produced in countless other places, I’m wanted to share a few of the links I found helpful in my interview preparation.
How to answer 23 of the most common interview questions
Common job interview questions
50 Common Interview Q&A
My least favorite question is, “Where do you see yourself in (say) 5 years?” Anything I try to predict, will likely changed over that period of time. All I know for sure is that I want a job that continues to allow me a career path for future development. I love learning new stuff and constantly dealing with new challenges. The main thing is that by the time I my on to the next position is that I am proficient in the job that I’m leaving. I don’t want to hop around so fast that I can’t really learn the ins and outs of a job.
I found this post after my initial preparations and it was even better than the above.
25 Questions to Think About Before Your Next Job Interview
Busy Day February 26, 2008
Posted by John in Job Hunt, MBA Experience.Tags: Job Interview Questions
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Tonight I am going to have plenty to do. I’m doing final preparation for upcoming job interviews, selecting a few final positions to apply for, going to a pre-interview information session and then going to finish out the night with pizza and poker with some of the guys. There are always going to be some tough interview questions, so I’m reviewing my relevant experiences to some of the common questions.
The toughest for me is, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” I’ve got several ideas both in regards to personal life and ambitions and hopes in my professional career. But things change so much in 5 years, that I know that likely things will turn out far differently than the way I expected.
I also like to ask the interviewer questions to give me a better idea about the position’s purpose and its expectations. So typically I’ll ask something like, “What are some of the objectives you would like accomplished in this job?” or “What need does this position fill within the organization that is absolutely critical?” I like to know these things primarily because it helps better fulfill the needs of the position.
This point goes along with one of my favorite quotes, “Our job is not to figure out the how. The how will show up out of a commitment and belief in the what.” — Jack Canfield. The point is that people tend not care enough until they are committed to idea and to the work.
My internship last summer was an exceptional experience, with one noteworthy difficulty early on. Exactly why was our project relevant to the firm and what was the next step after it going to be? Once our team go answers to these questions it proved extremely helpful in enhancing our ongoing project to what was needed by the company.
The Job Hunt February 23, 2008
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As an MBA student, the general expectation is that the continuing your education will help build a foundation for the future. I feel this has been the case for myself. Exposure to a variety of concepts, discussion of cases, conducting a variety of analysis is just an experience that’s hard to get any other way. Overall the MBA experience can really help you grow as an individual.
Now is the time I look for this investment in myself to begin its payback. I have three interviews so far in the upcoming weeks, with good leads on a few other positions. A word the to the wise MBA student; aggressively pursue the job search the semester before you graduate. Last semester, I began a casual search and landed an couple of interviews. It’s one of those eye opening experiences when some of your classmates start taking job offers. It showed me that the opportunities are available by companies that recognize highly qualified individuals need to be sought early in the process.
