Will this be an interview?

Hello,

I hope someone can give me some feedback/ideas.

Early March I sent an email to a MD of a company I am extremely interested at. What is interesting is that we share the same bachelor degree (not same college though). This is a quite uncommon background for finance (I haven't been able to find anyone in his company in LinkedIn with the same bachelor). In my email I mentioned this point and that I would love to have a call with him and learn about his trajectory.

I didn't got any reply (for more than 4 weeks) but last Friday I got an email from his secretary so to call her ASAP to set a meeting in person with him. I call her on Friday and she sets an "meeting" for this Thursday after work (6-7 PM) in his office, and sends me the Outlook invite.

So what do you think about it? Will this be a real interview? I saw their are growing in my specific field and hired a few people early this year.

What I find very awkward is that I haven't even crossed a word with this guy. He is also very high ranked (MD; the highest ranked in this office) and I am an analyst (which btw I mentioned).

Thanks,

5 Comments
 
"srj62"

He could just be trying to help you and give advice. However, you should treat everything like an interview and be extremely prepared. Do research on his firm, what he does, why you would want to work there, etc..

If the meeting goes well in your follow up you can try to push the idea for a possible job opening.

This. Wear a suit and tie. Be prepared to ask interesting questions. Thank him for his time and make sure to follow up.

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there" - Will Rogers
 
Best Response

Thank you very much for your replies and wishes.

I very much hope it is a real interview :) The only downturn I see is that the latest hires I see on LinkedIn are quite more experienced than me; however they have very common backgrounds for the role.

What makes me wonder is that my language skills would be extremely useful for their current geographic expansion (I am based in Europe so as you know languages other than English play a role). To add more coincidences, I am perfectly fluent in his native language (so changing a bit the countries; imagine this in an interview in London, my native language is German - where they are expanding - and I am perfectly fluent in French - where this guy comes from -).

So even if we are in a very competitive environment, it is highly unlikely that this guy will find someone with pretty much his exact background and experience, that speaks a language he can't understand and is useful for his company, and yet I can communicate with him in his native language.

Of course it doesn't mean anything, but at least it is funny for someone like me who is usually an outlier because of my very uncommon background.

 

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