Attracting Top Graduate Employers | What the Job?

When asked about their ideal job, the vast majority of college students will cite a specific company in their industry, even before commenting on a specific position or location. This is by design. The top graduate employers are very aware of the college student psyche, and they work very hard to establish themselves as the ideal employer. This works out well in the end, because they get what they want, recent college graduates willing to work hard for less money, and college students get all of the prestige, experience, and enjoyment of starting out with a top graduate employer. The problem with this, though, is that with great demand comes great competition. Even though top graduate employers hire many graduates, the amount of students applying per position is much higher than smaller, more local companies.

So how are you supposed to distinguish yourself among all of these candidates with similar qualifications. The answer is the biggest secret that everyone has always told you about but you have never bothered to believe: Networking. Networking alone will almost certainly cut the time you must invest in your college job search in half, if not more. Believe it or not, it is very likely that you already know several people with the authority and the desire to hire you into a position that you love, but they don't know you are looking. During your college job search, you need to talk with every single person that you can about how your college job search is going, why you would be a good candidate, and any other thing you can think of that might make your contacts want to pass on your information. This is especially true if you are seeking employment with a top graduate employer.  These companies get thousands of applications from students who all have similar education and experience. This is not to say that you can't wade your way through the process, but your chances are much more likely if you have someone on the inside pushing you along.

As an example, I will cite my own experience. My target employer was the number one top graduate employer at my school, and incurred heavy competition among my classmates. During the beginning of my college job search, I applied to more than 20 jobs through their system with no luck in securing even a phone interview, despite my stellar GPA, two internships, glowing letters of recommendation, and highly relevant extra-curricular activities. Then one day, I attended a networking event where a representative of the company was speaking with students. Note that this was not a company executive, nor was it the person who hired me. It was a twenty-something cubicle worker who I struck up a conversation with. Within around 15 minutes of pitching myself and letting him know about my interest, I had a business card and instructions to send in my resume. This turned out to be my golden ticket. Within a month I was flown to an interview, where I was told that I was hired before even conducting the interview, and soon after I had accepted the offer. This is the power of networking, especially when dealing with top graduate employers.

This is a step you can start right now. Talk to anyone and everyone you can about your upcoming job search. You would be surprised at who has a friend, uncle, sister, or sister-in-law's cousin who could help you out. Let me know all about your networking efforts in the comments.

Understanding the Resume Objective | What the Job?

Before you begin writing a resume, you should take some time to understand exactly what a resume is and what it is supposed to accomplish. The resume objective is to put you and your skills in the best light possible, and in this way to make someone interested in hiring you. The resume will probably not get you a job directly. Instead, the resume objective is to get your potential employer to pick up the phone and call you in for an interview. In order to get them to do this, you need to have several traits:

• Make it easy to contact you - Get your name, phone number, email address, address, and anything else you can think of on that resume so that you are easy to contact. Remember the resume objective is to get a call, but if it is too much of a hassle your potential employers won't bother.
• Show how you meet a need - Make it very apparent why you are different than other applicants, and how this difference is useful to the employer. Don't get caught up in listing all of your accomplishments when only one is really relevant to the employer. This doesn't just apply to content, though. You should try to not use too generic of a resume style as well, to prevent the reader from falling asleep before even reading. Your resume objective is to get them to pick you for the interview as opposed to your competition, so you need to distinguish yourself.
• Have a professional appearance - This is one of the most important traits that your resume can have. Avoid any spelling and grammatical errors, or your resume is immediately in the trash. In addition, you want to have a consistent formatting style that is appealing to the eye, and looks clean and organized. Furthermore, you need to consider how you are submitting the resume and determine the best way. For instance, when submitting a resume electronically, I would typically save it as a pdf file before sending, because it prevents any unwanted effects of microsoft word. This also helps to distinguish your resume from others, which is good, because the resume objective is to distinguish yourself.
• Match the job description - In this tough economy, there will almost certainly be multiple options for entry-level employers, so you need to exactly match or even exceed the job requirements. Think about these requirements before you even begin writing, and plan the overall resume structure around them. Make it blatantly obvious that you meet the requirements. Employers won't be looking at your resume for more than a few seconds initially, and you don't want to get overlooked.
  

One trend you should note in all of these traits is that they apply both to the content and to the structure and presentation. The resume is a ticket to the interview, and is a vital part of the process. Really, the problem with resumes is that they are just a sheet of paper, as opposed to a person, which makes it very difficult to determine the good candidates from the great ones. Paying attention to the details will allow you to meet the resume objective of getting an interview.

Later posts will go over how to put a resume together, but for now think about the resume objective, and how you can go about presenting yourself in the best light. Let me know of your favorite tips and tricks in the comments.

College Job Search Resources | What the Job?

It is very important to clarify that not all resources are created equal. If you are looking to find a job after college, you need a multi-tiered approach. This should not only include collecting as much information as you can, but also understanding how your competition behaves. The truth of the matter is that no matter how qualified you are, entering yourself into highly competitive venues will likely result in your becoming buried in a pile of resumes. For this reason, it is important to choose the resources you use wisely.

So what does this all mean? It means that resources that are easy to use and even easier to find will not benefit you. If, for instance, you decide to only use the major online job sites to apply for your positions of choice, you will almost certainly be in major competition with tens, if not hundreds or thousands of other applicants. The following chart shows the percent of internet users who visit three of the largest job sites:

This chart shows that Indeed, CareerBuilder, and Monster are all attracting around one in three hundred internet users every day. That is millions of people to compete with every day by using these sites. Consider further that the typical recent college graduate is highly motivated to find a job after college, tech savvy, and likely has similar qualifications to you, and you will see where these numbers are problematic.

So what are your options for finding a job instead of using these sites? Monster, CareerBuilder, and Indeed are certainly the easiest resources to find. My first suggestion is to visit your career resource center if your college offers one. Oftentimes, your college will have a dedicated place where you can go for jobs posted specifically for students like you. Additionally, they may be able to give you information on how to contact recruiters, or what other students have found helpful. Additionally, I would suggest talking to anyone and everyone you can face to face about your job search. You would be surprised how many people have "an uncle in the biz" and may be able to forward your resume. Finally, if all else fails, apply to your favorite companies sites directly. This at least eliminates the middle man and often will reveal openings that are not as well advertised.

Essentially, finding a job after college will require you to choose your resources wisely. Don't be so sure of your qualifications that you forget to consider your competition. It is very important to your college job search that you find jobs online that you can apply for and be assured that your resume will actually be viewed.

Let me know about your favorite resources and strategies in the comments.

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