Getting hired out of college

[HolyG]

It's job application time. I'm a semester away from finishing college and wondering exactly how do I go about landing a job. I mean, I know how in theory...apply, apply, apply, but I was wondering whether it's a waste of time to apply online? Should I be simply hopping from job fair to job fair? To be honest, I'm not sure what the best way going about this is.

I'm majoring in Industrial Engineering, if anyone was wondering.
Thanks

 

[synergy1]

mechanical engineering here, and they are similar fields.

Places want experience, so stress what you can bring. Since I am in the same position, I am detailing my major roles as well. I opted to do a CV instead of a resume since it has more depth. If you have experience where the role made you grow as a person, I think future employers would love to hear it.

Second piece of advise is to network. Thats how I got my first job out of college. Often the engineering department will have alumni who occasionally toss a few vacancies their way so be sure to stay on top of what comes in. networking sounds cliche, but it really is a shortcut for getting jobs.

other than that, apply to anything that seems interesting online. Recruiters will help out a great deal so contact a few of them in your area as well. They will need you to fill in the blanks, but are usually nice people and can help you find something that might otherwise not be available simply looking online.

I am in the same boat as you bro so all the advise I am giving I am putting to use too. Right now I submitted a resume to a local place and am having a friend within the firm help push it along.

best of luck to you, i bet you'll find something within short order!

 

[HolyG]

mechanical engineering here, and they are similar fields.

Places want experience, so stress what you can bring. Since I am in the same position, I am detailing my major roles as well. I opted to do a CV instead of a resume since it has more depth. If you have experience where the role made you grow as a person, I think future employers would love to hear it.

Second piece of advise is to network. Thats how I got my first job out of college. Often the engineering department will have alumni who occasionally toss a few vacancies their way so be sure to stay on top of what comes in. networking sounds cliche, but it really is a shortcut for getting jobs.

other than that, apply to anything that seems interesting online. Recruiters will help out a great deal so contact a few of them in your area as well. They will need you to fill in the blanks, but are usually nice people and can help you find something that might otherwise not be available simply looking online.

I am in the same boat as you bro so all the advise I am giving I am putting to use too. Right now I submitted a resume to a local place and am having a friend within the firm help push it along.

best of luck to you, i bet you'll find something within short order!

Great advice man, thank you....

By networking do you mean keeping in contact with the hiring recruiter/coordinator even if you're not accepted for the position? I was always wondering how to effectively network in order to increase employment chances. I'm quite a social person and I find that approaching people, and girls like many people do in journals on this board increases my confidence significantly and makes me stand out...

Two birds with 1 stone, imagine that

 

[synergy1]

Many recruiters will keep in touch with you if your credentials are good enough. I had a good GPA and a masters degree so recruiters all over would call me with various vacancies. Keep in touch with recruiters? I would say that is an excellent idea.

I don't want to come off like my advice is the be all end all for getting jobs. I am in the market as well and am merely offering my experiences to you so that you aren't idling ...not that having some time off in the summer is bad

An update , one of my friends within a firm I applied to talked to his bosses and enlisted some interest on my behalf. Once again shining example of who you know as opposed to what you know!

 

[The Piano Master]

Many recruiters will keep in touch with you if your credentials are good enough. I had a good GPA and a masters degree so recruiters all over would call me with various vacancies. Keep in touch with recruiters? I would say that is an excellent idea.

I don't want to come off like my advice is the be all end all for getting jobs. I am in the market as well and am merely offering my experiences to you so that you aren't idling ...not that having some time off in the summer is bad

An update , one of my friends within a firm I applied to talked to his bosses and enlisted some interest on my behalf. Once again shining example of who you know as opposed to what you know!

Bingo.

 

[HoneyHitter]

Book recommendation

This...

I mean, I know how in theory...apply, apply, apply, but I was wondering whether it's a waste of time to apply online? Should I be simply hopping from job fair to job fair?

...tells me you should read: What Color Is Your Parachute?

Read the parts that apply to your circumstances.

Good luck!

 

[HoneyHitter]

mechanical engineering here, and they are similar fields.
Second piece of advise is to network. Thats how I got my first job out of college. Often the engineering department will have alumni who occasionally toss a few vacancies their way so be sure to stay on top of what comes in. networking sounds cliche, but it really is a shortcut for getting jobs.

Good advice.

 

[Ricky]

Engtips.com is a nice place for career advice for engineers as well

 

[AAAgent]

just went through that whole cycle. I have a horrible GPA little experience, but with alot of persistence, learning, and never give up attitude you'll make it.

