The one thing on almost any college student or post-graduate's mind is finding a job - more specifically, finding a job that relates to their area of study. There are many accounts about the horrors of finding employment after spending four years earning a piece of paper that may or may not help your job prospects. While I can't speak for everyone, I'm here to say it's not that hard! My personal experience is that of someone seeking a job in IT, more specifically while working on a computer science degree. I'll be frank; the job market for people working in IT or software development is overflowing with opportunities just because of the high demand, but I think these tips could help just about anyone.
You might ask what makes me qualified to give me advice. I'm certainly not an expert and I'll try not to repeat everything you could learn in a professional communications class. At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, I've had multiple internships and I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I have options on who I want to work for when I graduate. I've even been in the position to decline job offers numerous times. That is all to say, I've been pretty successful when it comes to finding work, so I'd like to share some of the things that helped me so that everyone can have a positive job hunting experience.
I'd hate to break this up into parts again, but it turns out I have a lot to say about finding a job in general. Assuming you've done your due diligence , the first step to getting that job or internship is to GET AN INTERVIEW! The interview is your chance to show what chops you've got, but that all doesn't matter if you can't get the company to talk to you. There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of being interview.
1. Unsure about applying? APPLY ANYWAY. #
Most of the time, job listings will have a list of requirements the company would like candidates to have. Even if you feel like you don't meet every single requirement, my suggestion is to apply anyway. I'm completely serious when I say that those requirements are just a guideline. What I've come to find with companies hiring college students for internships or even entry level jobs is that you're not expected to be an expert in anything. As long as you have good programming practices and a solid base of knowledge, you will be able to learn on the job. For example, if a requirement for a position is "experience with C++", but you only have experience with C, don't count yourself out, because learning C++ when you already know C isn't too much of a leap (yes, I know C and C++ aren't the same :P).
People are often afraid they don't have enough experience to get the job they want. You just can't let that stop you from applying. In some ways, having little relevant work experience just means a company has the opportunity to mold you into the developer or engineer they want. You won't have any "bad habits" you may have learned from another job that they have to break, so to speak. Even if you're not sure if you would be able or even want to work somewhere, it's better to apply and try get an interview so you can practice and be more comfortable interviewing in the future.
2. Be persistent #
Stephen suggested I add this one. If there's a company you really want to work for and you don't hear anything back the first (or third...) time, don't give up! He had to apply and interview two or three times to a certain company before they finally extended him a job offer. This includes attending job fairs and browsing job sites like Indeed or Monster. It's especially true if you're only a freshman or sophomore looking for an internship. There are typically more openings for juniors or seniors in college simply because they tend to have more experience, but it's entirely possible to get an internship early on, too. Don't focus too much on what company and whether or not that company has a big name - even if a bigger company is your "end goal". There are a lot of great opportunities with companies locally, especially in the DFW, where you can gain a lot of hands-on experience. Finding a job utilizing your field of study isn't limited to just the summer, either. While summer internships are great because you get to work full-time, often in a new city, it's even better sometimes if you're able to find a co-op position near where your university is so you can work in a relevant position during the school year. At least in IT, internships or co-op positions are paid (and paid well), so it's great if your part-time job is related to your major - what's better than getting paid to learn?
3. Carpe diem - Take advantage of opportunities to put yourself out there #
Quite frankly, I get tired of being told the importance of networking. But it's emphasized for a reason. You are a more likely to get a call back if a recruiter has spoken to you in person. This mainly happens at career fairs, though companies have been known to hold interest/information sessions individually, as well. Talking to a recruiter in person provides a great opportunity for them to get to know you. This is your chance to make yourself stand out, especially when you hand them your resume. Let your personality shine through. Don't just recite your work experience. They're hiring people, not robots (at least not yet...). Just be yourself. We all know it's important to have impressive technical abilities, but it's important to be able to carry on a conversation. Don't be afraid to show enthusiasm! Ultimately every single other person applying for that job has the same degree as you, so you have to let them know who you are. And always remember that just as recruiters and hiring managers are out there scoping you out, you should also trying to learn more about the companies, as well.
