It is four weeks into the Fall semester and recruiting is in full swing. Last week, on-campus interviews began along with pre-interview dinners and other networking events. It has been exciting to meet with prospective employers and move forward through the application process. While recruiting, students will often ask employers “Why did you choose Firm X over Firm Y? What makes your firm different?” Especially when it comes to similar companies like the Big 4, students want answers beyond putting on the mythical Hogwarts sorting hat and then figuring out which firm corresponds to which house. I doubt employers would condone this method anyhow. So, one of the tropes we have been hearing to answer that question is that “it’s all about the people.” At first, the advice may sound trivial or even an like an excuse to not answer the “real” question, but in digging deeper, it has immense value and truth. Nearly all of us MPAs are aspiring to start out in demanding positions that elicit long hours in hopes of growing our careers, and we will thus be spending more time with our co-workers than any one else we know! It will make a tremendous difference in our quality of life whether or not we actually like these people. Though we all should think about where we would like to be geographically and what type of work we would like to be doing, we also cannot forget to reach out to the people who will be central to our lives once we finish the MPA program.

With those words of advice, I will leave you with two interesting things I have seen when I have been able to take a break from the school and recruiting bubble: