Setting Off False Alarms

While waiting for an interview to begin, this MBA accidentally pulled the fire alarm. He didn't get the internship, but he certainly made an impression

by Vivek Bhatnagar

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Vivek Bhatnagar
Babson
MBA Class of 2008

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It was supposed to be a normal Friday morning at one of the premier office buildings in downtown Boston. The clock showed 9:45 a.m. Things were beginning to settle down into what would have been another hours-before-the-weekend kind of business routine, when suddenly the blaring sound of the fire alarm tore through the silence. Within minutes, everybody had evacuated. The fire department in all its glory and urgency was soon all over the place. It didn't take them long, however, to realize this was a false alarm….

But this isn't where it all began.

The Boston office of one of the country's top consulting firms, where I happened to be interviewing on that beautiful but wet winter morning, was located in this pristine building on Batterymarch Street, close to the city's business hub. Although my internship interview was scheduled for 10 a.m., I had arrived—somewhat unexpectedly—a little too early.

As I waited in the lobby reading a magazine, I saw from the corner of my eye a class fellow, who had just finished interviewing and left, coming back and knocking at the glass door. He had come back to fetch something he had forgotten. The lady at the reception was, for some reason, not at her place. She had the controls to open the door.

No Cause for Alarm

Without giving it much thought, I reached out for the button next to the door that was supposed to unlock it. Instead, my hand ended up bringing down the lever that was supposed to be the "fire alarm," which, for some strange reason, was placed strategically right next to this door-unlocking button.

Before I knew it, the whole building was abuzz: first with the alarm going off, and then with people rushing out. As people filled the street outside, I could see the firefighters rush in. The whole place looked like mayhem. Not a pretty sight, I assure you!

If ever I was trying to make a memorable impression in an interview, I couldn't have asked for anything more impacting.

My interviewer—pressed for time as he was—decided to conduct the interview right at the building's entrance, almost on the stairway. Or at least he began the interview. However, out of sheer compassion, I guess, he then agreed to postpone it until lunch time. It was supposed to be a luncheon interview. And I thought it went off well too, despite the fact that I really didn't have any appetite left.

Not surprisingly, I didn't make the cut!

Late Starter

So much for my first internship interview experience! Having faced much worse accidents, both manmade and natural, I wasn't really ruffled. In fact, I was at my calmest. Although no one had seen me setting off the alarm, I was the first person to greet the firefighters and tell them I was responsible for everything.

Looking at the positive side of it—and here, being the die-hard optimist that I am helps—things can only get better. With our Module III exams just over, we now have some free time (a week of spring break actually) that I can use constructively for my internship search. I know I'm a bit late in the game. But that's more out of default than design.

Three interviews (the result of one of which I'm still awaiting) and another five companies (to hear from) later, I find things just warming up. My seniors at the school tell me April (and to some extent May) are the most hectic months for the internship search. But with all those speech, writing, and case-preparation classes behind me, along with countless edits of cover letters and résumés—thanks to the tireless efforts of our speech/writing and career-center experts—I feel good and ready.

Army Angle

However, my biggest challenge still remains translating my Indian army experience into something the corporate world would find valuable. And this is an area I'm still working on.