All of My Thoughts about Recruiting

Caveat: I thought about writing this after recruiting, because what if a recruiter reads it and does not appreciate my humor and marks me off the list. Then I thought, if they don't appreciate my style, it's likely not a great fit. More than that, I think it's good to write about uncertainty in the middle of uncertainty, as the emotions are more raw. Finally, I very much appreciate the fact that Ross positions you to succeed in the job market, presenting you with a veritable smorgasbord of opportunity. However, that doesn't mean there's no stress involved.

Ooo this is nice. All these companies are here, fawning over me. Courting me.

Yay! Free food. Mmm and free beverages.

Am I interested in that company? No, no I'm not. I wish I was, but I'm not. And I'm bad at faking it.

That was a good night. I think we really had a connection.

How many ways adjectives are there for "great company"? Can I use the word awesome, or is that inappropriate?


Should I be stressed? Other people are stressed. Maybe I should be stressed. Shoot. I'm stressed. Why am I stressed?

Maybe I should have applied for more internships.

I didn't come here to just get a job. I came here to get my job. The job. The one where I can make the biggest difference. Why would I want less than that?

Ahhh I don't know if I can eat any more free food. Anna, who are you and why would you ever bemoan free food?

May I please have your grandmother's email address, so I can thank her for birthing your mother, who in turn birthed you.

O, sweet professor. You really want me to care about the efficiency of a cranberry plant right now?

Thank you, dear classmate who I speak to in passing, for reassuring me I will get a job now that you have one. As patronizing as that sounds, I prefer it to hearing you complain about how you don't have a job yet.

But seriously, where am I going to be this summer? How about next year? How about in five years?

Hey, everyone, how about instead of talking about interviewing, we talk about music, or how Grayson Allen is the biggest pre Madonna in college basketball, even by Duke standards. Or talk about Chipotle. I can always talk about Chipotle.

Hmmm. Maybe I want a boyfriend. No, Anna, that literally has nothing to do with right now. You just don't like uncertainty. And you want a back massage.

Why is it so gray outside?

Alright, God, close all the doors except the right one. And maybe keep a couple others open for the sake of my sanity.

Why didn't they like me? How could anyone not like me? I thought we had something special.

They didn't like me? Well, fine, I didn't like them, either.

Maybe I'll die alone and never contribute anything to society.*

Get it together, Anna. Go work out.


I woke up at 4:30 this morning. Normally when that happens, I go to the bathroom and return to bed. Since it coincided with the Australian Open men's semifinal between the recently rehabbed Federer and Wawrinka, however, I decided to watch. I joined the match after Federer had won the first two sets and was seemingly cruising to the finals. He dropped the third set 1-6. They fought through the fourth set, until Wawrinka broke to go up 5-4 and closed the set. Federer fought off two break points in the fifth and will be in the finals Sunday at 3:30 AM, which I may or may not watch live.

I know ya'll have missed the tennis metaphors*, so here goes.

Tennis requires a unique mental strength to succeed*, different than that required in team sports. You are completely alone. No teammate will compensate if your shot is off, and no coach will calm you down, except for a brief look into the stands. And there's an opponent that's fighting the same fight. I think the pitcher/batter matchup is a similar battle, but if a pitcher is having an off day, the GM pulls him from the mound, and the offense can redeem the performance. Boxing certainly requires a similar mentality, but it moves so quickly that you don't have the time to think.

In tennis, you have 30 seconds in between points to think about what went wrong, what could go wrong, or how to compete in the next point. You have two minutes during changeover to regroup or unravel. And five minutes in between sets to dig deep, make strategic adjustments and finish strong, or panic. It's your choice.

If you watch the sport enough, or play it enough, you can see this internal battle raging. You can predict the momentum shifts. The single points that completely alter the tone of the match.

The toughest matches are won not because of strength or technique. They're won because you can dictate momentum. You know which points will cause your opponent to unravel, and when you're the person unraveling - when you've temporarily lost your shot or can't seem to convert - you know how to stop the spiral. To snap out of it. Point by point.

Life seems to be a constant sequence of momentum shifts. There are times when you are converting on all cylinders, times when you're a little off, and times when not a single shot seems to fall. How you react to those periods dictates your success.

Over the years, you learn to curb your internal momentum shifts. Every player has marquee matches, and the longer you play, the more you have. Those matches when you were steady, smart, and strong. And when you're in the middle of match, knowing the next point could determine momentum, you remember those matches.

So right now, in the middle of recruiting, when my mind can wander in many fruitless directions, dwelling on past errors or wondering what might happen in the third set when I haven't even finished the first, I remember those past victories. When I quit my job and began serving tables, when I joined a startup, or when I left that job without knowing if I had been accepted to graduate school.

Most tennis players have a ritual between points. It could be Nadal picking his wedgie - why don't you just get bigger shorts - or Federer brushing back his hair - don't ever cut your hair, Federer. I always took a moment to remind myself to compete. And in the middle of uncertainty, I hold on to Philippians 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And then I work out.

* I renounce that. Plus, I've already contributed this blog.

* As I wrote this, I realized it's been nearly two years since one has graced my blog, and new readers may never have experienced my favorite metaphor. What a shame.

* And frankly, I think under appreciated by the masses.