First Contact - Don’t be a Captain Kirk …
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on March 3rd, 2010
This post is Part 5 in our 7 part series on how to manage your job search.
Congratulations you’ve probably done a lot of work to get this far and now you have contact with the hiring manager within the company. In Star Trek, Captain Kirk often wandered onto a new planet without finding out much about the aliens that lived there. Kinda saying, “Hi, I’m from Earth, you’ll LOVE me!”. Well, that might have worked for him but it probably won’t work for you. Assuming you are going to talk to this company about a role then you’d better do your homework on the company and the people you are going to meet. Arguably this stage and the next (the interview) are where you need to put in the most effort.
Now that you’ve got the introduction to the hiring manager you need to put your best foot forward and to do so you need to present yourself as the perfect candidate (without making things up). You need to work the network that got you into the role in the first place in a very short period of time so that you can alter your resume and cover letter to fit the role and company. Speak with those that introduced you to the company, speak with others that you know at the company or people who used to work there to get a better understanding of the company, the individuals and more specifics on the role. Most job descriptions are not written very well and there is always more information about the role that is pertinent to your application than can be explained in the job description. This is what you are searching for - the information that once highlighted in your resume or cover letter makes the hiring manager sit up and take notice. For some great advice on resumes and more generally on job searching, check out these bloggers: Susan Ireland and Alison Doyle.
It is our opinion that you need to customize your resume and cover letter for every role. You should maintain a standard resume for the major job roles that you are applying for i.e. a version for all of the project manager roles and a version for all of the copywriter roles. Then when applying for a role you customize your application (cover letter and resume) with details that highlight your skills/experience for the role even if that means changing just a few words or a sentence or two. In other words, you need to make the resume fit the job description and bring out information that address the must haves in the job description or that you have found in your research. Now that you have a better understanding of the company and the role than anyone else in the application process (based on the homework you’ve done) - you now must use that advantage to move your application to the top. This background knowledge also serves as a great basis for the research you need to do when you move through to the next stage, the interview.
Let’s not forget that warm introduction we talked about in the last segment (Approach) - now you hand your resume and cover letter to your contact at the company and ask them to give it to the hiring manager. Of course, if you can also ask your contact to recommend you that’s even better. But either way, it is your responsibility to convince the hiring manager that you are the person for the job once they see your application.
So unlike Captain Kirk, who had more than his share of unpleasant experiences with alien species - you can increase you chances of a positive response to your application by doing a small amount of additional work.
Next:
Step 6: Interview - be prepared!
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The Art of the Approach (networking to your next job)
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on February 16th, 2010
This post is Part 4 in our 7 part series on how to manage your job search.
So I have to admit that writing this blog post took longer that I expected and I guess it reflects the difficulty of the subject matter. Making contact with colleagues, friends and other acquaintances in looking for a job is difficult, delicate and not what you would expect if you haven’t done it before. But before we get to how you go about doing this, let’s first talk about why:
According to a 2009 survey by Career Crossroads, 38% of all jobs get filled from candidates that are already known to the company. Only 8% get filled by candidates that sent their resume in without an introduction. So, are you better off sending your resume in the hopes of hearing something back or are you better off investing some time and effort to network so that your resume gets a warm introduction?
Clearly the answer is to get the warm introduction wherever possible, but how do you do that? That’s where networking comes in – it is an attempt to get that introduction through one of your existing or new contacts. In our opinion, it’s definitely an art rather than a science as it requires you to be creative, diplomatic, and delicate in how you find/approach people. You need to be able to understand the strength of your relationship with each individual and gear your approach based on that, plus other considerations such as: how badly do you need them to introduce you; how many times have they helped you before; the last time you’ve talked to them and do you have something to share with them. If you have established a pattern over the years to show that you have reciprocated any assistance given or kept in touch with people, then you’ll likely be helped. Otherwise it may take some time and effort in order to re-establish those relationships and politely ask them to help.
