The Epic Quest for an Entry Level Job: Part III

September has brought some good progress on the job front.  I've continued to apply online while making contacts and attending two job fairs.​

Job Fair #1 was mostly unfruitful, as half the companies there were unwilling to speak with you unless you already had a security clearance.  The remaining companies, for the most part, were looking for software and IT folks.​

Job Fair #2 was much more successful.​

In the intermediate time, I designed and printed a more colorful resume, with my photograph and a different layout.  This was a test - how would career fair representatives react to this resume compared to a traditional one?  Data Points: Several raised eyebrows, appreciative laughter, a clear choice for the traditional resume when given the option, colorful resume not taken due to photograph.  Verdict: ​ Helps people remember me, but most likely a non-consideration regarding job placement.

One representative took the time to talk with me about my traditional resume, which was incredibly helpful.  Several friends and family members and a couple "12.5 Things You Should Never Even Remotely Consider When Crafting Your Resume​" articles had been good resources when writing my resume, but this was the first time I received excellent feedback from someone who actually does the hiring of new engineers.

Main Issue: too vague.  Loads of people are sending in resumes online, and you've got 30 seconds to impress the person scanning through the heaping stack.​  My resume had several aspects on it that required verbal explanation to fully understand.  You cannot design your resume to be thoughtfully looked over.  There must be an immediate impression.  Don't design your resume in the hope that you'll be able to explain it.  If you need to explain your resume, you're not finished with it.

I did get asked to interview with one company while at the second career fair.  Their work is present on all sorts of aircraft, and they seem to have an excellent culture and work ethic.  Perhaps my resume piqued their interest, but I reckon my return to their booth on the second day cemented my possible candidacy in their minds.  I enjoyed talking with their employees for the interview and look forward to pursuing that lead.

Two frustrations in September.  First, with some consistently, is that many jobs designated as "entry-level" expect the applicant to have at least two years of experience.  What then is the job where one gets those two years of experience?  Don't send recent graduates to a new-hire site that expects them to already have several years of experience.  That doesn't make any sense.​

Secondly, I occasionally observe a mind-set that an applicant should have spent most of their life​ preparing for this specific job.  If General Electric, hypothetically, were hiring someone to do life-cycle testing on their washing machines, that person better have joined the Washing Machine Club their freshman year of college, and taken all of the fluid mechanics and failure theory classes they could. 

Hiring managers want to see that applicants care about their education and that they're on track to honing their skills in a particular area.  They also don't want to take undue risks when hiring, so a candidate's clear history of intent is valuable.​

This punishes those who pursue broader skill sets, or don't discover specific passions until later in the process.  I was specifically attracted to the broadness of mechanical engineering.  Such a degree, I thought, would be a great versatile stepping stone to wherever I wanted to go.  My junior and senior years were when I discovered more of an interest in propulsion and failure analysis.  It seems, however, that my broader path automatically makes me less desirable than the engineer who knew specifically what he or she wanted to do from the get go.  One must also remember that this is always the case, nor is it necessarily verifiable: just a notion I get when talking to certain folks.​

The complicated process continues.  I am thankful for what I have been learning, thankful for the work I have in the meantime, and thankful for the support around me.​  And I am looking forward to using my degree.

Some Thankfulness

A change in the weather: windy days, cooler temperatures, the smell of fall decay

Apple-Cranberry cider from the farmer's market​

Friendly greetings at the library, the cleaners, the post office

Pizzas on the grill​

A flock of birds conversing in the tall old tree​

God's grace even in the midst of darkness​

Thoughtful people just reminding me they care​

2013 Seniors - Rachel

Three years ago, I did senior portraits for Rachel's older sister, Becky.  It's been fun to do portraits for Rachel as well and see again how different (yet similar!) the two are.​

Rachel joins her sister as a cross-country star at Mount Hebron, so we got several great photos at the school track.  We then headed off to the Daniels area of Patapsco State Park​ for some more images.

You can see a few of my favorites in the slideshow below.  Here's to Rachel and a fantastic senior year.​

Dress for Success!

