Learning to Have Confidence

Learning Experience One:

I have learned this semester that I need to be proud of what I have accomplished. In the past year, I applied for Neeley Fellows (business honors of sorts) and for Delta Sigma Pi (professional business fraternity). Neither of those organizations accepted me into their program. I was not being able to understand what I had done wrong. Was it that my interview did not go well in their eyes? Was it that my cover letter was not to par? Was my résumé not on the level they wanted? As a result of self-doubt, I became quite discouraged wondering why I was working so hard just for it to end in continued rejection.

Then, I was granted the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to hand in my résumé and cover letter to ConocoPhillips. It was the first place I was applying for an internship and it was in Houston, my hometown. This opportunity was a perfect fit for this coming summer. Unfortunately, there are only eight spots for finance and accounting interns in Houston, so the competition for those spots is steep. Despite the immense competition, I was emailed, within an hour of handing in my résumé and cover letter, from the internship coordinator in regards to setting up an interview. I was ecstatic and could not believe that they had gotten back to me so quickly. That next Monday, I had my phone interview and I thought it went really well. I immediately called my parents to tell them how it went, when, in the middle of our conversation, I had another incoming call. I recognized the number as the lady who I had just interviewed with. I assumed that she just needed a few more pieces of information from me. Surprisingly, that was not the case.

I answered the phone and she said, “We would like to offer you an internship in Houston this summer.” My immediate response was, “Are you serious?” That was not probably the most professional response, but I was in shock that she was calling me about getting it literally ten minutes after the interview had finished. I had never heard of someone getting the job that quickly before. Later, I came to find out that when I had applied there was only one spot left in the program and they had already narrowed down the candidates to one other girl. However, they still gave me a chance and according to the internship coordinator I blew the other girl out of the water with my résumé.

That experience made me realize that all my hard work does pay off and that I just need to be patient. Even though I did not get into Neeley Fellows or Delta Sigma Pi, I got accepted when it really counted in the real world.