The overenthusiastic interviewee (the Stanford interview story)
The day just started off all wrong...two double booked meetings..project manager not elated with my progress towards upcoming deadline...and not enthusiastic about the fact that the other project Im working on is taking my time....I have a course organised on 9th and I had not yet booked the room....etc...etc...
and then I rush up to amsterdam, beat the traffic...find parking (a tough job)...and show up at the interviewer's office...and he shows up and says
"I thought we had the interview on thursday"....i just saw the Stanford dream wither away....!
Turns out..he said....cya thursday at 16:30.....and i read that as tuesday...and i replied...sure ...cu tomorrow... and he did not catch that.. (purely my fault)...anyhow being a nice natured person that he was (or pretended to be)...he said "give me 5 mins to finish up a report I need to send away...then I need 30 mins to go through your resume and collect my thoughts"
I was ushered to a nice room....served coffee/tea/etc and waited for him as i read some papers on some simulation models im working on....he showed up again in 40 mins....as says
"okies...dont worry...dont apologize....better this way....but i have to carry my cheat sheet of questions on me...id normally memorize them..but in this case excuse me"....oh..excuse him...at the moment I felt lower that the tinest microbe crawling on the floor of the office....
he laid out some basic rules
1) Supposed to be 30 min interview - to level the playing field across applicants to ensure that no applicant gets more "air time"
2) He would offer me no feedback after the interview....and he would be informed of my result, one day after I got it
3) He would take notes, but the lenght of them meant nothing..they were to serve as reminders to him when he filled out the whole review later
so he started off with....why my mba....why now?
as i explained my answers (focussing on the requirement of the next generation of leaders at Stanford), instead of asking me "Why Stanford" he asked me "How will you get those leadership skills at Stanford"
He then referred to my resume and noticed a lot of team work...he asked me to elaborate on different situations....he asked me some probing questions on those situations..how did i react...what did i do in specific to earn their trust....would i do the same thing again?
Do i get feedback often? Does it "hurt" when I get feedback? How did i reflect from a personal growth perspective related to that experience....
A few more questions related to the personal issues.....
and then he asked me if i had questions for him
overall the interview was on a very personal level....very touchy feely personal probing questions....i have very mixed feelings about my performace...okies..in all honesty..it was either a 9/10 or a 2/10....only time will tell....
thats it for now..the only piece of advice...dont show up 48 hrs before your interview !
cheers
Ash
and then I rush up to amsterdam, beat the traffic...find parking (a tough job)...and show up at the interviewer's office...and he shows up and says
"I thought we had the interview on thursday"....i just saw the Stanford dream wither away....!
Turns out..he said....cya thursday at 16:30.....and i read that as tuesday...and i replied...sure ...cu tomorrow... and he did not catch that.. (purely my fault)...anyhow being a nice natured person that he was (or pretended to be)...he said "give me 5 mins to finish up a report I need to send away...then I need 30 mins to go through your resume and collect my thoughts"
I was ushered to a nice room....served coffee/tea/etc and waited for him as i read some papers on some simulation models im working on....he showed up again in 40 mins....as says
"okies...dont worry...dont apologize....better this way....but i have to carry my cheat sheet of questions on me...id normally memorize them..but in this case excuse me"....oh..excuse him...at the moment I felt lower that the tinest microbe crawling on the floor of the office....
he laid out some basic rules
1) Supposed to be 30 min interview - to level the playing field across applicants to ensure that no applicant gets more "air time"
2) He would offer me no feedback after the interview....and he would be informed of my result, one day after I got it
3) He would take notes, but the lenght of them meant nothing..they were to serve as reminders to him when he filled out the whole review later
so he started off with....why my mba....why now?
as i explained my answers (focussing on the requirement of the next generation of leaders at Stanford), instead of asking me "Why Stanford" he asked me "How will you get those leadership skills at Stanford"
He then referred to my resume and noticed a lot of team work...he asked me to elaborate on different situations....he asked me some probing questions on those situations..how did i react...what did i do in specific to earn their trust....would i do the same thing again?
Do i get feedback often? Does it "hurt" when I get feedback? How did i reflect from a personal growth perspective related to that experience....
A few more questions related to the personal issues.....
and then he asked me if i had questions for him
overall the interview was on a very personal level....very touchy feely personal probing questions....i have very mixed feelings about my performace...okies..in all honesty..it was either a 9/10 or a 2/10....only time will tell....
thats it for now..the only piece of advice...dont show up 48 hrs before your interview !
cheers
Ash
posted by Ash at 10:46 PM
4 Comments:
Hey look at the positive side - you're done with it. Besides, these are mistakes that most people commit and only the most petty of people would hold them against you. Your interviewer sounds far from it. So good luck!
Yes, S q's are definitely more touchy/feely. They really want to see what type of person you are.
Congrats on completing the interview! Hey, you got it out of the way early, and the interviewer sounds like a very understanding guy.
Good luck!!
doesnt look like you screwed it up -which is always a good sign...wish you good luck with S
sounds like you handled things well. best of luck!
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