“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” – Julie Andrews
If job search requires anything, it is certainly perseverance. Endless resume submissions, numerous interviews, and where are the jobs? But you need to keep with it and look in the right places. Beyond qualifying for a position (there are thousands of people who qualify for every position out there), you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time. In any cases, you actually want to be there first.
So what does this really mean (this “perseverance” thing)? Well for one, you’ve got to be totally committed to “The Search”. If you are out of work, your full time job is to find a job (it’s so easy to get distracted). If you are one of the lucky ones and still have a job, you must still devote time to the search if you expect to get results. Okay, so you are probably asking for a description of being “totally committed”. Start by looking at the following posts:
MAKE A PLAN! Use whatever organizational tool works for you (paper and pen is fine) and make a list of what you will do EVERY DAY. So, what might this list look like?
- Check your favorite job boards every morning
- At least one new recruiter every day
- At least one new company career site every day
- At least one new job board per day
- Tweak your resumes (on the top job boards) once per week
- Join social networks (and be active) like LinkedIn
The good news is that there are jobs out there, and there is a brand new list of the Fastest Growing Companies (you can use these links as your company career site for the day). Today’s post will cover the new list (as of August 31st) with a fresh look at the companies, a broad range of companies and a list of links to real jobs over 578 job opportunities were identified across these companies.
- Research In Motion – Ranked #1 on this years list, I think we all know what RIM does (does Blackberry ring a bell?). Their career site is visually appealing, with a changing picture and text. There are links across the top of the page for Why RIM?, Search Opportunities, Students & New Grads and Career Help. Towards the bottom center of the page, there are featured careers (Careers in Finance and Engineering). Clicking on Search Opportunities leads to a page where you can select yoru region or create your profile. Searching all jobs returned 572 job opportunities.
- Sigma Designs – According to their website, “Sigma Designs develops and markets high-performance, highly-integrated System-on-a-Chip (SoC) semiconductors for the following key markets” and is ranked #2 on the list. Their careers page is somewhat sparse. They have some links on the left hand side of the page for locations (California, France, Singapore, Canada) and one for Sales. The center of their careers page has a high level overview, along with an address to send your resume as well as a fax number and email address. Clicking on any of the locations reviews job categories. Click on these categories to see a list of existing job opportunities. When I checked the site, there were approximately 8 job opportunities globally.
- Sohu.com – Ranked #3, this company is based in China so, unless you live in China or plan on working there, this company will have limited appeal.
- Ebix – According to their website, “Ebix is a leading international supplier of software and e-commerce solutions to the insurance industry“. Their career site starts with an overview, followed by a list of job types and then job opportunities. Click on “details” to see details of the listed jobs or “apply” if this job fits your criteria. There were 8 job opportunities when I checked the site.
- DG FastChannel – Ranked # 5, DG FastChannel “is the nation’s leading provider of digital media services to the advertising industry and operates the largest network designed specifically for spot distribution” according the their website. The main careers page leads with an overview followed by a listing of jobs (none when I checked the site). There is also an email address where you can send your cover letter and resume.
Good luck in your search.
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Hi there, below is a guest post that I thought your readers might enjoy, it’s based on over a hundred interviews of consulting company candidates.
Thanks
Neal
Top 5 Tips to Nailing the Management Consulting Interview
Top tier management consulting companies are the preferred destination for many MBA graduates, as well as graduates with less traditional backgrounds. In general, the consulting positions for those straight out of an undergraduate program are fewer and farther between. That’s because the more junior analyst positions typically don’t lead to partner track consulting positions in most firms; analysts are expected to return to graduate school and only then, should they return, be on a partner track. This can vary from firm to firm but is definitely true for the McKinsey, Bain and BCG type firms.
