Quote:
Originally Posted by 5.M0NSTER
In addition to the great advice already posted, I have 3 more points:
1) In a tough economy you need to cast a wide web. I applied for over 110 postings before landing my first job out of college. That resulted in 2 interviews, and 2 offers. Apply like it's your job, because it kind of is now.
2) See if the company has a continued education program which can pay for part or all of your Masters. Masters degree won't help at first, but after 10 years of experience it will be the next crucial thing to get higher up the corporate ladder, and you will learn more about running a business.
3) Have a plan. Your first job is just that, your foot in the door. Every 3-5 years re-evaluate what your long term goals are, and seek the next career move which will help you get toward that goal. You have to actively seek this out, and make the moves happen. Some people think that if they just do their job, and keep their head down they will automatically be promoted and given the next role. Not how it works. You have to ask about it, think about it, plan and do.
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Couple things here...
1. This is the proverbial shotgun blast I'm referencing. While narrower than others I've seen (400+ applications with similarly low interviews / offers)...for comparison's sake I had 1 internship + 2 full time positions (entry level and low paying, but still) prior to graduation. After graduation, I applied to maybe 8 places and got 5 interviews and 3 offers. Prior to college I did have several years of military experience too, which helped, but I regularly give talks on this topic to other veterans doing the same thing putting out 100s of applications with few calls back. The military experience is hardly a blip and often has no relevant technical skills that translate over, so it gets discarded / ignored anyway by recruiters. The bulk of it was because I did my homework and research (and admittedly less of it then than I advocate doing now).
While it absolutely can be a numbers game, without seeing everyone's resumes + positions they're applying for I cannot help but to be skeptical of the specificity of each resume and how good of a match it is for each position. Monster, perhaps you can shed some light here - was yours tailored to each position / person / company? Or just general industry / discipline? Also curious if you had warm intros vs cold applying through websites - were all 110 done online? Or did you talk to people in person first?
edit - I feel like it's not fair for me to leave out the timeline for me in this comparison. I graduated in August (needed that last summer class) which was a bit too late for the usual September start dates / May graduation hiring cycle, so I was researching / tailoring from about August to October and applying October / November. Got the offers in December / January, started working in February. So do be prepared to buckle down for a bit - even if it was 1 application that led to interviews and 1 offer, that process can take weeks if not months for a company. In the meantime you still have bills to pay, rent, food, etc. I planned ahead and saved for this, and student loans have I believe a 6 month window after graduation where if you're not yet working you don't have to begin making payments. So start saving now, take on that extra part time gig, plan your living situation, etc. I'm crossing my fingers OP will land this job he's already interviewing for - he's starting the process far before I did. A lot of advice is "lessons learned the hard way" so to speak, so while I learned some lessons the easy way / some the hard way I think it all applies.
2 + 3. These are solid advice - one of the companies I applied to but did not go with was Lockheed Martin, who offered a well-defined pipeline towards career advancement including Master's degree programs and partnerships. At the end of the day though their pay was lower than what I went with (for the bay area anyway, as I understand it they're far more competitive elsewhere and scale well) and my current company also has a great many certification / Master's degree compensation programs. When weighing companies, do look into career advancement and progression - graduating college is just the beginning. Now the real game begins.