The Second Time Around

I have a phone interview on Monday. I’m kind of, maybe, hesitant, but it’s a good (enough) opportunity and I want to get it.

My work experience has been pretty alright so far, but I’m not really happy and my current job isn’t all that I expected it to be. I’ve learned A LOT, basically got my ass handed to me every day for the first year. Well, I’m still getting my ass handed to me now that I'm in my second year, but it’s been moved to once a week now. Call me, maybe, ungrateful or unappreciative for wanting to leave my current Private Equity job, but I’m looking to do something else with my life. PE is good, but it’s overrated, especially on these forums. It’s definitely not the be-all end-all to one’s short existence on this planet.

The first time around interviewing for me was a painful learning process in how it was NOT COOL BRO to just be myself in an interview. I was by far the worst interviewee I know (and very well still may be). In the beginning, I took too long to answer questions, was too intellectually honest about my experiences, and failed to take the interview process that seriously. It took many, many months of rejection and unemployment to whip my ass into shape, and I developed a series of workarounds to bypass my weaknesses, which while not landing me any offers, carried me through to some success in interviews within a short period of time (Yes, I got my current job without an interview, but I can’t count on always being that lucky).

So now, I’m about a year and a half into my first job and am starting to deal with the whole recruiting cycle again. It’s not going to be a whole lot of fun and, I mean, I am getting pretty fucking fat, so I can barely fit into my suit. But that’s beside the point. I hear Arena Pharmaceuticals is coming out with a weight loss drug, so last resort, I’ll try that shit out. It's no big deal.

But anyways, I’m curious about how you more experienced, non undergraduate banking wannabes (fyi industry’s in contraction), felt about the interview process the second time around. What’s different the second time around? How much easier/harder was it? And, also, for those who made a move to another industry, how did you find the interview process?