LinkedIn is a great tool to help you manage your professional relationships, but it too requires time and energy over a prolonged period in order to help. LinkedIn helps you understand how you are connected to companies in your Target list. Even with tools like LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook at your disposal, you’ll still have to manage it all yourself and keep track of your contacts and the result of conversations. In some cases you might already know people at the company. In others, you’ll have to carefully work your network to get to the hiring manager. In most cases though, you’re probably no more than 3 steps away from someone at that company. Start with the people you know best, but don’t expect a response from everyone – move on to the next person who will bring you one step closer to the company.
There may be cases where you’ll have to reach outside of your network altogether in order to reach someone at the company. In these circumstances we recommend understanding where people from that company might hang out. Remember face-to-face meetings are best where you can establish a personal relationship so whether it be a coffee house, a professional club or another social setting, you need to put yourself in situations where you can meet these people and where they too are more open to meeting new people.
But make sure to stay open to exploring new opportunities during these conversations as that’s the best way to uncover the hidden job market.
Next:
Step 5: You’ve made contact with the hiring manager, now what?
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Using XBox Live to get your next job
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on January 22nd, 2010
Sounds unusual doesn’t it - XBox Live is an online gaming platform that allows users to play each other using the Xbox game console. It’s not usually where you would look for work, well now it can be used for exactly that!
We’ve heard many stories recently about how people have landed their new job - through an an introduction from an ex-colleague; through another parent at a child’s daycare; through a blog; via a direct contact through a recruiter on LinkedIn; etc. These are all great accomplishments and congratulations again to those involved; but the most interesting story we heard was when one job seeker told us how he found work through a gaming friend on Xbox Live.
For the purposes of protecting his identity let’s call him Brad. Brad was laid-off last April from a bank that has recently been merged with another (not an unfamiliar story). For the first couple of months of unemployment, he took the normal route with recruiters and online job boards for the with no success. Then, he decided to target specific people from his past that he knew were working at banks or similar institutions. Brad systematically identified people that might be looking for candidates and got in touch with them directly or through other colleagues. However, there were a few for whom he didn’t have contact information. He tried LinkedIn for a few contacts and that helped, but he couldn’t find one particular contact.
He knew an ex-colleague on Xbox Live that would have the target contact details so he just had to find a way to ask politely. He began to spend more time on Xbox Live in order to find his ex-colleague, and to do so “naturally” within that environment. Now, he was also able to justify why he was spending so much time gaming to his wife;-). Then when he got the chance to open up a conversation he asked for the contact information of the mutual ex-colleague. Ultimately, this led him to start work through that contact at another bank in September last year.
For Brad, this worked out perfectly; but for you Xbox Live may not be an option. Perhaps you don’t have the Xbox console already or perhaps you don’t know anyone on there anyways? Well, that’s not the point! In this job market you have to build and leverage your network - doing so within an environment where you are most comfortable gives you the unique opportunity to set yourself apart.
Please share your story on the unusual way you have built your network in the comments section below.
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Why Google may not be on your ideal target company – 5 questions to ask
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on January 11th, 2010
This post is Part 3 in our 7 part series on how to manage your job search.
In theory, building a target company list sounds simple - pick companies that you would like to work for and add them to your list. Alas, creating a good target list requires some work and is an evolving project as you learn more about the companies you are interested in, or as you learn about new companies that you hadn’t heard of before. So, while Google may be a great company for some people, it may not suit your particular requirements. Here are the 5 questions to ask as you build a target list of companies:
1) How should I start my list?
Start with 5 companies that you are interested in today. Don’t over-analyze it, just put down the 5 that come to mind initially (realizing that this list will change over-time). Be aspirational but realistic - if you want to work at Google in Mountain View, CA but live in Austin, TX don’t add them to your target list unless you are prepared to relocate.
2) Are these companies in an industry in which I would like to work?
I know Google is into a lot of things these days but if you are a bio-medical engineer looking to work in the pharmaceutical industry, Google is probably not going to work. I don’t think they have entered the drug industry as yet.
For most jobs, it’s often a pre-requisite to have several years experience in a particular industry. Remember though that experience in an industry is good but sometimes it’s not necessarily a requirement. If you are motivated to work in a specific industry you’ll be more successful in your job search because your enthusiasm will be obvious, and you’ll be willing to put in the extra effort required to work in this area.
