Learning Statement.
I was sitting across the table from them- completely frozen. My mouth was dry. Sweat had seeped through my blazer. This was it. This was the interview for my dream job and I was petrified.
The interview panel was shuffling through a stack of papers- no doubt all concerning me and how I would be measured. The head interviewer waited for this white noise to die down before he welcomed me and said it was time to begin. “Alright Miss Azer, why don’t you start by telling us how your experiences at school have uniquely prepared you for this position.”
My mind started to race- I could talk about the business clubs I had participated in for the last three years, my marketing classes, my sorority- but with a sinking feeling I realized that every person who scored an interview must have done all this stuff too. Then, like a spark, the answer came to me: “Well I am a student at the Foster School of Business studying marketing, but I’ve also had the privilege of participating in the University of Washington’s Interdisciplinary Honors Program.”
I went on to talk about how Honors has forced me to take classes outside of common business subject matter: Art, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Experiential Learning, Biology, and Film to name a few. Each of these courses pushed me to think about things other than business, and then encouraged me to understand the role business within each subject matter. Moreover, it taught me to appreciate these wildly different ways of thinking while recognizing this experience is replicated across the professional world: “Consider our environment at Boeing,” I said, “We have engineers, lawyers, journalists, industrial designers, researchers, strategists, pilots, communicators, mechanics, operations experts, event planners- the list goes on. All too often I see people seeking to just operate in the field they are most comfortable in- but that doesn’t make our products better. The teams that spark innovation are willing to collaborate, consider, and cultivate other areas of knowledge. They are made up of people who feel comfortable both leading and following; these people know when to step into the spotlight and when to defer to an expert. They understand the strengths of their teammates and use them to compensate for their own weaknesses. Although getting here is uncomfortable and humbling, it always makes the final product better and is something we must do. Honors taught me how to do this at the University of Washington…and at your company.”
This answer got me the offer.
The interview panel was shuffling through a stack of papers- no doubt all concerning me and how I would be measured. The head interviewer waited for this white noise to die down before he welcomed me and said it was time to begin. “Alright Miss Azer, why don’t you start by telling us how your experiences at school have uniquely prepared you for this position.”
My mind started to race- I could talk about the business clubs I had participated in for the last three years, my marketing classes, my sorority- but with a sinking feeling I realized that every person who scored an interview must have done all this stuff too. Then, like a spark, the answer came to me: “Well I am a student at the Foster School of Business studying marketing, but I’ve also had the privilege of participating in the University of Washington’s Interdisciplinary Honors Program.”
I went on to talk about how Honors has forced me to take classes outside of common business subject matter: Art, History, Philosophy, Political Science, Experiential Learning, Biology, and Film to name a few. Each of these courses pushed me to think about things other than business, and then encouraged me to understand the role business within each subject matter. Moreover, it taught me to appreciate these wildly different ways of thinking while recognizing this experience is replicated across the professional world: “Consider our environment at Boeing,” I said, “We have engineers, lawyers, journalists, industrial designers, researchers, strategists, pilots, communicators, mechanics, operations experts, event planners- the list goes on. All too often I see people seeking to just operate in the field they are most comfortable in- but that doesn’t make our products better. The teams that spark innovation are willing to collaborate, consider, and cultivate other areas of knowledge. They are made up of people who feel comfortable both leading and following; these people know when to step into the spotlight and when to defer to an expert. They understand the strengths of their teammates and use them to compensate for their own weaknesses. Although getting here is uncomfortable and humbling, it always makes the final product better and is something we must do. Honors taught me how to do this at the University of Washington…and at your company.”
This answer got me the offer.