Ep.26 - SOML: How I Landed a Job at a Fortune 100 Company Before Senior Year
My very first full-time job was working as a product associate at Liberty Mutual, #75 on the Fortune 100 list (as of 2017), and the biggest company in Massachusetts. For a 22 year-old kid, I thought it was pretty cool. What made it even cooler was the fact that I had the job offer before I started my senior year in college. If you're wondering how? You are at the right place.
It's quite simple actually, but timing is everything. The single most important factor is what you do in the fall of your junior year.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: YOU HAVE TO APPLY TO INTERNSHIPS IN YOUR JUNIOR FALL
If you want to have a job after college, you MUST apply for internships in the fall of your junior year. That's exactly what I did. I sent out so many applications that I could not keep my head straight with all the names of these companies. Out of every 10 applications, I had 2-3 interviews, and all I needed was one offer.
Here is the thought process. I apply for a ton of internships in the fall, and hopefully secure one for junior summer, which I did. If I do well during the internship, I would most likely be offered a job.
WHAT IF YOU PROCRASTINATE? THINGS GET REALLY BAD IF YOU START TO APPLY LATER ON
What if you don't start looking until the winter or the spring? All the odds are against you now.
- THE BEST JOBS ARE GONE: Most companies start looking for interns in the fall, and some even send recruiters to the campus for on-site recruiting. If you don't join the space race in the fall, the best internship opportunities are guaranteed to be gone by the winter.
- CAMPUS RECRUITING DWINDLES: The best way to secure an internship, and a job later, is through campus recruiting. Why? These companies are invested in the school and have allocated specific quotas to fill. You are competing with dozens of folks on campus, instead of thousands from all over the Ivy League schools.
- YOU ARE TAGGED AS "LOW PERFORMER": When you don't have an internship by the end of the fall, companies start wondering WHY that is. The stereotypical mindset is that either you are incapable of getting one in the fall, which is bad, or you were not motivated to apply, which is equally as bad.
- YOUR MENTAL HEALTH SUFFERS: It is self-explanatory. If you don't have anything by the spring, you are likely under a lot of pressure and may even be desperate. Nothing good comes out of desperation.
WHAT HAPPENS ONCE YOU GET THE INTERNSHIP OFFER? EVERYTHING BECOMES SOOOO EASY AND A JOB OFFER IS WITHIN SIGHT
Once I had the internship offer, everything was set in motion. I made $20/hr during my internship and I tried to learn and have fun at the same time. Honestly, I could not say I was the best at my internship, but I was able to demonstrate competency and strong potential, which led to a job offer at the end of my internship.
That offer was my golden ticket. It made my senior year a pleasant and stress-free time. Again, it would not have happened without working my ass off on the cover letters/resumes during my junior fall.
Timing is everything.
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