Yikes!  Have you ever lived through a couple of weeks with pretty much nothing to do except get lost in reading/family/TV/movies/presents/snow/fireworks/etc (oh yeah, and interview prep), during which time you wrote a bunch of half-finished blog posts that you then look over again a few weeks later when life is back in full swing and realize are worthless?  Well if you have, then you know exactly how I feel.  To provide you with a little context around my life during the last month or so, I imagine I will have to create a series of aptly-titled posts.  Even better, in the spirit of the fairly recently created playoffs in golf for the FedEx Cup, I have officially decided to call my job search

The-Playoff-Race-for-the-[insert corporate sponsor name]-Summer-Job-Offer-Cup!

This grueling months-long process will have showcased the best-of-the-best (or at least those who believe they are) that Darden has to offer and culminate in an accepted summer job offer for yours truly—hopefully before the end of February.  Stay tuned for a recap of the regular season that included lots of networking and cover letter writing mixed with classes, exams and a case competition.  Of course in traditional playoff format the field gets thinned after every round… just you wait!  There will be just as much action, and possibly as many plot-twists, as a typical playoffs… and a GRAND CHAMPION.  Think Tiger Woods (pre- Ambien induced escapades).

P.S. I’m still taking applications for the corporate sponsor gig for the next couple of weeks.   Just think, you will get featured as the title sponsor for my Playoffs on a blog with worldwide audience appeal. 

To sweeten the deal, I’ll cut out the extremely lengthy personality tests that marketing job searches are apparently known for (see Sierra’s post) and instead ask you to submit two short-answer essay questions (263 words each, with a 4% over-under error margin).

1) If you could be any EBITDA multiple, which would you be and why? 
2) If other EBITDA multiples thought they were better than you and came around to cause trouble, what would you tell them to defend yourself?