The Flyback

It happened! A company flew me back for an on-site interview. Sierra Pacific/Nevada Power flew me to Las Vegas Thursday night. I stayed the night in a La Quinta Inn & Suites, ate at Claim Jumper, and had SIX interviews on Friday morning.

8:20 Continental Breakfast at the office. Meet and greet with all the Finance staff.
Advice: Eating isn't what should really be going on here. I took the time to meet people on the staff, ask questions, etc... "Hi, I'm Brandon Hightower. Thanks for having me here." "Hey guys, could you point me in the direction of the restroom?" "Do people in the office usually have a continental breakfast on Fridays?" SMILE. Use a little charisma.

9:00 Interviews: We had six 30-minute interviews with managers in the office. They managed different areas of finance within the company: risk, debt financing, equity financing, treasury, accounting, etc.
Advice: Be yourself. I know it's simple, but it's true. Here's some more truth: being yourself may screw up your chances of getting the internship, but it's better to not get this job than to get it and have to fake your personality for the rest of your employment.
The questions were behavioral based, and no two interviewers asked the same questions. I was ready with some experiences where I had to "make a tough choice" or "achieve a hard goal" or "solve a disagreement between team members." I was NOT prepared for the questions of "Tell me about a time when you failed at something." I talked about how I didn't make the school b-ball team after freshman year, and wasn't sure why. But don't leave it at that! Tell the interviewer that even though it didn't work out, it wasn't a failure BECAUSE you learned something, or because you haven't made the same mistake since then.
BIG ADVICE: Again, interviewing isn't what's really going on here. The company is looking for fit. They know you are technically qualified (although they threw in a few basic finance questions) and now they just want to know if they can stand working with you. Use the time of the interview to get to know the person, find something in common with them. Sports, a picture, something on their desk, anything so they don't forget you!


12:30 LUNCH in a presentation room, chicken, rice, veggies, dessert, the usual. YUM!
Advice: Again, don't just eat! Meet and greet, THANK every interviewer. If you forgot to get business cards during interviews, try to now. They love to hand out cards in front of their coworkers. The CFO came and spoke with us and asked if we had any questions. ASK QUESTIONS!!! If you can't think of a question to ask, put your hand up in the air anyway, there's nothing like being put on the spot to evoke the thought process. I mean, I was the only guy to ask a question of the CFO and he is ultimately responsible for picking the interns. How much more do you think I stood out just because I asked him a question?! After the lunch I followed up with the CFO and asked him what his goals for interns were. I wanted to see if they were in line with my own goals, i.e. provide experience in the corporate environment, hopefully leading to full-time opportunities after graduation. He thanked me and said, "that was a good question you asked up there." (My question related to what his focus was for the financial path of the company over the next few years. It gave him an opportunity to take credit and boast a little about the company's recent accomplishments.)

1:30 Ride back to hotel. Thank the driver!
We took a cab to the airport after dinner. Sierra Pacific, NYSE: SPR, footed the bill for everything. While we were packing, the interviewers wasted no time in deliberating. I received a call back the following morning from John, one of the finance employees. He wanted to share the "good news" with me: I was chosen for the internship.

Competition was fierce, two undergrads and 5 MBAs. I lucked out as an undergrad. They had reviewed over 53 resumes and recruited from 5 colleges. My hard work has paid off and I'm guaranteed an internship!