Finding the right piece
Career fairs are a good place to start looking for a job, but don’t rush to take the first job you are offered.
I think we all can agree that life is one large puzzle, right? If life is a puzzle, then finding that special job is the one confusing piece – no one can figure out where it goes. Finding a job is a hard task and finding the job that fits your life is even harder – but it’s doable. Trends are showing that college students, like us, are not exactly looking for jobs at large corporations such as Google, Coca-Cola, Microsoft and others, but rather companies that they feel they can best fit into. Why? It’s all about completing that pesky puzzle we call life.
The workforce is changing. The days of long work hours and overtime are over. Employees are looking to find employers that offer a balance between work and personal life. A job with a culture that’s more nurturing than one that’s a shark tank. An article in Forbes says that graduating college students are looking for jobs and internships that have a higher retention rates. One possible reason behind that statement is that when companies have high retention rates, it usually means that their employees likely have found the place for their missing puzzle piece.
My advice to you is to be patient. Do not rush to take the first position you’re offered. Research a company before applying, interviewing and accepting the position. An interview is essentially a conversation between two parties; a conversation where both sides equally contribute to the dialogue. When you go on an interview, make sure to learn more about the company directly from the source and find out how you also can benefit from your time with the company. When looking for a job, it’s nice when a company ask you, “What can you do for me?” but it’s even better when the same company asks, “What can we do for you?” Make sure that the puzzle piece fits your puzzle.
Christian Gray is a senior majoring in marketing with a focus in promotion and communications and a minor in economics. He is president of the Student Activities Board. When he’s not planning events or doing schoolwork, you’ll catch him watching something sports related (#KOBE) or vibing out to music. Christian’s career goal growing up was to be Batman. He won’t tell you if he was successful on that mission, but let’s be real – have you ever seen him and Batman in the same place?
