Genre and Sub Genre — Customary Folklore: Behavior, Tradition, Practice

Language: English

Country where Item is from: United States

 

Informant Data: Esteban Acevedo is from Westchester NY. He is a neuroscience major and a senior. In his free time, he enjoys playing racquetball, watching movies and hanging out with friends. Currently, he is doing corporate recruiting and has interviewed with several companies in NYC.

Social Context: Given the stakes involved in Consulting interviews, aspiring Consultants are often antsy about how it is they ought to behave in an interview. And so much like the case in the other folklore collected here, more junior undergraduates will reach out to those who have done Consulting interviews in order to get a better sense of how they ought to behave. And so the customary folklore in question here is shared among males and females, those generally pursuing business related degrees, and between those who are more junior and those more senior in their academic careers.

Cultural Context: Given that people who work in Consulting share a set of common beliefs and practices, they themselves constitute a folk group, a folk group to which one is seeking entry when one recruits for a job in Consulting. In light of this fact, one has to exhibit certain behaviors and characteristics that someone already in the sought-after capacity might display. In order to explore what exactly constitutes the “right behavior”, one of our collectors, Danny Li, interviewed Esteban Acevedo one-on-one in Novack in order to get a better sense for the right behaviors.

 

Item: Esteban noted that one must exhibit one’s knowledge about the Consultancy with which one is interviewing. He also noted that one must be able to articulate why they are interested in Consulting. He also noted that one must be calm during the interview and that no matter what transpires, one should retain their composure. Authenticity is also something he cited as being very important for one to display during a Consulting Interview.

 

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Relevant Portion: 5:49 — 6:20

Transcript of Associated File:

• Danny Li: What do you think is key to you landing a job .. and doing well in an interview?

 

• Esteban Acevedo: There are a lot of things that are important… You have to um.. You have to… know why Consulting.. why the company.. You have to have those things be clear… You have to like.. Prepare for cases.. I think it is important to remain calm… I think it’s important to be authentic.. Yea.. things like that

 

Collector’s Comments:

• Esteban’s extensive experience in the Consulting interviews has made him a particularly interesting person to speak with and someone who in particular has illuminating thoughts on the customary folklore associated with Consulting recruiting

 

General Comments:

• Our informants generally noted that one should exhibit a high-level of personal hygiene and that one should dress business formal with a well-fitting suit. Given the uniformity of our responses, no variances were discerned.

Collector’s Name:

• Danny Li

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary Folklore, Consulting Interview Behavior, Practice, Interview Tradition