Hey Fellas, I really appreciate all the feedback. That's quite a lot more than I could have hoped for! I'll try to address as much as I can in one post:
@y_
My degree is in civil engineering.
@ Mr. Rob
A few strategies...
1. "Cold Approach" - This is my favorite strategy. Build a list of 50 companies you want to work for and just reach out directly to the company ask to speak to HR or hiring manager, introduce yourself and tell them you want to help make their company successful with your skills. Also reach out to the person who would be your boss (i.e. if your an IT guy contact the Chief Tech Officer, if your a marketing guy contact the VP of Marketing, etc). Don't be shy in this approach. Leave voicemails, emails, call multiple contacts within the organization, go in person, and keep reaching out till they tell you to fuck off.
I did this strategy once for a sales internship and by the time I was done I had 16 companies reach back out trying to get me to come interview. I ended up interviewing with my 6 favorite companies out of the 16 and ended up with a paid internship in my field that gave me really good job experience.
Note that really big companies can be much more of a challenge but if you find the right person in the Org you'd be surprised how bad they are looking for good candidates.
This strategy works because NO ONE does it and it really makes you stand out and employers know right off the bat that your an ambitious go getter.
2. Networking events - The hardest part is finding good ones to go to. Chamber of commerce meetings/events are always a good bet, meetup.com can have some good stuff, and of course University and College related events can have some good leads.
With these type of environments my general strategy is to just start talking to people and making friends. Most people are playing the "collect em all" business card game which is stupid. Don't give your card or ask for a card unless you actually form a connection and hit it off with someone. Remember that whoever you meet here that can offer you a job is likely going to be your boss or higher up... I'm more a fan of choosing the company with the boss/leader I like and respect rather than some chode who can give me a pay check.
Thus I keep it moving and making friends until I hit it off with someone in which I'll deep dive them, build some rapport, ask them about their xyz department that I would be a part of, and then get some intel on the company. If you hit it off they'll of course ask you about yourself and you can tell them what your good at and a few choice key highlights relevant to the job/company. He might ask you to give him and call and set up an interview or you can beat them to it and ask if they could use an ambitious xyz skilled addition to the team.
I don't spend time at these events with people I don't get on with, I don't care if their the CEO of Google or Amazon if I don't like/respect them off the bat I keep it moving. There's 100 other companies out there all looking for candidates.
Also keep in mind much of these networking events are like the club for nightgame... its a meat market. Employers are there looking for 2 things typically A) New Business Leads B) Good Employees.
Also if you hit it off with someone but they can't help you or you can't help them be sure to get them to introduce you to someone that would be a good fit for you. People at these things love helping out young people that they like.
3. Honorable Mention - Job Fairs -
I fucking hate these things. Their absolutely retarded. A bunch of desperate companies talking with a bunch of desperate would be employees. Their for losers.... so if you go to one treat it like such.
My strategy at these things is to go without a resume, cover letter, and "30 second elevator pitch" that your supposed to have. Instead I dress nice and show up at the very end of that jank when things are winding down. I just go and start a conversation with a company I find interesting and ask some pointed and smart questions about the structure/operations of their company. They'll then ask you about yourself and ask for your resume. You just tell them a few interesting tidbits about you (and that your interviewing for some companies your excited about) and tell them you came with a friend to keep them company and weren't really trying to be apart of the job circus (But your dressed to kill nonetheless). Ask them what positions their hiring for but let them make the suggestion that you should come interview.
If you do this right every company will be begging for your resume (because that's all they do at job fairs) and you just give them your business card and tell them you'd be happy to send it over to them if they email you.
Thanks for the detailed strategies Mr. Rob! I've started to have some of the same thoughts. On #1 cold approaching, that's so funny that you mentioned that because I started to make a list of companies in my immediate city and am just now starting to branch out into neighboring big cities and even the region. My main approach was to send a cold cover letter (sometimes called inquiry letter?) to these companies along with my resume. I was also planning to use LinkedIn as well to cold message recruiters or HR reps or even employees themselves. Going forward in the next few weeks this is my main approach I'm going to try out and see where it takes me.
