10/17 Preparation Pays Off!!
I recently had the opportunity to work with a 2007 college graduate from Elon College. His parents felt that a proper graduation gift should include services related to helping him find a job. They pulled out all of the stops and purchased a professional package which included résumé, cover letter, and interview preparation. In addition to writing the résumé, cover letter, and a separate introductory letter for job prospecting purposes, we met on four separate occasions to review interview and job search strategy.
My client prepared a targeted list of companies that he was interested in working at, researched companies for contact information, and contacted the alumni office at Elon to see if there were any Elon graduates working at companies on his “A” list. His preparation and professionalism paid off as he did land interviews at some of his company prospects utilizing his alumni networking strategy.
Ultimately as a result of my client’s hard work and diligent preparation he landed himself a job at the company of his choice, and was actually offered a higher level sales position that is ordinarily offered only to company “insiders” with 2-3 years of experience. He also accepted a salary that was $6,000 more than the initial figures discussed at the beginning of the application process.
So the long and short of my point, job search is a full-time job and requires diligent preparation, networking, and interview preparation. You should utilize a number of online resources and books to study the latest styles of interviews and which kind you will most likely face in your industry. Review popular interview questions and prepare answers ahead of time. Preparation pays off at all levels of the market, recent college graduates to senior executives, and truly, depending upon where you are in your career, the pressure is no less or greater.
My client’s words are below.
“I think the resume and reviewing helped as the position I got is not entry level and they do not normally hire outside for this position, plus I get about 6k more than the original position I applied for. Thanks so much for all the help you gave me! I believe it was a large help to me getting a higher level position.”
Will B. Recent College Graduate, Maryland