I've talked to so many people...about not being able to get jobs.

They just ***** and wine about how they apply everyday and never get call backs. they explain how its their major, gpa, or just complain about the job market holding them back but the real thing that's holding them back is themselves.

I applied to sometimes close to a hundred job apps a day. I received 4-5 job offers i believe and over 25+ interviews for full time and part time positions in business. at about 500+ job apps i finally got two offers that i wanted to accept. one was an accounting position and one was a temp position at a major worldwide company. Although the full time accounting position paid alot more, i decided to go with the temp position. I loved it and learned alot. Over there i gained alot of valuable experience and still applied to jobs everyday but i upped my stakes. I was not as desperate and as well was more valuable with my experience. I only applied to jobs that i wanted and in area's i wanted to be in. after about 6 months there and up to close to 1000 job applications i finally got a job in NY that was offering enough pay to survive.

I got a job in Finance with a horrible GPA and i didn't major in accounting or finance. I majored in business law.

Never give up. That's my attitude for everything. Job hunting, life, work, etc.

 

[synergy1]

the above poster has the right mindset one needs when applicants outnumber jobs five to one. Last summer was discouraging for me when I sent out my resume + the kitchen sink trying to find work. Obviously one has to bear in mind that the timing has a lot to do with it (hundreds of apps and zero interviews last year, one app one interview this year). I didn't take it personally that no one was really hiring last year, you can't if you want to keep your head.

AAAgent, what do you think about work overseas? how proficient in a language should one be to do a temp position in europe, russia etc? If my most recent lead doesn't work out, i want to consider this path even if its outside of my field of expertise in engineering.

 

[AAAgent]

from what i've learned the whole landing a job is just getting used to the experience.

1.) The resume.

This has to look good. Without this appealing to employers you have no chance at landing a position since you won't be given a chance to interview. Won't go too much into detail since this is really nitpicky and time consuming but if you're having problems with your resume have people tear it up on purpose. ask friends for theirs and add and remove things to make your's better.

2.) The interview.

You can't get better at this without getting experience, honestly. Whether you're fresh out of college or just plain on rusty(my opinion here) you need a decent amount of experience to know whether your good or you suck. Personally i didn't suck at first but i was just plain old average or slightly below average. I didn't know how to ask questions or keep a conversation or even sell my past experiences.

Get alot of interview experience to figure out your strengths and weakness's of interviewing and better them.
Be real and original not plain and repetitive as everyone else is.

How?

Ask original questions by understanding the environment you work in.

Example: i work for an M&A Intelligence firm that gathers information on mergers and acquisitions. So they sell intelligence to clients in the financial industry.

"I understand that the country and probably the world right now is going through a lot of restructuring in the financial industry, and with the current and recently past financial crisis do you think this affects xxxx(your company) since most of your clients as part of the financial industry and may consider cutting your product to cut costs?"

Ask a real question where they have to talk and answer. Show that you know your stuff and have done research.

Be original about your strengths and weakness's

I used to say stuff like im persistent, workaholic/work too hard, perfectionist.etc. these were all lies that i thought employers were looking for but i learned they just want the truth.

My one friend who got 3 offers from the big 4 who works at deloitte now told me when they asked her, her greatest weakness she told me that she "laughed too much". They apparently liked it since it was different and somewhat real since she laughs all the time at everything almost.

my example:

What is your greatest weakness?

"I'm too optimistic."

why?

I always look to the brighter side and always see that as a probable and possible outcome and although sometimes it ends bad, I will just continue to keep putting forth a great deal of effort until that probability becomes a reality. Either that or i fail haha but i don't tend to fail too much.

What is your greatest strength?

"My greatest strength is my creativity and the ability to think outside the box."

How so? Can you give me an example?"

"well i recently finaled in a business plan competition where my business was situated in a highly saturated market. The fast food industry. I designed a creative and catchy name and unique marketing campaign strategy blah blah."

"I work on alot of projects as you currently see i'm working on a project now which i have brought in a few members of my current company to work on. I came up with the project idea myself and i currently lead the team."

(be more specific obviously)

Always clearly articulate yourself and understand that its a two way street. They obviously have to want you but you also have to want them. Just because they want you doesn't mean you have to want them. Find out about the company to see if you'd like to be a part of it but in a way where it doesn't make you look bad.

3.) Patience and etiquette

Always be patient. Do the normal politte thank you letter/follow up once then wait. If you get a second interview or when you get the interview be very formal and polite. The only time i would joke is in person, never over the phone.