4. Have an online presence #
This is probably the thing that has helped me the most. I have a confession - I have never been to the career fair (except once to help recruit candidates for a company I interned for!). I know it helps a lot of people, but I've had a lot of success just applying online. Make a LinkedIn and utilize your school's job board. UTA has HireAMaverick, plus HireAnEngineer specifically for engineers. You don't need a personal website, though I have mine just so I can have this domain. In addition to just applying on job listings on the companies' website, I receive emails and phone calls every month from hiring personnel asking me if I'm interested in interviewing because they found me on LinkedIn. You don't even have to perfect what you have on your LinkedIn. I literally just copied what I already wrote on my resume. Using HireAMaverick also got me noticed by companies like AT&T, Google, and Amazon - they contacted me and I didn't even have to apply. Large organizations like those typically have university recruiting teams who are on the look out for resumes, so having your updated resume on your school-specific job site helps tremendously.
An interesting topic is whether or not social media will hurt you. I don't really know the answer to that. While I make an effort to keep some things private, my Twitter and Instagram are public. It isn't hard to find me online (in fact, I linked everything at the top of this page :P). Although I am conscious of what I post, I don't make an effort to hide the fact that I have a social media presence. Here's the thing: I've actually heard a recruiter say that they find it weird when they can't find someone online AT ALL. I personally have never had any ramifications from sharing pictures of my food, complaining about having to do homework (literally everyone does this. Everyone.), or sharing articles about things I'm interested in on social media. Just be aware of what you post, use common sense, and you'll be fine.
Fun story: I applied for an internship position with Neiman Marcus online and during the process, they had an issue with one of the pages not loading on their site. I tweeted them the screenshot and jokingly said they should hire me so I could fix it, and I ended up getting the job (I ended up declining for schedule conflict). I'm not sure if those two things are even related (I doubt it), but I thought it was funny.
5. Perfect your resume #
This is probably THE most important aspect of getting an interview. The sole purpose of a resume is to get an interview. Your resume is the only tangible thing that represents you to a recruiter or hiring manager, so it's important that it packs a punch. One myth I'd like to dispel right now is that your resume has to be uber professional and well, boring. Although you should always, ALWAYS, use clear and concise language, it by no means has to lack personality. The people responsible for looking at your resume probably has to look through hundreds, if not thousands of other resumes. As I mentioned before, your individuality has to be apparent and you have to stand out. I had a professor in my communications class tell us you should never use color, but I think having at least a hint of color is eye-grabbing. Modify your resume, or even have multiple versions of your resume, for the different types of jobs that you're applying to. Be sure to include keywords that are relevant to the job description, because a lot of the time when you submit your resume online, the online system will scan for certain words.
There are probably thousands of online guides that tell you have to format your resume, so I'm not going to add to that. Use your best judgement for those. But, here are a few things I have kept in mind when working on my resume:
- Don't be afraid to list retail or food-service experience if that's all the work experience you have. Teamwork and being people-oriented are desired traits, so just be sure to play that up.
- Try listing your skills above your work experience if your work experience is lacking a little.
- Don't write essay-style paragraphs - the truth is that your resume is probably going to be skimmed first before anyone reads it in-depth, so be sure to emphasize what you want emphasized so that it catches the eye!
- To list high school or not? It honestly depends. I think as a freshman or sophomore you can, especially if you won any national or international awards or competitions. Would anyone care that you, as a senior in college, won a medal in UIL in the 10th grade? Probably not.
- Feel free to list any relevant school projects, courses, or involvement in student organizations. Projects and courses are often the only thing you really have when you're just starting out. Just be sure you can talk about them if anyone asks! Involvement in student orgs, especially if you held a leadership position, are extremely beneficial. Some of the things you can emphasize when describing your involvement are responsibility, organization, and of course, teamwork (engineers have a reputation of not being very people-friendly, but honestly being able to work with other people is so important).
- Microsoft Word is a nightmare sometimes. All I can say it use tables! It makes lining things up so easy. Also don't be afraid of decreasing margin size so you can fit more on a page. Although I don't think it's the end of the world if your resume is more than a page, it just doesn't look very good if you have like, one sentence on the second page.
Ultimately, getting that interview is just a matter of spamming the world with your presence. Emphasize your skills (but don't lie). Chances are there's someone out there looking to hire you; you just have to make yourself known!
Continue on to Part 2, tips for the interview and beyond!
Thanks for reading,
Christina