The Interview by Namratha Kolur, Leo Kim, Chelsea Kang, Srihari Korrapati
Scene 1 - Dexter and Richard in a dorm room
(Dexter and Richard in a dorm room. While Dexter is trying to study for Corporate
Finance class, Richard is playing around watching tv. Dexter gives Richard a look to
quiet down.)
Dexter (giving Richard a look): You do realize that we have a test coming up, right?
Richard (his eyes still at the tv screen): Mhm.
Dexter (rolling his eyes): And are you not going to study?
Richard (still looking at the tv screen): I will, I will.
Dexter: Stop watching tv and close all the unnecessary tabs from your computer.
Richard: I am going to study. Don't worry dude. (pause) You know what?
Dexter: What? Are you trying to tell me that you are going to start studying?
Richard: Hell, NO. Wanna go out?
Dexter (surprised): What? Where?
Richard: Let's go out. To a bar. You know.
Dexter: Right now? You have got to be kidding right now.
Richard: Yeah! Right now. (stands up, starts getting ready to leave) Let's go.
Dexter: No no no. We both have a test coming up. You really have to pull up your grades
on this test. You are failing right now.
Richard: Well, I will study once we come back. Let's just go. I promise. Wouldn't it be
better that I stay focused once we come back than for me to watch tv shows all night?
Dexter (giving up): Ugh, fine. I will give you two hours. No more than that.
Richard (dragging Dexter out of his): Let's go! Get ready!
Scene 2 - Richard and Dexter go to the bar
[Richard and Dexter walk in and sit down at a table at a bar. Michelle is on the other side
of the bar. Richard takes off his jacket, revealing he is wearing a suit]
Dexter: Why are you so dressed up?
Richard: You always need to look sharp. You never know who you might see here, and
hopefully you’ll see someone you like. [laughs and winks]
Dexter: I really do not want to be here Richard, this provocative setting is unlike me.
Richard: Shut up and have fun. What do you want? A Long Island? Better yet, let’s do
some shots!
Dexter: [Monotone] Let’s have some Ginger Ale.
Richard: Okay, two fireballs it is.
[Dexters grunts as Richard walks away and comes back with two shot glasses.]
Richard: Hey, look over there. [Points to Michelle] She’s really hot, you should go talk
to her and get her number!
Dexter: I cannot do that! Are you crazy?
Richard: Why not?
Dexter: There are a plethora of reasons why I cannot!
Richard: Oh shut up, and just do it. What’s the worst that can happen?
Dexter: No! I will not.
Richard: Dexter, there is no harm in trying. You can do this! No one is as smart as you!
No one is as nice as you! You can do this!
Dexter: I can do this?
[Richard hands Dexter a shot. They take them together. Richard handles it fine, but
Dexter gags and winces]
Richard: You’re the man! You can do this! Go talk to her!
Dexter: I am the man! I can do this! I’m going to go converse with her!
Richard: Yeah!
Dexter: Yeah!
[Dexter gets up with confidence and takes a few steps towards Michelle. As he
approaches her, he gets nervous again and looks back at Richard. Richard gives him a
thumbs up. Dexter takes a few steps at a time, until he’s close enough that Michelle looks
up.]
Michelle: Hello?
Dexter: [Screams] I uh.. I-I-I have to pee! [Dexter runs out of the scene]
[Richard face-palms. He walks up to Michelle.]
Richard: I’m so sorry about that. [flashes a winning smile]
Michelle: [suddenly interested, she looks Richard up and down. She drunkenly slurs] Oh,
it’s fine. It must happen to you all the time right? I’m sure the girls jump all over you.
[laughs] I’m Michelle.
Richard: I’m Richard.
Michelle: [smiles] Well Richard, how are you?
Richard: [interested as well he pulls up a chair and sits next to Michelle] I’m great, and
you?
Michelle: I just got off of work.
Richard: [laughs] doesn’t sound like a fun job if you have to get drunk afterwards.
Michelle: I love my job, but my boss drives me insane.
Richard: Why don’t you tell me about it?
Michelle: Well, we are doing these interviews for my boss’s stupid, new whatever and
she always talks about how no one is good enough. There shouldn’t be interviews in the
first place! She should just give me the job! I work so hard, and she never appreciates me.
Richard: It sounds like you’re the only one who can do the job, whatever it is.
Michelle: [screams frustratedly] It’s just that my boss is so cold and mean to everyone; I
can’t stand her! [takes a few breathes to calm down] I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be putting this
on you, Richard.
Richard: No, it’s fine.
Michelle: [looks at her phone] It’s getting pretty late, I should be heading out. [takes a
pen from her purse, and writes on Richard’s hand] This is my number, I hope you use it.
