No one wants to end up on their parents’ couch after receiving a degree. Without utilizing the technologies at our fingertips, the guts to chase a dream and confidence in your ability to succeed – waking up to your mother and father is a possibility.
The employment market is competitive, confusing and constantly progressing. Looking for jobs can start as early as your freshman year, if you know what you want and start to grasp it early.
Make connections and make yourself known. If you are just starting college or getting close to a starting point in your mind, it is time to make yourself known in your field.
Sprucing up a LinkedIn account, getting a professional Twitter or Facebook and making a personal website for employers to track what you have been doing makes you that much easier to reach out to.
Pay attention to the events on your college campus. Finding out that a hero in your potential field is visiting and reaching out to the organizer of the event for advice on how to meet the hero shows initiative. Once you make these connections, keep up with them.
Send a Christmas message. Shoot a happy birthday email. Check back in to see how their dog is — try anything to make them remember you over time.
Shooting high with the company you would like to end up at while connecting with entry-level workers or managers will help your name spread throughout the company. A recommendation from inside is better than any reference letter from grandma Sue or internship.
The best way to get what you want is to know someone that can help you get there.
Be appreciative and repay the favor whenever you can. It’s important to remember that your first job will most likely not be your last, so don’t burn any bridges or be greedy.
Cold-calling and showing up to say, “Hello,” can be your golden key. It may seem like you are intruding, which you are. Intruding can be done in a respectful way though, and in the end, everyone knows what it is like to need a job and not have one. They will understand. Ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
Calling someone for a foot-in-the-door opportunity can involve getting into a relaxed conversation that allows you to make a connection with no inherent intentions or a speedy elevator pitch that will dictate whether they pick up the phone next time. Be prepared for both.
Stopping by is a bit more tricky. Think about Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls. She sits on that bench for days before anyone notices her. She’s there for so long that the office starts to know her, and eventually, she’s the first on hand when there is a job.
Remember, this is a show and if you happen to get escorted off the premises because of this article, this is your warning to tread lightly.
The key to dropping by an office is to be patient, be understanding, be confident and willing to leave and come back. Have a resume, a business card and make sure you look professional.
Being professional is required, but being yourself is wise. Think about listening to 35 interviews with stiff, stuttery, newly-graduated adults — sounds painful. If you can be the breath of fresh air that makes a joke, throws in a personal anecdote or gives them more substance than a CV, you might just steal their hearts.
Instead of saying, “I had an internship at [insert company name here],” talk about something you did while you were there. The sentences you will use in that method have action, practicality
Being yourself is the key to success because whether they truly like you or not will be decided after they are sitting by you in a cramped cubicle.
It’s better to make sure they get a piece of who you really are for the future of their company and your sanity. If you know who you are talking to, which requires some intense creeping, you will know what you have in common.
Having the opportunity to start a real conversation –one that they will remember – will put you far.
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