KingZimbabwe's Getting a Job: Progress Log

[King]

8/14

Comparison is the enemy of the self. Went on LinkedIn and saw people I graduated with already having made 100k+ working for Amazon, Facebook, Goldman, etc. moving up the corporate ladder while I can’t even get a foot in the door still living at home like a loser

Hell, I know two brehs who I graduated with working for a black VC right as a I graduated when I was pitching to angel investors SMH. I shoulda just invested in internships instead of trying to build my own shyt. They’re already way down the VC pipeline as it is, crazy how things turn out.

Put me into a bit of a slump and I didn’t really do anything. Hoping to get some stuff done today.

 

[greatone]

Yeah I hear you.

But I’m in a unique position where I got lucky and ended up with no student debt after 4 years.

Going back to school would fukk me over permanently and leave me in horrible student loan debt since I’m exhausted on FAFSA (they only cover 4 years)

And scholarships are a wash if you already have a degree. I gotta make this work.

I’m even thinking of just applying to internships under false pretenses and if I get the interview just telling them that I’ll work for free just for the experience.

Tuition was much cheaper when I was in school than it is now. I don't blame you for not wanting to go into debt especially since you finished without any debt. Congrats on that.

Have you look at any of your local charity organization to see if they have any PM jobs or internship? They might be willing to give you a unpaid internship to work under a experience PM. Since your degree is in I.T. you might can bring something different to the table depending on the organization. You can use this to build up your resume while you are looking for a paying job in your field.

 

[brandy]

1) The school automatically deleted everything, mainly my canvas account which had all of my course materials, assignments, files, etc. Along with my g suite.

They gave me a new limited g-suite with no access to any of my old files or materials.

2)They don’t. I went to a large top 10 school. The job fairs are useless as well because they mainly recruit CS or engineering since it’s in the Bay Area.

Handshake is completely useless I gave up applying on there a couple months after I graduated.

I’m also in alumni LinkedIn groups and they never get updated apart from dumb shyt.

Seems like everyone is already connected or in the know (lot of rich or kids from tech families went to my school)

I’ve also used the career office a few times after graduating and they were completely useless.

3) It’s division 1, as for a consortium I couldn’t find one. Not sure what you mean by that? They have an MBA program I could apply to but my GPA is no where near what they’re looking for since it’s also a top 10, maybe 5.

4) yeah they don’t offer that service I believe, at least not when I brought it up. They can go over it with me, but writing it was up to me. They don’t have resume writers.

Really? I got offered a job while in a job fair as an undergrad. Are you making the most of them? Printed Resumes, business cards, elevator pitch, bs questions about the company. Job fairs are less about job requirements and more about fitting within the company culture.

Underline: this is an excellent service to use. You need new eyes on your resume to ensure you are showcasing your skills.

 

[greatone]

8/14

Comparison is the enemy of the self. Went on LinkedIn and saw people I graduated with already having made 100k+ working for Amazon, Facebook, Goldman, etc. moving up the corporate ladder while I can’t even get a foot in the door still living at home like a loser

Hell, I know two brehs who I graduated with working for a black VC right as a I graduated when I was pitching to angel investors SMH. I shoulda just invested in internships instead of trying to build my own shyt. They’re already way down the VC pipeline as it is, crazy how things turn out.

Put me into a bit of a slump and I didn’t really do anything. Hoping to get some stuff done today.

Do you have a good enough relationship with the 2 brehs to see if either of them know of any opening at their companies?

On your resume did you include your startup management experience while in school? There is a way to put it on your resume without lying about it and pointing out how you did it in college. I was going to suggest that your career center could help you put this on your resume but based on your earlier post they are trash.

This is the 2nd post on thecoli in the past 2 days that can relate a lot with. I was out of school 2 years before I got my first real job in my field. Worked minimum wage jobs for year before I went back to college. Stayed in college a year then got my 1st job.

I know it get hard some time staying motivated and not getting down on yourself. But just remember this only temporary. Everybody path is not the same and just keep working hard. I struggled hard to get my first job but it eventually paid off.

 

[King]

Really? I got offered a job while in a job fair as an undergrad. Are you making the most of them? Printed Resumes, business cards, elevator pitch, bs questions about the company. Job fairs are less about job requirements and more about fitting within the company culture.

Underline: this is an excellent service to use. You need new eyes on your resume to ensure you are showcasing your skills.