[Michelle leaves and Richard watches her with a smile]
—End of Scene—
Scene 3 (Both Dexter and Richard come back into the room. As soon as they come in, Richard
starts getting ready to go boating.)
Dexter (rolling his eyes as he puts his backpack down): Are you really going to go
boating again?
Richard (as he changes to go out): Yeah! We just finished our Corporate Finance exams.
You just need to RELAX.
Dexter (firmly): I need to start applying for jobs. Why don't you start looking into jobs
also? You can't just go boating everyday. It really doesn't help your life with anything.
We are graduating this year, so you need to figure out what you are going to be doing
after graduation. (pulling out Richard's chair) Come back and sit next to me. I can even
help you.
Richard (as he is convinced, he puts his boating supplies down): Ok, fine.
Dexter (after he searches into the list of companies he already looked up): Why don't you
apply to these places?
Richard: Ugh, so many. I will just choose the best 3.
Dexter (surprised): Three? You mean... thirty?
Richard: No, I am only going to apply to these three places.
Dexter: Well... I guess you can start from there. (handing Richard things to do) Here.
Let's start filling out the applications.
(They start typing together, and Richard finishes much faster than Dexter does)
Richard: I'm done. (starts packing to go boating again)
Dexter: There is no way that you are done and that you put in effort into your
application. Let me see.
Richard: Here, you can take a look, but I already submitted my application. It was easy.
Dexter (scrolls on the online application): Wait... none of these are your
accomplishments..
Richard (winks back at Dexter): I'm boating with a girl this afternoon, so I gotta leave
now.
Dexter: Wait, you can't..
(Richard leaves the dorm room)
Scene 4 (pretend an interviewee just exited the room)
Ms. Patel: Nice meeting you too. We’ll get back to you within the next week or so. Okay,
bye bye.
(turns to Michelle; frustrated)
Why can’t we find anyone even remotely qualified for this position?! All I’m
asking for is someone with grit. Someone with talent. Someone who is willing to take
risks….this is completely hopeless.
(shuffles around papers and picks up another application to read)
Michelle: Ms. Patel, the candidate we’re looking for has to be intelligent and has to be a
hard worker…and you know, we could always hire for this position internally (looks
expectantly at Ms. Patel)
We have some great people already working in this company and they’d be great
candidates for this position.
Ms. Patel: Why on earth would I hire from within this company? And who would I even
consider?
(Michelle rolls her eyes)
I don’t understand how I’m even in this situation….Do you know how many
people want to work for me? How many people who have begged me to hire them. I’ve
built an empire and I’m moving onto bigger things…I want someone who can bring this
company even more growth and fame.
Now that I think about it…I’ve worked way to hard to give up now. I need to find
the perfect person. I’m looking for someone who can command attention on an instant.
Someone who knows how to handle any type of person…and can handle any type of
situation with ease. (goes off into a reflective monologue).
Harvard showed me just how hard I need to work and how I need to be on the top
of my game every moment of the day. I’m going to get I want and I want this company to
flourish now. This hedge fund will be the culmination of my hard work. I’ve given this
company my all and I built this principal strategic investment group…I need a prodigy!
Michelle: (has been going over applications while Ms. Patel has been ranting/reflecting)
You know, Ms. Patel, I’ve been working for you for over 3 years. I’ve given you
tangible results and I have generated a $4.5 million dollar profit in our Healthcare
investment division. I want to see this company succeed and you know I can handle any
challenge that comes my way.
Ms. Patel: oh yes, I was rather impressed at your ambitious nature when we were
navigating that project. Did you realize your team followed you around for the entire
month because they wanted to be you…? (Michelle is really happy at this compliment)
Anyway, I need a caffeine boost before reading these applications. Michelle, can
you get me a venti white mocha chocolate latte?
Michelle: (irritated) really. Sure, I guess.
(leaves office)
Ms. Patel starts reading more applications.
Scene 5 Patel: (picks up piles of documents from her desk) I hope these resumes worth my time. I
should be home at this time instead of wasting my time with this college kids. (starts
reading papers, doesn’t take at least 10 seconds to review a paper, tosses some directly
into trash, leaves very few again on her desk with a very bored face. After going over the
entire pile for once, she picks up the about the very few resumes she left on her desk)
Better than expected, I guess (picks up the resumes on the desk, and starts reading them
carefully. After reviewing 2~3 resumes, she starts reading this one resume very carefully
and leaves all the other resumes on her desk. She picks up her phone and starts dialing the
number that is on the resume)
Richard: (background noise) Hello, who is this calling?
Patel: Hi, this is Patel from Goldman Sachs calling.
Richard: (pretending as if he didn’t understood because of the noise) Where again?
Goldman?