3) What if they are not hiring?
Don’t let that stop you! Companies often hire without advertising the positions so it helps to be well-known to a company even if they are not hiring. There are 3 advantageous scenarios which can play out if you target the companies which are not actively hiring:
a. The company gets to know you and creates a role for you because you’re such an outstanding candidate.
b. The company knows you as they are thinking about hiring and therefore you have avoided the resume rush once a position opens up and have landed at the top of the prospective candidates.
c. Offering to volunteer or intern if you are early in your career and if financially viable or offering to cover some temporary position to support a specific project, puts you in an advantageous position to learn the ropes of the company/industry from the inside, get some valuable experience and be first to be considered for hire if a suitable permanent position is available.
4) How should my list evolve over time?
As you progress in your job search, your online and offline research will lead you to the discovery of more interesting companies. . After you do some preliminary research on these companies you should add them to your list and re-prioritize your list based on new information. Some companies will naturally fall off your target list as you better understand what you want. You should be actively targeting a minimum of 5 companies, but 10 interesting companies should be your goal.
5) What else should I be looking for?
Fit - find out as much as possible about how the company’s culture based on information from people working there. If Google is your target company and you prefer to work in a structured, traditional environment, then perhaps Google’s unconventional culture will not fit your requirements. Check resources like Jobnob, Glassdoor or Salary.com to find reviews on specific companies or their hiring processes. Also, remember that your experience within a company is largely determined based on your interaction with your manager and your team, so find out about the people but also the fit within the specific group/department in which you’d like to work.
A word to the wise: Don’t target your all-time favorite company first. I’ve found this out through my own embarrassing interviews after a long hiatus from the “interviewing mode”. You’ll need time to refine your pitch, and to understand and succinctly state why you are different and interesting, especially if you have been out of the job market for a while. Target your favorite companies later in your job search once you’ve had one or two of those terrible interviews where you say all the wrong things - at least then it won’t matter so much and you can be better prepared for when it really counts. More about this in an upcoming post.
So, if after answering all of these questions you still think you want to work for Google, go for it!
Next:
Step 4: How to network into your target companies
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Jobspeaker: “Manage your Job Search” FREE Service now available
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on December 27th, 2009
Jobspeaker is excited to announce the availability of our next feature: Job Management. Using our FREE service, the Jobspeaker Firefox Add-on and our Jobspeaker Website you can now manage all of your jobs in the one place online. With the New Year almost upon us and hopefully a new job market beginning to open up we want to help job seekers land their next position. Our service helps you save, rate, and track jobs from any job board (e.g. careerbuilder, biospace, hotjobs, craigslist, etc.) or jobs listed from any company (e.g. ibm, genentech, facebook, safeway, etc.) all in one place. Get started organizing your job search today: www.jobspeaker.com or download our Firefox Add-on now.
Our new service enables you as a job seeker to find the jobs just once, then save them to jobspeaker and have a permanent record of the job. Then you can rate them, track them and make notes on them as you progress in your job search. You can compare jobs directly on one page using our jobs dashboard and monitor your own progress. Spending hours everyday finding the jobs you’ve already found across many different job sites or keeping a list on computer/paper is not necessary once you start using Jobspeaker.
We are the only service that is your “personal job aggregator” - you find the jobs and we’ll help you manage the process of landing that perfect job. We’ve developed this service because we believe that it’s you, the job seeker, who knows best where your jobs might be listed. You know, better than any service, the job boards that might list the jobs that interest you, the companies that you’d like to work for and the people you’d like to work with. So, while you search for those jobs, our Jobspeaker service helps you manage all those jobs in one place.
Try it out today and let us know what you think.
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Understanding and choosing the right Job Search Strategy(s)
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on December 14th, 2009
This post is Part 2 in our 7 part series on how to manage your job search.
So you need to start looking for a job? Perhaps you just got laid off, you’ve just realized that you need to proactively find a new job or you just need to re-launch your job search after a break. Well, what now?