Always do your basic research on a company when you get an interview but don't overdo it. They don't normally ask crazy questions just real easy ones like what do we do, how do we do it, who is our CEO, etc. Focus on the role and how you well you understand the role.

My current role was a small part of my previous role in my temp position and it was easy. I explained to them exactly what i did and how M & A fit into my previous role and how i researched and analyzed my information to conclude my data for M&A.

I didn't really explain how i understand the role i showed them how i've done it in the past.

(this is where applying for jobs you have experience in helps you)

4.) You are not competing with anyone else but yourself.

Don't worry about the other candidates because most of the time there isn't much you can do to find out how they're doing. Just do you. Do you're own work, use every interview as a learning experience. Never give up.

Even after i finish a great interview, i go home and start applying to more jobs because the battle doesn't end until i start my first day of work or until i sign the paperwork. Even when they tell me i have the job i still think its too good to be true. (I am optimistic but i've had a bad run of luck for the last few years)

Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

I was the number one candidate for this position, i beat out master's graduates and other experienced professionals. I showed up 45 minutes late to the first interview even after i called in 20 minutes before telling my interview i was going to be late i was twice as late as i expected. I got the offer, i asked for a raise and i got the raise.

Since i've been at my job less than a month. I've propsed ways to innovate our product where i convinced my whole team it was a good idea then gathered a team meeting with my boss. He rejected it but applauded my effort and that i was exactly the person he thought i would be.

I have little to no experience, i'm not exactly the sh!t either but i learn from my mistakes and i don't take failure for an answer.

 

[AAAgent]

sorry about not answering your question. I worked at a company that required alot of foreign language speakers. If they are hiring you for English, your language skills in their language should probably be advanced to fluent. Expert would be like a plus.

I am advanced to fluent in chinese speaking. Basically i can hold a conversation no problem. But there are alot of words i don't know since i don't use them in my daily chinese speaking.

Words such as "Term loan, revolving credit line, investor relations, etc." but i can easily ask in chinese how to say that word.

You're entering another country, unless your going to teach english you should be proficient in the language.

 

[HolyG]

AAAgent...FANTASTIC POSTS. Seriously, you hit a home run with those!! It's awesome to know that someone was in my footsteps before I was.

I'd obviously LOVE to apply to as many jobs a day as I freakin can. Out of curiosity, how did you search for and find so many job applications? You said you were applying to 100 a day at some points. Do you have any systems/ methods?

 

[AAAgent]

umm... for business its probably easier using the search engines i used but engineering may be somewhat different.

Still don't count these sites out:

Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, Indeed.com, Career Fairs(didn't go to these too much), networking(ask friends build relationships with new people), University Career website, recruiter agency/staffing agency's such as Robert Half International, Ajilon Professional Staffing, local staffing agency's (if you live near a big city like chicago or NY they probably have their own), etc.

My friend did something that was cool too:

go to Manta.com

1.) search for the company type you want to work for. State, city, industry, etc.

2.) choose the revenue for the company you want to work for
example: you want to work for a company that makes USD 50-100m a year. Choose that.

3.) choose how many employee's you want in the company you want to join and if you want to work at a branch, HQ, or anything.

4.) lastly manta.com will populate a list for you. The list will be filled with the companies that fit your criteria. It will provide you a website and their contact info etc. Basically just create a spreadsheet with all their web addresses and contact info. go to their website, check for opening and apply. If there aren't any openings shoot the contact an email asking about any opportunities that fit you. Obviously ask them to pass the email down to the right person since most of the time you won't be getting the direct contact for HR.

Lastly never stop learning or bettering yourself. 4 months after i graduated and couldn't find a job, while still job hunting i entered into a business concept competition with two teams both my original idea's. I finaled in one of them and basically added a new weapon to add to my resume arsenal.

Show that during this down time you didn't sit on you a$$ and eat potato chips. Go join clubs, teams, contest, competitions, etc.

I'm very entrepreneurial minded so i have like 100000 idea's that are all really good. I just have a problem with following through since i don't know where to go. I'm working on setting myself straight and choosing one idea at a time to go and get funds for.

Employer's love to hear these things i've done so go and do something for yourself too.

 

[HolyG]

excellent! thanks again!

 

[AAAgent]

ya np, let me know how it goes. I will probably have to come back to this post when i start job hunting again.

If you do this in a better or booming market i can imagine it would only work wonders and you'd basically find your dream job.