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Omigod guess what! I got an interview! Yay!
I've been writing a bunch of different cover letters lately in an attempt to convince people that my one true love is immigration/family law/civil litigation, etc. I went to write a real estate one yesterday morning and halfway through I was like god...this is really a stretch. I learned how to amortize a mortgage by hand in my Corporate Finance class. I once looked through a commercial lease for threatening language. I had some clients that had recently bought property to develop once. And the court I worked at mostly did property tax stuff. But I was like meh...what the hell, I'll throw that all together and bake at 350 for two hours and see what comes out. And apparently it came out crispy & convincing, because I sent it to this place at like 11 and they emailed to set up an interview at 1 =)
It's not until Monday the 25th too, so I have plenty of time to figure out why I really want to do real estate closings for the entire rest of my life. Something besides the "low pay" they advertise... Hmm... tricky... Anyone? Anyone?
Also, what's everyone's favorite "Do you have any questions for me?" question? I usually ask how they ended up doing whatever they're doing and variations on that theme. I also like to discuss the weather, the Red Sox, and, if they went to my school, the elevators. They usually like to ask me about Russia and rock climbing. My "Interests" section is very popular. I apparently share many interests with middle-aged men.
I've been writing a bunch of different cover letters lately in an attempt to convince people that my one true love is immigration/family law/civil litigation, etc. I went to write a real estate one yesterday morning and halfway through I was like god...this is really a stretch. I learned how to amortize a mortgage by hand in my Corporate Finance class. I once looked through a commercial lease for threatening language. I had some clients that had recently bought property to develop once. And the court I worked at mostly did property tax stuff. But I was like meh...what the hell, I'll throw that all together and bake at 350 for two hours and see what comes out. And apparently it came out crispy & convincing, because I sent it to this place at like 11 and they emailed to set up an interview at 1 =)
It's not until Monday the 25th too, so I have plenty of time to figure out why I really want to do real estate closings for the entire rest of my life. Something besides the "low pay" they advertise... Hmm... tricky... Anyone? Anyone?
Also, what's everyone's favorite "Do you have any questions for me?" question? I usually ask how they ended up doing whatever they're doing and variations on that theme. I also like to discuss the weather, the Red Sox, and, if they went to my school, the elevators. They usually like to ask me about Russia and rock climbing. My "Interests" section is very popular. I apparently share many interests with middle-aged men.
posted by feithline @ 9:50 AM
3 Comments:
At 4:39 PM,
The Once and Future TC said…
You could always try reaching into the "transactional work is awesome" grab bag...e.g., "I am interested in real estate because the focus is on helping two parties reach a mutually satisfactory agreement...it's less adversarial and more about problem-solving...I love the detail-oriented work involved with contracts -- figuring out the perfect way to phrase everything, looking for traps, etc." Lather, rinse, repeat.
Questions to ask...try to sound very interested in the work there. So yeah, ask how they got into the field...ask how you would progress over time (what kinds of things could you expect to do your first year? Later? Opportunities for advancement, or if none, where could working at this place take you in the future?). The "community involvement" question can go either way. If they're into pro bono, or wish they were, they might like having you ask what they do. But if in reality they don't do any because they're so busy working everyone to death, the fact that you ask might just make you seem like a bad fit, or too much of a suck-up. I eventually stopped asking that one unless something about the firm prompted it, such as, "We have a strong commitment to pro bono work!"
At 5:24 PM,
feithline said…
F&D - Sorry about that. I don't know why my blog would be eating your comments. Did you sprinkle them with cinnamon?
At 7:22 AM,
Gnome da Ploom said…
I always hated the "do you have any questions for me?" question. No. I don't have any questions for you, other than 1. when do I start 2. what is the pay 3. where is the bathroom.
Actually, I don't mind that question so much further into the interview process, but in a 20 minute on campus interview, I'm sort of expecting them to, um, interview me. It's a screening interview, for crying out loud.
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