In this blog post, the second of our series on how to manage your job search, we recommend understanding the most common strategies that can be used during your search. In doing so, you can choose which strategy(s) suits your particular circumstance. Here are the most popular job search strategies today and a brief explanation of each:
- Work Existing Off-Line Relationships
Whether you play bowling once a week, recently participated in a cooking class, participate in networking events, run a professional organization or are a member of your local golf club — if you have access to a member group that enables you to network to 10+ people that you haven’t talked to before then this is a good strategy to employ. - Network to New Offline Relationships
If you are now looking for work and you have exhausted your usual contacts, then it’s time for you to mine new territory. This doesn’t have to be a painful experience. Pick a group with a large enough contingent that meets on a regular basis. Look for a new subject area that you’d like to explore: a new hobby or a new professional interest area that you need to know more about. Trying to associate this potential new group with your job search makes sense, but it also needs to be fun. More than ever, employers are interested in your hobbies as a way of seeing how you pursue your interests, so go explore. - Work Existing Online Relationships
A lot of people are using professional online networking tools like Plaxo and LinkedIn, which are truly great resources if used in the right way. Assuming you have a good-sized online network then it’s time to selectively ask those contacts for help. Don’t just send them an email saying “I’m looking for work, can you hire me?” - be more selective and look for specific individuals who are properly connected to the companies that you would like to explore. If you are not already networked online, it’s time to start. - Network to New Online Relationships
This is best done in conjunction with your target company discovery. Expanding your online network during a job search in some haphazard way is not going to help. Review your target companies and then look to expand your network that gets you into or close to people in that organization (preferably the decision maker). - Work with Recruiters that you know
Recruiters are one resource that you should not neglect during your job search. Recruiter results vary significantly so hopefully you know which ones you prefer. If you have some recruiters who you like working with, make sure this strategy is one that you employ, but not exclusively. More and more employers are looking for candidates directly so you can’t rely on recruiters alone. Don’t forget to use our Recruiter Rating and Discover tool to help you rate/find recruiters you like. - Find New Recruiters
A good recruiter is a way to leverage up your resume. He or she should be able to get you into companies and roles that you are qualified for but otherwise would have had difficulty accessing. They should vet the roles for you, know what you like or dislike and not push you into a job that does not fit you (so they can earn a fee). Find recruiters who are respected, recommended and have a good track record of placing people in your industry at your level. - Use Online Job Boards
Everyone knows about the online job boards: they have been very successful in creating an image for themselves as the place to go to manage your job search. We don’t agree, however we also understand that you can’t ignore them either. So use them efficiently to make your job search more effective (see our upcoming release for tools to help you manage job boards) to understand who is hiring and what positions might be interesting, but do not make this the centerpiece of your job search. - Use Offline Job Boards
Even though the newspaper industry is now reeling from the effect of falling classified ad revenue, newspaper, magazines and other publications still have ads and in some smaller niche industries, this is still the only place to find the jobs. So if you’d like to use this strategy make sure that the jobs that you want are published offline in a publication that you are now or will receive and review on a regular basis.
Generally you should apply several of the strategies listed above - those that best apply to your situation and your industry. Today there are numerous ways that allow you to conduct your search without leaving your home but our advice is to get out and go meet people. You need to practice talking about yourself and no matter how good you are at online networking, face-to-face networking is best. Networking and learning new things can be a fun and an exhilarating experience so go out there and enjoy yourself!
A note about language - you’ll notice that we use more sales language in talking about how to deploy these strategies, that’s because it is a sales process. Like it or not when you are in a job search you are selling yourself and you’d better get good at it!
Next:
Step 3: Why Google may not be your ideal target company - 5 questions to ask
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How to Define the Goal of Your Job Search
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on December 3rd, 2009
This post is Part 1 in our 7 part series on how to manage your job search.