That doesn’t mean that fresh graduates cannot find positions, even in financial times as difficult as these. Believe or not, consulting companies are busier now than in the prior recession of 2001, so don’t lose hope. I have personally coached over a hundred potential candidates and many were truly amazed that they were able to secure the coveted offer letter during a competitive interviewing season. In order to maximize your chances during the interviewing process, it’s important to prepare carefully, below are some tips to help you ace the interview:
1. Make a good first impression: this goes for any interview you’re on but is particularly true for fields like management consulting. Make sure you look like a consultant – what does that mean? Many of the smart people that interview for consulting positions have not interviewed anywhere before or only for academic type positions. Others are foreign born graduates of top MBA or other programs – whatever, the case may be, they have never interviewed for a top tier management consulting job or similar positions in companies. The fact that these firms interview the brainy types only makes the situation worse. Invest in well made suit, dark blue or grey with or without pinstripes is perfect for men, for women, black can also work. A tie with a splash of color is fine, it can convey a little bit of energy or pizzazz, but nothing too flashy, they like energy but not attention seekers. A briefcase or attaché is a perfect complement to an outfit, you can always borrow a friend or colleague’s and it doesn’t necessarily have to be new to convey a polished look.
2. Keep your poise: much of the interviewing process is very intense, with some companies intentionally playing “good cop, bad cop” between their interviewers. All this means is that you need to remain poised, don’t let them ruffle your feathers with abrupt or unfriendly behavior, pushing paper around or looking angry. Remember, you’re not here to make friends, you’re here to get a job and they’re here to test whether you can deal with nasty clients, managers and co-workers should the occasion arise. Keep smiling and a resilient positive attitude, you’re interviewers will find it irresistible.
3. Think and listen: this might sound obvious, but most people don’t do this during the case interview and miss the boat on what the interviewer is asking for or don’t get the hints that are being dropped during the discussion. A classic issue for interviewees is writing too much instead of listening to the question being asked. Practice listening to case questions and writing very few words, use symbols for profit (π), revenue (R) and other common words and don’t write down the fluff in the questions, flowery language is there to confuse, good consultants can spot the key facts quickly. Listen and then think about the implications of the question being asked. If there are declining profits in a business that is becoming commoditized, then opine as much and state your rationale. You can be thoughtful and comment on the question at hand based on what you know. Continue this process throughout the case interview, each piece of information is a clue, not just a plug into an equation or out of the box framework so common in business schools.
4. Ask questions: now that you’re thinking about the case and the information you’re being given, be sure to ask intelligent questions; start a dialogue rather than barreling down a path that is preconceived or based on early inferences on the case at hand. Remember, you are expected to be engaging during team problem solving situations, be sure to appear this way during the interview and engage the interviewer. There is probably a lot you know about a particular industry based on general reading (you should be reading business publications to build your business acumen if you don’t have a typical business background). If the case is about the magazine industry, you should be able to guess what their sources of revenue are without having worked in the business – that’s just common sense, practice applying this common sense. Curiosity is a relentless trait in good consultants, mix this curiosity with intelligent thought to come up with hypothesis driven questions: “One would think that the roofing industry is seasonal…..are there seasonal variations in this company causing cash flow issues?” rather than, “is there uneven earnings throughout the year?”
5. Pass the airport screen: consultants always ask, is this someone I’d like to be stuck at an airport with for 4 hours or in a small team room for 8 – 12 hours per day for weeks on end? Be sure you’re the type of person that is tolerable, hopefully enjoyable, to be around. Be yourself, don’t be too pushy or aggressive, it just turns people off. Have fun with the interview, if you’ve prepared well it should be fun for both you and the interviewer. Be sure to prepare well for the interview and the fit questions on your background, resume, interests, strengths and weaknesses – these all count, remember, they’re looking for the next round of leaders for their organizations, their people are their product so show them what a great product they’re looking at!
Neal Dodd is a former McKinsey consultant and has interviewed and prepared well over 100 potential candidates over the years.
Interesting blog that you have. I stumbled on a new one the other day. They look open , but very similar to linkedin.com with more of a social business directory look and feel. Nice easy interface though. Located at SocialTerrain.com
Thanks. I will review it in a post in the next two weeks.