Read Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?: A Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job for Free Online Page A
Authors: Ellen Gordon Reeves
Tags: Self-Help, Non-Fiction
another three to contact. But don’t overdo it—don’t meet with more than three people per day. You can’t process that much information or do the right follow-up.
But most importantly, whether or not you’re able to identify concrete job openings through your experience “on the inside,” you’ll get to meet people in the field.
Recognize that building your network is your most important task at this time. Make an effort to meet people. Invite people for lunch or coffee (yes, you should pay) for formal or informal informational interviews. If possible, spend a lunch hour in the company library (if there is one); ask if you can borrow and read office copies of industry newsletters and other periodicals; schedule an informational interview with HR; talk to everyone you can about what they do.
Most importantly: Work hard. Prove yourself, make yourself indispensable, and maybe you’ll get hired when an opening appears. You’ll certainly meet people who can steer you to other people and openings in the industry.
Set Up Informational Interviews
A N INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW IS A MEETING , whether by phone or in person, at a company or in a department where there is no particular opening at stake. Not everyone will grant informational interviews, but try: They can be invaluable sources of insider data about an industry or company.
An informational interview is a wonderful way to make a contact. Impress the person you meet, and you may find that she knows of other openings within the company—or maybe she’s so taken with you that she tries to hire you.
They’re also wonderful ways to make a contact. Impress the person you meet, and you may find that she knows of other openings within the company—or maybe she’s so taken with you that she tries to hire you. Or perhaps she’ll think of you when an opening does occur. She might even help you get a job elsewhere.
Think of the informational interview as a social encounter; it should be interesting, if not actually fun. For details on what you may be asked and how to prepare for this kind of interview, see pages 119–120.
Be an Intern
O NE OF THE BEST WAYS TO GET A JOB is by interning (often but not always for free) at a company or organization. Competent interns are among the first approached when entry-level positions open up; someone tried and true who knows how the office works and can hit the ground running is enormously valuable.
Internships range from formal to informal; if you are still in school, you can often even get course credit for the experience. Being an intern can give you a sense of the industry and company, allow you to meet people within the company or organization, and teach you concrete skills. Some internships actually rotate you through a company’s departments to give you a sense of how the place works and where you would best be suited.
Don’t be a slave to geography. If, for example, you want to work in a gallery in San Francisco but you don’t live there yet, get whatever experience you canin your hometown. Be creative. Volunteer to be a docent at a local museum; get to know the museum staff and artists. After you’ve proven yourself, ask them if they know people you might get in touch with in San Francisco.
You should approach an internship the way you’d approach a paid job; see chapter 8 , You’ve Got the Job, for tips on making the most of the experience.
How Old Is Too Old?
Q. I’m 22. Am I too old to intern? (I interned every summer in college.)
A. You’re never too old to be an intern. Take it from me: At age 30, I took a summer internship at a new publishing company for $15 a day. I wasn’t looking for a job; I was a teacher and I had the summer off. The internship turned into a fifteen-year book publishing career.
Volunteer
M OST WORKPLACES HAVE MANY UNTACKLED PROJECTS WAITING in the wings—there is almost always work for the willing. If you can’t afford to take an internship (some require a full-time,
But most importantly, whether or not you’re able to identify concrete job openings through your experience “on the inside,” you’ll get to meet people in the field.
Recognize that building your network is your most important task at this time. Make an effort to meet people. Invite people for lunch or coffee (yes, you should pay) for formal or informal informational interviews. If possible, spend a lunch hour in the company library (if there is one); ask if you can borrow and read office copies of industry newsletters and other periodicals; schedule an informational interview with HR; talk to everyone you can about what they do.
Most importantly: Work hard. Prove yourself, make yourself indispensable, and maybe you’ll get hired when an opening appears. You’ll certainly meet people who can steer you to other people and openings in the industry.
Set Up Informational Interviews
A N INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW IS A MEETING , whether by phone or in person, at a company or in a department where there is no particular opening at stake. Not everyone will grant informational interviews, but try: They can be invaluable sources of insider data about an industry or company.
An informational interview is a wonderful way to make a contact. Impress the person you meet, and you may find that she knows of other openings within the company—or maybe she’s so taken with you that she tries to hire you.
They’re also wonderful ways to make a contact. Impress the person you meet, and you may find that she knows of other openings within the company—or maybe she’s so taken with you that she tries to hire you. Or perhaps she’ll think of you when an opening does occur. She might even help you get a job elsewhere.
Think of the informational interview as a social encounter; it should be interesting, if not actually fun. For details on what you may be asked and how to prepare for this kind of interview, see pages 119–120.
Be an Intern
O NE OF THE BEST WAYS TO GET A JOB is by interning (often but not always for free) at a company or organization. Competent interns are among the first approached when entry-level positions open up; someone tried and true who knows how the office works and can hit the ground running is enormously valuable.
Internships range from formal to informal; if you are still in school, you can often even get course credit for the experience. Being an intern can give you a sense of the industry and company, allow you to meet people within the company or organization, and teach you concrete skills. Some internships actually rotate you through a company’s departments to give you a sense of how the place works and where you would best be suited.
Don’t be a slave to geography. If, for example, you want to work in a gallery in San Francisco but you don’t live there yet, get whatever experience you canin your hometown. Be creative. Volunteer to be a docent at a local museum; get to know the museum staff and artists. After you’ve proven yourself, ask them if they know people you might get in touch with in San Francisco.
You should approach an internship the way you’d approach a paid job; see chapter 8 , You’ve Got the Job, for tips on making the most of the experience.
How Old Is Too Old?
Q. I’m 22. Am I too old to intern? (I interned every summer in college.)
A. You’re never too old to be an intern. Take it from me: At age 30, I took a summer internship at a new publishing company for $15 a day. I wasn’t looking for a job; I was a teacher and I had the summer off. The internship turned into a fifteen-year book publishing career.
Volunteer
M OST WORKPLACES HAVE MANY UNTACKLED PROJECTS WAITING in the wings—there is almost always work for the willing. If you can’t afford to take an internship (some require a full-time,
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