Being recognized is always nice—and in this case, recognized by The Atlantic, a magazine that was started by, among others, Ralph Waldo Emerson and that published pieces by Mark Twain and other famed authors eons before becoming one of the very few magazines to successfully transition to the online world. In this case, however, The Atlantic (or more specifically, the Atlantic Wire)—a magazine our founder Jeremy Shinewald reads each month—twisted his words ever so slightly. In a blog post yesterday, The Atlantic misused a quote from Shinewald that originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal, claiming, “One admissions consultant says that savvy finance types will find a way around the bad odds.”
The truth of the matter is that Shinewald instead remarked that many finance specialists will mistakenly try to “beat the odds” by presenting themselves as something they are not, rather than sticking with the true story of who they really are and what they can offer. Shinewald even explained to the Wall Street Journal that candidates who try this tactic will end up looking “ridiculous”:
“You’re going to see guys who worked on one private-equity deal with an auto manufacturer try to play up their auto experience and look ridiculous,” he says. “Candidates buy into stereotypes for their target schools and become things they think the school wants.”