One of the key and major problems candidates have when applying to a new a job, is that they really don't know what they want. Do they need a higher salary ? Being a manager and a senior ? A prestige from the new post ? Being part of a well-known company and that's it ?
The idea about this article is to list a number of humble advises collected from discussions with professional managers and also a number of cases I witness in real life. Each one will be presented with a title and small example to picture the idea we are talking about.
** The College part:
When you're still a student, studying is not the full equation you must solve, there a large number of other things you must do to start having a good career when you graduate. One of the most important steps you must take when being in college is having a number of internships at well-known or good places, I know you will always feel frustrated and upset, you won't totally enjoy your summer vacation and time with your friends, but believe it or not, this is how you will perfectly enjoy all the upcoming summers in the future. When applying a new post at a company or a bank for example, the interviewer would pick up the bright shinny candidate in front of him (Will talk about it in a separate point), one of the key criteria the interviewer will focus on, is that time the candidate will take as a training period, induction and introduction to work, being through internships before will help being different in that point, you won't start from scratch like the others, you might have from 5-10% knowledge about the field of your studies or at least about corporate or banking life for example, and that means, shorter training and induction time which would make you ready to get the job early. From other side, your side we mean, is that you won't have the normal shock every fresh graduate has when going through the transition period from being a student to being an employee, you will be somehow familiar with the environment, how people talk, think and act, the desks, computers and programs they might used, for sure you won't be 100% cool and ready, but at least you have an idea about how life will go from now on. In short, having internships will help you a lot to make you ready for the transition period and also it will be a very good mark on your C.V
** The Interview:
A lot of candidates think about how they look in the interview, and the large bulk of paper they will print as data about themselves, and totally forget about what they will say and face from the interviewer. This part will be split into a number of sub-points
1. First of all, your look, if you're a fresh graduate, the interviewer won't ever expect you to wear a Gucci suite for example and perfumed with the most expensive fragrances, hey !! You're still a fresh graduate !! All you must care about is looking good in a humble suite, and most importantly, comfortable and cool with what you are wearing. The look will matter in the future, for example if you were a director in X company and applying to a CEO position in Y company, your look will be questionable a lot in the interview, the board will check every single detail in your suite to be sure they chose the right person for the image of their company, but as a fresh graduate, it's very known you still get your pocket money from your parents, and you don't have to wear those expensive suites to attract the interviewer
2. Second, as we mentioned, stay cool, there's nothing to be afraid of and keep the idea of being accepted or not aside, just deal with the interviewer as one of your uncles, a good conversation about yourself, your past experiences and your dreams, and the most important thing, just smile, don't turn into that desperate kid that needs a job, a good humble smile will deliver your comfort feeling to the interviewer and he or she might be pleased to go to a good conversation with you.
3. Don't be a smart A**, never show that you are the irresistible candidate that the company would die to have, or the most handsome kid on earth or the son of Einstein, as we mentioned above stay humble and cool. You must stay calm when going through the conversation and be careful what you say, the interviewers and companies don't like that kind of candidates, at the end, you're just an ordinary fresh graduate to them and believe me they have a number of analysts inside that would convince you never existed before or ever went to college
4.Don't be so desperate for the salary, some people all they care about is the package they will receive, believe me that's not the most important criteria to die to know, it's a combination of number of things. For example, aside the package, what's the experience you will gain from such a position ? The working environment in X company ? Your career progression ? The Company's Goodwill and reputation ? You won't only measure the company's welfare by how much they pay you, and never show that the salary is the only thing you care about, for example, a good engineer or a line supervisor won't be experienced (or get the higher salary) without getting his hands dirty on the machines in a factory or a workshop, for instance, how will you be a supervisor on a production line when you don't know how this line operates ?! So think smart, and imagine the whole picture from above so you can decide whether to apply or take the job or not.
5. Let them want you ! Contradiction comes here, how to make company X want you and at the same time, not being the smart a**, that's simple, follow all the above steps. Stay cool and comfortable, smile every now and then and show how you're proud of sitting on your chair, share your thoughts and imaginations about the bright and sustainable future for example, a couple of ideas about improvements won't hurt, and of course, a well prepared CV.
* The C.V:
The larger it is, the most attractive it is - Said by .. we don't know. Don't believe in those words anyway, because they are totally wrong, the recruiters receive tons of CVs by mail and e-mail every single day, what will make them leave the big package and jump to your CV ? Simple ! A good looking picture or yours, your past experiences list in clear short points, and your hobbies and education. Never write about the big fish you caught in Africa when you were travelling with your daddy, just .. Fishing ! Never mention company X that died when you left them after the last internship and how you reformulated their P&L with the simple excel sheet you created, because it simply didn't. Just give hints about what you've done in last couple of years, and believe me they will question you the rest on the interview.
* Your footprint:
That's a good point for you, and it's quite simple, don't be an ordinary employee going everyday at 7 am to work with eyes closed, your coffee in your right hand and the laptop in the left one, the routine kills, believe me. Always think differently, how will you finish your job early so you can develop a certain program ? what about sending a file in a different easier format ? reformulation of the job description of your post ? that's sounds interesting. Never turn your job into routine and always try to leave a footprint, enhance and improve in the tasks you're handling, that's what will really help you in the near future regarding your career progression. And as a fresh graduate, always show how you are willing to improve the job you will get, and be a fresh eye in your place that's seeking to make things better.
Those were a number of points that I believe will help in the start of the career timeline as a fresh graduate, another one will be wrote to cover the same topic but as an employee already,
Thank you,
Mohamed Shohayeb
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