DISCLAIMER This is one person's view. Your Mileage May Vary!
Networking
Everyone join LinkedIn right now while I wait
Everyone connect to me, at least
The personal network you start building now is more powerful than anything else I say
Pito’s patented networking technique
When you meet someone interesting, make effort to make a connection.
Get contact info.
Use spreadsheet (people, names, email, date of last convo, interest)
personal details as well - not just contact info, why and how you met them
Contact every 6 months.
Remind the person where they know you from.
Objective of conversation - have a purpose
Give them something of interest to them.
Assume that you have something interesting to say.
Linkedin
easier to get in touch with people in specific areas (Connect with friends of friends)
Put updated information on Linkedin, which has ability to export a resume like PDF
Resumes
Who looks at Resumes
How do they do it
When does a resume turn into an interview
Who does the next interview?
Resume content
No need for permanent address
Leadership and Activities is good, but try and have a special qualifications section, put that at very top! Why is that special?
competitive advantage/ What makes you special? (professionally)
How will you benefit the Company?
Put details about activities/accomplishments, not just a title
add more detail about more important sections of resume
Have dates
People read resumes in “two seconds”; think of yourself as a product.
Put skills etc. in priority order (what you know best goes first)
make sure skills good and important
One page resume rule
Older things generally less important
Personalize resume based on job/job type (within reason)
It is an ongoing process
Education section not necessary espec. high school
Color is OK!
make sure black and white version of your colored resume looks just as good
Show, don’t tell. Don’t try and spend a whole page writing out your personality. You won’t have any room for other things and it will be dificult to read
Career Objective
First sentence of resume state what you want from the job (Written in the frame of the reader)
Should be in cover letter as well
Make it consistent and relatively specific
Portfolio
Showcases particular pieces of work you are proud of. Pictures, schematics, essays, videos, etc.
Have a project that you released into the “real” world
Something you had a major role in (can say it is your work)
Interviews / Phone screens
Phone screens
Preparing
Doing well or not well during a screen
Skill Based
They might pick out parts of resume, more description and detail about what you did
Know background of the company
Gave a question or two ready about the company
Try to be positive about the company, even if you have doubts, at least until you get a job offer
Make sure they are relevant
Know everything on your resume; review older projects
Interviews
How to dress and behave
How to play up your strengths
when you have little to no technical experience in an internship you’re interested in.
How to sell yourself
What if you’re not confident in my past experiences.
When finding yourself out of your depth skill set wise, how can you emphasize your other strong qualities for a position?
Classic Interview Gambits
Difficult questions
What salary do you want?
When can you start?
Followups
Best way to follow up after a career fair or after a meeting: Follow up email
When to call to ask status
Short thank you - sneak in something about wanting to talk more
Send a link or potentially more information that came up in your conversation
If you don’t have the interviewer’s contact info, email it to the contact you have and ask them to forward it
Feel free to followup on your followup
After two emails, don’t continue
Don’t expect a response from just a resume or even a phone screen. There should be one from an interview
Jobs
Jobs
Companies: Big and small
Whats a lifestyle business?
Geographic considerations
Becoming a contractor or consultant
What does a consultant really do?
Taxes and benefits
Internships etc.
Some companies do internships
Some try to do internship to hire
Types of Companies
Large company
fewer interactions outside of department (less personal)
more formality takes longer to get things done
Laden with process/politics/paperwork etc.
Offers a ton of projects; Variety of passions/projects, more opportunities
can get laid off out of nowhere - less connection between you and your job security
Less scrutiny on each individual employee
Structure
Small companies
Get involved in a lot of projects very easily = more impact
No process, take initiative to get things done (fix your own problems)
very focused; Lives & breathes the one project - not good if you want to experience more than one type of thing
Earlier in your life, it is easier to take risk
No room/limited room for mistakes (Spotlight)
Easy access to higher-ups
Company depends more on you
A whole buncha fun, all of the time
Conversely, a whole buncha work, all of the time
“How funded are you guys?” or CrunchBase (http://www.crunchbase.com/)
Differences
Differences: more beaurocracy and processes in large companies, whereas small companies demand more self-reliance and are more focused
Don’t assume that any job will be secure/last forever
Can be a financial issue but also means that you aren’t stuck in a job for life
find out about the runway for startups
May be easier to get a job if willing to move to an area with fewer people with your skill set
What’s a “Lifestyle Business”
Doesn’t grow (not designed to grow exponentially)
Gives a decent, liveable salary–supports the lifestyle its employees want to maintain
The lack of prospective growth can hurt the attitude of employees (cause lack of motivation)
Contractor vs. Consultant
Mostly the same, self employed and not working directly as an employee; more of how you want to position yourself
Implication of contractor - do a lot of work quickly for the compnay
Consultant- more of an advising position
Consultant would work with the company, contractor for it.
Taxes and Benefits
Some companies withhold taxes automatically
401K- deposits are not taxed
Some companies match a portion of salary
5% match - they will match up to 5% of your income
Stock purchase plan
vesting - you can buy stock but you cannot get it unless you work at the company for x amount of time