Patel: Yes, Goldman. I called you to set up a time for interview
Richard: (suddenly came up in his mind that he applied to a position in this firm. Starts to
walk towards the corner to speak quietly. He looks a bit overwhelmed that he’ll be having
an interview with Goldman) Oh! yes, sure. Thanks for the call. When would be the best
time for you?
Patel: What about the day after tomorrow? Afternoon, around 2pm?
Richard: (thinks for 3 secs) Sure, that would work for me. I look forward to seeing you
on Thursday at 2.
Patel: Alright. My secretary will send you an email to confirm tomorrow. See you. (ends
the call immediately after she’s done)
Richard: (walks back to where he was) Sorry, I had to take this call.
Michelle: (curious) Who was it? What’s up?
Richard: (pretending as if it was nothing) A friend of mine, asking if I’d be interested in
joining a party. I vaguely answered him.
Michelle: (not really convinced) oh. ok
Richard: So, back to where I left (picks up a bottle he left on a table)
Scene 6 (Patel, walks into the room, where Michelle is preparing interviews. Considering that she
left off last night pretty late, Michelle was worried that she would be in a bad mood.
Surprisingly, she isn’t)
Patel: (looking fresh) Hi, Michelle. I hope you are ready for interviews?
Michelle: (puzzled) Yes, I am. Can I get you anything?
Patel: Sure, get me a cup of water
[Michelle walks out of the room, and Patel takes her seat and briefly reviews her papers.
Michelle comes back in, and gives Patel a cup of water and also takes her seat]
Richard: (gently opens the glass door to the room) Hi, my name is Richard. I’m
scheduled for an interview today.
Patel: (slightly smiles, and stands up. shakes hands) Hi, Richard. (Patel Kolour??). Here’s
my card (hands her business card). Good to have you here today. This is my “current”
associate Michelle.
Michelle: (frightened, her facial expression shows that she is shocked to see Richard
here) Hi, I’m Michelle. I currently work in investment banking group with Patel. Here’s
my card (hands her card)
Patel: So, let’s jump straight towards the point, Richard. I am currently in investment
banking group. I will be the new head of principal investment strategies group next
month. I need to hire people for my new team in Goldman. So, I read your resume.
Impressive, but let’s skip the formal part and jump on to why should I hire you?
Richard: First of all, I appreciate for the consideration. I think you should focus on my
potentials. As you have already read my resume, I have previously worked for a start-up,
and have a brief investment experience as well.
Patel: (stops Richard as he mentioned investment part) Yes, that’s actually what really
interested me about you. Tell me what you did
Richard: I had about $15k for a car. I thought I wasn’t able to get a car that I want with
only $15k. Instead of getting a Honda, I funded my brokerage account. I started to
compare my options. At the time, oil markets were in contango. I’ve looked up oil
supply-demand data, and noticed that shale gas and Saudi Arabia has increased the oil
supply by over 2 million barrels per day rate. However, instead of shorting the futures or
options on oils, I bought ERY, which is a ticker for Direxion Energy Bear 3x ETF. I had
short-positions against the oil when the price level was about $100 per barrel. I cleared
my position when the price fell to $60. As I had a leverage, my return was 120%.
Patel: (interested) so, what did you do afterwards with the money?
Richard: To be honest with you, I spent all the money in my Porsche.
Patel: Fair enough, would you be able to suggest me an investment idea?
Richard: Sure, short HKD. HKD is pegged against the USD. After the CNY devaluation,
it will experience some deflationary pressure. However, the Fed is considering the rate
hike, as early as DEC. Thus, Monetary Authority of Hong Kong may be pressured into
lifting the pegging off from the current level.
Patel: (satisfied) Okay, good enough. So, that’s why you think I should hire you? huh?
potential?
Richard: Yes, you might not want to lose, but I can tell you that I can guarantee greater
return than the risk that you undertake.
Patel: Okay, let me see…
Michelle: (rushing into the conversation) So, you are a very interesting person (with some
intention) so, tell us how you spend your downtime. Say, what do you do in your
weekends?
Patel: (giving a brief look at Michelle) That’s enough, actually. Nice talking to you.
We’ll get back to you as soon as possible, no later than a week. (stands up, shakes hands
with Richard)
Richard: (stands up as well after Patel stood up) Thank you. I look forward to hearing
back from you soon. (the two leaves the room)
---[Patel is reviewing the documents, something seems to be wrong. She picks up her phone
and talks to somebody]
Patel: (on the phone) ok, sure thanks. bye. (makes a new call) Michelle, to my office
now.
[Michelle walks-in in few minutes]
Patel: ok, so did you double check the documents?
Michelle: yes, of course
Patel: (annoyed) then tell me why Richard’s resume and official papers don’t match out?
