College Candy: "If you’re a graduating senior or a student on the hunt for an internship, you probably have a love/hate relationship with your college career center. On one hand, you want them to be there for you 24/7 when you need your resume looked over right away. On the other hand, you’re about to kill yourself if you get one more invitation to attend an advanced pantsuit shopping seminar. I know. Learning to be professional isn’t fun and it isn’t always easy. And that’s why we’re here to help you.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
How to Impress Employers at a Networking Event
College Candy: "If you’re a graduating senior or a student on the hunt for an internship, you probably have a love/hate relationship with your college career center. On one hand, you want them to be there for you 24/7 when you need your resume looked over right away. On the other hand, you’re about to kill yourself if you get one more invitation to attend an advanced pantsuit shopping seminar. I know. Learning to be professional isn’t fun and it isn’t always easy. And that’s why we’re here to help you.
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6 comments:
It's really easy to assume that at these fairs the job people are here to do a service for you but the truth is it's like an interview. You need to be the right fit for each other. It's funny that the things that she finds impressive aren't about your resume or skills, it's about being respectful of her time.
It's pretty sad that the author had to make a point about being polite. I mean, seriously?? I know that people are raised differently and not everyone understands how to be tactful and considerate in high school, but by the time you're looking for a job during and especially after your time in college, you should be grown-up enough to understand how to treat people. That's just disappointing. I think he makes a very important point about doing your research ahead of time. I know that we get busy and sometimes preparation time for events like this is lot, but it doesn't take long to do a little bit of googling to find out about a company. I really appreciate that the author said even one fact/compliment was enough to have him interested and impressed by you. I will definitely keep this in mind in the future. The author's comment on "If I give you my e-mail, e-mail me," really stuck out for me. I sometimes find myself being nervous to e-mail someone because I don't want to seem bothersome. But I guess sending that brief follow-up e-mail is actually helpful. Good to know.
I agree with Shannon that its odd that there needs to be a section on being polite. It doesn't matter where you are brought up, you should still be polite. Your basically at a job interview. you should be polite anyway. I agree the most with the point about being yourself. I found that of all my college interviews, i did the best at the ones i was able to be the least nervous and myself.
One of my favorite lines in this article is the one about "if you're melancholy, recite me a sad poem". There is a great deal of pressure on people to be the excited, super happy and friendly person, but speaking for myself...I'm just not that person no matter how hard I try. Being yourself is okay as long as you're still polite and respectful.
There is a definite correlation between this college blog and the theatre community in that these networking events do not have to be super formal, and I'm glad that was pointed out in this article. Although trying to tell jokes is risky and usually backfires, you are allowed to talk about things other than work, and this could be hugely influential in helping you secure a job. Being able to speak about the industry is a great way to do this, so the mantra of "doing research" helps here. This is true not just in who will be at the event, but (I think) the industry as a whole as well.
Although it is SUCH a given, I'm really glad that this article points out to "be yourself". For years, I worked so hard to be the "best person for the job" instead of showing the interviewer that I was the right person for the job. I find though when I become very nervous it's much more difficult for me to keep that in mind considering my utmost desire to simply impress. In terms of what Shannon said about the point of being polite, I find that it is the one thing that is lost in people in today's age, and sadly, it's the simple things such as hand shakes, eye contact, reducing the use of "umm, uhs, and likes". I appreciate the class metaskills for pointing out this habits, however so much of these manners stem from the source.
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