3 powerful strategies to becoming productive at work (or school)

I’ve noticed many professionals early in their careers correlate working long hours with success. There is a better way. I share 3 powerful ways to becoming productive at work or school without giving up your life.

How to achieve your most ambitious goals

How frequently do you come up with ambitious goals only to have them fall flat within a few weeks? According to US News, 80% of new year’s resolutions fail by week two of February. Yikes. I share with you how to achieve your ambitious goals, whether they are recruiting and career related or not.

Why last minute networking doesn't work

Here's why you're making your life difficult if you cold email to network right before the application deadline for a job.

Career Satisfaction = Discontent + Action + Gratitude

Through discontent, action, and gratitude, you can find achievement and a happy, fulfilling life.

Why feedback is important, especially for recruiting

If you applied to over 50 jobs without landing one interview, should you continue doing the same thing over and over again? Of course not, yet many get caught in this never-ending cycle. So how do you turn it around? I will share one simple answer.

How many hours per week do you work?

“On a good week I work 80 hours, but last week it was more like 120. How many hours do you work a week?” He asked with a smirk. But I never understood this -- who cares? Where is the glamor in working hard for the sake of working hard?

A note to seniors embarking on full-time recruiting

I really sympathize with the senior year recruiting grind. It’s not easy, and I would argue for many of you this will be one of the most challenging points in your career. I will painfully lay out your situation.

Demystifying the post-interview thank you email

The post-interview thank you note is definitely a formality. As an interviewer, I never expect these notes. Many people do not send a thank you note after interviewing. But I appreciate the thoughtfulness when a candidate does email me, and I mentally award them a few extra points in the “self-awareness” and “professionalism” categories.

A playbook on making difficult career decisions | choosing between Bain and LinkedIn

Making difficult career decisions is one of the first experiences you will have with high stakes decision making. Your choice will dictate how you spend a significant portion of your life!

How high-achieving college students think about their careers

What kind of high-achieving student are you? The pigeonhole worrier, the laser focused one, or the t-shaped learner?

Landing a top private equity offer with zero finance experience

With zero finance experience, learn how my friend Sergei landed an offer with one of the most prestigious and elusive private equity firms.

The secret to building an exceptional and outlier career

You may have heard the saying, “you are the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with”. “Your career outcomes are similar to the 5 mentors you surround yourself with.” I have the secrets to successful career.

Working backward to get sh*t done

Without action, your career goals are just as empty as a cute 5-year-old telling grown-ups they want to become a firefighter.

Understanding base salary and all-in compensation

People usually over focus on base salary and undercount their all-in compensation by a lot. Let's unpack the formula: All-in Compensation = All Monetary Forms of Compensation + Estimated Values for Non-Monetary Perks

When to quit your job and how to compare new opportunities

Figuring out if/when to leave your first job is a difficult and messy problem. Here are 4 considerations if you're thinking about jumping ship.

The euphoric highs and crushing lows of your first job

“Hey, how’s it going… how’s work?” Anyone who’s recently entered the professional world receives some variation of this question on a regular basis. My answer to “how is work going” changed dramatically depending on when it was asked and what was going on at work that week.

Transitioning from school to work | Feedback

For the first time since you were 6 years old you will no longer have a reliable grading system to judge your performance. Here's how to replace grades with performance feedback.

Why you should avoid 10-year career plans

Imagine having an intricate 10-year plan for a successful career in finance, only to find out you hate most aspects of finance after your first job in investment banking. Having a rigid plan will pressure you to stick with finance and persevere, even if it’s not the best career path for your happiness and fulfillment.

How to "click" with your interviewer

Have you ever thought, “I just couldn’t click with the interviewer,” following a difficult interview? Here's how to prevent that from happening again.

Crowdsourced questions & answers

Internship interview questions | A playbook to beat the competition

The exact 3-step playbook you need to land a corporate strategy Internship at Levi's, an M&A internship at Disney, and full-time role at LinkedIn

How to write a cover letter for competitive internships and jobs

This is the formula for absolutely stand out cover letters that will captivate screeners at the most competitive firms in the world (McKinsey, Goldman, Facebook etc.)

How to start investing | Personal finance after college

This guide is intended to kickstart your knowledge of personal finance as you embark on adult life. I wrote this guide to be a modern, comprehensive guide on how to start investing for recent college graduates with financial secure jobs.

Senior year full-time recruiting -- how I ended up at LinkedIn

Come and see how I wrapped it all up. This is the final installment of my entire recruiting journey. I discuss my summer internship at Disney, my experience interviewing for Bain and LinkedIn, and choosing an offer.

Junior year recruiting -- Top management consulting and strategy internships

The entire story of my Junior year recruiting process with McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Disney, Parthenon, and LEK. I went all out, leaving no stone unturned and no detail left behind.

How I Got Junior-Level Internships As a Freshman and Sophomore

The in-depth story of my recruiting process during Freshman and Sophomore year. People tend to have a very rosy view of the recruiting process, I hope you get a glimpse of the ups and downs of recruiting that I went through in my first 2 years in college

The 4 types of business internships that most students overlook

Stop missing out on hidden job opportunities. Internships fall under 4 categories – each with distinct attributes that warrant a tailored recruiting strategy. Here's my breakdown of each internship category.