Michelle: (still doesn’t understands the situation) I… don’t…know. Let me take a look
(starts comparing the papers that is on Patel’s desk)
Patel: (gives a thought for about few seconds) Forget it, I like the guy. I’ll have him in
my new team.
Michelle: (shocked) You know that he faked his resume, on top of the fact that he’s not
really qualified for the job.
Patel: (looks as if she already set up her mind) Well, I don’t want to argue. I have the
full-rights to decide who’ll be on my team. I want him in. End of this conversation.
Scene 7 (Ms. Patel is sitting in her office checking Richard’s credentials and Michelle is not in the
office)
Ms. Patel: He’s perfect. He’s exactly what this company needs. Why the hell did he fake
his application?! What was he thinking? (puts head in hands)
You know what. I took a failing company and I made it gold. I can hire whoever I
want and I want this guy. (pauses) but wait, Michelle is one of the best workers this
company has ever seen. She’s got a determination that I’ve never seen in any other
person. Hmm, (gets excited because she has a great idea) I can bend rules. Yeah, I can
totally bend some rules.
(Picks up phone and dials Richard’s number)
Ms. Patel: Richard, I need you in my office in 15. Be prompt.
(hangs up and then calls Michelle)
Michelle, I need you in my office in 15. Hurry now.
(Michelle and Richard enter Ms. Patels office)
Ms. Patel: Thanks for getting here asap. We have some things we need to discuss (cold
and distant; Michelle and Richard look hesitatingly at each other)
Richard, what the hell were you thinking faking an application? And Michelle,
Why didn’t you tell me you knew this guy. I’m pissed, that’s for sure, but I’ve reached a
decision….I’m hiring you both.
Michelle: oh my gosh!
Richard: what?
Ms. Patel: Do not say another word because I might change my mind. Let me go fix some
things with HR. Let’s get on top of these projects…I’m expecting results.
(Ms. Patel exits room)
(Michelle and Richard are so surprised and they turn to look at each other)
Michelle: I’m shocked. WE got the job.
Richard: I can’t believe it. This is amazing. Wait a minute, Michelle, why haven’t you
responded to my calls or answered to my texts? I thought we were going to meet up and
spend some time together.
Michelle: I’m really sorry about that Richard. You see, I can’t have my personal life and
my work life intertwine. I need to keep work and personal life separate. You have no idea
how long it’s taken me to get Ms. Patel to acknowledge my potential. Ms. Patel finally
sees me as a leader in this company! I just got my dream job and I’m going to continue
working as hard as I can to make sure this hedge fund is firmly established. Now that
we’re working together, I don’t want our personal lives to interfere with our jobs.
Richard: But, I don’t understand. I thought we really hit it off when we met...didn’t you
like going boating with me? I had a great time with you. And remember when we first
met at the bar? Man, if Dex hadn’t been a scaredy cat, then I would not have met such an
amazing woman…
Michelle: oh my gosh, enough with the flattery! Listen, Richard. You’re a great guy and I
am really attracted to you, but work is my priority. I can’t have any distractions while I’m
getting all my goals accomplished.
Richard: Michelle, come on….
Michelle: No. We aren’t going to let our personal affections get in the way of our job.
Got it? I’m going to go get started on the breakdown of our finances this quarter. Bye,
Richard.
(Michelle leaves office and Richard looks sad, but waits for a few moments and walks
out of the office too)
Epilogue
Two years later, Ms. Patel’s crazy decision had amazing results. The growth of the
company was more than exponential. She definitely does not regret hiring Richard and
Michelle, and she definitely does not regret getting her big fat bonus check. Ms. Patel
was promoted.
Richard and Michelle ended up dating, after a lot of struggles in their relationship.
Richard showed Michelle that balancing her personal and professional life was a lot
easier if they worked together. Now, they are in charge of the hedge fund. They hired
none other than Dexter, whose intelligence and work ethic lead him to great success in
the company.
One day, Ms. Patel was just sitting in her office looking through her mail. She notices she
got mail from Richard and Michelle. Interested, she gets out her letter opener and gets to
work. Inside is an invitation to Richard and Michelle’s wedding, and a personal card
written to Ms. Patel from Michelle and Richard.
Thank you for hiring me, against all odds. You took a chance on me, but you still
believed in me no matter what. I’ll never forget the day I went from zero to hero. You
were strict, but you helped me grow up. Thanks to you, the happiest day of my life is
approaching, and I would love for you to be there.
- Richard
I used to think you were a cold hearted, mean, and terrible person. How wrong I
was! I would have never believed that you would lead me to the best thing in my life, but
you did. You made me work hard, but you taught me what it means to be in the
professional world with responsibilities. You made it possible, so Richard and I wanted
invite you to be at our wedding.
- Michelle