Never really looked at it that way but I feel like it’s a bit too late now. Always came with my resumes and research but was never one of the people who came with suits and business cards. Always felt like there’s no sense in pitching myself to companies that are only looking for certain degrees and technical employees. Gonna see if they’re having any virtual job fairs in the future. Hell, might even have to take some flights back up there and crash some fairs if that’s the case. ROI on that would balance out if I really put myself out there and get something,

Gonna have the career advisors do another look over my resume this week, hopefully I still have access.

Do you have a good enough relationship with the 2 brehs to see if either of them know of any opening at their companies?

On your resume did you include your startup management experience while in school? There is a way to put it on your resume without lying about it and pointing out how you did it in college. I was going to suggest that your career center could help you put this on your resume but based on your earlier post they are trash.

This is the 2nd post on thecoli in the past 2 days that can relate a lot with. I was out of school 2 years before I got my first real job in my field. Worked minimum wage jobs for year before I went back to college. Stayed in college a year then got my 1st job.

I know it get hard some time staying motivated and not getting down on yourself. But just remember this only temporary. Everybody path is not the same and just keep working hard. I struggled hard to get my first job but it eventually paid off.

I knew one of them we were cool and I def exhausted both those measures like as soon as I graduated. Got ghosted sohh, left me feeling some kind of way because it was a black VC firm too and I woulda been a perfect candidate but whatever. The company was also really by the book and locked behind sophomore/junior internships

All of my startup experience is on my resume, all 3 of my ventures, the role I served, and what was accomplished. Still have my pitch decks.

But yeah I feel you this system is crazy. I’m a first gen college student so I didn’t even know gap years existed. I just rushed through all 4 years for a degree. If I had a year to think and plan instead of graduating right during a damn pandemic I woulda been in a much better position. It’s actually insane how much internships literally run the business. You can legit make 6 figures fresh out of college just based on a damn internship. Meanwhile for graduates there’s almost nothing out there and you’re competing with people from all over the world.

No sense in trying to rewrite the past tho, just gotta keep it pushing.

 

[Obreh Winfrey]

Really? I got offered a job while in a job fair as an undergrad. Are you making the most of them? Printed Resumes, business cards, elevator pitch, bs questions about the company. Job fairs are less about job requirements and more about fitting within the company culture.

Underline: this is an excellent service to use. You need new eyes on your resume to ensure you are showcasing your skills.

Job fairs were largely unsuccessful for me during undergrad. Most of them were go apply online (fukk is you here for then ), or just skimming resumes and forgetting about you. I was dropping one off at Panasonic - he looked at the kid's resume in front of me and basically gave him a pat on the head and a foot in his ass. He was interested in mine but . Out of a few years of attending them, only landed 1 on site interview with a company.

 

[brandy]

Job fairs were largely unsuccessful for me during undergrad. Most of them were go apply online (fukk is you here for then ), or just skimming resumes and forgetting about you. I was dropping one off at Panasonic - he looked at the kid's resume in front of me and basically gave him a pat on the head and a foot in his ass. He was interested in mine but . Out of a few years of attending them, only landed 1 on site interview with a company.

My uni allowed us to submit our resumes, and recommended contacting recruiters beforehand. So you just needed to make a good first impression. If they have the name of the recruiter, maybe add them on LinkedIn before the fair.

But the goal is, to make a strong first impression because they can do more on site than you think. Some applications have specials codes that by pass some of the job weeding process.

The point of a job is to pitch yourself. You are selling your labor. You need to perform for at least 2 hours that you fit in with their mess. Once you get hired and settled, do you.

 

[King]

8/15

Thinking of sending LinkedIn messages to hopefully build my network. It’s pretty rough and to the point but I’ll see how it works out.

“Hey X, I see that you’re currently a (job title for company), I am a recent seeking advice on how gain the necessary experience to start my career in this field. Would you be interested in sharing some advice?”

If they respond, I’ll say:

“Thank you - how are you doing today? I am having trouble looking for entry level roles and experience to get my foot in the door.”

And then respond with

Do you know of any opportunities that are available or have anyone in your network that you could refer me to?

Was thinking about adding something in about helping them with any projects they’re working on but prob not gonna do that because of NDAs and it just seems weird to ask for a stranger.

