My friend said to me: "You know, interviews are exactly like first dates" and then she took a big sip of her wine spritzer. It was lovely weather and we went for a walk and sat down in the beer garden located in the middle of a park. She works as a C-level recruiter and interviewing is her job. As I have a lot of experience as an interviewee, I started asking questions. These were her theories: Meeting the employer/future partner through networking: Many people say they meet their life partner through other people. At a party, at an event, or just at a cafe. With jobs, vitamin b is very powerful. I feel like it becomes more relevant the...
Only when I moved out of university, did I realised how many clothes I had. I had so many things, I don't even know how I fit them into my tiny wardrobe. At university, I had my very first job and of course I only spent my money on clothes and booze. I had 0 savings at the time. When I started my first job, I forced myself to invest 10% of my salary into the company shares in a monthly savings plan. At the time, the money was taken directly from my salary, which for me was the only way to put money aside. Many years went by, with me not knowing how much I spend on what. Until I...
It was the last interview for the day, I had just asked my interviewer what his most memorable consulting project was. While he was speaking, I didn’t really listen, I was so concerned with how I came across and what the next question was, that I was going to ask. Obviously, my next question was: “So do you think it I can use my languages if I start working here?”. Boom, that was the end of the interview. This totally unrelated question, showed my interviewer that I wasn't really interested in what he had to say, I was just so concerned about myself, and how I was coming across, I totally missed to build trust. Looking back, I have had certain situation, where...
I was sitting in the living room, finishing off my dinner, when I looked at the clock and realised it was time to get glamed up. I was invited to a colleagues birthday party that Saturday. Going to a party and just knowing one person is a challenge even for an extrovert. Her place was really cute, tall ceilings and wooden floors. There was food and drinks, it was a party after all. I got introduced to Ksenia, she was a friend of the birthday girl. She was in consulting at the time too, naturally we had a lot to talk about. She had traveled to Düsseldorf, all the way from Munich, just to attend the party. I was impressed...
I remember my first few years as a Management Consultant. I was 23 at the time and totally in over my head. I always looked older than my actual age, but because of my international background, I approach people differently. Some people get confused and cannot deal with that amount of trust that is given to them. They think trust needs to be earned and when someone hands it out, something is wrong. In reality it is just a different way of seeing it. You can trust someone until they prove you wrong. This makes every interaction so much easier. I used to have so many rules, at the beginning of my career, I thought with their help, I could outsmart...
