Please Publish My Plight!

Flashback to last year: it was mid-February and recruiting had come to a virtual halt. I was checking my email (definitely not in the middle of class*) and I was pleasantly surprised to see a note from a reporter at the Wall Street Journal. She covered the b-school beat and was writing an article about the challenging recruiting environment.

Behold dear readers:
“I was wondering if you could put me in touch with someone who is still looking for a job or if you’re still in that boat. Your thoughts/experiences will be part of a story about career recruiting and how tough it is this year.”

I was ecstatic. Oh yes WSJ, please publish my plight! I could see how this would unfold already: I would eloquently describe my recruiting efforts and the obstacles that I was encountering along the way. Impressed by my wit and obvious intelligence, some recruiter would swoop in with an offer and I would ride off into the sunset with my dream job.

Alas, the hundred other MBAs who likely received this same message beat me to the punch; by the time I connected with the reporter she had already finished her story. And I called her within the hour.

Key takeaway:
There is no such thing as bad publicity but remember that the news waits for no man (or woman).

*It was really towards the very end of class.