If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
When searching for your first job out of college, do you feel like you can only submit your resume to the companies your school brings in or whoever Monster.com has 1,429 postings for? Well, don’t! Be Confident! Go in with the mindset that you are a 5-star recruit that companies should be chomping at the bit for. Every company hires all the time, so why not you? Even if a company doesn’t have a posting that’s related to your degree or experience, give them your resume and cover letter telling them why they should make a position for you, because you’re that good. Many people don’t think about the huge corporations that will hire anyone that’s worthy of it, not just the top of the class people from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc. Make a list of dream companies to work for no matter how hard you think it is to get in. So go ahead and apply (very early) to Google, Nike, Sony, or any company you want. My first list of who I wanted to work for was compiled based on products I love and the biggest corporations I could find.
Microsoft, Nike, Google, ESPN, NFL, and every other company I thought would be cool to work for (and to get free stuff from) I sent my resume to. The best part is that if they never get back to you, who cares? It’s always better to know you tried rather than never knowing if you could have worked at a place you have interest. To be honest, I didn’t hear from many of these places, because I’m sure they receive thousands of resumes daily. However, I was lucky to secure a phone interview with Microsoft 9 months after applying (APPLY EARLY!), which led to them flying me out to Seattle for 3 days, which led to my largest offer for a job out of college. It goes to show you that although places get reputations of only hiring Ivy League collegiate stars that anyone who is worthy can get hired. And ESPN, I’m still waiting for an interview. I’m worthy Stuart Scott!
So remember:
- Be confident! You can get hired by anyone YOU want. It’s a 2-way street – the ball is not just in the employers court.
- Make a list of who you would love to work for. Look around at the products you buy and think how cool it may be to work there. 20 Minutes everyday could get your resume out to 3 Fortune 500 companies.
- Apply early to these top-tier companies. Be sure to refresh your resume/cover letter once a month.
- Write a great cover letter saying why you should be hired (ask me for help if needed)
- Fill your resume up with useful content. Focus on extra-curricular, volunteering, groups and associations, etc. Everyone will have similar education sections.
Related posts:
Ethan Oblonsky is a successful account executive for a Fortune 500 IT company and has been providing resume writing services and interview consulting for the past 3 years to a wide-range of clients.
{ 0 comments… add one now }