That’s how my youngest found her first job – an alumna in her major called a professor in the summer and asked if she knew any student still looking. She recommended my daughter and it ended up being a great fit.
To add – My oldest did voluntary service after graduation. She then found her first “real” job through Craigslist! (This was 15 years ago). It was at a startup and she really worked hard to move up and make moves to end up on a great career path. The middle one got her first job through campus recruiting – but she’s an engineer so it was a more linear path.
It definitely could be different for new grads than it is for those higher up. As I said regarding my son, it’s not his first job. He turns 30 soon. He had his first job (in his field - business) prior to graduating - gained from an alum/friend.
In general with the pandemic and so many folks retiring, it “should” be easier now than ever for younger folks to get jobs. Not long ago we’d have 12-30 teachers applying for a position. Now there doesn’t seem to be such an oversupply. The difference is likely due to more people leaving the field (in our school district) the past couple of years.
Look at it this way - you sit on a bunch of applications, all from people similarly qualified, whom you don’t know, you’re looking for some other distinguishing factor to pick a few for first interviews.
If you search for someone’s LinkedIn profile, and it looks mature, professional, shows continuity or even progression, makes you feel that someone is detailed oriented and is taken the entire process seriously - would you be more inclined to pick this person over someone who did not put the same effort in (if all else was equal)?
I got my first paid freelance web dev position from one of my professors - someone had asked him if he had any recommendations for a web developer and he e-mailed me and asked if I was interested.
He should update his LinkedIn to at least match what is on his resume. Every time I receive a resume at work, I always look the person up on LinkedIn. I would imagine that they would do the same when they find out that they are interviewing with me (at least, I know I always try to look up people that I’ll be interviewing with if I’m on the Interviewee side).
I have recruiters reach out to me every week for jobs on LinkedIn, and I don’t even have it set to reflect that I’m open to looking for a job. My other half doesn’t have people reaching out to him based on his, however his is very sparse and mine is full of 25 yrs of various exp.
It is possible he may even take down his Linkedin. And becoming anonymous – disappearing into the woodwork :-). The likely industry he may go into is very small and close knit. Even senior people in the industry are not on Linkedin. Or they just have a name, current firm and undergrad degree.
The way it has worked in the recent past is that if you are applying to a large tech firm, it could be an anonymous impersonal process. In most other cases, for the firms that the kid is interested in, the firms advertise or solicit resumes through the student run math club listserv (for which they pay $$$). Sometimes resumes are on handshake, or on the ACM resume database, and they contact students individually, and take them out for small group lunch/dinner to see if there is interest/fit, before you get into the interview process formally.
My daughter (English major) graduated in May of last year (2021). Her summer of 2020 internship was cancelled but she did work for her school as an intern junior and senior
year. In the spring of her senior year she applied for a few jobs on Indeed and was called for an interview (her first for a “real” job). It wasn’t originally her dream job but she really grew to love the company during the interview process. She was very disappointed to not get the role and sent a follow up email thanking them for their time and reiterating her strong interest in working there. She ended up taking a contract position and continued applying elsewhere. Fast forward 9 months and another job opened up at the original company. She sent her updated resume to her initial recruiter and is now working for the company she had her very first interview with. Persistence paid off and she is extremely happy.
I love that she took the time to thank them. It seems like about 50% do that. I interviewed 2 people this last week and got 1 thank you e-mail, so the 50% is holding true so far for this opening as well.
Wow that is surprising! Thanking an interviewer for their time seems like the right thing to do, especially when you are still being considered. It definitely can’t hurt!
My D’s friend was a history major who spent time abroad with a service organization after graduation. Upon his arrival back to the US he applied for one job on LinkedIn with a well known financial services institution and got the job. Worked there for 2 years and is now moving on with his schooling.
My D is off to grad school and she told me her jobs will depend more on face-to-face networking experiences (she will have a lot) and not as much on LinkedIn.
Again, I see a lot of differences depending on the field. She currently has a very detailed LinkedIn.
D was an English major at an LAC and due to Covid hitting right before junior year summer, internships were limited. I expected her to have to move home after graduation and piece together various jobs. However, an alumni connection led to an interview at a publishing company and she received an offer three days before graduation. She works for a great company that has a supportive environment, benefits and 401K matching. Pleasantly surprised!
S applied online for MBB internships and did a ton of work over last summer to be prepared for interviews if he were lucky enough to get one. He starts his internship in a few weeks and will likely stay with them after graduation. Fingers crossed he likes it.
D ( graduated 2020) 's junior year summer internship yielded one job offer for a full time position after graduation, but she also sent in a few applications while doing that internship, which led to a few more offers. She ended up turning down that 1st offer and went with a bigger company , also in NYC ( still with them now )-- ( field : Investment Banking )
My daughter started college knowing she wanted to be a doctor. She had two amazing mentors, one of whom recommended her for a job as a patient care technician, i.e, nurse’s aide, at a hospital in the city where she went to college. She worked for two years in an inpatient medical unit and learned so much about herself, the healthcare system, and end-of-life issues. She was often called upon by nurses and doctors to help terrified patients and their families deal with end of lfe issues.
Although her grades were by no means perfect and her MCAT scores not over-the-top fabulous, she is now finishing her second year of medical school and I could not possibly be prouder of her.
ShawSon created his own job (twice). As a senior, he co-founded a tech startup and became CEO for the last semester of senior year and the first year. He turned the reins over to a much more senior person and got an MBA and an MS in Computational and Mathematical Engineering. He started a second company while in grad school and works there now. He has hired quite a few folks.
ShawD was in a five year BSN/MSN program and is a Family Nurse Practitioner. She got her first job (and her second, I think) from Indeed. She is in her third job and applied directly to the company, I think, and has now become Medical Director of one of their primary care clinics.
