"For Students only" This article is specifically for Career Starters and for those who are still studying and have to find an internship or their first job after they graduate. First of all, if you are reading this article and still studying, then congratulations, you are about to position yourself in the game ahead of anyone else. Colleges and Universities are full of future career victims. I know this because I speak publicly in various schools with career seminars and many students could not care less. “After all, there are still months before I graduate, why should we listen to this now?” Because like in chess, the winners are those who strategically position themselves in a position of control and choice. The losers are those who simply react to whatever happens to them during the game. The analogy could not be better as when losers realise what is happening, they rarely have time to recover. Time is an ally to those who use it as such. There are dozens of things that students can do in order to find themselves in a position of control and choice when they will need a professional experience. Here’s one of my favorite: This tip is only for Students… As a Student, I remember that my school was asking us to take part on assignments or projects involving companies. In essence, we would have to do something for the company that varies from a study, a report, an analysis or any project that would benefit the company and would allow us (students) to be introduced to the real world of companies. As I moved on to become a recruitment consultant, I learnt that the more I knew decision makers and the more I was able to help people find a job. This is where as students you have an advantage that you will lose later. One of the reasons that companies are very keen to cooperate with schools and universities is that they know they can get cheap if not free labour. This also means that sometimes, they have to play the game, in order to keep a good relationship with the school, even if it does not benefit them directly. Employers are also after the brightest students and they know that the way they are perceived in a school could influence greatly their ability to attract the top best talent for their own vacancies. As Students, now that you understand this, here’s a method that would literally give you the edge over other students. Identify and approach 5 managers in the field you are aiming at. For example, if you are studying computer engineering, then identify on LinkedIn and other internets sources, IT Managers/Directors that you would like to interview to benefit the School’s newspaper/magazine/radio or media association. Get the school to help you identify a few of these decision makers, career services are usually connected with several companies in your region. Send them an e-mail, a message on Linkedin or a letter explaining the following: Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms My name is John and I am currently a student at Blablabla School of Computer Engineering in City. I came across your profile on Linkedin and was very impressed. As a Student of IT myself in my 2nd year, I have the project to interview very successful IT industry leaders on what it takes to become successful in our field, and after hearing from you from our career services manager, or after browsing through your profile, I would be honored to ask you a few questions on this subject. Of course after our interview, I will send you the article for you to proof-read, prior to submitting it to our media association / school newspaper. I believe this would take between 30 to 45 min and I can come to visit you on at your offices at a convenient date/time this week or the following one. Please let me know your thoughts, Thanking you in advance, John Smith. Please note: Make sure you do not lie. i.e.: it says you will submit the article, not that it will be published. You might wonder what’s in it for the employer… Well, free marketing for the company, and school recognition as being a successful leader and an industry reference for the manager, not bad for 30 min of their time… Benefits that you get from such meetings are from the questions themselves: Pro’s and con’s of any job role (before you can make any career decision) Tips and advice – Mistakes to avoid for any new fresh grads. What does it take to be promoted? (Attitude, Personality, Achievements…etc) Eliminating pre-conceived ideas. (Unless you have done the job in question, you must have some pre-conceived ideas about it. Salary levels and career development (What can one expect in these 2 areas) Key attributes to be selected out of school by the employer you are speaking to. Information about potential internship/mentorship or fresh graduate positions. Future questions: Keep the door open should you have more questions or advices to ask. Remember: you are building your network. Prepare for this meeting and leave a great impression. This will allow you to meet and know several key decision makers early in the game and you will be able to keep in touch with them afterwards too. These meetings are beneficial for you as well because you are likely to have a chance to also talk about yourself and/or be asked a few questions about your profile. But in my opinion, one of the greatest benefits that you will get as a student is to actually know what they are about to embark on. Very often, students have an erroneous perception of their dream job and when they realize that it is not the right one for them, it is usually quite late in the game… Well, not with this method. You will be able to interview managers of several jobs even, before you can make a decision on your career, you will be building a very good network, while you are still studying. Until next time IN SHAA ALLAH
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 21:19:29 +0000