How did you GET your job(s)?

[JVN]

We've had threads about where people work, now I'm interested in HOW they got their jobs.

How did you get your major (career type) jobs?
(I'm not particularly interested how you got "in" at McDonalds, unless you really feel like sharing, in which case I'm sure someone cares.)

• Were you recruited?
• Did you apply to that specific company?
• Did they pull your resume offline?
• Did a friend recommend you?

What matters most?

• Who you know.
• What you know.
• Who knows what you know.
• What they THINK you know (How your interview/resume looks.)

Let's hear it.

[Don Wright]

I got a job at AVL as an Intern in 1994. A guy who used to work with my dad at Ford now worked at AVL and turned in my resume and recommended me.

I graduated and went to another company where some people I had worked with at AVL had gone to. They turned in my resume and recommended me.

In 2000, I was approached by people that were still here at AVL about coming back. They turned in my resume and recommended me.

I'm still here.

Honestly, who you know gets you in the door.

What you know keeps you there.

What you learn, who you meet, and what you do moves you up.

FIRST is an incredible way to network. Even better than Greek organizations, IMHO. It's amazing how many people I can meet in meetings or otherwise who have some FIRST experience and we can immediately relate and connect on a personal/professional level.

[Jack Jones]

I never applied nor even created a resume. My SYS 501 professor at Oakland University recommended me for a research position at TACOM's Applied Research Branch. I interviewed the next day, got the job, and have been there ever since – 20 years.

So, in my case, it was all three that mattered.

[sanddrag]

Well, toward the end of my senior year in high school, the principle pulled me out of class one day. He said he had [name] here from the Educational Technology and Information Services (department of the school district) and that they'd like me to work for them and asked me if I was interested. I said yes. They had me make a resume which I did, and then off to work I went! I guess the ETIS had been looking for people at my school and asked the principal, and then the pricipal recommended me.

Too bad I don't think I'll be getting too many other jobs that way.

[KenWittlief]

For my 8 jobs as an engineer over the last 20 years:

Resume => college placement listings
Headhunter
Headhunter
Resume => newspaper ad
Resume => newspaper ad
Headhunter
Headhunter
Resume => newspaper ad

For the record: headhunters are only interested in you while you are presently employed. If you are unemployed you are pretty much on your own.

[MikeDubreuil]

Believe it or not Ms. Erin Rapacki plays a role in getting me a job.

In high school Erin and I were on the same team, #175 Buzz Robotics. After graduating from high school I went to Wentworth in Boston. A year later Erin went to Northeastern University. She invited me to a team meeting for FIRST team #125. Team #125 is made up of Northeastern, local high schools and Textron Systems.

I had been on the team for two years when one of the engineers from Textron, George Perna, was impressed with what I was doing there and recommended me for a co-op at Textron Systems. I got the job and I have never left. After graduating from college I was hired on full time as a software engineer.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

When I was nearing graduation from Bradley University, I was sending out large numbers of resumes and cover letters. I had mailed about 80 and had received only 3 or 4 "no"s and nothing else. I interviewed on campus whenever a rep from a company came around. (TI, GE, etc.) Still no offers or interviews. Finally I signed up for an interview on campus with a multi rep who was looking for a variety of jobs for several companies. When I sat down, he looked at me and said "I don't want to waste your time, I have nothing to offer." By this time I was pretty frustrated and I asked how he could not have anything for me. I had good grades, was willing to relocate, and had extensive work experience including factory production and TV on campus. He said he couldn't touch the starting wages in TV, had I ever tried a TV station. Well I had never thought of it and as I was making minimum wage at the current job I didn't think TV paid that well. I went back to my apartment with a list of station addresses and mailed out 7 resumes. That was Thursday afternoon, and by Monday I receiving calls to come in for interviews. By the following Thursday I had heard from every one of the stations and had many interviews set up for spring break. I went into one and the Chief engineer was so impressed that he told me the next job opening was mine and to keep him informed of my whereabouts. Three days later I received a call from that man and was told that another engineer had given his notice the previous day and the job was mine. I went back to school with a job and I have been there ever since, 33 years next May. I often think of that interviewer and how he helped me so much. I never knew his name or for whom he worked, I hope he has had a great life, I have.

[Alexander McGee]

I got my first "real" job working for Stryker Instruments. Recently, I requested to be transfered to our sister division, Stryker Medical. Most notably, the company is committed to 20% growth each year, and we have for over 20 years. Add that up for a minute...

My University helps students find jobs quite a bit, but regards Stryker as one of their "top 5" hardest employers to get into. They have a series of 5 steps to the application process, including a Gallup interview, 20 staff interviews, as well as beating down the HR Recruiter's defenses by impressing them.

My dad has always said that "It doesn't mater what you know, it's about who you know" and this is certainly true for a lot of people, and a lot of employers. I read somewhere that a good 60% of the jobs out there are taken by people who "know someone" in the company, and that makes sense.

However, when you get right down to it, you can't fake a Gallup interview, and you either know how to do your job well, or you don't. I think a great resume has a lot to do with it, and a lot of people can't seem to get this right at my school. I have had over 30 job offers at various employers, but I have, and continue to turn them down because I want to work for Stryker.

My school is an exception form the norm though, because everyone has a job somewhere (co-op school, visit http://www.kettering.edu), but I made my resume a long time ago and the school didn't help me much, though they offered to a lot. The problem people have is that they don't update their resume a lot, and you have a list of things that you did over a span of 10 years or so. I like to keep the most recent information on there, at the top.

More to the point, I pursued the job I have now because I love the company and their products. I have posted online at monster.com and all of those, and the school sends me jobs that I might like occasionally, and a lot more when i was a freshman. Again, unique situation, but still.