In the process of gathering the names now. Gonna narrow it down to a few fields people doing the job I want rn. Relatively young, not really looking for super established industry professionals.

I will have the messages sent by Wednesday. Trying to aim for 5-10.

 

[King]

Also looking into charities and non-profits with positions open in the fields I’m looking for.

Then try to find a point of contact and ask for shadowing/internship opportunities for the roles.

 

[#1 pick]

1) The school automatically deleted everything, mainly my canvas account which had all of my course materials, assignments, files, etc. Along with my g suite.

They gave me a new limited g-suite with no access to any of my old files or materials.

2)They don’t. I went to a large top 10 school. The job fairs are useless as well because they mainly recruit CS or engineering since it’s in the Bay Area.

Handshake is completely useless I gave up applying on there a couple months after I graduated.

I’m also in alumni LinkedIn groups and they never get updated apart from dumb shyt.

Seems like everyone is already connected or in the know (lot of rich or kids from tech families went to my school)

I’ve also used the career office a few times after graduating and they were completely useless.

3) It’s division 1, as for a consortium I couldn’t find one. Not sure what you mean by that? They have an MBA program I could apply to but my GPA is no where near what they’re looking for since it’s also a top 10, maybe 5.

4) yeah they don’t offer that service I believe, at least not when I brought it up. They can go over it with me, but writing it was up to me. They don’t have resume writers.

Stanford, Cal, or Cal Tech?

 

[Neuromancer]

Damn. You don't have a job. Sorry to hear.

 

[NZA]

i graduated with an interdisciplinary "design" degree from a basic state school and had to start at the very bottom of several online marketing companies before working my way up to being second only to the guy that hired me at my current company. took years. you may have to aim really low just to get your foot in the door and work your way up from the inside. in my experience, a lot of companies wont give career-level positions to inexperienced young brehs with no network, but will take you once you got a few years of experience. sadly, sometimes the only way to get it when you work for "them" is to start way lower than many of your peers and settle for just an entry-level job and overperform to get promoted.

 

[King]

i graduated with an interdisciplinary "design" degree from a basic state school and had to start at the very bottom of several online marketing companies before working my way up to being second only to the guy that hired me at my current company. took years. you may have to aim really low just to get your foot in the door and work your way up from the inside. in my experience, a lot of companies wont give career-level positions to inexperienced young brehs with no network, but will take you once you got a few years of experience. sadly, sometimes the only way to get it when you work for "them" is to start way lower than many of your peers and settle for just an entry-level job and overperform to get promoted.

I’m pretty cynical about overperforming - just because I know there’s so many people ahead of me, with less experience, making so much more money, who were just given that position.

Maybe at a startup, but at most companies I feel like that goes unnoticed unless it’s a commission sales position or something.

I’m starting to think now that it’s just a luck and numbers thing. Doesn’t really seem like loyalty works in this economy, just exploitation.

 

[King]

8/19

No updates. Nothing is sticking so far

Just gonna start updating every few days bc there is literally nothing happening.

 

[Aceofspades404]

Things I'm looking for: Pretty much any job that will hire me to get myself off the ground. My career options are pretty much wide open. I'm not a technical person, but can work extremely well with technical people and can manage tech teams like a beast.

I'm looking towards entry level Junior PM, entry level Project Coordinator roles, consulting as a last resort. But my options are open to pretty much anything except sales roles.
.

Since I don't live in California, the resources I'm going to give you will require research on your end. After the first stimulus package was passed, a lot of money was pumped into the DOL and DOE which funnels down into the state and county run programs. The career center for your city or county will have a program for you start your career. One is called WIOA which pays for a certification of your choice (if they have that program available). The other one is called WEX which gives you work experience in the field you want and since they are paying the company you're working for, you won't be going through a regular job process. You only need to meet the qualifications and since you're currently not working, it should be a no stress process.
I recommend doing that and while you're living at home, using some of your money to invest in your career. Coursera and LinkedIn learning is good to spruce some things you already have knowledge on and just want to add those things to your LinkedIn account to give you a boost but it's best to get your certifications from a recognized organization. Based on your experience, you'd be qualified for the CAPM from PMI which is only $300. You can do that and the project management certification google has available simultaneously. The CAPM tests your knowledge while the google cert prepares you to be a pm.
Also, again since I'm not a California resident, check with your local community colleges. Lots of money was given to them too for rapid credentialing programs. Let me know how it goes!