A Hunting We Will Go: Getting Ready

So it’s now your senior year and it feels more like judgment day than graduation day. All of the things you did (and did not do) are piling up onto a single piece of paper that will be offered up to anyone who will look at it in the hope that it will inspire someone to offer you an interview. You start to feel queasy as you talk to friends and hear of their many successful interviews. How can they have so many job offers when you haven't even sent a resume out yet?

Doubt creeps in. Did you have enough extra curricular activities? Should you list the summer you worked at Dunkin’ Donuts (you were the assistant manager after all)? Can you put your GPA down in some metric system form to make it look better? Do you even know what you’re qualified to do?

As with all things, this too shall pass. But let’s start with a few pointers to get you on your way.

Preparing for the Hunt

One of the most common questions I get (mostly from parents) is when should a soon to be college graduate start looking for a job?

You should probably begin at the beginning of the last semester of your senior year or about 6 months before you are available. Looking any sooner than that for most industries is fruitless because 6 months is a lifetime when you need to hire someone. Some companies do think that far ahead, but they tend to be few and far between.

Tip: Most companies know there are fewer graduates in the Fall and so they compensate by doing less on-campus hiring. If you are a Fall graduate, be prepared for fewer on campus interviews.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't start looking, just don't apply yet. Looking at the different job options is a great way to get you mentally ready for the hunt. Start looking at career websites, talking to people in industries that appeal to you, reading the job section in the paper.

So you are ready to start looking for work. Your resume is polished and you have several copies ready to hand off to any fool who happens to ask how the job hunt is going. So what’s next?

The next step is to prepare your life to reflect your new professional status. Here’s your checklist:

• You have changed your answering machine from “You’ve reached the booze brothers, Grant and Cameron. We’re either partying or passed out. Leave a message and your measurements and we might call you back.” to “This is Grant and Cameron, we’re sorry we aren’t in, please leave a name and number and we will get back to you.”
  
• You’ve changed your email from luvbug83@yahoodir.com to madeup.nameforblog@yahoodir.com. A professional image starts from the beginning.
  c You’ve removed your measurements, racy photos, and blogs about drinking from your personal webpage. Put your name in a search engine. If you find anything you don’t want seen, then work very hard to get it taken down. Many employers will check to see what comes up when they search your name on the World Wide Web.
  
• You’ve chosen a hairstyle and color that won’t get you confused with one of the Strawberry Shortcake dolls. This is also not the time to start experimenting with a cut you’ve never tried. If you can’t make it do what it did in the salon, then don’t get that cut (unless you can afford a personal stylist.)
  
• You have wardrobe choices that cover up all of the parts you had posted on yourpersonal webpage. Don’t job hunt without your wardrobe ready. An interview could happen with as little as 24 hours notice. I'll be doing a "getting dressed blog” for specifics.
  
• You have informed your roommate that you are job hunting and he needs to stop answering the phone in rhyme form. He also needs to learn to write messages on something other than an ATM receipt. Roommates can make you look very very bad. If yours is a complete idiot, then just get a cell phone. BUT…
  
• Be prepared to phone interview every time you pick up the phone. Every call from a prospective employer is an interview, no matter how brief or general. They are getting information about who you are and how you behave. That means you should not answer the phone if you sound sleepy, drunk, hung over, sick, or dazed and confused. Also don’t answer if you are in a loud space, walking, or with friends. It’s better to let them leave a message when you can call back at a more convenient time. In many cases they will screen you in 30 seconds or less on the phone before deciding to bring you in. See “Interviewing on the Phone” for specifics.
  
• You have gotten off illicit drugs for at least 3 months incase the company chooses to perform a drug test. Yes, many companies perform drug testing. This includes law firms, doctor’s offices, and fortune 500 corporations. If you are one of the people who has chosen to experiment with these substances, then (shame on you) you should explore how long it will take to get them out of your system.
  
• You have informed three people who are familiar with your work habits in a positive way that you are looking for work and have asked them to be references. Your references should be able to answer questions about you as a professional, so avoid family members and friends and look for people who supervised you, taught you, or even worked with an organization for which you volunteered. The more specific information they can give about your ability to do the job, the better.
  

If you've done all of these things, you are ready to start hunting. Check out the next post to find out where to begin looking.