When you come down to it, a healthy balance of what you know, and how you present yourself is most important. However, who you know never hurts either.

[Lee]

Campus interview with Duke Power (Duke Energy) recruiter at Southern Technical Institute (now Southern Polytech) in Marietta, GA. Recruiter was looking for mechanical engineers but I scheduled an interview anyway (electrical). He took my resume and another recruiter called a week later. I was offered a job the next month and have been at Duke Energy for 25 years. Most important thing is good resume and how you interviewed, not what or who you know.

[KathieK]

I went through a directory of libraries in Connecticut and sent my resume to each one. After several months I was interviewed and offered a position in the library system at United Technologies where I stayed for 25 years. I found my most recent position online. As a side note, I had posted my resume online and a headhunter actually called me and offered some suggestions for improving it. I thought that was great!

And my current employer googled me before my interview. Be careful what you post online in blogs, etc. It could haunt you in a job interview.

[Mr MOE]

Good discussion and an refreshing topic. (Thanks JVN!)

First off, I will answer the question, and then I will provide some perspective
I got both my co-operative education assignment and my full-time employment positions (both engineering positions) through Campus Career Services at Penn State University. Many colleges and universities have excellent career services centers.

I have been fortunate to have been a recruiter for the DuPont Company for the past 10 years. So, during the fall, I have recruited for DuPont at various college campuses (Penn State, Purdue, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Drexel, etc.).

Given my recruiting experience, here is my advice for college students looking for employment:

(1) understand how your college career centers operate and utilize them. Most major employers will interact through these centers.

(2) if your college / university holds a career fair event, go to it and participate. This is how recruiters see how you communicate and determine if you are a fit with their company culture

(3) keep your GPA up. Many employers have GPA cutoffs for both co-op / intern positions and full-service positions.

(4) acknowledge your experience in a well-written resume

(5) work early in your college career to get relevant work experiences

(6) participate in local school chapters of engineering / other organizations that interact with Corporate America (career focused - Society of Women Engineers, American Society Mechanical Engineers, IEEE, SME, National Society of Black Engineers, etc.)

While "who you know" is important, it may initially limit you from finding the best job you can find. "Who you know" is dynamic. I have built solid relationships with recruiters over time. Also, "who you know" does not make up for deficiences in communication, experience, education, or leadership.

Every potential hiring situation is different. Understand what you are looking for in a position, this might require significant research. Once you have a good idea, target the companies who have the job(s) you are interested in. Understand their company culture and hiring needs. Talk to representatives at job fairs. Write the best resume you can, keep it truthful, and focus on what makes you unique versus the hundreds of other resumes the recruiter will see, be professional and enthusiastic.

I have worked for DuPont for 17 years and it has been my only employer since I graduated from college. While the work environment has greatly changed over the years, the way people find jobs or jobs find them has not. Focus on understanding and communicating who you are, what you want, and what drives you. Use who you know as a network, but also research other companies or organizations you have interest in. Be positive, energetic, and realistic.

Good luck!

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by KathieK

...And my current employer googled me before my interview. Be careful what you post online in blogs, etc. It could haunt you in a job interview.

Interesting. How would they know that anything they find online was you, or someone else with the same name?

If I google my name lots of stuff comes up for other Ken Wittlief's

[Brandon Martus]

My buddy Bill from high school mentioned the company he worked for (Chimes, Inc., then just a small division of Computer Horizons Corp.) was expanding and hiring programmers; he knew I was a freshman in college in the computer science program, and knew what I could do (seeing some of the early Chief Delphi work, and other things I showed him in H.S.).

He set me up with an phone interview, and then a face-to-face. My (future) boss pretty much said "Bill says you're good, so .. what do you want to do? The software side of things, or hardware/networking side of things?" and that was the extent of my interview^*.

I went through school full-time, whille working here part-time (50+hr weeks is part-time, right?). When I was in my last semester of school I was hired on full time and am here still 6 years later (now a Lead Application Developer).

Disclaimer: The interview/hiring process I went through was nothing like a what a normal situation is (I should know, writing software to ease the hiring process). Make sure you go into an interview prepared to talk about your past experience, schooling, how you see yourself fitting into the company, what you want to do, how much you want to make, etc.

*We talked pay, hours, school, previous experience, etc., too, but after I was offered the job.

[Mark Pierce]

I've had a whole variety of experiences getting jobs in the last 25 + years.

Part time programmer at Michigan Tech - referral from friend.
Summer Internship at Univac - co-op/internship fair at MTU
Honeywell (first full time engineering job) - MTU Career Center
Lear Siegler/Smith Industries Aerospace - Headhunter
Capital Electronics/Capital Technologies - cold phone call / resume
Oliver Machinery - continuation of work done through Capital Electronics.
Castle Technology (Self employed) - all of my customers were referrals from people I knew.
Diesel Technology/Bosch - answered newspaper ad
Gentex - Answered newspaper ad

Learning many things at each of these positions has enabled me to keep growing as a person and an engineer. While many respondents have mentioned long careers at one employer, the nature of their responsibilities and skills needed has undoubtedly changed dramatically over the years.

Three of these companies had rejected me within a year of hiring me, so making a good impression, remaining positive and being patient is important. Sometimes the timing has to be right for an employer to match your skills with their needs.

[BRosser314]

Although I am only in my senior year i have a job at Delphi Automotive, Dont laugh. Getting jobs at large companies are inportant, reluctant for me i am not sure if i will have a college co-op thru Delphi. Although knowing the right people also is a great benefit. Being part of a Michigan team allows to be in a close knit community of many companies competting. Talk to your mentor and engineers on if they think they have any openings in there plants or factories. If they dont they might have friends that are Vice President of a Large company across state( for my case).