The post-graduation search for a “career” continues! So far, I am trying to enjoy this period of time; while I am at a crossroad in my life–caught between college and the real world. The conundrum lies with what I should be feeling and doing right now as I make it through this process. Should I be feeling—anxious, overwhelmed, overjoyed, stressed, happy, excited? Well, for me, I could say all of the above.
I just got back from my very first “On-site” interview; a.k.a. second-round interviews. This turned out to be a huge learning experience for me. I left Thursday after my 11 a.m. class, having to skip my two afternoon classes in order to drive-up to Washington, D.C. The difficult part for me is the fact that I don’t like to miss class—I know, weird! But, I knew it would be important for me to really try to find the right company, job, or place after graduation and going on an on-site visit is the best way to get a true feel for a company. So, I had to make it to D.C. by 7 p.m. Thursday for a pre-interview dinner reception the company was holding for the new recruits. Turns out, what I thought was going to be enough time to drive from Tech to Fairfax to catch the metro and then metro into the city, was a very narrow time frame given all the delays and traffic. Fortunately however, I made it to my hotel in downtown D.C. by 6 p.m.—just enough time to freshen up before walking to the dinner reception.
At the dinner, I met a young employee at the company who happened to have graduated from VA Tech in May—she was going to be my buddy from the next day of interviews; making sure I get to the different locations and on time. The dinner was unexpectedly classy—it was at a very nice (expensive!) Italian restaurant a block from my hotel and they served us dishes from a pre-selected menu. As a newbie to this recruiting process, I was not expecting a full meal, but instead a variety of finger-foods and drinks, so it was a very delicious surprise! The dinner lasted for about 3 hours—but it was relaxed and a lot of fun. I returned to my hotel exhausted, but had to read a lot of interview packets/information the company gave me in a padfolio to prepare for the next day. I finally went to bed around midnight, only to get up early for another big day!
My next day of interviews started at 9 a.m. with breakfast and a company presentation. I met another girl interviewing with the company in the hotel lobby as we both check-out of the hotel that morning. We walked across the street to the building and managed to make it half-way to the opening presentation—I say half-way because we literally got stuck in the stairwell on route to breakfast. What happened was the building was under construction and the elevators were really slow, so we decided to take the stairs to save time and ensure we would make it to the presentation on-time. But, if it weren’t for the silly security locking mechanisms on all the doors per each floor—we would have made it on time! It was so embarrassing, the girl and I called our buddies and every number we had to try to get them to open one of the doors—but no one picked-up!? Luckily, another man was stuck in the same situation so he banged on one of the doors and a receptionist heard him and freed us from the stairwell! Everyone of course laughed and thought it was the funniest thing—so it kind of broke the ice for the day and was something funny to laugh about.
Following the morning presentation and breakfast, I went through a series of one-on-one interviews. I met with three different people from different levels in the company and talked about their expertise area as well as mine and my resume. Then, lunch was at another very nice restaurant in the city with my buddy and another VT alum. Then, I was whisked back to the office for a closing interview (way more intense than the morning interviews!) and I was done!
The day literally went as fast as I described it, from one thing to another, but it was a very positive experience. The on-site interview allowed me to soak up many cultural aspects and company characteristics I wouldn’t have been able to from their website or other interactions. I was able to get a feel for the people in the office, the office itself, the atmosphere within the city, the daily interactions amongst co-workers, as well as meet many diverse employees, which helped put the company in perspective for me as to where I would fit. However, it also lead me to feel more pressure with the impending decision making I will have make soon and the dose of reality I received furthers my stress and excitement daily!
Therefore, I would highly recommend every senior make the effort to have an on-site visit with each company they are pursuing in order to better judge its merit for your future.
