The Return of Reader Q&A: World Domination, Mermaids, the Meaning of Life, and Plans for 2011

After a long absence, reader Q&A makes its return today.

Read on to learn all about job postings on Craigslist, whether or not you learn anything useful in banking, the meaning of life, and more – plus my next destination now that I’ve been deported from Asia.

Q: So, why haven’t you done one of these Q&As in such a long time?

A: It’s too hard to find information when it’s presented in Q&A format, and most of the Q&A articles brought in very little long-term traffic compared to, say, the resume template or cover letter template or the private equity interview guide.

But I like giving updates and addressing shorter questions sometimes, so Q&A is back – at least for today.

Why You Didn’t Land an Offer in Your Final Round Interviews at Morgan Stanley

“Help! I went to my final round interviews but the interviewer didn’t like me from the start and kept harassing me with irrelevant questions. I asked for feedback afterward and they said, “Improve your technical skills.” How can I do that? They didn’t even ask me any technical questions.”

Final rounds are over.

Banks are done giving out offers.

…and you came close, got a few Superdays (or assessment centers), but you didn’t walk away with any offers.

While most of the articles on this site teach you how to improve yourself and land offers, this one has a different message: interviews are random.

Sometimes it’s not your fault if you don’t get an offer.

Can You Really Use Business School to Re-Brand Yourself and Break Into Finance?

“Just go to business school.”

“Go to a top MBA program.”

“With HBS on your resume you can do anything you want.”

It’s one of the most common pieces of advice given to anyone interested in consulting or finance: get into a top MBA program.

Even if you went to a no-name undergraduate, did nothing finance-related since then, and you don’t know anyone in the industry, a top MBA program will let you break in.

Or will it?