Defining Your Goal:
Before you start out on any journey it’s important to know your destination. In this case it’s a life-long journey so it’s best to be realistic. In other words, don’t set your goal to be CEO of GE when you have only 2 years of experience. You need to set goals that are attainable, but also stretch your abilities and afford you the opportunity to learn. The approach we are suggesting is best shown by using an example:
The Subject: Jean Hughes
She wants to move from project management to product management, and ultimately product marketing. She sees herself in a VP of Marketing role within 5-10 years. She has 4 years of experience in project management and enjoys her job but would prefer to work in areas that she feels more passionate about, has more aptitude for and where some of her education might help (she has a degree in Business & Marketing). Jean has defined her goals as follows:
| # | Jean’s Goal | Jean’s Notes | Jobspeaker Comment |
| 1 | Marketing Project Management | I want to get more exposure to the marketing function than in my current role, so I think I can leverage my project management experience into managing projects on the marketing side of the business. | This is a good approach, particularly in this job market. It’s not settling but it is being realistic about her experience and the job market today. While it’s similar to her current role, it’s different in a very significant way that provides her experience within or alongside the marketing function. Thus, she is leveraging both her project management experience and her education while learning more to better position herself for the next role*. |
| 2 | Consulting: Marketing Analyst | Working at a consulting firm will give me more exposure to lots of companies and their different marketing strategies. I may have to take a step back but ultimately this will benefit me long-term. | By thinking long-term, Jean has decided that taking a step back in her career may be the best thing right now, in order to position herself better for her next career move*. |
| 3 | Senior Marketing Manager | Perhaps at a smaller company my project management experience and my industry exposure combined with marketing education can be enough to propel me directly into this role. | This is Jean’s aspirational role that would make her transition into the marketing function quicker and increase her rate of learning towards her longer-term goal. Jean is also comfortable with the sink-or-swim aspect of this role - she has learned quickly before in some of her project work and so it’s likely the pros outweigh the cons. She enjoys the pressure that this enforced learning environment might require. |
| 4 | VP of Marketing | This is my long-term goal. | Keeping an eye on the long-term goal is a great idea. |
The basic premise here is that you can’t afford to focus exclusively on one role and that you should employ a strategy that will give you tiered options: a role that you know you can attain based on your experience today, a role that is a stretch, a role that takes a different approach and even a role that is your dream job just to keep you focused. Then you’ll be better able to understand the pros and cons of each of the options and put them in the context of your long-term career goals.
* You’ll notice that we talk a lot about “next career move”. We do this because you can no longer rely on an employer to employ you for your career or to manage your career for you, you must do it yourself. Therefore, it is assumed that this approach to managing your career is now or is becoming THE strategy for job seekers. This is our recommended approach as it puts job seekers in the driving seat by pro-actively managing their careers and taking a step-by-step approach to learning the skills they need to get to the role they want over time.
Next:
Step 2: Understanding and choosing the right Job Search Strategy(s)
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Not your Parents’ Job Search
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on November 23rd, 2009
Before we start explaining each of the steps in the “7 Steps to Managing your Job Search in today’s Job Market” we would like to explain why a job search today is different than a job search 10, 5 or even 1 year(s) ago.
The recruiting environment is changing - online recruitment was a big thing in the late 90s and has grown ever since. Do you remember this 1999 SuperBowl Ad?
Great ad but that was 10 years ago! Online recruitment hasn’t evolved much since then and it certainly hasn’t lived up to the hype of ads like this. We at Jobspeaker, and lots of others, believe that the dominance of the large job boards is all about to change - online recruitment is undergoing dramatic changes now and over the next several years. It may take a while before a new model emerges and seriously challenges the old one, but there is such a huge amount of innovation in this space at the moment that in our view it will be a matter of when, not if the model will change.
Some leading indicators of this change:
- Some companies are discontinuing their contract with the major job boards in preference for managing the job candidate search themselves
- Recruiters are using Twitter and other social media tools to market and find talent
- Monster.com revenues dropped significantly (34%) in the first quarter of 2009. Although Monster.com’s revenues in the more current quarters have rebounded, it’s unlikely that its revenues will reach the prime level again in its current business model
- Only 1 out of every 6 unemployed people is actually looking for a full-time job - instead they are looking for short term work or contract work, starting their own businesses or finding other forms of non-fulltime work - all of which are not characterized as employment
- Companies’ in-house recruiters are getting engaged in online communities to attract talent
- For candidates there are now new ways of getting yourself noticed: Video resumes; social networking profiles, social networking advertising, personal brand management, etc.
