I started a new job this past November and was surprised by how much easier & faster it was to get attraction this time around. Is it luck? Is it timing? Or is it the fact that no one wants to take someone fresh out of college? I feel the obligation to share this with the folks out there that are in their job search journey, especially their first one.
Post Graduation, 2021.
There I was, a 25-year-old talented and ambitious woman, with an MBA in Marketing, unemployed and restless, trying to find a job. In ten months, I applied to many positions. I was present on all the job-search platforms, I had an impressive online presence, and I topped-notched my resume. I wrote more cover letters than I can count and read so many job descriptions envisioning myself in each one of them. I did all the right things too. I contacted other alumni and friends. I reached out to community members and sent out LinkedIn connections to recruiters and people in professions I admire. I asked people for favors giving my resume away like candy. And, I promised to pay back a favor once I am on my other side.
I wasn't a snob either. I looked at various titles and positions in social media marketing, digital marketing, product marketing, customer success, communications, and copywriting. I stretched my interests as far as it gets. All for nothing. I did not get any callbacks. Or at leads no decent callbacks. And when I did, did not get very far.
In the meantime, I explored the self-employment route, Becoming a freelancer for social media and digital marketing services. Joined a small boutique agency of freelancers for social media services making pennies and helping with anything and everything I could get experience with.
So How Did I Get My First Job?
10 Months after graduation, I was on a 4th-of-July retreat with my family. There, I met someone who's a data consultant at a startup company. I told her about my professional goals and my job search, she decided to refer me to a job in her company.
Her referral got rejected. "She doesn't have the type of experience we are looking for," they told her.
I only found that out months after being employed with the company, but my friend got on a call with the HR person and told them (in her words) - "listen to me, this person is good! You need to give her an interview!".
I then got the interview and shortly after got the job.
And I was good at my job.
What Happened This Time Around?
My year+ as a CRM Associate was like a BootCamp in the world of online customer retention. When I decided it was time to find something elsewhere, it took a total of 3 months. That's it. I got the CRM Manager role at The Sak (more posts to come on that).
My second time around the block of recruitment was different. I was getting callbacks and interviews from large brand names and recruiters.
At that point, I have established expertise in one specific niche in marketing - Customer Relationship Management and Retention Strategies through Email and SMS. I talked about my doing with confidence, I wasn't faking it - I just knew what I was talking about as a professional in my field.
I got my job on an "easy-apply" function on Linkedin. I repeat, EASY APPLY ON LINKEDIN!
It was so much easier, quicker, and less stressful to find a job the second time around.
Point is, to get a job, you need a job. Nobody wants to take the burden of training an employee for the first time. And oftentimes, they are missing out. If you are a talented & motivated professional, remember that rejection around the workforce has nothing to do with you.
