In retrospect, I wish I had done a Simmons-esque draft diary. Unfortunately, I didn't think so that until sitting down on the Tuesday after what I've now dubbed draft weekend...well, let's try to recapture the magic and give it a whirl anyway. And away we go:
Saturday 9:37am - Hello and welcome! The lights are on, snacks are out and I'm ready to get down to business. This is the inaugural draft weekend with the publicity, last year the event occurred over a much longer time frame. Following the lead of the NFL, this is how it must be done.
9:48 - With the overview and outline of my first essay Tuck essay reviewed, I'm ready to get down to business...and we're off!
9:57 - OK, still white page in front of me. Another coffee should help.
10:33 - yup, that must have done the trick. I now have 850+ words of dribble. It's well beyond the suggested 500 words limit but at least it's a start. And to have one draft in just over 30 minutes must be a record. Anyone out there beat me on this one?
10:52 - After such a great showing, I've bounced back to the next version of my resume. Since I applied last year and had what I felt was a pretty solid final product I didn't anticipate too much effort here. Five versions later and I'm finally honing in on an adcomm ready product. I'll summarize my key learnings at the end of this post but I must admit this is much better than last year. By focusing on quantifying my results (especially where you don't think you can quantify) the end product is much stronger. Now you can quickly see what I've accomplished. The other lesson, in many cases in this process less really is more. By limiting my entries, such as cutting my internship on the Hill to a one line bullet point under my education, I've focused on my current role which is much more impressive.
1:48 - After a much needed break for some food and plugging away at my Math for Management online homework it's time to get back to business.
2:11 - I think I'm slowing down a bit as reviewing my initial comments and quickly jointing down my outline took a lot longer than I anticipate. This leads to my next lesson of the day: my style is best when I physically write my highlights down. For some reason I get into the flow of things, my excitement builds and I clarify (to some extent) what I'm trying to say. With these all fresh in my mind, I'm ready to hit the keyboard.
2:32 - And I'm done! My next version is complete. I know what you're thinking, that can't be. How could I just bang out two pages on my leadership experience in 20 minutes? Well, this is my biggest lesson of the day: JUST WRITE! Don't worry about what you're writing. Get it on the screen. Last year, I don't think I had a version I was willing to call a draft until October. October! This was because my perfectionism took over and every couple of lines I wrote were immediately erased with the thought that I could do better and/or the adcomm had no interest in reading it. This year, I don't care if I have typos, grammatical errors, sentences that trail off, paragraghs without a topic, it just doesn't matter because I'll have something to edit. I can find questions, clarify and pull the themse to the top in the next round. Now I have a great sense of accomplishment, something to build from and the rest of the afternoon.
4:17 - OK, I didn't really take the rest of the afternoon off. I'm now struggling with the data forms. How can I explain what I currently do in 300 words? Don't they already have my resume? Why do I need to fill this in? I'm floundering.
6:03 - After starts and stops, I finally end my session. I have a good base for my data forms. I think they're close...enough to have reviewed at least
6:15 - Well that's the end of the first two rounds of the 2010 draft. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. Now to recap the key lessons before day 2:
1. Just write! Remove that blank page with ANYTHING, you can then edit and refine which is the most important part. There are now ~6 weeks to do it so don't worry what it looks like today as long as it has your ideas.
2. Everything in this process takes more time than you'd ever imagine. After last year, I was hoping certain pieces (resume, data forms) wouldn't be as intense. I was wrong. Start early and allow yourself the required time.
3. Quantify your results. Probe to what the outcome was; how did you have an impact. These questions, when you're honest with yourself, will go a long way.
4. Enjoy the process. Yup, I'm guilty of hating it too but try...
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