- New models abound: pay-to-apply websites; be-paid-to-interview websites; membership based models; candidate filtering models; job aggregation tools, etc.
To be fair, some of these trends have been accelerated by the economic problems we are currently experiencing. But that accelerated change may lead to long-term change as people on all sides of this market examine the value they are getting for the time, money and effort spent using the current model(s). When hiring was going well, nobody really paid attention to metrics. In this economy, however, companies, recruiters and job seekers are examining their hit/success rates.
Back in my parents time, circling the employment ads in the local newspaper was the primary way of searching for a job - that model has almost disappeared. Today, we think you’ll agree that there’s no shortage of online resources for the job seeker. However, with the proliferation of job sites, tools, advice and approaches out there, it’s now firmly the job seekers’ responsibility to decide which tools make sense for their situation. How the job seeker manages all of this efficiently is the key to an effective job search.
Next:
Step 1: How to Define the Goal of Your Job Search
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7 Steps to Managing your Job Search in today’s Job Market
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on November 12th, 2009
The first in our 10-part series of posts focused on how to efficiently and effectively manage your job search in today’s job market. We have explored this topic before but realize that we need to go into much more depth, so we’ll start with a refresher and then take it from there.
You may think you already know how to conduct a job search, or perhaps you are now one of those people who either hasn’t gone through a job search before or who hasn’t had to do it in a long time. In any case, we think the suggestions we have included here (and throughout the remainder of our series) will help you navigate the job market today. We are here to help. Compiled from a variety of sources this is our advice for the steps that you need to consider and manage to find your next role.
Without a goal you are like a rudderless ship moving in the ocean (the job market) without a particular port (role) in mind. Ideally your next role should fit into your 5-10 year plan that you have mapped out for your career. Even in these tough economic times, it’s good to keep your eyes on the prize while also keeping yourself open to new and interesting opportunities.
2. What is your Job Search Strategy?
Perhaps you know the one person that can get you the perfect job - then your strategy is clear. However, for most people, the strategy(s) are not that clear so you need to pick the most effective strategies that align with your abilities, your environment/locale and your goals. In today’s market, we advise leaning more towards establishing more personal relationships; and so exploring local offline networking events centered around your industry or competency would be worth considering. Similarly, deploying a strategy to find a contact at a prospective company before sending in a resume so that you can get a warm introduction to the hiring manager is a necessary tactic today.
3. What companies should you Target?
What are the companies you’d like to work at most? And which have the most chance of needing your skill set? Some people forget the second part - it seems obvious, but with the job market today looking outside your core skills is going to be difficult. Also, make sure you would actually enjoy working there - it would be terrible to get hired and then realize that the company’s work environment/culture does not meet your expectation. So, get to know them better from a distance - research the people, the salaries (Salary.com), what schools they attended, where did they work before, etc., to get a better understanding of who they are and what they might look for in a candidate. Once you’ve made this assessment, you are in a better position to make a decision whether or not you’d like to work there.
So you know what you are looking for, you know how you’d like to go about it and you know where you’d like to work. It’s time to increase your odds of actually getting that job by trying to get a warm introduction to that company - this way at least someone will look at your resume.
Today there are so many ways to find out who you know online. LinkedIn seems to be the most useful today but you should not forget friends, or friends of friends, on Facebook, Twitter or other social networks. But please don’t forget offline contacts as well (e.g. your soccer buddies, other parents at the PTA, your school alumni association or your church). Personal introductions through long-standing relationships are better.
You’ve made contact with the company and are now speaking with a hiring manager. It’s now your job to convince the prospective boss that you are the best person for this job (even if this position is only a backup - there a lots of people in fallback jobs at the moment, just waiting for the market to pick up).
6. Interview
Be prepared! There is no better advice than this one - know the company and preferably the people you are meeting. Know the area that you are interviewing in, use Hoovers, Google News to find out about the company, people, department and position that you are interviewing for. Other resources like Vault can even tell you a little about the interviewing process. When you know more about the interview process, the interviewers and the company, you can speak more to your strengths that are required for the role.
