5 Things I Wish I Knew When Job Searching
By: Anna McGinnis, Analytics Services Associate
- It’s okay to be selective!
I applied to approximately 300 internships the summer before my senior year. I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do, I just knew I wanted to spend the summer in NYC. Did it work out for me? Yes — I spent the summer in the city. Did I love my internship? No, but I learned a lot about myself and the things I wanted and didn’t want in my post-college job. So once I was ready for my post-graduation job search I had a much better idea of what I would enjoy. If you know what opportunities interest you, don’t feel pressure to apply to jobs that don’t
2. But…keep an open mind
I went to a liberal arts school where it seemed like the majority of my peers were going into banking, consulting, or graduate school. Reflecting back, I realize those entering traditional fields were far from the majority and instead of a vocal minority. I have friends working at all kinds of companies in various fields and most of them, including myself, are doing something that we didn’t even know existed during our final years of college. There are a lot of opportunities and unique companies out there — exploring your options and looking for positions that aren’t “traditional” could help you find the right fit! It is okay to be a little jealous of your peers who come back from a traditional junior year summer internship with a return offer. But if you go into your job search with an open mind you’ll likely meet a lot of interesting people and learn a lot about yourself and the working world in your pursuit of a post-grad job.
3. Ask questions!
During my job search, I often found it very difficult to come up with good & specific questions for my interviewers. Now, after having worked for 6+ months I can think of some topics I should have asked about. For example, instead of asking about the work-life balance at the company, I would ask if it is a busy week do most people come in early to do additional work or stay late? As a morning person, I do my best work in the morning so joining a company where the expectation would be to stay late to get work done would not be as great of a fit for me. Additionally, with the transition to work-from-home, it would be good to ask if the company’s outlook on in-office work has changed even when things go back to normal. As an extrovert, I am really looking forward to meeting my teammates in person & returning to the office when it is safe! Think about what matters to you & ask about it!
4. It will work out
You could get your ~dream job~ & end up being miserable or you could get a job you’re not excited about & end up loving it! There’s no way to know what a job is really like until you’re actually working & no matter where you end up you will learn something about yourself. I can’t emphasize enough how important this mindset is to stay calm during the job search process. The best piece of advice someone gave me was to use this time to learn about yourself & meet new people, you will start your first job post-college and by taking the pressure off of getting a job, you’ll likely find one that is a better fit.
5. There are things about the job you have no way of knowing until you start work
From the Analytics Services Associate job description & my interview process, I felt like I knew the basics of the job — I would be working in a client-facing analytical role with a small team to measure healthcare marketing. However, no matter how thoroughly you read the job description & research the company (which are important things to do prior to interviewing) there are portions of your day-to-day life that are impossible to know until you start. How do your co-workers communicate? Are you spending your days in the Microsoft suite? On zoom calls? Answering emails? The day-to-day expectations of a job are extremely difficult to understand prior to beginning to work. There are things you will like, things you will not, and many things that will humble you.
Another blog post on this topic coming soon!
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Veeva.
