Currently Reading: Deciphering the Cosmic Number: The Strange Friendship of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung (Arthur I. Miller)
Movies Watched: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy (Yep, all three.)
As I mentioned in a previous post, job hunting has been very enlightening. Learning how to package and market myself has been key to everything. As much as I thought I knew how to do this already, I've realized that I actually wasn't that great at it. I'd gone to numerous personal branding talks and career talks but none that were very specific to me. In addition, I didn't know squat about what potential employers were looking for. And for this reason, I really wish the MTM program had provided more career development support, but at the same time it was really my responsibility - so I'm undecided at the moment on what can actually be done to improve things (perhaps stronger alumni relations?).
Many people have noted that job searching is like a full-time job in itself - a sentiment I would agree with. I've adapted the phases of the hunt from this post on TheLadders.com.
Phase I: Preparation
First Attempts and Refining my Career Objectives
a.k.a. Bumbling Around in the Dark
+ Look at countless job descriptions and try to understand how you fit in
+ Submit a few resumes and CVs
+ Get limited responses
+ Revise resume/CV
+ Revise lame cover letter for a more kick-ass cover letter
+ Accumulate different versions of resumes and cover letters for different job descriptions
+ Revise your "elevator pitch" and career narrative
Phase II: Search
Articulation and Practice
+ A handful of in-person and phone interviews are under your belt now
+ Understand which jobs align with your goals and which are great fits for you
+ Submit more job applications - there's a rhythm to this now and you're able to churn out more applications because you've had so much practice
+ Revisions to cover letter and resume/CV are just touch-ups
+ Meet recruiters and develop positive relationships with them
+ Get feedback from recruiters - this part is pivotal
+ Encounter and have prepared responses for common interview questions
+ Write out STAR responses and practice delivery
+ Capable of articulating what you want, who you are, and what you've done
+ If you're persistent, then towards the end of this phase, regular interviews and resume queries are made on a week by week basis
+ Continue to network and get to know other people! (For example, I went to a Bay Area Geek Girl event hosted by Zendesk)
Phase III: Close
(I'm still in early stages so this description is not very complete)
+ Regular interviews and resume queries continue
+ Continue job applications and don't bank on any one job
+ Give 110% for every job lead
+ Interviewing comes more easily now
+ You are confident in who you are and know how to convey your enthusiasm and qualifications better than before, though this is in constant development
+ Preparation for interviews is key, including articulating out loud and written responses
+ Follow-up with interviews is even more key
+ Frame your responses to interviewers as if you have something to contribute!
+ Hopefully more than one offer pops up within the same time frames - then you can choose something!
I write this because I just got off the phone from an interview that I thought went pretty well. There have been so many leads as of late and I think I'm in the later stages of phase II and early phase III - so I really hope something leads somewhere! The [awesome] recruiter I am working with from Aerotek for another job has been especially helpful in helping me understand where I stand among hiring managers. As someone who is young with a master's degree but limited industry experience, what I have going for me is my enthusiasm and ability to learn on the job and I would need to convince hiring managers that I can bring something meaningful to the company and get up to speed quickly.
It's been a little disconcerting not hearing anything from my "dream job" as of yet but I'm keeping at it! All the while, the only ways I've kept sane during this time period have been to keep hanging out with friends, read more books, practice my Spanish, and re-familiarize myself with coding language.
Side note: Wow, weekly blogging has somehow been very helpful with internally organizing my thoughts. Forcing myself to write is a useful ! =D Future posts need to be written on (1) my recent trip to Crater Lake National Park and the Oregon Caves for Labor Day and (2) my thoughts on the Star Wars prequel. I also need to find some way to watch the old Star Trek TV series.... Hrrrm.
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