I went to a job fair today.​

While the fair itself was only mildly successful (half of the employers there were only interested in talking with people who already have a security clearance, and most of the remainder were not hiring anything remotely resembling mechanical engineers),  I learned the most while standing in line, waiting to get in. ​

I found myself speaking with a woman who had recently learned about how to dress for an interview from a specialized "how to dress for an interview" consultant.  I did not catch his name, but if you wish to hire him for his advice, it's $300 up front plus $100 per hour.  I believe the woman heard him speak at a get-a-job seminar; she did not hire him herself.​  The following is a summary, in my own voice, of what she relayed to me about his advice, to the best of my memory, with some commentary of my own.

Now, for a job fair, it's not too terribly important to be nitpicky about your attire.  Wear something businesslike, yes, but don't get uptight about it.  However, interviews are a very different thing.  Upon walking in the Room of Interviewing, you will be judged "within 8 seconds" on your appearance.  Your interviewer already has decided what they think about you in those first critical 8 seconds.  How?  Body language and facial expression certainly.  But what is really key is how you dress.​

Men, you need to wear a suit.  No sport jackets.  No light suits, for that indicates you're on your way to South Beach to have a tequila, and no black suits, for that indicates you're on your way to a funeral (or possibly preemptively mourning your unsuccessful interview).  Wear a gray suit.  That says you mean business.​  It also says you are "here to play."

Wear a power tie.  You need a tie that says "I am here to win."  Bold colors can be good - lime green or lavender even.  But don't get too crazy with it.  And don't wear something muted.  Heaven forbid the interview finish and your interviewer forget you exist because your tie was boring.​  It is also good to have a handkerchief in your suit pocket.  Doesn't matter if it's a slightly different purple than your lavender tie.  You just need the interviewer to think, as he looks over his notes and chooses whom to employ, "oh yeah, I remember the guy with the handkerchief in his pocket.  That's who I'm going to hire.  What a fine handkerchief."

Wallets.  Do not have a fat wallet.  Remove all the business cards and high school photo IDs you still keep for some reason.  Slim wallets are key.  And they must be in your front pants pocket.  Not the back pocket and not your shirt pocket.​

Have excellent shoes.  The woman with whom I spoke pointed to a man in line and said, "The consultant recommends those type of dress shoes."  I regret to inform you that I do not remember what they look like.  So hopefully you do not choose the wrong type of shoe for your interview.  I can assure you that they were neither sandals nor Vibram Five-Fingers.​

As for women (the consultant, being a man, had less to say for women, it seems), you should wear a skirt ("appropriate length, of course"), to let the interviewers know you are comfortable with your femininity.  However, you should bring a briefcase to your interview.  Not a purse.​  Your shoes can have an open toe or open heel, but not both, as this is tacky.  If you have long hair, tie it back.  Wear simple earrings and a simple necklace to accentuate your neckline.

So ends my recollection of our conversation.  You will note a hint of exasperation in my retelling.  Clearly, one must dress well for an interview.  It is an important part of the hiring process, and one must demonstrate their seriousness and commitment.  Yet as I thought about this consultant's advice as I returned home from the fair, I found it to be rather frustrating.  Is my competency for a job to be determined by the size and location of my wallet?  Will I be remembered more for my tie than my problem-solving, communication, and multi-disciplinary abilities?  ​

Granted, one must remember the context, or lack thereof.  We spoke only of this consultant's general advice.  Our discussion did not move to other aspects of a job interview, what industry in particular (if any) with which this consultant was ​associated, and where one's attire really does rate on the scale of interview importance (I assume the existence of such metrics).

Do what you will with the information above.  My advice?  Dress well for your interview.  But what truly matters is who you are, what you bring to the table​, and how your gifts and talents can fit into the broader vision of whoever is thinking about hiring you.

An interviewer who gets hung up on the size of your earrings (exceptions made for literal cases), or allows the color of your tie to majorly influence a hiring decision, is focused on the wrong things.

You are intrinsically valuable.  Be remembered for that.​