Be professional, polite and always follow-up with a thank you afterwards.
7. Offer(s)
With any luck, you’ve managed the process very well so far and now it’s time to decide. There are lots of different factors to consider, not just salary - make sure to weigh them all properly before you make a decision.
Obviously role, salary and responsibilities are significant factors but don’t forget that you are going to spend a lot of time at this company with these people, so be sure to weigh the positives and negatives of the people you are working with, the direction it puts you in for your next career move and last, but certainly not least, how well it factors into the rest of your life - your hobbies, your family, your commute, etc.
Good Luck managing your job search!
Our next posts will go into each of the areas above in sequence and explore exactly how to manage them appropriately.
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Acing the On-Campus Interview
Posted by jobspeaker in Job Market on October 25th, 2009
It’s that time of year again: the time of year when the leaves change color, football season gets into full swing, and companies begin their on-campus recruiting efforts at colleges across the country.
But how can you differentiate yourself from your classmates in a crowded market? How can you convince employers that they want, no need, you to work for them? And how do you find the time for several rounds of interviews when you’ve got midterms, papers, and beer pong tournaments that demand your attention? In this article we’ll answer these questions and give you tips on how to ace the on-campus interview.
How to prepare: If the company is simply looking for good applicants in case a position opens up, you don’t need to cram too hard for the interview. But if they are looking to fill a specific position, you should spend several hours getting to know the company. Get a really clear understanding of what they do, how they make money, and how you would fit into the equation. Are they on LinkedIn? If you know who you’re interviewing with, find out where he went to college, or what his interests are. Is the company on Twitter, and if so, what do they like to tweet about? Search Google News and see if they have gotten any recent press. Read the company’s own press section on their website - what are they proud of, and where are they headed? Use websites like The Vault to learn about your particular job description and industry.
What to bring: Several copies of your resume, your letters of recommendation, and any samples of your work that would be impressive and appropriate. You should also bring the notes you made about the company prior to the interview. These will help you sound knowledgeable during the interview, and will help you ask intelligent questions when the time comes.
Get ready to wait: Once you arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for your interview, be prepared to wait a few minutes until you’re called in. If there’s an administrator present, be sure to ask the name of the interviewer. Spend this time going over the information you have about the company and rehearsing your answers to some of the standard questions. Go over some of your best stories for use during behavioral interview questions. And smile. If you don’t smile and make eye contact with the interviewer, you can just go home. So even if you’ve got crazy butterflies in your stomach, you still have to appear happy, enthusiastic, and excited about getting a chance to prove yourself.
Use what you know: Unlike a job interview in the real world, in an on-campus interview you already know who your competition is. They’re your friends and your classmates. Think about who they are, who they know, and what they know, and use this information to guess at their strengths and weaknesses. If you and your friends are interviewing for an entry-level programming position and you know you’re the best at Ruby on Rails, be sure to say as much during the interview. Marketers would call this selling yourself based on your “unique value proposition.”
The STAR approach: On-campus interviewers are famous for using behavioral interviewing techniques. This means that they will ask you about situations you have faced, and will use your answers to predict likely behavior in the future, should you get the job. One classic behavioral question is, “Can you tell me about a time you faced a conflict and what you did to resolve it?” The STAR approach refers to a method used to answer these types of questions: Begin by describing the Situation you were in or the Task you had to complete. Then describe the Action you took towards resolving the situation. And finally, describe the Results you achieved. Keep the focus on you, tell the interviewer what you did, not what you might do, and give specific details but keep the story down to about a minute in length.
And remember: The interview starts the minute your name is called. Use every moment you have to sell yourself, show off that you’ve done your homework, and make a great impression. ALWAYS follow up with a hand-written thank-you note, preferably the same day. You can give it to the administrator to give to your interviewer as he leaves for the day.
The on-campus interview is the first step toward the on-site interview and your entree into the real world. If you take it seriously, you’ll already be light years ahead of your less enlightened classmates.
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