A family friend of mine also suggested I start trying cold visits where I just stop by the receptionist at companies and ask if I can speak to the hiring manager or someone from HR, or at the very least drop off my resume and cover letter to the receptionist in person. Tbh I've thought about doing this for months now guess I've been hesitant to find the courage to do so. He commented that companies really respect that and it definitely makes you stand out which are the exact same thoughts I've had and you seem to have as well, looks like I'll have to sack up and really go after these companies head on.
Do you use any tools or apps to help you locate companies more efficiently Rob? I've used Google so far and Glassdoor so far to find out about certain companies via. jobs posted.
Networking events are another one I've really wanted to start doing, but I had no idea where to start except Chamber of Commerce meetings. I've heard some good things about going to those on the Boards so I'll def have to start hitting some up. Good stuff about Meetup and college/university events I'll have to start searching and putting in my due diligence there.
I like how you mentioned that networking are meat markets like bars/clubs, never really saw them from that perspective before but I would say it's an accurate description. And word on the career fais, I just went to one back in October as an alum and I must say that I get the same vibe as you do about desperate companies and desperate people looking for a job hahah they've never been my style but went to 'em anyway just cuz I felt like I should.
That comparison of pickup and finding a job is spot on too, I've started to notice so many parallels between job hunting and pickup haha especially the scarcity part. I know for sure that is a HUGE weakness of mine right now cuz I've never really had to find a professional job before and it's like I know my mindset is limiting me but I still can't help but feel scarcity towards finding a job right now even though I logically know it's hindering me and I have to shake it off.
Any suggestions on how to deal with this?
@ Toby,
Yeah man thanks for the tips on LinkedIn. I've done a decent job so far growing my network but nothing in the hundreds, not sure if that's the route I'm trying to go but it's an interesting approach. I still need to do a few more finishing touches on LinkedIn like getting people to endorse some of my skills, add a summary section and a few other things of that nature. I do have the settings for recruiters open and have had a few contact me which is a good thing, I'm not really active on LinkedIn and every week my premium account alerts me of around 15-20 people (mainly recruiters viewing my profile) so that must be a good sign.
@ GP
Thanks for the tip man. Ironically my family friend who also suggested the cold visits suggested I find a recruiter and link up with one. He had a friend recruiter who helped him find a job since the recruiter is electrical engineering and mechanical, but he doesn't do civil engineering placement anymore for whatever reason. I was thinking of hitting him up again and seeing if maybe he has any recruiter friends he could introduce me to. Do you have any suggestions on how to go about finding a recruiter to befriend and link up with? My only luck so far has been talent acquisition specialists reaching out to me and then vanishing shortly after haha.
@ Doc
Hell yeah man I like ZipRecruiter, I;ve used it a couple times and got some callbacks and even have an interview this Wed. Idk why I haven't started using it more. That's also an interesting take on the temp agency. I've thought about going that route for now just to cushion my savings a bit longer but was a little skeptical, guess that's another avenue I could try in the meantime. Do you know if they have temp. placement for professional jobs like engineering by chance?
@ Readjusting
Thanks for the tip, I'm not sure if engineers are able to freelance or work that angle. Part of me wanted to go that route after college of not going into engineering and training up a skill instead (like programming or copywriting or SEO) and building a portfolio first, then leverage that to get a job since that seems to really make a person stand out, but need a job very soon and don't have the patience to continue living with my folks until I build up the skill and a portfolio :/ Do you know of any potential ways for an engineer to leverage something similar to a portfolio to land a job?
All in all I appreciate the feedback guys. Some great stuff here, I just think I need to change up my strategy a bit and incorporate some of what you guys suggested. I've been mostly applying online via. Glassdoor and company websites and it was so inefficient it kept discouraging me and burning me out. I took this past week off half intentionally, half-unintentionally cuz I felt so burnt out and dreaded the thought of job searching. I feel more energized now at the thought of taking another crack at it thanks to you guys.
