How does a college student prepare finding a job?

Midwestmomofboys
Wed, 11 Jan 2023 17:59:26 +0000

It really was most of them, over a period of time.

The student interested in politics did not go through career services at all. He identified the offices and organizations he was interested in, sent his cover letter and resume for school year internships, and worked 10-15 hours week each semester. He networked the heck out of those internships, building relationships and a reputation, and relied on that network for his post-grad job. As it turned out, he got his post-grad job by circling back to the hiring person for one job which he didn’t get, to ask if they had advice about how to improve. That person said, “come to think of it, there’s another position you’d be great for. Are you interested in x?” He was, and started several days later.

The business kid had “regular” paid summer jobs, being a camp counselor kind of thing, until the summer before his senior year. He had been diligent about going to career services events, meet-and-greets, informational meetings etc. during the school year before that. The spring of junior year, he relied almost exclusively on career services online tools for internships and jobs. That summer, he worked in an entrepreneurship role, learned an enormous amount about what he was good at, not so good at, and what he enjoyed. Came back to campus in the fall of senior year and started applying widely to business positions – finance, analyst, wealth management, everything. Got deep into the interview process, but no offers. Reached out to some alums he’d networked with to ask for advice, got some suggestions about how to adjust his search, and then got his post-grad job quickly after he made that adjustment.

For both of them, it was a multi-year process of discovery and networking. Neither of them had a major that showed “career readiness” – they weren’t accounting majors, or business majors specializing in block chain. So they relied on building their network, educating themselves about the roles out there, applying widely, being prepared for disappointment and frustration. But each of them had a fantastic experience in their early years, and the skills they developed as undergrads, in terms of analysis, communication, organization – all helped them succeed in their fields.