Dear university seniors,
I really sympathize with the senior year recruiting grind. It’s not easy, and I would argue that for many of you this will be one of the most challenging points in your career.
Why?
I’m going to painfully lay out your situation.
- You have no full-time work experience except university, which has a hard expiration date in May (or maybe other months depending on the program). Employers will fill the majority of their new-graduate positions prior to this deadline with their summer interns.
- Despite any internship/co-op experience you might have, it’s unlikely that you can add significant value to an employer, yet. You probably need a baseline of training and experience before you become a net positive contributor to a project team. This typically takes 3 to 6 months.
- Students are frequently hired for their potential, not prior experience or domain-specific knowledge. Because the market is flooded with high achieving students, it’s difficult to stand out. Additionally, COVID-19 has led to massive layoffs and the US government’s new policy, making it harder to get approval for work visas, mean that there’s a pool of great talent that is hungry to get these entry-level jobs.
- Negotiating compensation is already difficult, but it’s even more difficult for your first job. This is precisely because you are hired as a high potential commodity. Employers don’t need to make you happy with compensation when you have no unique value proposition.
And the worst part?
Employers know all of this. You haven’t even officially gotten started and are already forced to launch your fledging career on an uneven playing field. If you’ve ever found yourself praying before an interview for the universe to help you “just get this one offer”, you’re experiencing the symptoms of these fundamentally tough market conditions.
This is not my subjective interpretation of senior year recruiting. This is a non-sugar-coated view of the current reality. Unfortunately, there’s no trick or hack that will get you through this.
So, what’s the solution?
It’s all about your attitude.
Too often, students feel the overwhelming pressure from the situation described above and crack. After one or two rejections, their confidence free falls into a downward spiral. They no longer believe they are worthy of their dream job.
They show up to interviews as a shell of their former enthusiastic and confident selves. All of which results in them settling, taking whatever job they can find.
I’m writing this now — before recruiting kicks off — as a reminder to stay strong. You are about to embark on a difficult journey for the next few months. No matter how many rejections you get, or how many dream jobs are lost… it only takes one offer to make it all worthwhile. Take a few minutes to read how I dealt with rejections here: spencertom.com/2018/04/22/dealing-with-rejections/
So, make these few months count. Brush up your resume and cover letter, practice your technical questions, and don’t forget the often overlooked behavioral questions.
When you’re walking into an interview, don’t worry about the other 20 smart students (many of whom you may know and respect) interviewing for the same role. Focus on yourself.
And when you do get an offer, don’t let employers push you around. Be smart, do your research, and have an educated opinion. If you need more time to make a decision, be upfront and tell the hiring team. If you think you should be paid more, politely push back and negotiate.
I’m confident that if you do this, you will land an amazing job offer. The skills and maturity you develop through this process will carry with you well into your future. And best of all, you will enjoy the rest of senior year, excited to graduate and join the company you chose.
This moment is arguably one of the highest leverage moments of your career. Give it 100% and make it count.
Jason Oh is a Senior Consultant, Strategy & Customer at EY with project experiences in commercial due diligence and corporate strategy planning. Previously, he was a Management Consultant at Novantas with a focus on the financial services sector, where he advised on pricing, marketing, channel distribution, digital transformation and due diligence.
Image: Pexels
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