Oh, See Are

There hasn't been much time lately to write, mainly because of OCR. What is this terrifying acronym you may ask?

It stands for On-Campus Recruiting, and usually it is the process by which Penn students interview and are selected for internships between their junior and senior years or, in the fall, full-time offers to companies.

Life for a Penn student, and Wharton in particular, can be especially driven. Some might even say that the state of the economy puts additional pressure on an already tattered labor market. Here's a little sneak peak into the competitive world of OCR.

The first stage involves thorough research. Companies list their openings on Penn's database in December and students must comb through the myriad of companies and industries. Being a business oriented school, most of our jobs revolve around finance or management consulting.

Next, a few of the largest companies will hold information sessions during the first few weeks of school to engage students to apply to their firms. For us students, that means wearing your best suit to class so you can get to that info session right afterwards. Its a good chance to press the flesh, meet employees, and perhaps make a contact or two that'll get you the coveted interview. I can usually tell the quality of the company from the inevitable buffet of finger-food, which usually serves as dinner for us (since we just did come class).

First-date over, we move on to more serious stuff. Students return online to submit their love letters...err resumes and cover letters. Dozens. Then we wait. And wait.

The news starts to trickle in....good for some, mostly bad for others. Those who are lucky enough to strike an interview now need to (and have been) getting prepped.

For investment bankers its a series of hard questions, testing your knowledge of the markets, accounting, and finance. For management consultants its case questions, looking at how you solve business problems. Interviews last only about an hour, but can include multiple rounds, groups, written tests, behavioral questions, and brain teasers. A well prepared student must be ready for everything they can throw at you. In addition to looking at your skills the companies are looking at your 'fit', or how well you'll assimilate into their culture.

From there its on to another round, if you're selected of course. This round will focus more on technical skills. It's not uncommon to hear of students being flown out to headquarters for final rounds, returning later that day. Even for us just studying business, the travel starts immediately. In a jumble of a couple of weeks the cuts and offers fly by. The efficiency of such a process cannot be tamed.

This creates a unique environment. One where someone can walk around campus all day with a suit and never be questioned. Where you're not sure if your friend will tell you about his last interview (because we're technically competitors). However, it does push all of us to be at the top of our game. Competition really does bring out the worst, and the best.