Interviews?!

I arrived back in Charlottesville last week to interview madness. For those first years on the banking and consulting tracks, it is suit-up-and-sell season -- a time when many are anxiously clicking on the Career Development Center's website scanning closed lists, holing up in learning team rooms for case prep and mock interviews, and receiving their first internship offers.
Me ... not so much.
The majority of my job search has been, and will continue to be, off-grounds. This poses all sorts of interesting dilemmas.
First, I'm on a totally different time frame than many of my peers. I, for one, do not have interviews this week. And, while I've put in some time prepping, it could easily be more than a month before I begin to hear back from some of the companies I'm interested in. On my bad days, this time gap makes me nervous and I begin to question whether it might not be best to start throwing my resume into contention for jobs that have a very clear interview and offer schedule. On my better days, however, I pat myself on the back for staying true to my interests.
Second, off-grounds jobs are, as implied by their name, more difficult to find. Throughout the past few months, I've become a daily presence on a variety of job sites. Sometimes I turn up hidden jewels. Other times though, I'm filtering through the same internships I spotted last week.
Third, often I feel like I am sending my applications into a great abyss. Unlike on-grounds recruiting, where you get to attend briefings, meet face-to-face with recruiters and submit your application through the CDC, applying online means you're often left in the dark about who is reviewing your resume and when they might contact you.
It all sounds so frustrating, doesn't it? Honestly, there are moments when it is. But then I think about what brought me to Darden. It definitely wasn't the dream of becoming an I-banker. While that may work for many of my peers, it's a job I know I'd hate. And I guess that makes waiting a little easier.

2009!

It's resolution time and, while I'm not usually one for advertising faults (hah!), it might be nice to have a list to reference during what's sure to be an interesting year. So without further ado, my 2009 New Year's Resolutions:

1. Dial down the stress. I'm a major worrier, but as I get older I'm realizing that I tend to create a lot of my own anxiety. Need to stop doing that.

2. Stay true to the reasons that brought me to business school. With the pressure of finding a job in a struggling economy, it would in some ways be easier to throw my resume at any job posting I find. But that would steer my focus away from what I truly love and what truly drives me.

3. Patience! This is one I've been working on for years and fully expect to be chipping away at for the rest of my life.

4. Stop texting and driving. I'm embarrassed to admit I do this, but I do ... I mean I did.

Family & Friends

One of the things I missed most during my hectic days at Darden are those just-hanging-out moments with family and friends. Luckily, I've had ample time and opportunity for that over winter break. During much of my time in Tokyo, I explored the city with my mom, stepdad and 17-year-old sister. Once I returned stateside, I was a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding. And, this past week, I took a trip up to New England with my boyfriend. Throughout it all, it's been wonderful to reconnect. Rather than trying to fit phone conversations in between learning team and case prep, I actually got to sit down face-to-face with the ones I love. During extended lunches, car rides and shopping trips, our conversations ranged from serious to silly and giggly to tearful (weddings bring out all kinds of emotions).

For me, these talks have acted as much-needed reminders of how full my life is. While business school can often feel like the end-all, be-all, it really isn't. Out here in the real world, I'm not just a Darden first-year. I'm also a daughter, sister, friend and significant other. And each of those roles is important to me.

Thoughts from Tokyo

Before I begin the holiday break edition of this blog, I just want to acknowledge that Q2 finals are now over. And, while I could indulge in a little finals flashback (read: whine-fest), I've decided my type-time is better spent happily chattering away about my vacation from Darden. Because really, there is no way for me to adequately describe what it's like to endure five five-hour final exams in a row, except to say that it was quite a week. And that I survived.

So, moving on ...

With finals an almost distant memory, I arrived in Tokyo Sunday evening for a two-week family vacation. Thus far, it's been awesome. Armed with a guidebook and a subway map, I've spent the past couple days getting to know Tokyo the way I love getting to know any new country or city: aimless wandering. Today, for example, I braved chilly, rainy weather and headed to Ueno and the Tokyo National Museum. While I enjoyed the collection of Buddha statues, swords and paintings, half the adventure was figuring out the Tokyo subway system. I'll just add here that I am a big fan of easy-to-navigate public transportation.