The prestigious path is not always the best route

My thoughts on the prestigious career path of Investment Banking -> Private Equity -> Business School and why it is not always the best route.

How to network in college like a pro | the ultimate guide

Here's how to get the attention of big brand names like Google, McKinsey, and Goldman when they have hundreds of students clamoring for interviews at information sessions.

Why you need to pause before answering an interview question

Five seconds feels like ten minutes in an interview. But here are three reasons why you should pause before answering an interview question.

From pre-medical -> management consultant -> entrepreneur -> ?

Most people would not expect an aspiring doctor to become a management consultant and entrepreneur. Here's why it made sense for Kurt.

Accepted to Harvard 2+2 and Stanford Deferred MBA Program

10 tips on getting into Harvard 2+2 and Stanford Deferred MBA program

Compounded Learning

For better and worse, we crave a way to benchmark our progress against others. However, absolute comparisons are a lose-lose situation. What if I told you there’s a much more effective (and healthy) way to use comparisons to motivate yourself? It's healthy motivation.

The definitive guide to behavioral interview questions

My personal playbook to answer the behavioral interview questions for highly competitive job interviews at McKinsey, Bain, Goldman, Google, LinkedIn, etc. I break down each of the 5 types of behavioral questions and provide tactical advice on how to best answer them.

How to deal with interview rejection

An internship or job offer does not define your self-worth. Informed by my share of countless rejections, here's my system for dealing with failure.

Why you’re not getting internship offers | Ultimate turnaround guide

Not landing any internship interviews or job offers? Use this guide to troubleshoot where you are going wrong and start landing offers

McKinsey final round interview or negotiations final exam?

You probably spend 20+ hours every week attending classes and studying to raise your GPA. However, that is not always the best use of your time. That's where intelligent risks come into play.

The most important skill you need in management consulting and strategy jobs

You probably know about marketing, engineering, finance, accounting... but are you familiar with strategy? Case interviews are one of the most widely used interview formats to test a candidate's problem solving ability. Here's what problem solving actually means and how to get better.

Overhaul your resume with these 2 frameworks

Writing a fantastic resume is not easy. Here are the most important things you need to know to substantially improve your resume right now.

How to use culture fit to impress your interviewer

Students often make the mistake of underestimating the importance of culture. Here's how to ask tailored, unique questions to understand a company's culture and impress the interviewer.

How to use job descriptions to find A-level internships

Have you been applying to every internship posting you see? Read on to learn how to separate the high-quality postings from the fluff.

Thoughts on his first job -- guest post from Wharton graduate

This week, my coworker Tai Bendit discusses the 4 factors he considered crucial during his job search.

[Scripts Included] Is that a dream internship, or just a waste of time?

Do you know what the difference is between an A-level and C-level internship? This in-depth post explains how to identify the cream of the crop job opportunities so you can build a personalized and fulfilling career.

Stop missing out on hidden jobs

Do you know the difference between being proactive and reactive? It's the difference between applying to visible jobs posting vs. finding hidden job opportunities. This can make or break your early career.

The secret to making your cold emails 5X more successful

Cold emailing is the secret sauce to finding hidden career opportunities. But what happens when nobody is replying to your emails? The answer might surprise you.

You cannot afford to be average

Are you doing the same thing as everyone else? Doing average things leads to average results. Here's how you can step up your game.

Why Your Resume is Not Good Enough and Never Will Be

Here are the 2 largest problems most students face with their resumes and how you can avoid them. Chances are you're thinking about your resume the wrong way.

Explore Your Career Interests With These 5 Powerful Strategies

The 5 most efficient strategies to validate your career interests before committing.

Do You Know How to Navigate a Cold Call? [Script Included]

Cold emailing and networking is the secret sauce behind successful recruiting. I have included the exact script you can use to make sure it goes well.

No Internship? Here are 5 High-Impact Ways to Spend Your Summer

Internships aren’t the only effective way to spend your summer. Rather than doing nothing, here are 5 powerful ideas to take advantage of your summer.

This Is What A Successful Summer Looks Like

No summer internship? Don’t know where to start? Here’s how I evaluate summer opportunities so you can start thinking like a strategist with your end goal in mind.

Intelligence is Not Enough to Get a Return Offer

Getting a return offer isn't easy. Hard work and intelligence are only part of the equation. Here are 12 actionable insights you can use to kick-ass this summer.

How to cold email for competitive internships | A step-by-step guide

This guide will unlock the secret of networking. It teaches you how to find leads using LinkedIn, find anyone's email address, write emails, track your emails, and more!

Find your career path with this 3-step framework

Use the same framework that I used in college to discover amazing career opportunities. If you don't know what kind of internship or job you want then start here.

How to personalize your career path with first principles thinking

Launch a successful career that you actually like and fits you by looking at first principles vs pre-defined notions of what you should be doing