It’s a Sunday night, and I know that means that football is on the TV, Fantasy (Football) is on the computer screens and hors d’oeuvres are in the oven, yet I thought I would be able to catch my brother for a quick phone call just as half time approached during the game, and so I anxiously dialed his number in hopes that he would answer…
And so he did, “Laur, did you see the catch just made on the Jets game!?!”
After I told him that I’m not watching the game, he responded by giving me a detailed play by play of the catch and he let me know that I called in just the knick of time because halftime just started and he’s ready to help me with my English auto ethnography project about the Job Hunt for college Graduates that I prepped him for a few days in advance.
“So just start by giving me a background on what the Job Hunt is like. I’m not all that familiar with the necessary criteria and steps that it takes to be successful in this process so maybe you can share some insight on it with me?”
“Yes ofcourse! So all throughout my summer of junior year to the middle of my senior year of college I worked tirelessly on obtaining a job in finance since that was my major in college. It’s all about building a resume, getting your name out through your college’s career services department and going on interview after interview to be as successful as you possibly can be. I constantly went to the career services center at my school to have my resume sent out to many different employers and to hear about what companies may be on campus during the week. But at the end of the day, it is all a balance. You have to have the grades, personality, work ethic etc. in order to truly stand out of the crowd and to become a viable applicant for any job.”
I quickly interjected because I wanted to go more in depth in the conversation and knew we only had limited time until the Jets game would come back on.
“What were the actual interviews with employers like?”
“Well, every experience is different, but regardless of the situation, dad always taught me to prepare well in advance and then just be myself. So go in knowledgeable about the company inside and out and then be personable and sincere during the actual interview.”
I took these words to my heart, knowing one day that this advice will be very important and useful to me.
“I remember going on a super day a little while ago, which is when you interview with around four people from one company. It tends to be a long and tiring day, but it greatly improved my interviewing skills. This was the first experience of this kind I ever had, and I was nervous!... I actually think nervous is an understatement. My palms were getting moist, I was parched and a little antsy, yet I stuck it out and went for it. I was VERY prepared. I did my research on the company, its yearly statistics, its mission statement and plenty more, so I thought I was ready for any question they would throw my way, but the two questions they asked were obscure and un-expected.”
I smiled to myself knowing where he was going with this because Ive heard this story before, yet repetition is always good so I listened intently a second time.
“The first question was what is the square root of 256? I remember softly chuckling out loud thinking the interviewer was kidding and he was just playing with me, yet the expression on his face never changed so I knew he was for real. The second question was a bit more odd; he gave me a scenario where there was a balance scale with two sides. He said that there were nine golf balls total not the scale that all looked and felt exactly the same except for the fact that once of the balls weighed an ounce more. He said if I had only two trys to weigh any combination of balls I wanted to find out which ball was the slightly heavier one, how would I go about doing this.”
“WOW!” I said “So you knew all there was to know about the company, and these were the questions that they asked you!!”
“Exactly Laur!, The interviewer wasn't looking for an exact answer or for me to whip out my calculator and solve the problem right in front of him right then and there, he wanted to see if I could think on my feet and how well I responded under pressure, both of which are very important skills in the business world. Every interview was a stepping stone for me, I learned so many important things throughout the process and it eventually all paid off in the end when I got a phone call with a job offer!”
Just as he finished saying his piece, I heard loud noises in the background from my brother’s friends that were cheering about the play that just occurred on the Jets game, so as the good sister I am, I ended the interview on that note, happy with the results and pleased with his answers!