In addition to wandering, I've also taken a lot of photos ... of plastic food. Yup, that's right: plastic food. In Japan, it's really popular for restaurants to advertise their offerings by displaying plastic versions of menu items. They're amazingly detailed and, if you ignore the sheen, pretty realistic. My boyfriend keeps telling me to photograph temples and skyscrapers, but for some reason I keep coming back to the plastic food. It's kitschy! And I love it.

Leaving the bubble

There are just three exams standing between me and a much-needed, 5-week vacation and I have to admit, it's getting a little hard to concentrate on my Operations notes. Instead of focusing on inventory carrying costs, reorder points and process capabilities, my mind keeps wandering to my post-test plans. And how could it not? The coming break will be the first time since graduating from college that I've been able to enjoy the holidays without rushing back to work a day or two after Christmas. Plus, I've got quite a packed schedule. On Saturday I will be leaving Charlottesville behind and traveling to Tokyo for two weeks. Then, it's back to Virginia for my best friend's wedding and immediately thereafter, I head to New England for New Year's.
Yet while I'm excited to (finally!) get away, it's going to be kind of odd to step outside the Darden bubble. Since arriving in Charlottesville in late July, I've made two forays into Richmond, but other than that, I've been limited to the 10-mile radius around Darden. It's gotten to the point where I've almost forgotten what a normal conversation sounds like (scratch the references to revenue recognition, right?).
And that's not good. Because before I came to Darden, I had a pretty full life: I read books, I baked, I had long chats with friends and family, I played sports, and occasionally, I spent entire days curled up on my couch watching mindless TV.
So here are my great aims for this vacation: reconnect with the person I was before I came to business school. Take advantage of a case-less, Outlook-free existence. Have a normal conversation.
Oh, but wait ... I guess I need to get Operations, Finance and Marketing out of the way first.

Relationship adjustments

For me, the most exciting moment of the past week was not the end of Q2, my four hours at the Darden prom or the day I realized I'd soon be en route to Tokyo. While those were all good moments to be sure, they pale in comparison to the moment when my boyfriend, a Darden second year, learned he'd been offered a place in a competitive leadership development program. I don't think I've ever been happier for, or prouder of, someone. And yes, I cried.
But don't worry, this is not where I start waxing lyrical about the wonderful attributes of my significant other (although I could). Instead, this is where I write about something I've thought a lot about in recent weeks: how will his job affect where I go and what I do?
See, I've never been much of a follower. Until now, all of my relocation decisions have been based on what's best for me.
Not this time though. This time, I want what's best for us.
Job-wise, that has some interesting implications. Initially, it means finding a summer internship that will best position me to find a permanent job wherever Jordan is. And come next year, it'll mean my job search will be limited not just by industry and function, but also by geography.
While a few years ago, this would have been unthinkable, I've realized that to ensure a relationship will work, I have to make ... adjustments (I won't call them concessions).

Second quarter down!

And with a cover letter-crazy flourish, it's done ... Q2 that is. I know I've said this before, but it is mind boggling how fast my time at Darden is flying by (of course, I didn't think that 2 posts ago when I was deep in the midst of Black November, but hey, it's December and my perspective has changed). What a quarter it's been, too. What with Finance and Economics and multi-day simulations, I think I've made it to just one TNDC (Thursday Night Drinking Club) event.
So what have I been doing with myself? Well sadly, I've spent a socially-unacceptable amount of time studying. As previously mentioned, the course-load this quarter was pretty quant-heavy. And trying to make sense of IS/LM shifts, free cash flows and marketable securities accounting took a looooong time. Still does, actually.
Then, of course, there's the job hunt -- that harsh romp-with-reality forced on all of us peddling resumes in a down economy. In the past couple weeks, I've spent countless hours scanning the Career Development Center's website, searching for off-Grounds job postings and writing cover letters. It's a seriously time-consuming process. And ideally, it's a process that spurs moments of real self-introspection: what kind of job do I want? How does that compare with the kinds of jobs I could realistically get? What would this or that job mean for my personal life? How would this job vs. that job position me for full-time employment? And on it goes ...
With so many things crowding my to-do list, it's easy to see why my social life has taken a hit. Tonight however, offers me a chance to redeem myself. Even though exams begin Monday and I desperately need to study, tonight I will put on a dress, blow dry my hair and strap on some 3-inch heels. For what better way to celebrate the end of Q2 and the impending holidays, than a charity auction and ball. That's right folks, it's Darden prom!