Force the decision—silence is not rejection until the letter comes; circle back to your champion immediately to capture a spot when the first wave of candidates falters.

Pivot, don't stop—you only need one seat to survive; if the top tier cuts you, secure a summer hold elsewhere to maintain leverage for the full-time cycle.

Nurture the lead—relationships are fluid assets, not transactional events; keep "dead" processes warm over the summer to turn a January summer rejection into an August full-time offer.

Trade up later—the lateral cycle begins in April, not August; use a return offer from your summer firm as the "stamp of approval" to upgrade your full-time placement.

Pass the gate, win the room—technicals grant entry, but the "Airport Test" helps secures the offer; prove you are a resilient colleague rather than just a competent calculator.

Land the punchline—context is irrelevant without the closer; end every STAR narrative with a hard insight that links your past experience directly to the job’s demands.

Select versatile stories—curate 4-5 core anecdotes that flex across multiple prompts; use the "Trojan Horse" method to embed technical wins within behavioral answers.

Apply the timeline—judgment is tested in two phases; solve the immediate crisis (Short Term), then fix the process to protect the firm (Long Term).