I was asked the following question in a previous post: "What techniques would you recommend for college students without considerable experience to reference"?
If a college student is interviewing for a job in the Corporate World right out of college, they are often competing for a spot in an Introductory Trainee Program. The target company is investing money up front in training for a later payout.
In this situation, specific knowledge and skills are lower priority than attitude, work-ethic, intelligence, and in many cases competitive spirit. Why? Because the company will teach the candidate the desired behaviors during the new employee's time in the program.
Reflected below are two things the candidate can do to prove work-ethic, intelligence, and competitive spirit:
1. While in college, be highly involved. Have a job, join a fraternity or sorority, participate in business fraternities such as Alpha Kappa Psi, play a sport, join Toastmasters, the list goes on. Companies love seeing a candidate who has more than just a 4.0. Social skills are usually more important than Grade Point Average.
2. Assuming the candidate had a job while in college, they can put together testimonials reflecting the work-ethic, competitive spirit, and attitude talents. Two years ago, I participated in an interview for a company's Management Trainee Program in which the candidate, Raymond Tussing brought a leather bound book with plastic sleeves. In the plastic sleeves, Ray put several testimonial letters from employers at his college jobs, stating the SPECIFIC IMPACT he had when working there. I have been through thousands of trainee interviews and that is the only time I have ever seen anyone do that. Guess what, by Ray making himself very different, he was hired. This might be a surprise, but after graduating from the training program, Ray became the company's #1 producer. If you show ingenuity and that you are proactive, the reactions will be positive by the employers.
Also, Sean Harry helps inexperienced college graduates get placed in the right opportunities by teaching them how to effectively prepare for an interview. Sean will tell you that the preparation is 90% of the success. Sean's website is http://www.orcms.com/blog.
With that, we throw another log onto the fire.
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2 comments:
What is your opinion with a 4.0 college student with no work history or activities compared to a 3.0 with a well-rounded background?
Ohio 18, it depends on the student and the position for which they are applying. In my experience, there exists a correlation between involvement and social skills. The person with the 4.0 GPA has proven themselves in that area, but how sociable are they? I want to learn how they behave socially. Can others relate to them, or are they an intellectual that puts themselves above their audience? Has the 4.0 had to compete in any arena other than school? If they are applying for an analyst or desk position, the 4.0 might be a more appropriate fit compared to a sales position where the more involved person tends to prosper. However, please keep in mind that these are just correlations, not facts that apply in every situation.
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