Wednesday, June 13, 2007

My job search has come to an end!

Last week while on vacation, I was pleasantly surprised when the Director of Public Affairs and Communications from Coca-Cola Enterprises called me and offered me a position!

The job search process is such a tedious one, going to interview after interview, and I'm so glad I can finally say I am employed. Landing one about 3 1/2 weeks after graduation, I guess I should feel somewhat lucky because I know it can unfortunately take a lot longer. For all you upcoming graduates, here are a few of the most important things I have learned throughout my search....

1. USE your resources! Professors, friends, parents' co-workers...whoever you know that might be able to help you! I learned of the Coca-Cola position through my dad's boss, who happened to know someone who worked at Coke and had heard about a position opening.

2. Know how to interview. Just because a friend of a friend worked there, the rest was up to me. I took SPCM 2520 ("Intro to Interviewing") while I was in school. While this may sound silly or easy, I found it to be one of the most beneficial classes I took. Even if you don't have an opportunity to take a class like that, buy a book so you can read about it (I personally recommend, "Knock Em Dead" by Martin Yate). You would not believe some of the specifics that can make or break your opportunity.

3. Get experience. When you interview, employers usually won't ask you what your grade on your last calculus test was...they want to know what you have done that is related to the position. Even if you haven't had an internship, talk about situations in school when you have been on a team (I guarantee they will ask you something related to that).

Good luck!