By Antley Li (MS Marketing 2017)
Antley Li is an MS Marketing Candidate and is currently
interning at King Content. He plans to become a Marketing Analyst after he graduates
in 2017.
By no means am I an expert, everything I suggest is from
months of trial and error. I also have to thank everyone who has helped me
along the way, especially Annie Himmelsbach,
Justyn Makarewycz and Lindsey Plewa-Schottland from the GCMC. I’m here to shed some light on what has worked for me, and
hopefully, help someone else.
1. Have your resume
looked over by different people
Go to an advisor who specializes in career development and
hiring as well as someone who has experience in your field to look over your
resume. You never know who’s looking at your resume when you apply for jobs, it
can be a hiring manager or a senior member of the marketing department. It’s
important to get your resume to appeal to whoever reads it, whether that person
is a human resources manager or a marketing director.
2. An Action Plan
None of the hard work you put in your application will
matter if it’s not seen. Ninety-five percent of resumes don’t make it through
the keyword filter. The action plan is to create an Excel sheet or even a
physical journal where you can keep a list of all the jobs you apply for and
the contacts you make through networking. There should be three categories in
your plan: name of the company, the name of the connection within the company,
and the date you reach out to the connection. Change the date every time you’ve
reached out to a connection so that you can remind yourself to reach out about
every 2-3 weeks until you get a response. Always follow-up and thank everyone
who has helped you along the way; keep in contact with them because you might
be of help to them in the future. I can’t stress this point enough because you
receive goodwill by giving goodwill. For more detail on the action plan, see
Justyn from the GCMC, as he has a robust system.
3. How To Connect
Here are the different kinds of connections you will most
likely see on LinkedIn and how to approach them:
- 1st connections- if the person is your friend, reach out and ask him or her. You can ask for a referral if you’re close enough. If your first connection is someone you haven’t spoken to in 10 years or someone you connected to randomly at a networking event, never directly ask for a job or a referral on first contact. In this case, try to set up a coffee or informational interview and do your homework. Change your mindset from “I’m connecting to get a job” to “I want to learn more about this person, position and company.” You can’t ask for favors from strangers without offering something first. Also, if your first connection is a stranger, I recommend exhausting your 2nd connections before resorting to cold contacting a 1st connection.
- 2nd connections- Get a warm introduction by having a mutual friend or connection vouch for you. This is a powerful tool. After the introduction, proceed with the mindset of learning about the person and company, and ask for a short phone conversation. Have your mutual friend set up a casual hang out to relieve pressure for all parties.
- Alumni Connections- The best way to reach out to alumni is through LinkedIn, and also through various on-campus events. My first connection was with an alumna who spoke on a panel during orientation. If you see a company with a strong Baruch network, reach out to our wonderful advisors at the GCMC and ask if they can introduce you. They most likely will not connect you if they don’t know you or don’t feel like you are ready, so it’s yet another reason to visit the GCMC.
Remember, nothing I suggest will be successful 100% of the
time. However, it will maximize your chances of hearing back. Think of it as a
poker game; you want to go into the hand armed with aces. You’re in it for the long game, so put yourself
in a position to win as many hands as possible.
