College graduation is fast approaching and you’re ready to don your cap and gown. You’re already dreaming about your gratuitous post-graduation summer trip to Europe with your buddies. Well, think again. Mom and Dad are saying, “No way! It’s time to find a job!”
Never mind that you’ve never seen the inside of your college’s career center. This primer will give you a good start on landing your first job.
Research is a key part of any job hunt. But researching an industry or specific company is much easier these days than in the past because the Internet puts a wealth of useful information at your fingertips.
“You can get a feel for a company by what they want to tell people,” said Joanne Daniels, a career counselor at California State University-Hayward. “One company might tell its corporate history, while another might talk about teamwork. You can tell what a company is like by the verbiage it uses to talk about itself.”
Many professional groups also post information on-line about their industries.
If you’re interested in working for a publicly held company, information is even more readily available in the form of annual and 10-K reports. You can use them to determine the financial health of the firm as well as gain information about its products and line of business. These reports can be found in most main public libraries or can be ordered by calling the company’s investor relations department. Newspapers, trade publications and business journals are also good sources of information.
All this research will help you better pitch yourself to employers. Armed with this information, you can tailor your resume, cover letter and, ultimately, your interview to the company. More important, your fact-finding mission will help you determine whether this company suits your own personal and professional needs.
You can do all the book learning you want, but now it’s time to get out there and get the real story. That means talking to people who work in the field or the company you’re interested in. Start building your network by asking your friends, parents, parents’ friends, friends of friends, college alumni, former employers and members of your church or social organizations if they or people they know will chat with you about the field or company you are interested in.
Next, set up informal informational meetings with your contacts. You definitely should not ask for a job during your informational interview. Make a simple phone call to contacts you know well to ask for some time to meet. If you feel uncomfortable calling your contact, try sending an approach letter. Emphasize that you are interested in seeking advice. Don’t forget to send your contact a thank-you note for taking the time to talk to you.
Does it work? About 40 percent of graduating Stanford University students seeking jobs land their first position through networking, according to the school’s career planning and placement center.
Li-Cheng Wang, a graduating master’s candidate in industrial engineering, found on-campus job fairs to be a good opportunity to network with many companies at once. They allow students a chance to talk to recruiters and ask questions about the firm.
“If you don’t have the connections, here’s the chance to make them,” said Wang, who will start a job as a business analyst for McKinsey and Co. in Los Angeles after graduation.
As for your resume, don’t worry if you’ve spent all your summer vacations soaking up the sun on the beach. If you were student body president or organized a student rally to save spotted owls, you probably gained valuable work experience without even knowing it. So, don’t be afraid to list your extracurricular activities on your resume.
But be sure to describe your unpaid “work” in the context of what employers are looking for. For example, explain how you used “teamwork” to organize your student officers to change university policy. Explain how you “developed,” “created” or “managed” a project rather than merely saying that you “completed” it.
Likewise, when you list your educational background, include class assignments that are relevant to the job you are seeking. Try to describe your work skills in the context of the job you are applying for. Look at classified ads and on-line job postings to see exactly what skills are required. Use the buzzwords in the ads to describe how you’re best suited for the job, Daniels said. Focus on your skills rather than your experience.
Note at the bottom of your resume that you will provide references upon request. But don’t include them on your resume.
When it’s time for the interview, you might have to field traditional questions like, “Why do you want to work for this company?” But you’ll also be thrown some tougher pitches to handle, such as, “Tell me about a time when you had to cope with strict deadlines or time demands” or “Give me an example of a time when you faced a lot of obstacles to achieving a goal.”
These “behavioral interviews” are the rage now among recruiters. They’re designed to elicit useful information about how potential employees will handle workplace situations.
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The best way to handle such thorny questions is to use what career counselors call the “STAR” method. That’s “ST” for situation-task, “A” for action and “R” for result. Using this mnemonic device will remind you to present your answer by first describing a situation or task you were involved in, the action you then took, and, finally, the result of your effort.
When deciding what to wear, remember that you get only one chance to make a first impression. Make it a good one. Improve your chances by dressing professionally. Just because casual dress is common, that doesn’t mean you can wear your ripped jeans to a job interview. Students should err on the side of conservatism when dressing for an interview, college career counselors say.