Genre and Sub Genre — Verbal Folklore: Urban Legends (Unsuccessful Interviews)

Language: English

Country where Item is from: United States

Informant Data: Matthew Kang is a senior at Dartmouth College and an Economics major. Matt is from Tallahassee, Florida, where his parents work for the state government. He has participated in numerous rounds of finance recruiting interviews here at Dartmouth, and he has had finance internships ranging from venture capital to investment banking. He will also begin his career in the finance industry after graduation in New York City. On campus, Matt is part of Dartmouth Business Journal and Dartmouth Finance Society.  

Social Context: Given that aspiring Finance professionals are often looking for ways to ensure their success in Finance interviews, they often inquire about stories of unsuccessful interviews in order to know what exactly they should avoid doing. The folklore in question is therefore shared among aspiring finance professionals, of both sexes, and those pursuing business degrees or with interests in pursuing a career in Business.

Cultural Context: Given the very competitive nature of Finance interviews, it is said that interviewers may often be looking for things by which to revoke one’s candidacy. And because this can often be the case, people are advised to not lie on their resumes, overstate their particular involvement in any endeavor, or engage in any action that might otherwise call into question their eligibility or fit for a particular position. Because there are so many things people can do to undermine their candidacy, we were looking for definitive stories illustrative of people behaving in ways harmful to their chances of securing employment in Finance. Towards this end, Joseph Wang interviewed Matthew Kang one-on-one in a quiet area in the library.

Item: Matthew Kang cited having heard a story of an individual who had two superdays on the same day and pocketed the money one of the firms gave him for lodging as opposed to letting one firm know that he would not need the monetary funds. Much to the individual in question’s dismay, the two individuals that interviewed him spoke and somehow discovered the interviewee’s deceit. Needless to say, the interviewee’s candidacy was  revoked at both firms and he was left without a job.

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

Relevant Portion: 4:35 — 5:41

Transcript of Associated File:

• Joseph Wang: And then the last question I have is… Kind of urban legends about successful vs. unsuccessful interviews.. What have you heard within your…  from your peers.. In the Finance industry .. about urban legends surrounding that

• Matthew Kang: So I heard one pretty funny story about that… this is a negative story.. So usually when you go into the city like New York for a final round interview.. The company will pay for your hotel and your bus ticket… so this one guy I heard.. Got two final rounds in the city on the same day.. And two companies were offering to pay for his hotel.. So he stayed at one hotel.. And pocketed the money from the second firm to stay at the hotel.. Then they figured out.. because apparently the people that interviewed him talked.. The two people at the different firms talked then they realized… that he did this… definitely a horror story that people tell to deter you from doing that..

Collector’s Name:

• Joseph Wang

Tags/Keywords:

• Verbal Folklore, Urban Legends, Unsuccessful Interviews, Horror Story