College: Living, Laughing and Learning

Everything is a learning opportunity, and sometimes, it’s easy to forget that.

So on Saturday, I got a nice Valentine’s day surprise;  Goldman Sachs offered me a chance to go through the first round of interviews.  I interviewed with an associate on Tuesday and then a senior VP on Wednesday (like 4 hours ago).  These were done through the phone, which made it even more nerve-wrecking.  I find out tomorrow whether I get to move on to the 2nd round of interviews in New York.

When I found out on Saturday, I started immediately to prepare for these interviews:  I read Vault Guides from the Career Center on Investment Banking, Finance Interviews, and Top Banking Firms.  I started reading the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Report, NYtimes, CNNmoney, and many, many, many articles and websites- anything that would give me financial information.  I googled many investment terms as well as studied the Goldman Sachs website.  I talked to the business career counselor; I talked to my economics and finance professors; I mock-interviewed with my friend’s dad (who mock interviews their cousin at Wharton Business School).  Essentially, I did my all.

And then… I did my best during the interviews.

It’s nerve-wrecking to wait for the jurisdiction.  Are you good enough to move onto the second round of interviews?  It’s also hard to believe I want this so much just as a sophomore- (it’s hard for me to believe they gave me an opportunity to interview in the first place!).  It’s just hard to believe.

Through this process, it’s hard to keep your spirit up.  However, I’ve got my faith.  You’ve got to see everything as a learning opportunity and chance to learn from your mistakes.  Take the opportunities you can get; learn as much as you can.

Even if I don’t achieve the second round of interviews, I will be happy, and I will be proud of myself for how knowledge I have become on this current financial crisis. Woo!