Build a Life - Not a Resume

I recently noticed a phrase that Alex from MBA Apply uses consistently in the business school forum: "Build a life, not a resume." I feel like too many members of WSO ignore this advice and fall into the trap of competing through test scores, GPAs, brand name, etc. Frankly, I think this is the wrong approach for someone trying to stick out.

The best way to be remembered is to be interesting, and the best way to be interesting is to do interesting things! In everyone of my first round interviews, talked about at least one of the following: paintball, poker, foosball, philosophy, traveling. In fact, sometimes I talked more about those topics than my six month full-time job. I converted over 80% of my first round ib interviews to superdays, and I am convinced it is simply because I was more memorable than the other candidates.

Do you need to have a good GPA? Probably.
Does it help to have high test scores and go to a target school? Yeah
Are technicals important? Definitely, but they shouldn't take more than a week or two to learn.

It takes time and effort to build a complete life, but the payoff is a war-chest of experiences which will help you stand out in an interview.

 

Confucius say "He who fucks nuns will later become a priest ".

Flake don't need no class.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 

Ha, I can't say I expected people to latch onto the philosophy comment. I guess I should know what to expect from WSO.

obscenity:
And nobody realizes what bullshit it is that how interesting you are matters more than how qualified you are?

News flash: pretty much everyone who applies is qualified for banking jobs. If you can learn quick, do basic math, and take a lot of shit you can bank. Once you convince your interviewer that you can handle the math (which isn't hard), your chance of getting the offer is dependent on SELLING YOURSELF.

Does the iPhone have better technical specs than other smartphones? No, in fact the others are generally better. But all smartphones can be used to call, text, email, and web surf and the iPhone is the "coolest." So people buy the iPhone.

 
Flake:
This shit is getting deep. Simple's mom deep.

*In 1950s-style typical white, Americana father voice.

Now son, don't worry, I know what your problem is.

Well now, when you're trying to measure how deep a pond is, you take a fallen branch and see how far down it goes, see. Well, if you tried that with just a little twig, you'd probably think the pond went down pretty far, right?

Well you see, you're problem is kinda like that...

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 
Nouveau Richie:
Flake:
This shit is getting deep. Simple's mom deep.

*In 1950s-style typical white, Americana father voice.

Now son, don't worry, I know what your problem is.

Well now, when you're trying to measure how deep a pond is, you take a fallen branch and see how far down it goes, see. Well, if you tried that with just a little twig, you'd probably think the pond went down pretty far, right?

Well you see, you're problem is kinda like that...

Hahahahaha I liked that. You win.

Under my tutelage, you will grow from boys to men. From men into gladiators. And from gladiators into SWANSONS.
 
Best Response

Good advice. Outside of drugs, television and drinking 24/7, mostly any type of activity you choose to do to diversify your interest or life experience can be directly or indirectly transferable to most jobs. For instance, I was able to talk about my travels in Euro while doing interviews. Fortunately most interviewers had never traveled much, and the jobs were concerned with macro-economic events. I was able to state my opinion on the macro-economy and substantiate this with actual experiences with the culture, people, and state my views based on real-world experiences, not bs from the news.

 

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